Anniversary.

I didn't realize it initially but yesterday was the one-year anniversary of my induction into the 30-Year Club. (Coincidentally, it was the one-year anniversary for M living in the building -- that anniversary for me is still some weeks away.) While I don't necessarily love all of the joys of home ownership, including the property taxes, repairs, and fear of depreciation, I don't regret the decision at all. I love getting a refund thanks primarily to buying my place. I love my neighborhood.

The only reason I did realize it was because my realtor sent me anniversary flowers. Pretty:

Potato, Po-tah-toe.

Easter is this Sunday. As you know, I'm not particularly religious so it is generally not a huge deal to me. However, this year, Sunday has more impact for two reasons.

First, it is the end of Lent and therefore the end of my self-imposed candy hiatus. I'm happy to report that my candy cravings did finally stop but it will be nice to have mints again and the occasional candy indulgence.

Second, M is hosting an Easter dinner. Normally, I at least consider going up to Wisco to visit my grandmother but she is having some teeth/mouth issues and is no shape for company or food. So, this Sunday I am contributing a potato dish and angel food cake to the dinner. The potato dish is this family favorite that I've been making (or helping to make) since I was a kid. I stopped at the grocery store last night to get the ingredients. I was so proud of myself for being able to get them off the top of my head.

That is, until I got home and realized that I forgot the potatoes for my potato dish! The main ingredient. And, then I talked to my mom and realized I forgot another ingredient and confused a third. Whoops.

s-NO-w.

I no longer have it in me to be polite about this. Or, to laugh it off, with a "no one moves to Chicago for the weather." I've lived here long enough to know that spring in Chicago is generally a Tuesday in April. (This year, it happened to be a Sunday that I was in Colorado.) But this:

This is bullshit.

It was bad enough that the ten day forecast does not break 50. Snow is just rude -- insult to injury. Further proof of how bad this is: Chicago set a spring snowfall record today.

Please, please, hurry, summer! I NEED the sun and warm.

Meathead.

I was in Colorado over the weekend visiting my family. I can sum up my four days in four words: eat, bake, eat, grocer, eat, cook, eat. I ate like it was my job. It was fantastic.

Thankfully, my parents have joined a gym and got me a guest pass. The gym is a normal gym, as opposed to my fancypants gym. What I forgot about normal gyms is that they have meatheads. (I am not sure why fancypants gym doesn't have meatheads but our equivalent is really just men standing around in the weightroom, not real meatheads.) If you've never met this gym character, let me give some helpful hints. They might be a meathead IF:

- They carry a gallon jug of water around with them;
- The armholes on their shirts are cut down to their waists;
- They wear a weight belt, just walking and standing around;
- Their workout is 90% standing, 10% lifting, no cardio;
- Of that 10%, 90% of the lifting involves swearing and grunting.

Now, I think I know what I'm doing generally speaking at a gym. Nonetheless, meatheads intimidate me a bit. I feel sorry for new-to-the-gym people. They also make me laugh a bit. But, only on the inside. I would not laugh in their face -- beware of roid rage.

Belated Birthday Bike.

For the first time in a few years, I actually had something that I wanted for my birthday: a bike. After borrowing M's cruiser last summer, I decided it would be really nice to have my own bike. Something about riding a bike is kind of child like fun. Throw in the added bonus of getting some exercise on the commute and the potential risk of life (depending on when and where you ride), and its definitely a more exciting way to get to work when the weather cooperates.

Miss Pearl, the cruiser, is a really easy and fun bike to ride. Unfortunately, she is a big girl and a little bit of a challenge to carry up and down stairs, especially if you're wearing work clothes. Also, you can only borrow your friend's bike for so long before you wear out your bike-welcome, you know? So, I stated my intention to buy a bike and my parents and grandmother happily gave contributions towards it. I knew generally what kind of bike I wanted (a hybrid -- light frame but not a road bike with their skinny little tires and clips as I have no intention of racing the bike and am not THAT good of a rider) and where to get it. I procrastinated buying it for a good while but the weather is definitely starting to warm up and I wanted to be prepared.

