pictures

Finally, A Weekend! (Pictures, Long)

31 October 2008 / life, marriage, pictures, survey, Uncategorized, work, writing

This will be my first full weekend in over a month. I’m so glad I like the work and the people I work with, because otherwise, working six days a week would be awful. As it is, I feel weird not going in tomorrow. If I hadn’t already turned in my time sheet for the week, I probably would reconsider and pop in for a few hours! I care that much about the work and I like the job that much. But I am tired and was encouraged by team members to take a break because I really shouldn’t work six days a week for ten weeks in a row. Plus, I got sick twice the past couple of weeks, and even though the colds were fairly minor, last Saturday, I was miserable! I came home, took medicine, fell into bed and stayed there until Sunday evening! Still, I remember last year this time, I was starting that horrific three-month sore throat. I am SO GLAD I’m not dealing with that this year!

I started to get melancholy this week, because my assignment is slated to end on November 26th. I’ve never been SAD about leaving a job before, but with this one, I really will grieve! I love the work, the culture, the commute, everything, even the six day weeks and sometimes ten hour work days. Today, some people dressed up for the holiday, and people were passing out candy, and the company bought pizza and salad and beverages for all of us to enjoy for lunch.

I leave work at the end of the day with a spring in my step, because I just spent all day working my butt off and loving every minute of it. And the thought of going back to combing the job boards, sending out a billion resumes to get maybe one or two bites, then going on interviews and doing hours of interview homework frankly depresses me. It seriously makes me want to cry.

I believe that if you put the energy out there, then something can happen with it. So this is what I’m going to put out there. I want to work full time at Schawk. I want to be a permanent employee. Everyday I go in and hope that they see something in me that makes them say “You know, this girl is good. Her attitude is awesome, and we can really tell that she cares about and likes the work. We’re going to offer her a position here because we know she’ll bring value to our team and our company.”

We’ll see what happens. I know the economy, and the reality though, and I’m going to try not to cry too much that day. In the meantime, I’m trying to enjoy the time I do have there for sure. It’s the best job I’ve ever had in my life. And I mean that 100%.

Today is Halloween, and I didn’t dress up. I did wear a tee-shirt to commemorate the occasion, though.

I got a lot of compliments on my headband.

Adam did dress up, though. Here he is with Hector before their crazy night of Weird Chicago tours.

Helena has been a very good girl and hasn’t peed on the bed in a long time. I’m proud of her. She’s gotten used to me being gone, and I give her a little extra attention in the mornings before I leave for work which she seems to like. Some of my best evenings are when she and Crookshanks curl up beside me while I play on Flickr or something.

Honestly, though, I’m only missing one thing from my life and that’s Aidan’s hugs and kisses. It’s so hard not hearing his little voice every day and having him clinging to me and touching my cheek. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about him and wonder how he’s doing. The other day I was talking to him, and he said “Mommy, I was looking at the picture of you and me and Daddy and I started cwying.” I asked him why, and he said because he missed me. That’s a big void, and even though I don’t regret moving to Chicago and being with Adam, I miss my son terribly and I ~~want~~ need to see him soon.

Other than that, I’m really happy. And I’ve been happy for a long time now. I like working. I like coming home to Adam at the end of the day. Some nights he makes the most delicious dinners. Wednesday night, I told him I wanted something light, and he made tomato basil soup with chicken. It was perfect and amazing. Tonight, he made beef and noodles. The beef had been simmering all day in the Crock-Pot. And one day last week, he made the most delicious homemade beef stew. I have to watch so I won’t gain a ton of weight–my pants are all fitting snugly! It’s time for me to really put the Wii Fit to use.

Yes, that was a major splurge I made a couple of weeks ago! I went to Best Buy in search of a new external hard drive because my original one is almost full. Well, I found a 1T hard drive for a good price, and ventured over to the video game section. I was shaking me head at the Wii Fit towel. I mean, really? $8 for a towel because it says Wii Fit on it? And I was thinking “well, that’s probably the closest I’ll ever get to a Wii Fit….” then I walked out of that aisle and over to a center pallet that was stacked with Wiis and Wii Fits! I debated for about 30 seconds on getting it, then decided to go for it, and I am so glad. Working out with that thing is SO fun. I love the step aerobics and the yoga. Before I know it, I’ve clocked 35 minutes of exercise and for something like me who does NOT care for exercise, that is a big deal. Wii Fit = PURE WIN.

