Summer

I love summer.  It's equally pleasing in all the parts of the world that I've visited.  In the South, you have lazy hot summer nights, fraught with sweet tea and watermelon.  In the midwest, there's just nothing like the storms and lightning bugs and the ice cream man.  Hikes followed with a starbucks in Colorado, flowers and fruity water in Europe.  Today's summer joy: blue sky, the smell of fresh cut grass, freshly cleaned kitchen, maybe homemade popsicles?

Oh the Irony

How does a trip to the store to buy ME new tires end up with John's car looking like this?  Read on...

So recently I've starting feeling this weird vibration in my car while driving.  Thud thud thud thud, over and over, all down the road at all speeds.  So that leads a person to believe it's maybe the axle or the tires or something.  Well yesterday, my wonderful fiance dutifully rotated my tires and we took a drive around the neighborhood to see if the thudding had stopped.  Nope.  It was FAR worse.  We got back and he took the tires off again only to discover that the tread had come off part of the tire!

So one trip to Pepboys later, we're headed back in his truck, and all of a sudden smoke is coming from his side of the car.  Once we pulled into a church parking lot, we discovered his tire had melted because his brakes locked in place!

All is well now, hopefully, but really.  What's up with that irony?

Catching Up

Wow, so much has happened in the past couple months.  I have been really lax about writing anything on this blog, as you can see, and for that I apologize.

Where shall we begin?

My hottie fiance, John

Well, I am sitting in the study in my fiance's house (yes, I did just say fiance).  I am taking a break from cleaning/organizing it to reflect on the past couple of months...engagement, crazy fun work trip, death of a good friend...it's been a big couple of months.

It's so quiet out here.  The breeze is breezing outside the window, some soft Michael Buble is coming from the living room, fiance is outside mowing the lawn, puppy is taking a nap.  It's one of those rare moments where the weight of everything that's happened has time to settle.  I have time to settle.  The city doesn't often allow those moments.  Life doesn't often allow them either.  Before I get moving on vacuuming up the dog hair and finding a caterer, let's just take a minute and look back.

The sunset in Phoenix

The work trip was a jaunt over to Phoenix.  Got to stay in a 5-diamond resort called the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess.  When you read the requirements for being classified as a 5-diamond, you find that most of it is about superior service.  And no kidding!  They always addressed me by name, anticipated my needs, and gave me stuff for free!  I got free internet and a free cabana!

A beautiful ring passed down from my future mother-in-law

So, you might be asking about my engagement story?  Well, I must say it isn't anything grandiose or terribly exciting to anyone who's not John or me, but it fits "us" so well.  We often sit outside or on the couch in front of the fireplace talking through our day, sharing our dreams, talking about our future.  We were doing nothing more than this on the day John proposed.  Just taking a break from doing normal things to sit and talk with the one I love.  He said he had been trying to ask me for a while, but I guess we needed that perfect moment.  :)  I am pretty sure the smile overcame my face, and maybe a few tears too.  He is the love of my life.  And I am his.



Now about my friend.  She was a dear friend from childhood through high school.  Over the past several years we talked mainly via facebook, but got together when possible whenever I visited my hometown.  She was happy, bubbly, sweet, hilarious, and passionate about her beliefs.  Her funeral was such a sad occasion, given that her death was sudden and tragic.  But even in the sadness of knowing we will not laugh together again on this earth, there is joy in knowing we will meet again in the presence of our Heavenly Father.  I miss you, Nettie.


Now I should get to vacuuming.  For a dog that's not supposed to shed, Leo sure leaves a lot of hair lying around...

More Walking...

The weather outside was so gorgeous yesterday!  Sunny, 60 degrees...so lovely.  In an effort to enjoy it and continue to get some exercise, Leo and BF and I went on a long walk by the lake.  Everyone else had the same idea.  There were cyclists, runners, moms with strollers, and dog-walkers everywhere!  Thought you might enjoy some photos.

I like Leo's reflection :)

He was really fascinated by the seagulls!

Out Walking

Well...Leo and I need to lose a little weight.  So today we set out to walk a couple miles on the lakeshore path.  I was decked out in 4 layers and new sneakers, and Leo's got quite a winter coat on him right now, so we stayed pretty warm.

Along the way, huffing and puffing after a few minutes jogging, I saw the city skyline in the distance.  I am so blessed to be able to head out for some exercise and gaze the whole time at one of the most recognizable sights in the world.

Leo was just fascinated with the lake.  He couldn't stop looking at it, and when we got to the bridge at Fullerton, I thought he might jump off!

Total Cuteness

Leo and I went to the 'burbs last weekend.  While waiting for bf to be ready to leave his house, I caught a few pics of an impatient doggie. :)

"Please mommy, can we go now?  I'm excited!"

