Chicago ~ Day 1

My "Memphis / Travel" Tommy and I are spending the weekend in The Windy City. I have a work retreat next week and Tommy LOVES Chicago, so we decided to meet and enjoy a Midwest summer weekend!

We stayed at The Dana Hotel. It's a "luxury boutique" in downtown Chicago and has a zen like atmosphere. I was leaning toward it in honor of my baby sister. I learned that Dana means The pleasure of giving in Sanskrit. Pretty cool, eh?

We were on a high floor with a city view through floor to ceiling windows. A bit like being in a fish bowl, but pretty cool nonetheless!

Our first start: Chicago pizza! We walked to Pizzeria Uno only to find a line out the door.

But never fear, I spied a close second: Pizzeria Duo!


I missed my plane this morning. A series of unfortunate events stemming from, "lack of planning on your part doesn't constitute an emergency on my part" slapping me in the face meant that I got to Chicago 5 hours late. Que sera sera. It just meant we had to skip the dilly dalleying and head to dinner.

Being that I'm ever (not) so skilled at delaying gratification while waiting to eat, I was totally (not) okay with waiting the 45 minutes it takes to bake the pizza.

Tommy distracted me by talking about all of the fun things that we "have to" do and see this weekend. He must have been an educational tour guide in a former life. It's always a delicate balance to reach a compromise of his go-go-go operation and my let's sleep in and figure it out as we go preference. But somehow I manage to dig deep and just go and he humors me by pretending that he's okay with going with the flow. We've traveled enough together to know what works and it's a pretty good system with only minor bickering!

Starting the weekend off with a cold one. Pizza, beer, and a baseball game in the background. What could make a guy happier on a Friday night?

I had the best deep dish spinach and cheese pizza. Who knew spinach could be so good? And the part about waiting 45 minutes for it to bake? Totally worth it.

I'm looking forward to our tourist adventures tomorrow!

Legally Blonde ~ The Musical... OMG, OMG, you guys!

It was Pantages Theatre Date night tonight! Nash, Rachel, Mickey and I enjoyed a Reese Witherspoon classic on the stage! Legally Blonde ~ The Musical is a fluffy pink, light hearted musical that's a lot of fun. Elle would say, "I double pinky Delta Nu swear, you'll love it!" It took me back to my Delta Delta Delta days. Giddy lovesick girls. I, however, did not find my Warner. Sigh. :O)

Me and my pink feather boa (there was a sea of pink!), Nash and Rachel


Mickey hearts Elle Woods! You can quote me on this: Mickey will be starring in Legally Blonde circa 2013.

Nash and I were seated in front of a woman who, no joke, was hacking up a lung the whole first act. She may have been coughing the second half too, but we moved to the front so can't say for sure! No swine flu yuckies for these kids!

We ate dinner at Kung Pao Kitty again. If you want a great business plan open a killer restaurant near The Pantages. They've got nothin'!

Next play date? WICKED!

Everett (aka Bob the Builder...)

Everett Michael is my oldest childhood friend Tina's energizer bunny toddler. He's two, a new big brother, obsessed with tools and doing whatever his dad does. While visiting the Central Coast I spent a night at Everett's house.

I took the cutest photos of him Friday afternoon. Adorable. And... my camera was on the "demo mode" and missing the memory card. So... sigh... the precious moments I thought on film are gone. And can't be retrieved. Lesson learned! Thankfully I caught some cute shots while Everett and his dad worked on the planters in the front yard.

Ev's all ready to get down to business. He's got his work boots on and just returned from getting the necessary soil for the planters.



First, he stomps on the D.G. (which I learned stands for decomposed granite) for the walkway.

And he's off... with his shovel in tow!

He's ready for dad to show him how to hammer in the stakes.

Careful observation

And now some mallet action!

And now we're ready for the soil...

Lastly, add water (On "Evie pressure") Now the planters are all ready for passion fruit. (Everett's request.)

Taking a re hydration break...

...and ready to get back to work!

Baby Blake

This is Everett's baby brother, Blake Grey. He is the spitting image of his father and can't get enough of his mama's love!

I love this photo! Do you see the slightest grin?


Beautiful blue-eyed baby boy Blake! 3 months.

Tina-tina-bo-beena...fee-fi-foe-feena...TINA!

24 hours with my sweet Tina Charlotte. Friends since we were toddlers. She's all grown up now. A wife and full-time mama of two ~ Everett, 2 and Blake, 3 months.