I’m trying to think of what else I’ve been up to besides working, resting, reading, and playing Wii Fit, and I can’t come up with a whole lot. I did finally get to read the latest Leven Thumps novel. I devoured the thing in a day and a half and was very sad when it was over. I have to wait probably at least a year for the next one!

Another writer friend of mine finally got a book contract, and I’m very happy for her. Out of that little group, I’m the only one who still hasn’t been published, and right now, I’m OK with that. I’m not even sure I want to pursue a writing career so much anymore. I’m getting so much joy out of the agency proofreading work, I wonder if I shouldn’t focus on that career path? We’ll see where my heart takes me. I still have the soul of a writer, and I’m always thinking of characters and making up people and scenarios in my head, so maybe it’ll come back one day. At this point, I’m at peace with where I am now, career-wise. Who knows what will happen?

A few days ago. Rosa asked me to post 7 things about myself that most people don’t know. This is going to be a challenge, as I am pretty open on my blog. But let’s see.

1. I have a terrible singing voice. I mean, it’s awful. But that doesn’t stop me from singing along with the stereo when I am home alone.

2. About twelve years ago, the house I lived in for most of my growing years was foreclosed on. I didn’t get a lot of stuff out of it, and some of that stuff includes rare 12-in. album singles with remixes of songs like Killing Me Softly by Al B. Sure and Lucky Charm by The Boys. I really, really wish I had a way to get digital copies of those songs–but the 12-in. singles were rare enough when I bought them. I’m sure it’s impossible to get them now.

3. Even though I do not like winter or the cold, I love cold-weather accessories. I have tons of scarves and hats and gloves and mittens. I like to change them up depending on my mood, and I just love the new cute ones that come out every year. Monday, when I was at Aeropostale to get a few sweaters for the upcoming winter, I started considering a new winter coat. Adam, with an exasperated look, told me that I have QUITE enough coats, thank you very much. OK, he didn’t say all that, but he did point out that I have four winter coats and I probably really don’t need a new one. But we’ll see how my coats hold up against Chicago winters. I might need to take a trip to Eddie Bauer soon. Macy’s has beautiful wool pea coats, but I really don’t want to spend $500 on a coat that may or may not keep me warm when the single digit temperatures hit.

4. I wish I had a best girlfriend. But then I wonder if I really want the time and commitment that comes with having a best girlfriend. Jen and I are pretty close–we’ve known each other since the early 1990s–but I don’t have that *best friend* who is local and who I see all the time, who I can yap on the phone with for hours and then turn around and email/IM her as soon as I hang up. It’s been so long that I’m not even sure I KNOW how to have a best friend anymore, not like I did when I was in grade school. I remember Charla and I used to get on the phone and yak yak yak for hours (13 of them once). Now, it just seems strange to call someone other than my mommy just to talk, even though when someone does catch me at a good time, it’s always great to hear from that person, and I enjoy catching up and chatting. I think every girl needs a best friend, but I guess I’m scared and not so sure how to go about it.

5. I’m generally not a phone person. I will email you long, long letters, I’ll write you letters, I’ll text you, but I’m not huge on the phone. Again, I like when people call me, but it’s hard for me to take the initiative to make the call to anyone unless I really feel driven to action. I even had a hard time calling Adam, the man I was dating, then engaged to, because I always worried about bugging him. But if someone calls me, I’m terrible about letting him or her off the phone, and we can talk for hours and hours easily. Ask anyone about my marathon phone calls with my mom. Last time it was five hours.

6. I enjoy good, long, late night conversations. I love talking to friends about anything and everything in the middle of the night, when the inhibitions are down just a bit, and we’re comfortable sharing everything.