So, yesterday, after the gym, I went and bought my bike. (I knew I had to go directly from the gym, no passing go, no stopping for snacks, or I wouldn't do it.) It wasn't difficult. I told one of the employees my intended use, he showed me a couple, I test rode around a track (fun!), and got a whole bunch of accessories (lights, lock, water bottle cage, kick stand!) installed and was on my way home with my new bike. He is currently living in my closet. The weather is rainy (side note: with all the rain in the forecast, I'm considering building an ark, just to be safe. And, I expect A LOT of May flowers) so he has not been taken on his inaugural ride, unless you count M riding him in my living room.

I cannot wait. Just another reason that I want winter to be over already.

Lent-ils, update.

I just read a story that makes me want to quit my Lent endeavor. Well, not makes me want to quit but rather provides a very rational justification, at least in my own head. Check it out: http://ow.ly/4rbDR .

That's right -- people who eat candy and chocolate "tend to have smaller waists, weigh less and have lower body mass index (BMI) than those who don't indulge in these treats." I want a smaller waist, weigh less, and have a lower BMI.

Clearly, I need to re-think the health risk of maintaining my Lent resolution for the next three weeks.

P.S. I have considered that this report might just be a April Fool's joke but that seems too mean.

Lent-ils.

As of tomorrow, it will be 21 days of no candy as a result of my decision to observe Lent this year. I've always read -- and, more importantly, believed -- that it takes three weeks to make or break a habit. My primary purpose for observing Lent was to break my candy dependence. No more thoughts of sugar plums (or Twizzlers, or Skittles, or Reeses' pieces, or Snickers) dancing in my head.

Unfortunately, it seems that my candy habit is strong. So strong that I almost broke this weekend. I was walking through CVS and it took almost all my restraint to not supermarket-sweep the candy aisle. On the plus side, I guess I have more restraint than I knew.

Twenty-one down, twenty-five to go.

Scout.

M has been considering getting a dog for roughly a year now. She has had her dog name chosen since she was 7. She fairly regularly checked the Anti-Cruelty website for new arrivals and went by to visit several dogs. Despite that, I have to say that I think I'm at least partially responsible for yesterday's events.

On Saturday, we had talked about going bike shopping. I want to get a bike and M has a couple so was willing to help me out. But, I tend to get overwhelmed by options and procrastinate making such purchases (see, e.g., how long it took me to decide to buy a place). Anyway, I wasn't feeling it. Next weekend, for sure. I want to have my bike so I'm prepared when the weather FINALLY gets warmer.

After kickboxing on Sunday, we went to get some food, watch some hoops. I don't know what possessed me but I pulled out my phone and pulled up the Anti-Cruelty website. I guess I wanted a dose of cute puppy. And, we got it. We decided to go over and check them out in person. Once there, there was so much cute. Dogs are great.

M found herself drawn to one dog in particular. Took him out to see how he was. And, he was a nice dog. Calm but still playful and curious. Seven years old -- so, thankfully, no puppy crazy -- and housebroken. He was cute and has the potential to be even cuter once his hair grows back (he is a Lhasa Apso and hair got matted so they had to shave him). Even with his seasonally-inappropriate Christmas sweater on, he was the dog for M.

A mere two and a half hours later (sarcasm right there, it was ridiculous how inefficient and prolonged the process was given how cursory the interview appeared to be), we were walking him out the door. Despite the rude comments of some drunk guys about his sweater (and a very nice congratulations from a cop walking behind us), we got him from the dirt and grime of the shelter, to the clean and fancy of Trump, without problem. After buying out PetCo, it was off to his new home.

I left M for some time with her new dog but came back for dinner. As we were walking back from picking up food, we passed the same cop (such a small world Chicago can be sometimes) who asked how the new dog was doing! And, I'd say he's doing well. With the exception of his replacement shirt. We guessed wrong on what size he is. He kind of resembles a newly-out gay man rocking his first too-tight nautical shirt at Fleet week currently. Isn't he cute?

Lent.

I don't consider myself to be Catholic (or even religious really), although I technically am. Because it was important to my grandparents, my parents had both my brother and I go to Sunday school at a Catholic Church until we made it to First Communion. Somehow, I have managed to retain almost no knowledge from those years. Every Easter I get confused by Pontius Pilate's role and have to google Lent. It is probably no surprise that I rarely give anything up for Lent. But, last week, one of the nicest partners invited me to a Mardi Gras/pre-Lent lunch which got me thinking about Lent and giving something up.