"I'll even get your keys!  I can help!"

"Come ON!  Let's GO!"

"I'm working on it.  Now put that camera away..."

Help! I need to think like a tourist!

In Chicago, there is an easy way to spot a tourist.  Just look for the people who are looking up.  Locals walk fast and stare straight ahead, but the tourists are checking out all the tall buildings.  And the locals tend to get very annoyed by the tourists.  Well, in an effort to become a Chicagoan as quickly as possible, I have realized that I never did the tourist thing here.  This puts me at a disadvantage when playing hostess to out-of-towners!  My friend L is coming to visit me this weekend, and in preparation for her visit, I've been racking my brain for "the things one should do when one visits Chicago," and I've come to the conclusion that I don't know what those things are!  Of course I've been shopping on Michigan Ave, so that's a given (plus some shopping in places the locals keep secret because the prices are better).  And I think we'll go to the Field Museum.  But what other attractions or restaurants have you all heard of that are the "typical" or exciting places to go in Chicago?  I need your help!  Don't make me break out the guidebooks! :)

Daily Commute

I live .96 mi away from work.  In SC, I lived 6.23 mi away from work.  You would think that would mean I could get to work faster here than I did there.  No such luck.  In SC, I drove to work.  I think on average I could count on going driveway to parking lot in 12-15 minutes.  20 if I stopped at Starbucks.  Here, I either walk, take a bus, or take a cab.  Driving would be pretty laughable considering I would spend about 30 minutes looking for a parking space once I got to work and it would likely be at least .96 mi away. :)

There are benefits to my current commuting process.  2 mi per day walking, at a pace of 17 min per mile, burns about 245 calories.  Also, there is the scenery to consider.  This is the largest part of my route:

Each day, I pass a lot of runners, panhandlers, and dog-walkers.  Worse, I see restaurants and coffee shops, calling to me!  Even worse than that, bookstores and music stores, clothing resale shops, upscale accessories stores - all of them saying "you know we have things you want!"

So some times, I choose to avoid all those temptations...and the exercise...and the cold weather, and I take a bus.

And then I usually feel guilty about the fact that I just missed burning those calories.  But not that guilty, because with all that time I saved taking the bus, I still have time to stop at Starbucks.  Or Jamba Juice.  Or Yoberri.  Or Red Mango.  So much for avoiding temptation! :)

Either way, walking or bussing, I get to enjoy myself.  Along with the soundtrack for the day on the iPod, my commute sets me up for a bustling day full of interesting sights and sounds.  I love it here.

Kids looking out over Belmont Harbor

I grow increasingly disturbed by the number of children I see running around by themselves in this city. This really has bothered me since I moved here.  Now, there have only been 1 or 2 times I felt uneasy about my own safety (remember, I do play volleyball in the land formerly known as Cabrini-Green), but every time I see children riding alone on the bus or walking down the street listening to their iPods, I really want to ask their parents why on earth they allow that!  I have seen plenty of strange characters on those buses.  If my child were wandering around this city alone, I would find it hard to get anything done, except maybe watch in the mirror as my hair all turns gray.  The kids in this photo were walking along the bike path next to Lake Michigan one afternoon, totally oblivious to my picture taking.  I've heard many people talk about how the folks in this city all watch out for each other, but I'm not sure I'll ever be able to trust the City with my kids' safety.

Big City, Little City

Sometimes I forget that I live in the 3rd most populous city in the US.  3.5 million residents stuffed into 237 square miles.  But I often feel like I live in a little city.  I walk to work, to the grocery store, to the salon, to the lake, to the pet store, and to church.  I take the bus a little further to volleyball.  But most of my life happens in about a 1-mile radius of my apartment.  I run into the same people every day, stop at the same Walgreens most of the time, and order takeout from mostly the same restaurants.  I have a little community here, but every now and then, I see massive apartment buildings with hundreds of units, like these:

How many people can we fit into one building?  That looks like about as many people as live in Muncie, IN!  So although I know in my head that this city is humongous, it still feels like a small town. My cute little small town. :)

The Great Blizzaster 2011

As most of you know, Chicago was involved in the Snowtorious B.I.G. last week.  For this southerner, it was quite exciting.  People were being blown backwards down the sidewalk!  Cars who got broadside to the wind were blown down the street!  It was a great couple of days to just stay in, drink cocoa, make soup, etc.  However, this is what I was faced with upon looking for my car a couple days later:

One really good piece of news though - it started right up!  If you all have pics of the storm, I'd love to see!

P.S.  Props to BF for coming up with the name "Blizzaster" before all the newspapers stole it from him! :)