7. I really really want to take Aidan to Disney World within the next year. Just a mommy-son trip. I know it’s probably crazy and ambitious to do a single-parent trip of that magnitude, but we both LOVE Disney World and I think the time together would be amazing. I just wish something would happen to make that a possibility very soon, before he outgrows Disney World… and hanging out with his parents. For the record, I also want to take a huge trip to Disney World with Adam, Aidan, Chris, Matt, my mom, and Adam’s mom.

Because traveling for Thanksgiving will be a logistical nightmare for me this year, Adam and I are staying in town and having Thanksgiving here. We’re going to make a turkey and stuffing, and I’ll make a bit of dressing (hopefully not as dry as I made it for Christmas–eep). I’m also making my famous macaroni & cheese and we’re having gobs and gobs and gobs of mashed potatoes. Probably some corn and/or green beans too. And a Jell-O cake for dessert! Local friends who have no other plans are DEFINITELY welcome to join us. Just RSVP to me or Adam and let us know so we can have enough food to go around.

Tomorrow is November, which means I need to start thinking about Christmas. Once Halloween is over, I feel OK thinking about it, making plans, etc. So far, I plan to fly to Columbus on Christmas to surprise my little Aidan. How much fun will that be? That’s all I have so far. Has anyone else started thinking about the December holidays?

I think I got everything out that’s been building up in me the past few days and/or weeks. If you read all this, thank you. ♥ I leave you with a picture of my street in Chicago. I took it as I was walking home from work one evening.

‘Til next time!

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

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My Disney Trip! (Lots of Pictures, Very Long)

28 September 2008 / disney world, food, happy, pictures, vacation

I’m going to try to make this as concise as possible, but so much happened and it was such a FUN time! Here are some highlights. At the end of this post, I will give you a link to all my posted pictures and video.

We arrived in Orlando at a bit after 12pm EST, checked in with the Magical Express guys, and then we were on our way. We were getting “congratulations” left and right because we were wearing our bride and groom Mickey ears:

We stayed at Pop Century, which is a cool hotel featuring many decades of pop culture. There are displays on the wall that feature so many things that I had or was into. We checked in, and they gave us “Just Married” buttons. Our room number was 1234, in the ’50s building (earmarked by a GIANT statue of Lady)! Easy or what?

There was a towel animal in the window:

He stayed with us the whole trip.

Adam changed into shorts, we slathered on sunscreen, and we were on our way. I was in jeans because Magical Express hadn’t brought my luggage yet. First stop, MAGIC KINGDOM!

It was all decorated for Halloween!

Disney characters, I noticed, seem to like running off with newly wedded spouses. Chip was the first one to try to steal me from Adam, and when Adam caught on to what he was doing, he quickly surrendered:

We’re all friends, though.

Here it is:

We’d arrived just in time for the Dreams Come True parade. The parade started with the grand marshal, then a commercial. YES, a commercial for the new Sleeping Beauty DVD coming out soon.

After about 15 minutes, the actual parade began. Mickey pointed me out and told me that my dreams will “especially” come true.

Obligatory shot of Adam and me in front of the castle.

That day, we ate at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe for dinner, went through Mickey’s and Minnie’s houses, rode Mickey’s Philharmagic twice, rode The Carousel of Progress, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, Cinderella’s Carousel (I rode on Cinderella’s horse!), Space Mountain (a couple of random girls came up and handed us their fast passes!), It’s A Small World, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Haunted Mansion, and Snow White’s Scary Adventures. Peter Pan, however, had a 40 minute wait which seriously confused me. We watched Wishes, the fireworks show.

As the day wound down and the Extra Magic Hours started, we were pretty much walking on rides.

We met Pooh, Tigger, Darby (who tried to run off with Adam–apparently she was feeling him up at one point), and Goofy (notice anything weird about that picture?).

The next day, we ate breakfast at the Pop Century food court, then headed to Epcot.

There, we rode Soarin’, Living with the Land, and Spaceship Earth. Adam enjoyed some hands-on activities at Innovations, and we watched Honey I Shrunk the Audience and the Circle of Life. We tried different pops at that Cool Club place. We had lunch at The Garden Grill, one of my favorite places to eat:

Mmm, yum!