That made me realize that I NEED to give something up: candy. I love candy. I actually think about Twizzlers. I generally try to exercise restraint but lately, I have slipped down the Twizzler-paved slope into harder candy. Apparently, Twizzlers are my gateway candy.
So,I am giving up candy for Lent. Forty-six days. The only reasonable thing -- to me -- to do was to mainline sugar for all of Tuesday. I had Twizzlers for breakfast, a mid-morning Skittles snack and maintained a high blood sugar with Werther's Originals all day. Thankfully, for my blood sugar and avoiding a day of diabetes, the Mardi Gras lunch that started it all was a delicious cup of split pea soup and steak salad. However, my mouth still feels the sugary effects of my last pre-Lent day this morning.

Damn You, Lulu.

I've been aware of Lululemon for years. Even if you don't know the name, you know what is is. It is the company that makes magical workout pants. Transformational. If you've ever seen a girl at the gym whose bottom half just looks incredible, I'd put money on the fact that she was wearing Lululemon.

Two things held me back from trying Lulu though:

1) The pants are very snug. I think that's part of the magic somehow. But, as my lower half is not necessarily my friend most days, I've never really wanted to have them encased and showcased.

2) Their clothes are not cheap. The most reasonable tank top is $39. The cheapest pair of crop pants are $68.

But, given my recent dedication to the gym, I actually NEED to replace most of my gym clothes. They are either too big or too worn out as I haven't bought any new gym clothes in probably two years.

So, I recently dipped my toe in the Lulu pool by buying a pair of crops and a tank top. It was the free shipping that convinced me to do it. And, it was magical. The clothes are so soft. So comfortable. They have such a following that their online stock sells out weekly (did I mention free shipping?). I actually started following them on twitter just to find out when it was replenished.

Today, I went to the store (technically, two stores, to find the right size) with M to get a baby present for someone at the gym. I ended up diving in headfirst into the Lulu pool. Now, I have three pairs of pants and five tanks. You do the math.

I Can See Clearly Now.

Or, at least as clearly as I ever did. I went back to the eye doctor today after two solid weeks in glasses and five different kinds of eye drops every two hours. My good patient-ness was rewarded with the okay to put my contacts back in. Optimistically, I had brought a new pair with me. I put them in immediately. Of course, they felt odd after having been in glasses for awhile.

That said, YAY!

No more constant headache or nausea. I have a full field of vision again. It's the little things. Eye doctor did suggest that I look into lasik or PRK. Seems like a prudent suggestion. I think the only teeny tiny negative to being back in contacts is that my morning routine just gained a few minutes by being able to wear eye makeup again.

Hurry!

I went to Naples, Florida for a couple days this week to assist at a panel at a conference. I do not have much to report about the conference itself: got some CLE, chatted with some people, went home.

However, I was reminded of just how wonderful the sun and the warm is. It was 78 degrees when I landed on Wednesday late afternoon. On Thursday, I worked outside in the sun for a couple hours. I was actually almost hot. On Friday morning before I had to check out, I spent an hour sitting out on the balcony, feeling the sun warm my hair. I drove with the windows down. It was really lovely.

Summer, please hurry back. I miss you.

Confused.

As I was walking south on inner Lakeshore Drive toward 900 North today, a couple stopped me and asked if I lived here. They immediately confessed that they weren't from here and were lost. They wanted shopping recommendations but said "we were just were at 900 North -- that's not for us!" So, I asked what type of shopping they were looking for instead. Response: "Target, KMart, Walmart!" I think they were either saying that the stores at 900 North were either not their style (they weren't fashion-forward folks) or not in their budget, but I'm not sure which.

Color me confused.

First, I'm pretty sure that Target is the only store with any presence in the city and those locations are nowhere near walkable from where they were.

