Chi-town

Reasons I love Chicago:

1. The people. I really think Midwesterners are nice. Especially once the snow has melted and we can all come out of hibernation.
2. The food. Really. There is an abundance of amazing food here. It's a wonder more people aren't totally overweight and broke.
3. The energy. I can't really explain it. You just have to almost get hit by a cab during rush hour in the Loop to feel it.
4. The sports. Particularly the Cubs. I've adopted the Lovable Losers.
5. The museums. We have a Seurat!
6. The water. Lake Michigan might have higher levels of E. coli on some days other than others, but it's still a body of water that's big enough to fake us Californians out as being an ocean.
7. The summers. They make the winters worth enduring.
8. The neighborhoods. I love how people say, "I live in Lincoln Park" with a certain air of arrogance. It kind of makes me want to move to Lincoln Park. Same goes for "Gold Coast."
9. The fact that we get lots of visitors. Because this is the crossroads of America. And because lots of people we know fly through O'Hare and get stranded.
10. The festive-ness. I love how the city celebrates whatever the big thing is that's happening. Like a Presidential candidate who wins from Chicago. Or the 10,000th Cubs win. Or the IOC in town to evaluate Chicago as a host for the 2016 Olympics. Or St. Patrick's Day.

And here's one final plug. Just in case the IOC is reading this blog.

D, please - let's not move again. Especially not to Houston. I like it here.

It's nonstop

I guess I really won't complain, because April showers DO bring May flowers, and it's not even April yet. So I should really be grateful that it's not snowing. But apparently, when it doesn't snow, it pours.

This is what the river two blocks away looks like today. Our sump pump has been on overdrive. And I saw our neighbors across the street pumping out a ton of water from their basement window well yesterday. That would stink. Literally.

Normally, you can see this tree's root system. Not today. Nope.

And normally, you don't see the river and the park intersecting. (By the way, it's soggy at the park. My shoes and socks got soaked. Ew.)I drew in a yellow line where the river bank is SUPPOSED to be.

As long as it doesn't creep into our basement, I'll just be grateful that it's 56 degrees outside today. :)

First in line

Last night, my friend Rasa and I went to see my favorite folk guitar artist ever.

Although he didn't sing to me specifically like he did last time, I did manage to strategize my way into his life. Via being first in a very long line at a post-show meet/greet. Embarrassing, I know.

And really, not for nothing. I somehow convinced the tour manager to give me his contact information. Next time they're in town, I have ins and welcome permission to drop off cupcakes. AND I got this great picture (and an autographed CD for C) out of it.

He's super talented. Beautiful lyrics. Amazing melodies. Quirky inspiration. I like him a lot. Go iTunes Joshua Radin. (Wow, I wasn't even paid to write this. Word-of-mouth marketing works when it's something this good.)

P.S. Thanks to new friend Jessica who saved the day by taking this picture for me (and actually followed through with sending it over) when my phone died. :)

Lake Michigan in February, Part 2

Friday: 10 foot waves.
Saturday: a snowy, icy expanse.

Spring, GET HERE NOW!

Lake Michigan in February

Look at these waves I saw driving up Lake Shore Drive this morning:

While I've just about HAD IT with this particular Chicago winter, at least the lake is thawed out enough to send 10 foot waves crashing over the barricade.

That said, I really wouldn't mind if spring showed up any day, so I could have an excuse to wear these:

or

I would even wear these for a day if it meant that spring would hurry up and just get here.

The gladiator shoe. Apparently Spring 2009's hottest trend. Huh?

So spring, would you hurry up already?

Being spontaneous

Late Friday morning, I told C we were going on a surprise trip. I had decided four minutes before that we had to do something because the weather was above 30 degrees. So we loaded the stroller and a few snacks into the car and drove to Lincoln Park.





We need to be spontaneous more often. It's way too fun.

Rock Out

We rock out a lot in our house.

Tonight: Beyonce.

Oh-oh-oh.

Kitchen Surgery

When we bought our house, our kitchen needed some serious help.

We went from this
to this.
Not saying it's awesome, but it was at least a fairly good upgrade.

Fast forward 2 years. Today, our kitchen looks like this:
Apparently, a clog froze mid-pipe, caused two six-inch cracks in the PVC, and then as the weather "warmed up" to 25 degrees, defrosted all over our basement floor.
Home ownership really isn't all it's "cracked" up to be. (I kill myself.)

Oh, and for some reason, I found this, in my handwriting, on the wall.
I'm clearly delirious, because all I can think of is shawty:

Chaos

The house looks like this today:

because it still looks like this outside:
And no, your eyes do not deceive you. That is a life size Thomas the Tank Engine Mega House. In my kitchen. Because there's no space left in the toy room for it. (For perspective, note the regular human adult size chair next to Thomas' creepy smile.)

Spring, get here NOW! (And D, just give me 25 minutes to clean this up...)

Winter

A lot of things come to mind when we think "winter" these days.

1 - Negative 40 degree wind chills. Last week, we had a few days of sub-zero temps. It was pretty painful.

2 - C describing what cold wind feels like: "Like I have icicles in my nose. Like someone hit my face. Like my ears are going to fall off." I couldn't agree more.

3 - A borderline ridiculous amount of snow. Someone mentioned we have had around 80+ inches of cumulative snowfall this winter. I think that sounds like too much snow. Especially since we've had to hand-shovel all 80+ inches. Here's a picture of our backyard. It's strange to think that in a few months, we'll be hosting Memorial Day with that very BBQ.

4 - Frozen pipes. Our master bathroom pipes run through the coldest part of our house - the back wall where all the wind blows. We have had problems every winter with freezing supply lines, but this time we're having drain line issues. Three days later, we're still living with this:

It's time to call the plumber, dear.

5 - Winter gear for survival. While living in Utah, we thought we understood the purpose of down coats, scarves, gloves, hats, face masks, etc. No, no. Anybody who needs a down coat in the western half of the United States is now a verified wuss in our opinion. (No offense.) I recently bought this pair of Ugg(ly)s - and not because it's fashionable to be an Ugg wearer either. No, it's for frostbite prevention. (Though I might pair it with a miniskirt in the summer and try to look like one of the girls in The Hills.)

6 - No lawn mowing. Yay.

7 - Joshua Radin. He's coming back to town this March, but in the meantime, just to stay seasonal, I'm going to put on "Winter." I {heart} me some Joshua Radin.