We also met a motherload of characters! Chip cried when he saw that I was married. All the guy characters were giving Adam thumbs up for picking me.

After we ate, it was RAINING like CRAZY. We hung out a bit in The Land, trying to wait for it to let up, then finally braved a few drops to make our way to one of the gift shops to buy ponchos. I also got a pair of earrings, and Adam got a new watch! Once we were in our ponchos, we were ready to go. The park was emptying out at an alarming rate, and we walked right on to Test Track. This was good because we’d had to forfeit our others when the time for our lunch reservations bumped up with our fast pass time. (Now I know that we can get on anytime after the initial start time, no need to go in that specified hour).

We made our way to World Showcase, where we walked right on Maelstrom (twice) and enjoyed leisurely walking around looking at the countries. Adam had a strawberry preserve crepe which was yummy! Then we watched Illuminations, then headed back. I had the famous Tie Dye cheesecake from the Pop Century food court, and it turned my tongue blue! It was yummy, though.

The next morning, we were back at Epcot. Had a hard time finding something to snack on for breakfast, which made Adam cranky. But I found an apple danish, and Adam drank a milk shake. We did World Showcase again. Characters came out to play around 11. We rode the ride in Mexico, and we rode Maelstrom again.

As were talking with Aurora, she asked what our plans were. I told her we’d planned to party that night, and she said “Oh, you will be getting your grooves on, yes?” AWESOME!

The highlight of my day, though, was meeting BEAST! I’d just missed him the last time I was at Disney World. While we were in line for Belle, Beast came out and joined her. I was SCREAMING with happiness. And to make matters even better, the couple in front of us gave me a pin you can only get at Tokyo Disney!

Soon, it was time for lunch at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall. This place is not easy to get into because it’s full of princesses and very popular. I was surprised that we got a reservation. I loved the place. First, they started off by photographing us with Belle:

Then they seated us. The food was great, and we got to dine with four other princesses! They came around with photos for us, and then the manager gave Adam and me complimentary champagne as congratulations for our marriage!

After lunch, we headed back to Pop Century for a nap before Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party.

I was a wood fairy.

The villains mixed and mingled, we were treated to a special parade kicked off by the Headless Horseman, saw special fireworks, and we trick or treated at various stations throughout the park. Adam couldn’t resist going on Haunted Mansion, which was extra spookified that night.

We met Cinderella’s wicked relatives, who were HILARIOUS by the way, and Pooh and Eeyore all dressed up, the Wicked Queen, Claude Frollo, and Minnie looking extra cute!

We also got our grooves on, yes, at Ariel’s Grotto.

Wednesday, we headed to Hollywood Studios. Adam was excited to meet the regular, non-dressed up Donald Duck, and to meet the awesome Sorcerer Mickey.

We rode the Backlot Tour (where we starred in the feature show!) and The Great Movie Ride. We hung out with flappers on the main strip and got marriage advice. (Say “Yes, dear, you’re right dear” and “She’s always right.”) I met Kim Possible and her boyfriend Ron, and we watched Muppet Vision 3D. After dinner, Stitch walked by and wiped a booger on my shoulder. The highlight of the day? I GOT TO MEET Tow Mater and Lightning McQueen!

We also hung out with Mike and Sulley of Monsters Inc. fame!

A cast member at the Indiana Jones kiosk gave me a “diamond” upgrade on my ring. We popped on Rockin’ Roller Coaster, which I’d always wanted to try but never made it over to where it is in the Studios. That ride is crazy! And then Adam talked me into riding Tower of Terror. I’d never ridden Tower of Terror before. I was VERY nervous. And for the first few seconds afterward, I HATED it. Then I couldn’t stop thinking about it. And… wanting to go on it again!

We had dinner at the ’50s Prime Time Cafe, where they singled us out and had people from all over the restaurant give us marriage advice. More of the same: “She’s always right.” Ha. That night we went to Downtown Disney and it was CRAZY. Not a lot of fun with the crowds everywhere, but I got some cool pins and souvenirs.