Second, why bother coming to Chicago? I'm pretty sure they could find those in their home town. (While I don't think they were Canadian based on their accents, my friend pointed out to me that Canadians don't have Target. I'm willing to accept a Canadian exception to my story, as I do like Target.) Assuming it was a budget issue, I think window-shopping Michigan Avenue can be pretty fun. The style issue would explain a lot, but again, I just don't see why you'd want to go shopping in Chicago. It's not like the Michigan Avenue association tries to mislead people into thinking its a budget-friendly mile.

I ended up giving them some vague directions about walking west on Division and wandering south down State. I really don't think I was helpful but I just could not wrap my mind around it.

Ouch Updated.

When I went to the doctor this morning as a follow up to yesterday's visit, with little improvement in my eye, he was concerned that I had a corneal ulcer and referred me to a cornea specialist. I can't say that the hospital ever ocurred to me as a potential birthday celebration location, but there I was. And, I do have two small "infilatrates" close to my visual axis. As a result, I have been given the gift of hourly eye drops and daily doctor's appointments to make sure it improves and does not cross that axis (which would affect my vision).

They told me that I wear my contacts too long during the day and that probably was the cause of this. They also gave me given the backhanded compliment that 12-15 years of contact wearing without an infection was pretty impressive. I had to correct the doctor that today actually marked my 20 year anniversary, as I think my parents let me get contacts when I turned 12.

I have come away with a silver lining from this: my seven year cycle has been satisified on the very first day. When I was eleven, I had a kidney biopsy. When I was eighteen, shoulder surgery. When I was twenty-five, I was diagnosed with my rheumy. Now that I'm thirty-two, my medical malady has already been met. No more waiting and wondering. Shoe has dropped. Whew.

Ouch.

Yesterday, my eye felt irritated. This morning, it was light sensitive and flat out painful. I was at the eye doctor's office before they even opened. While it appears that I just have some cornea irritation (not sure yet if it is scratched), it hurts! As an extra bonus, I will have to wear my glasses for the next few days.

Full Weekend.

Beginning with Friday evening's Chinese New Year dinner and starting early on Saturday with Cycle for Survival, this weekend has been full of fun. After Cycle was done, our team went for lunch at Italian Village. M and I walked back to Trump, with a coffee pitstop, to drop off our gym shoes and shower. We went home for 15 minutes to change and then headed back out to Macy's for a black history month event. Eunice Johnson, of Johnson publishing, archived 9,000 of her couture dresses from the last forty years. Macy's had a few of these gorgeous dresses on display, along with cocktails. Johnson Publishing is responsible for Ebony and Jet. To celebrate, Macy's was taking pictures and doing mockups of you as an Ebony cover. So, M, A and I have our Ebony cover shot together.

From there, M and I needed a cheese plate break at Macy's wine bar in the Walnut Room. Such a deal -- $9 for a really great plate. After our snack, we did a little shopping. To combat the winter blues, we both got sundresses. Unsurprisingly, there isn't a huge demand for sundresses in Chicago in February so they were on sale. From there, we had tacos and bubbly at Theory.

Today, I awoke to the sound of a snowblower. I started my day by trying on my sundress again, hoping for warmth. (It didn't work immediately but by 1:00, it was a balmy 37. Not quite sundress weather but the first time above freezing in a long time, maybe in 2011.) Then, kickboxing and an early birthday brunch at Hub 51 with the girls. O even made me cupcakes! The combination of huevos rancheros and cupcakes left me with a food coma by 3:45. As a result, I spent the remainder of the weekend on the couch, watching the superbowl and doing nothing.

Cycle for Survival!

Saturday morning was Cycle for Survival. We joined 600 people spinning for four hours to raise money for rare cancer research. We were part of a five member team so we really only had to spin for about 45 minutes each over the course of the event. M LOVES these types of things so she brought the enthusiasm, beginning at 7:30 am and not ending until noon. When we weren't on the bike, we were singing, dancing and cheering our rider on. We probably annoyed the people in our immediate vicinity initially. Especially considering some people rode four hours straight. Those people were tired and didn't have cheerleaders. We would hope on the bike, fresh legs, and have four people cheering us on. But, we had a blast and ultimately got other people to join our fun. So much so that we were named as the best cheerleaders.

The spin instructors were awesome. The energy in the room was fantastic. There were cancer survivors present who were inspiring. The only real negative is that it did not smell good in there by hour two. By hour four, it was super smelly, hot and sweaty. Even that had a positive though -- my shower when it was over was easily the best of 2011.