Friday afternoon was spent with Costco wraps, Bible song cd's, convincing her that I really could hold the baby (who is "mommy-centric!), taking photos and...sigh...a big fat NAP!

We caught up on life while swapping holding and playing with an itty bitty cutie patootie and a boisterous, intelligent, active toddler. Phew! My how times have changed over the past 27 years!!!

Last week I dug out the dvd's from my childhood. There is so much footage of Tina and I singing, dancing and being our theatrical self. My favorite is a solo that we sang in Church, circa age 8. Here are the lyrics:

M: "I don't ever want to grow up!"
T: "Why?"
M: "'Cause you can't play, you've got to work all day."
T: "I don't want to grow up either!"
M: "Why?"
T: "'Cause grown ups get too busy to pray..."

It keeps going and going. The hand motions and expressions on our face are so funny. We took learning our parts very seriously!

Good to see, Teener! You are an a-ma-zing mama and friend! Keep on keeping on and creating good endings!

Beauty along Interstate 101

I love the California summer nights we have been having. I caught a gorgeous sunset while headed up the 101 in route to the Central Coast.

The sun was so brilliantly orange and driving at dusk through the hills with wide open spaces was awesome.


It is almost impossible to see a sunset and not dream. ~Bern Williams

A shawl and tea cozy ~ for you, Carolyn!

I love my job! :o)

Beloved Burger Bar Bliss...

I'm in Las Vegas this week for work visits. Kathi drove up to spend some time chillin' Vegas style. Unfortunately, she has to go home early tomorrow because her dog is having a bad case of vertigo (apparently K-9's get it too!) SO instead of lounging by the pool she will be heading the doggy neurologist. The joys of pet responsibilities.

BUT... we still had time to enjoy one awesome dinner together. We hit the Burger Bar at Mandalay Bay. It truly was the ultimate burger experience! Chef Hubert Keller's brainchild lives up to they hype!!!

This is not your average Hamburger Joint. Far from it! Think classic American burger on steroids. It's a foodie's playground! You pick your meat, gourmet toppings and bread. The fresh custom combo will not disappoint! (Do you see food critic in my future! :o) No hoitie toitie joints for me though...)

I had Kobe beef with caramelized onions, baby spinach and bleu cheese on a "plain" bun. OH! And I can't forget the a-ma-zing sweet potato fries. YUM-O! (Disclaimer: Staying true to my "embrace hunger" gentle nudge from my doctor, I did leave *some* on my plate... LOL)

Kathi with her creation.

The Twinkie Milkshake. This heaven in a glass actually has twinkie pieces mixed in! I shared with Kath and the 2 gals next to us. Diabetic coma alert but OH SO GOOD!

So next time you're in Las Vegas... make your way to Mandalay Place and experience Burger Bar. You'll exceed your suggested daily caloric intake for sure, but calories in Vegas don't count! :O)

Full hearts and a (sort of) Full Fridge...

My friend Elizabeth (Carolyn's 9 year old daughter) and I joined friends from Church at the Fishfest2009! 8 hours of concerts from some of the top Contemporary Christian Groups.

We had seats on the lawn. It was a HOT day and we loved laying out on a blanket and relaxing listening to many of our favorite songs. It was fun to sing along!

Red faced and glistening!

Frozen Lemonade ... the perfect anecdote for sweet rehydration!

A bunch of peeps from FUEL, my Church's venue for "young adults" ages 20s and 30s. Gotta' love it....

Brandon Muchow was pretty awesome... and I know that we'll be hearing more of him soon...

Elizabeth is chillaxin'!

Hawk Nelson were who we were waiting to see! High energy and loud and funky enough to impress a 9 year old! Live Life Loud! Even after a full day of sun and sitting we jumped and jammed and... (I tried not to embarrass Elizabeth...)

What a great day!

Seeing as how I had a house guest, I broke out the piggy bank and purchased a few groceries, with Elizabeth's help, of course... (2 year old) Coors lite, syrup, cream cheese, brown sugar, Parmesan cheese and expired applesauce just wouldn't do!

String cheese, Powerade Zero, Key Lime Yogurt, Oreos, Apples and Cereal. I'll be good for a while!

We spent the rest of the weekend scrapbooking and watching chick flicks! I love you, sweet Elizabeth... and am looking forward to our next bonding time! :O)