The next morning was Magic Kingdom. We had a breakfast date with Pooh and Friends, but before that, we ran into Jiminy Cricket (who incidentally, tried to run off with me)!

Then we headed to Crystal Palace for breakfast. YUM! There, they’d put a heart of confetti on our table!

At Crystal Palace, I got a Mickey waffle (can’t have a trip to WDW without a Mickey waffle!), and I ate about 10 pieces of bacon. Piglet was WAY too cute, and so was Pooh and sweet Eeyore, who is sooo cuddly. Tigger tried to run off with me, telling me that he was WAY better than Adam.

After breakfast, we headed back to Town Square to meet more characters! We ran into Horace and Clarabelle where scandal ensued (mostly characters trying to run off with spouses AGAIN–and vice versa).

While we were waiting for them, I noticed this in the sky:

Sky Writing Chick Tracts?

Anyway, on to the shenanigans:

After Horace and Clarabelle, we ran into Daisy Duck, who we’d *just* missed in Hollywood Studios the day before, and Mary Poppins and Burt!

We watched the Dreams Come True show.

We also met Snow White, Frontier Donald, Peter Pan and Wendy, Jessie and Woody, and Captain Hook and Smee. We then spent the rest of the day wandering around Magic Kingdom doing whatever stuck our fancies. Now, MK was VERY crowded (relatively) because of morning Extra Magic Hours, so now we know to AVOID parks that have morning hours. Still, we got to ride the Mad Tea Party, Liberty Bell, Pirates of the Caribbean, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad twice in a row, and Splash Mountain. It was my first time riding Splash Mountain. “You won’t get that wet,” Adam had said. Oh yeah?

At one point, Adam got very distraught.

This was why:

We also did Stitch’s Great Escape and Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor (which is BRILLIANT!), the Hall of Presidents, and the Enchanted Tiki Room. Lunch was at Columbia Harbor House, where I got a free dessert for being a newlywed! We watched Spectromagic (where Adam freaked out over Chernabog) and Wishes again, then hung around more than an hour after official close to people watch and to just enjoy the castle. It did a special good night around 10pm with sparkles and music. It was lovely.

The next morning was Magic Kingdom again! Told you, we ♥ that place! First, though, we had breakfast at 1900 Park Fare in the Grand Floridian. I enjoyed it greatly. It was a lot less busy than Crystal Palace and they had yummy strawberry soup. We got to meet Mary Poppins, Pooh, Tigger, Alice, and the Mad Hatter there.

At the Kingdom, we rode Pirates of the Caribbean (where there was a message waiting for me from Mickey and Minnie congratulating me on my marriage and encouraging me to eat lots of cake) and Haunted Mansion (he’s obsessed!). The guy at the Dole Whip counter gave us free pineapple floats with a congratulations!

We met Rafiki and Timon, who BOTH tried to run off with me. The cast member there said “I’d tell you congratulations but I think Rafiki is jealous!”

On our way out of Magic Kingdom, we ran into a vendor who’d talked to us a the day before. She gave me a special and exclusive Pixie Dust pin! And then the Family Fun Day Parade started, which was very cute and a lot of fun. A great way to end our Magic Kingdom Adventure of 2008.

We hopped over the Hollywood Studios, and got there just in time for the Block Party Bash, which was colorful and beautiful! We also watched the Beauty and the Beast show which made me teary eyed. We rode Tower of Terror twice in a row and wanted to go a third time but the wait time had gone up. FYI, Tower of Terror is TOTALLY my favorite Hollywood Studios ride now!

We were wandering around and meandered over to the place where you check wait times for rides. The cast member there caught on that we were interested in riding the new Toy Story Midway Mania ride, but didn’t really have time to do the 60 minute wait. SHE GAVE US FAST PASSES! Win Win Win!! They were all out of them for the day, too. The ride was FUN! It’s like Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin on steroids. I loved it. Then, we hit Sounds Dangerous, and then it was time to eat at Hollywood & Vine, which was very tasty, especially the desserts!!!