Year of the Rabbit!

Thanks to O, for the second straight year I celebrated Chinese New Year with a super fun dinner in Chinatown. Last year, we resolved that we were going to try the non-Western menu this year. That menu included abalone and shark fin soup, among other delicious dishes. While we all thought that (a) shark fin soup was illegal and (b) we would receive imitation shark fin, we were wrong on both counts. I didn't love the soup -- too strongly fishy for me -- but fun to try. Even though I knew that the dinner was a marathon and not a sprint, trying to pace myself, I still was so full that I couldn't really eat a couple of the last courses. But, what I did eat was a nice spicy variety.

Everyone loves this dinner so much that people make dietary exception. Two people have instituted Chinese new year exceptions that allow them to eat meat and try everything served. It's a great combination of people, food, fun and a real character of a server.

One tangentially related lesson we learned: no cabs in Chinatown. Not a problem though: the red line took us home. Fitting given the importance of red in Chinese culture.

Snow Day!

Yesterday was my first official snow day since high school. I suspect it might be my last, at least as long as I live in Chicago.

Chicago likes to think it is tough. (And, don't get me wrong, Chicago weather is tough. The snow and the cold are like Chicago voting: they come early and often. Winter is a long-lasting season. No one moves here for the weather. People just are a little hardened to winter. It takes a lot for us to freak out.) So far this winter, the East Coast has been battered by snow storms. I think Chicago has some snobbery when reading about those storms -- as in, it's just snow, people. We'll show you how it is done.

Until we got the third largest storm in Chicago history. The official tally was 20.2 inches of snow at O'Hare. M and I left work early on Tuesday. In the 15 minutes it took to get home, the roads went from "not bad" to "blizzard." They shut down Lakeshore Drive. Some poor people were stuck on it for nearly 15 hours. They say that the cost for storm cleanup is going to be $100 million.

While it was only 3:30 in the afternoon, we decided that there was no time to waste in watching movies and having some blizzard cocktails. Around 7, we considered moseying about four blocks to get some dinner. Then, we decided that we had nothing to prove and that the mature and smart decision was to stay in.

Good thing we did. About the time we would be returning home, this happened:



About 9:00 pm, we got the official word that the office would be closed on Wednesday. A perfect snowday ensued. I slept in. Cleaned my place and did laundry. Once the snow was mostly stopped around noon, M and I took a walk in the neighborhood. The drifts were high and the streets mostly unplowed and undriven. There were the occasional magical heated sidewalks that looked like nothing happened but generally, it was quite a scene.

Thankfully, our local bar was open and serving food. We stopped at CVS on our way home to get some snacks in preparation for a planned afternoon on the couch. We also stopped to visit our friends, and neighbors, L and A. By the time we actually headed home, there was already significant improvement in the streets.





While we had a brief hope for Snow Day, the Sequel, when Chicago Public Schools closed for the second straight day (virtually unheard of -- the last time there was a snow day before this was 1999), the improvement in the roads indicated there was a slim-to-no potential. So, we made the most of the remainder of our snow day: did some pro bono work (reading some extremely graphic love letters written to our client), watched A LOT of television, ate some sugary treats, and made dinner and dessert (who knew that a "just add water" brownie that only needs 45 seconds in the microwave could be good? Not me. Of course, the copious amount of ice cream we covered it in might have had something to do with that).

The only real negative to our 1.5 days off due to snow is that it felt like Sunday night again last night.

Fingers Crossed.

So, as I've said repeatedly, if my horoscope ever indicated that I should buy a lottery ticket, I would do it immediately. Well, today happens to be lottery ticket day anyway BUT my horoscope is this:

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Many of you are going to benefit from a serious chunk of change suddenly coming your way. This might already have happened, or it might happen right now or might happen almost immediately. Whatever it is — it’s good. It could be cash or gifts or both. Ka-ching!

In my optimistic view, that clearly dictates and results in a winning lottery ticket. Fingers crossed, seeing as how the MegaMillions currently has a $330 million jackpot.

2011.

Three days in and so far so good.

