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! :)