After dinner, Adam bought this cel he’d had his eye on for days. I’m glad he got it, it looks great in our room. I shopped like crazy, buying pins and stuffed things and stuff for Aidan. We got back to the hotel about 730pm or so, used up the last of our snack credits, and commenced packing. We had an EARLY start the next morning.

What a magical, amazing, and fun trip. We got loads of extra attention from cast members and park guests alike. We had fun, and I got to do a bunch of things I’d never done before. I noticed things I never had before, and I got to meet a bunch of characters I never DREAMED I’d meet! This is a great time of year to go. The weather isn’t too ridiculously hot, and the crowd level is dreamy. We’re already making preliminary plans for next 2009!

I leave you with two photographs I took:

Click to see more pictures of our adventure:

Ronni & Adam’s 2008 Trip to Disney World/Honeymoon

Hope you enjoyed this. We certainly enjoyed our trip and are excited about going back soon! ‘Til next time!

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

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Disney Bound! (Picture)

20 September 2008 / disney world, dork, pictures, ronni

It’s just hours away now!

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

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Starlight, Star Bright, First Star I See Tonight (Picture)

18 September 2008 / aidan, conversations with aidan, disney world, pictures, shopping, to do, work

!!! Disney in just a couple days !!!

And I’ve been SO busy, I haven’t even had time to make lists of the stuff I need to do before and for the trip. I’m hoping that Saturday, after my hair appointment, I can come home and square things away. I’m supposed to work late tomorrow night, so that’s out. Eeek. However, my paycheck next week will be very nice! I’m purposely waiting until near the end of the trip to do the bulk of my souvenir shopping. (Don’t worry, Rosa, I haven’t forgotten about your Alice pin!)

I think I’ll get it together, though. I am almost done with all the shopping I need to do. I’d like to get another memory card for at least one of the cameras (although we’ll have at least three cameras total!), I got some cute new shirts and a pair of shorts (for $5!), a new necklace, and some earrings. I am so happy we have an Aeropostale downtown now. SO HAPPY! Hmm… I want to get more sunscreen, although I do have a can of nice spray on stuff. It’s a few years old, though, so I don’t know if it’ll still be any good. I do NOT want to get burned!

Here are some things I need to do:

– clear off memory cards
– recharge camera batteries
– buy sunscreen
– load and recharge iPod
– sync iPhone (although I tend to do this every night anyway)
– choose a bag to carry around the park
– gather up Disney stuff (confirmations, Disney dollars, Magical Express tags, ears, etc.)
– PACK!!!!

Yes, EARS! Melissa and Eli bought us the bride and groom ears! I’m so happy about that! Adam looks SO cute in his. I’m sure I’ll look cute, too.

I’m so very excited to be going to Disney World. I have the Wishes song on my iPhone as my default ringtone.

Tonight, I talked to little Aidan on the phone. He and his dad were on speaker, and Aidan was getting tired and a little bit grouchy. Anyway, he was trying to say he wasn’t sleepy.

Aidan: I’m not sleepy. I’m like an owl.
Ronni: Aw, he’s a night owl.
Chris: Yes, just like his mommy. Aidan, are you nocturnal?
Aidan: Yes, that means I wake up in the night.
Chris: Do you hibernate?
Aidan: No, I’m not a bear!

He’s so freakin’ smart. I miss him so much. Earlier this week, I mailed him a package full of cool stuff, and he got it today. He said he likes everything in there. Among the things I put in the package:

– butterfly bath bomb from Lush
– 2 shirts from Old Navy (he said he LOVES them and can’t wait to wear them!)
– sour gummy worms
– fruit snacks
– blue self-stick notes in the shape of an A

Schawk! is still going well. Fourth quarter officially starts this weekend, though, so they’re already asking people to do overtime. I can’t this week–I’ll be preparing for Disney World. But soon enough, I’ll be working 10 hour days and Saturdays too, probably. I’ll be loving my paychecks as a result of all that work. It’s a decent place to work. But I am glad tomorrow is Friday. This week was a bit tiring.