I eased out of 2010, working half days, working out, and taking naps. New Year's Eve was pretty low-key considering that I did go out. M's parents were in town to celebrate with her. I tagged along (tough to keep up with that long-legged family when you're trying to walk and of the short-legged variety) to Butch McGuire's. Given that its on Division, I expected it to be kind of insane. We got there punctually, snagged the ideal table, and generally enjoyed ourselves as the place slowly filled up. Thankfully, it never reached insane levels. We stayed for the countdown and by 12:05, we were walking back toward home.

I eased into 2011. Day 1 was as low-key as Day 365 of 2010. I watched the Rose parade, watched some football, tried to get my mitts fixed (but alas, the nail place had closed early), worked out and met H and T for a drink. Between the workout, doing the tri-bath-lon (sauna, steam, shower), and having a couple drinks, I was in the Trump for nearly six hours that day! Time flew -- there are definitely worse places to spend six hours.

Today is the first official work day of 2011. One of the tough things about a new year when you bill your time is starting at 0. You have a sympathy for Sisyphus this time of year. Back when I was a baby lawyer, someone told me that they always tried to work on New Year's day. At the time, I thought that was odd but I've since adopted it. I always do something -- even if it is just a tiny bit so that I start the official beginning of the work year in the black. I'm currently +3.3 and the day is nice and quiet.

Easing into 2011 and I can't complain.

Key West.

For the first time ever, my family took a trip at Christmas this year. A holiday trip was something we had talked about doing for awhile but this year we finally booked it. And, it was a good thing -- it gave my mom a goal and something to look forward to as part of her recovery from the surgeries this fall. It was also a much needed chance to rest for my dad and the first vacation my brother would take for ten years. So, my grandmother, parents, brother and his partner, and twenty year old cousin met in Miami and headed to Key West. None of us had ever been. I think it was fair to say that most people were a little anxious about how this would work out.

And, it worked out well!

Key West is a nice island. Not too touristy except down by one end, nice weather (although in a perfect world, it would have been maybe 10 degrees warmer), and good food. Some people went to visit Truman's Little White House and Hemingway's house. Some people went deep sea fishing. Some went to the beach. Some went on a ghost tour. And, on Christmas Eve, we had a family dinner complete with holiday poppers and a family picture around a Christmas tree.

Routine.

I am my father's daughter to a certain extent. He is a man of routine. If he cannot go through his morning routine, his entire day is entirely thrown. He never quite gets it together all day long. AND, his routine is LOOOOOOOOONG. The man gets up three hours before he needs to be anywhere.

Last night, I was out celebrating M's elevation to partner until 1:30 a.m. A normal person would sleep in a bit. But, I got up at 5:45 and went to the gym because that's my routine. I don't even know how to get ready at home any more. There is no coffee made and waiting for me at home. There are no jars of lotion and aloe. My shower is tiny in comparison. I went and half-assed a workout because I wanted to get ready at the gym.

I like to think that I'm not as bad as my dad. At least I can take comfort that I am MUCH quicker than him. Even including the hour workout and travel time, I come in around 2 hours.

Second Annual.

Last night was our Second Annual Trump Girl Holiday Dinner. Yes, all capitalized. Lends the proper degree of importance to the event. There are six of us that we consider the Trump Girls. Beginning in December, the schedules get so busy with holiday stuff, family, and travel that its quite possible that we won't all be able to get together again until March. So, starting last year we began having a holiday dinner -- Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, enjoy MLKJ day, etc. until we manage to get together again.

This year, it took two attempts to find a date between Thanksgiving and Christmas that would work for everyone. Last night was the ONLY date. I was hoping all day that no one would have to cancel because there just wasn't a rain date possible. Thankfully, everyone made it. I guess it helped that it was a Monday.

As previously mentioned, when H and I went to the Thanksgiving parade, we met the loveliest people, one of whom is a manager at RL. As I had never been, I hadn't even considered it before but that gave us the dinner location. And, it was fantastic! The restaurant was subtly festive. We dialed it up a bit with gift bags from O and holiday poppers for everyone. We talked so much to start that it took a long time for us to be able to place an order for anything but drinks. But once we did order, the food was SO good. And, our new friend from the parade sent us a plate of desserts. While we were all stuffed, we somehow managed to eat them all. I am still full as I write this, some twelve hours and a workout later.

A very happy holiday dinner was had. We even toasted the Donald for bringing us all together.

Let It Snow!

Yesterday was the first major storm of the year and probably the biggest storm we've had in a couple years. M and I were sitting on the couch, having some coffee, eating a snack and watching some incredibly bad tv when we got a text from O, asking if we were coming to kickboxing. I generally don't workout on Sundays so it was easy to glance out the window, see the snow going sideways and hear the wind howling, to say nope. But, O mentioned that she was going shopping at 900 North. At that point, M took over the texting and agreed that we would meet her there. Seemed crazy to me, but once she suggested breaking up the walk with a snack, mimosa and train-car-viewing I was in.

And, once properly bundled up, it was really a fun afternoon. Very few people out and those who were, were in a good mood about it. If you're going to do it, you might as well do it right.

That said, I wouldn't mind if that was our only big storm of the season. Or, if today's high of 12 was the coldest and only seriously cold day of the season either.

Chugga Chugga

Choo-Choo!

Since moving to my new place, part of my Saturday involves breakfast at Butch McGuire's. A delicious egg sandwich with mimosas to wash it down plays an integral role in a perfect Saturday. While I had heard that McGuire's got festive for the holidays, only recently did I learn what that entailed. Their entire ceiling is covered in multi-colored Christmas lights with large ornaments sprinkled throughout. There are two train tracks that run along the ceiling in each room. At this point in December, the place is so like Christmas threw up in there -- tacky, overwhelming, and incredibly wonderful.

When I was little, my dad had a fairly extensive train set that I used to love. And, every Christmas, my parents set up a small train around the tree, primarily to keep the cats from stealing any low-hanging ornaments but also because my dad likes trains. So, I have a fondness for a good train.

Imagine my delight when we learned that we could actually sponsor a train car at McGuire's. For the cost of the car and artwork, along with a donation to Mercy Homes, Melissa and I will have our very own train car circling Butch McGuire's through the Super Bowl. AND, the car is ours in perpetuity and will continue to run each season, so long as we make the charitable donation.

After much brainstorming, the development of a creative team, several emails and phone calls, we decided on our car. While we had planned on an unveiling ceremony, complete with engineer caps, schedules did not permit. But, since it began running, I've been by to see it -- and enjoy the holiday mimosa (a seasonal twist, substituting cranberry for orange juice) -- no fewer than four times. Basking in its holiday cheer, if you will. Santa may have Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night but we will have for years to come:

Merry Mimosas! Festively, Melissa and Laura!

Heed the Horoscope - Part II.

Ever since Georgia Nicol's knew that my brother's fly was down, I have had a little more respect for the horoscopes, particularily the ones with something quirky about them.

Yesterday's horoscopes had some quirks for my mom and M. My mom's warned that medical problems may arise ("What, again?"). Prior to hearing that, she had planned to try driving alone for the first time since her surgeries. Instead, she heeded the horoscope and decided that staying put might not be such a bad plan.

M's was just odd. "Strange and curious things will happen. Strange and curious people will do strange and curious things. Curioser and Curioser." I'm not sure how her day was but we both went to an evening spin class. In it was a guy that someone had tried to set her up with some months ago. It was not a match that night, although M thought he seemed like he was probably a nice, but very nervous, guy. Odd enough that he would be in that class. After class, it was Taco Tuesday for us at Theory. Of all the bars in the world -- or, River North --, he walked into ours. Curious and curiouser for sure.

Now, if only my horoscope would say something like "buy a lottery ticket." I'd heed that immediately.

Thankful.

For reasons that make me sound like a bad niece (because I am), I did not go to Wisconsin on Thanksgiving.

Thankful #1: I avoided a familial argument that I undoubtedly would have picked as it has been brewing for awhile.

My grandmother gave me a pass a couple weeks ago, telling me that if I had an invitation to go anywhere else, please go. M and her mom both invited me to Indy for the weekend. I spent Thanksgiving with them a couple of years ago and it was a super time.

Thankful #2: Having a friend willing to take me into their family for a couple days.