Hmm, what else? I want to get it all out while I’m here, because I don’t know if I’ll have time to blog again before I go!!!

OH, I know. Check this out:

See the big giraffe? Yeah, I TOTALLY want it. I went up to it in the store today and hugged it. So cute.

Oh, I know. Yesterday, I went and saw Romney at her job. She works a BLOCK from me. Takes me like, 2 minutes to walk there. She’s SO CUTE. I adore her.

OK, I need to go because I’m typing like crap and losing my train of thought, AND I am getting sleepy. Plus Crookshanks just plopped his big butt on my lap. Please forgive any typos. I’ll try to blog tomorrow or Saturday, if I have some time. But for now… good night!

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

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Ampersands are Fun (Long/Lots of Pictures)

4 September 2008 / aidan, books, food, friends, living in chicago, pictures

I had a fun Labor Day weekend. My friend from college, who I’ll refer to as friendAdam, came into town and crashed at our pad. I don’t have pictures of him to post at his request, but we had a great time. It had been about 10 years (at least) since I’d last seen him, and we spent hours catching up. He also had a goal to eat his way through Chicago, and Adam and I, naturally, had to tag along.

The first place we went to eat was Hot Doug’s.

On the way to Hot Doug’s. I’m wearing a shirt that Star bought me.

Here I am enjoying a Chicago-style hot dog and a regular ole corn dog.

For dinner, we went to Arturo’s, a 24 Mexican food joint, and I had a tostada. It was amazing. I woke up craving it for breakfast the next morning. After Arturo’s, we went to Margie’s Candies, where I had my Swiss chocolate sundae…

…with the warm chocolate marshmallow sauce.

Mmmmm. That’s another thing I often crave for breakfast.

The next day, we went to Weber Grill where I had filet mignon and a baked potato, and a passion fruit mango margarita on the rocks.

We walked down Michigan Avenue:

U.S. flag, City of Chicago flag, State of Illinois flag

Here is one of the funny dresses along Michigan Ave. It’s made out of Coke and other pop cans.

We also went to Millennium Park. Cloud Gate never gets old for me.

That night, we’d attempted to go to Martini Park for dinner, but they had a $10 cover for the boys (I was free!) and the live band there was WAYYYY too loud. We then tried to go to Lou Malnotti’s for pizza, but seriously, a touristy place during Labor Day weekend… not a good idea. There was a 50 minute wait. So we went home and partied with the neighbors. When the hunger got to us, we headed to Pie Eyed. Adam was VERY happy about numerous things.

The next day, we went to friendAdam’s cousin’s for a cookout/party which was a lot of fun, and Monday night, we finally made it to Martini Park. friendAdam had been talking about this place and their chocolate chip cookie dough won tons ALL weekend, and we finally got some:

We also had Kobe beef sliders, pulled pork sliders, macaroni and cheese sticks, and home made donuts.

Home-Made DoNuts with Raspberry Sauce & Chocolate Sauce

It was a great weekend!

Today, Aidan officially started kindergarten! I talked to him last night and he was very excited. Apparently, there are FIVE Aidans in his class. FIVE. *hits self on head*

Before his big trip, he went to Phoenix with his dad and Matt. Chris sent me some of the pictures.

Monday, I start my assignment at Ambrosi. I’m excited and nervous. I know I’ll get back into the working all day flow again, but it’s still kinda crazy. Then soon after that is Disney! Woooo!

I popped into the library today to pick up Breaking Dawn, and I also got Anybody Out There by Marian Keyes (it’s a reread–I just reread Rachel’s Holiday for the first time in years and fell in love with the Walsh sisters all over again), Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson, Wuthering Heights, a couple of Disney World travel guides, and a couple of other books. YAY books.

And today was a good mail day. Rosa sent me a really CUTE ampersand tee-shirt. She’s so good to me! ♥

Who watched ANTM last night? I’m looking forward to this season, and for now, I am on team JOCLYN, ISIS, and ELINA. We’ll see how things pan out, yes?

I suppose that’s it for now. Adam wants to watch the last two episodes of Arrested Development with me. We have all three seasons on DVD.

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

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