But, for a couple reasons, I decided to stay in Chicago for Thanksgiving Upon hearing that, two of my friends invited me to join them and their families on Thursday.

Thankful #3: Having more than one friend willing to let me join their family on a holiday.

H had been given VIP tickets (read: seats available) to Chicago's Thanksgiving Parade and offered me one on Tuesday. I hadn't been to a parade since I was a little kid. I think it was the Circus Parade in Wisconsin. But, who doesn't like a parade? I started getting excited like a little kid almost immediately. The only potential problem was the weather forecast. I kept saying, don't rain on my parade (literally), Mother Nature.

Thankful #4: No rain! While it was gray and around 40, there was no precipitation. We stayed for the entire parade, until Santa arrived, and met some of the nicest people.

After a quick workout (and warm up -- 40 degrees isn't cold but our toes were numb by 11:00), it was time to continue the festivities. O was with her in-laws and invited us all for cocktails. The table was set for at least twenty people. While we were there, people came and went. It was a loud, fun, festive time.

Then, it was time for dinner. We headed back to the neighborhood. My friend's parents were in town and her mom made a delicious dinner (which, happily for me, did not involve turkey). It was a really nice dinner with friends.

Thankful #5: A Thanksgiving that was low-stress, high-fun, and friend-filled!

Flirty Girl.

Flirty Girl Fitness is a gym in the West Loop specializing in offering classes like Video Vixen, Pole Dancing, Bikini Boot Camp, Doggie Style Yoga, and Hula Hoop-la. I think Chicago is its second location and the brand has expanded into fitness dvd's, which you may occasionally see late at night.

After attending a bachlorette party that involved a pole dancing class, O invited girls to take a pole dancing class and then head out for non-pole dancing as part of her birthday celebration. If it had not been her birthday, I'm not sure I would have gone. Not because I'm opposed to pole dancing as an activity or profession but because I was not sure that I was physically capable of doing the class given my knees.

As it turns out, I wasn't. But, it was nonetheless fun to watch my friends. Some of them are really quite good at the spins and tricks. Always good to have a backup plan.

Sure, there were some women at the class who were clearly there practicing for work. And, they were incredible. Pole dancing is a real skill. These women had all body types, including some that defied belief that they would have the upper body strength to climb the pole or the abs to pull themselves back upright. They were hanging from the pole, upside down, dropping six feet using nothing but their legs to stop their fall. At the end of the class, the instructor (who was great) clearly decided to just show them how it was done after they had been impressing us rookies. I don't know what the instructor's background is but it would almost be a pity if she doesn't pole dance professionally because even I would consider paying money to see the tricks she can do. (No stripping involved in this class, mind you.) Just amazing.

After the class, we went out for drinks and dancing. No poles involved but I dare say some of the non-pole moves got incorporated into some of the dancing last night. The only negative from Flirty Girl is that now some of my girls have stripper injuries in the form of big bruises on their arms and legs. Fun to explain that one.

Freakonomics.

Freakonomics is now a movie. I read the book and thought it interesting. O and J saw the movie when it premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in the spring and highly recommended it. When H asked if anyone wanted to attend a screening of the movie with a Q&A session with Steven Levitt to follow, I immediately signed up.

The screening was interesting. The movie was akin to a documentary and generally well-done. There was one vignette on cheating in sumo wrestling that was too long for my attention span. Or maybe it was that I was sitting too close and reading all the subtitles made me nauseaus. Hard to tell. Otherwise, lots of documentary-dramatizations of topics in the book. And, while I didn't stay for the entire Q&A portion of the screening, there were a lot of thoughtful and only marginally pretentious questions asked, fairly amazing given that most of the audience were U of C students.

And, because it was a University of Chicago production with a well-known economist involved, they couldn't restrain themselves from an experiment. They turned attending the screening into a pay-what-you-want experiment. You had to pay something more than .99 but there was no limit otherwise. Levitt announced that the average turned out to be $8.60. I think that really means $10 or $15 with a few strong outliers, including the two people who paid $100 to attend. He said that in previous experiments there was an option to pay a penny and a full twenty five percent of the people took that option. Unsurprisingly, they were also the people least likely to actually attend the screening.

Economics in action.