My adventure to the WINDY city

About 2 weeks ago I went on a "holiday" with a good friend of mine. We ventured out to Chicago. I have never been there. I take that back I have driven around Chicago, but did not experience the city until this trip. I was so excited for this trip. I think it was planned 3 weeks prior. I of course being the person that I am was excited the whole three weeks. In all honesty I felt like a little kid who gets excited for Christmas or their birthday. You know the feeling of the joy and excitement..Anyways, I was really excited I'm not sure how Nathan was feeling. I mean don't get me wrong he said he was excited but I think guys and girls deal with certain things differently. Leading up to our departure I was getting so excited. I even made car ride survival bags (Which I called Road trip Survival kits and filled it with some of my favorites and some of his. I like doing fun creative things like that.) The Friday before we left I was so excited and nervous at the same time I couldn't fall asleep. I was in bed by I think 10 that night. I wanted to get a good night’s rest because I was going to be up at 5 AM. Anyone who knows me knows that I need my sleep. When my alarm went off at 5 I was ready to go. Well, not really but I did get up and started getting things together. I got ready loaded everything up and was on the road by 6:15 to pick up Nathan. (I told him that I was going to be at his house by 6…OPPS! He forgave me. I honestly think it was the Road Trip survival kit that won him over.)

When we hit the turnpike I thought for sure he would pass out because he didn’t get as much sleep as I did. He didn’t though. He was a trooper. Stayed up the whole 4 hrs and chatted with me. Come to think of it I don’t think he would of gotten any sleep with my asking a bazillion questions and of course my wonderful singing voice. He was a champ. During that time though I did take time to Thank God for giving me the opportunity to even go to Chicago. I also admired the wonderful scenery. There was one section where it was fields of little yellow flowers and the sun was rising so it hit them at a unique angle and behind them was a beautiful red barn. It was something you would see on a postcard or a picture. We arrived into the city about 8:30ish (I say ish because we had to make a little detour) Driving into the city was such an awesome experience. I felt like I was a natural, even though I did miss the street we were suppose to turn down about 5 times, it was still fun. We drove around to find a parking garage. There was one that said $14. We went and parked there. Let me just tell you it wasn’t $14 and it was really sketchy. I was not a fan of it. We got everything that we would need to walk around and I was so excited that I took my camera out but forgot to but the battery back in (OPPS!) So, we went back and had to find my car to get it. I didn’t know what to expect so the guy told us to go to the 4th floor because that is where my car was. Ok. He pointed to this little staircase that looked like part of a murder scene in a movie. VERY SKETCHY!! We had to hike up the stairs. Every turn of the corner I would say “YUP, WE’RE GOING TO DIE!!” Well, we got my battery and continued on our journey. It was so nice being in the city. I absolutely loved it. The tall buildings, the people, the traffic, everything. Weird, because I never thought I would be a Big City Girl. (I mean I did a little. I always wanted to live in Columbus, but I think Chicago is better)

While walking around Chicago here are some things we saw:
The new Superman movie was being filmed. Anyone who knows me knows that Superman is one of my all time favorite Super Hero’s. Him and Captain America!

We saw a guy that was high on something and was standing in the middle of the street. It was funny but kind of scary. I did not get a picture of him. I wanted to, but was afraid that he would kill me or something.We went up into the Sears tower also known as the Willis Tower. That was fun. Went up 103 floors and looked out onto the city and you could step out into a glass box. I was a little nervous but Nathan was a champ. Didn’t bother him at all.

We literally walked all around Chicago. It was nice to see all the building structures and funny to listen to some of the peoples conversations. Some were funny, others were annoying.

We ended up going to get the car and decided to drive to the Shed Aquarium and Planetarium. That was a fail because we had no clue how to get there. We decided to eat lunch and since we were in the neighborhood we went and ate at the White Sox Stadium parking lot. NICE. I thought it would be nice and save us some money so I made sandwiches, some grapes and raspberries, and chips. Well the sandwiches were in a piece of Tupperware that somehow was not closed all the way and had water in it. My sandwich was a little soggy but Nathan’s was drenched. Not a good plan. As for the grapes they were disgusting and the raspberries I couldn’t eat because Nathan said something really gross and they didn’t sound that good anymore. The Chips though were good. We ate a little and Nathan thought it would be funny if we threw grapes to each other and try to catch them over the car. I was not good at this game and either was he. When we were done and got out of the car all you could see were grapes. There were tiny ones and then there were just big handfuls of them. We went and walked around the Stadium, which was nice.

 Then we left and started to head back to the city. We did take a little detour so we could see the Bulls arena and then we headed back. We ended parking at Millennium Park. That is such a neat place. I love how artistic it is. I got to see the Bean, which was very cool. Saw the fountain. NICE. NICE. There was a double rainbow in it too.

 

Decided to walk to the Aquarium but of course it was going to close in an hour so half way there decided to walk to the Pier. Walked along the lakeside this was beautiful with all the boats on it. By the time we got to the Pier I really wanted freshly squeezed lemonade. I found a little stand that said “Freshly Squeezed Lemonade.” I was so excited gave the kid my money took a sip and BLAH!! It was the worst!!! I was not happy and I pretty much for 5mins complained about it. We went up to where the swings and Ferris wheel was. I was so excited because I love riding Ferris Wheels and Swings. We ended up not doing either. I was bummed but it was ok. I was in CHICAGO!! We walked a little more and sat at the end looking at the cityscape and talked. It was getting late and it was going to be a long haul back to the car.

We made plans to meet my cousin Jamie at a Buckeye Bar to watch the game. I thought for sure we were going to get lost but we didn’t. We eventually found it after all the construction we had to go through. It was a nice little bar. Called McGee’s. I honestly felt that I was in Columbus, OH. It was fun watching the game. We ended up leaving around 4th quarter because we still had the drive home. 4hrs none the less. It was absolutely beautiful to see the city all lit up at night.

On the way home we had another good round of conversations. About an hour away from home I was getting a little drowsy. Went off the road a little so Nathan drove the rest of the way home. It was nice to close my eyes and drift off into dreamland and relive the experience of Chicago in my dreams. We ended up getting home around 3, I think. I can’t remember I just wanted to get home and get to bed. All in all it was a wonderful trip. I really enjoyed every part of it. I’m glad that I got to experience Chicago!!

Wonder where the next road trip will be too.

Happily Ever After

This past week I was involved in a secret mission called...OPERATION SEAGULL! My friend Scott surprised his wife Andrea with a little ceremony of renewing their vows. It was so sweet!! I love seeing two people who are truly blessed and madly in love or as their little girl would say "Daddy is mommy's prince!" (Just so cute it melts my heart.) Watching as Scott and Andrea walk to where a small group of us were standing to renew their love for each other. Brought tears to my eyes, I get a little choked up thinking about it. This day was so special in so many ways. I am so glad that I was a part of it.

These two people are so amazing and special to me. They are like family and I am so blessed to have them in my life. LOVE YA BOTH!!!

It's My BESTEST from TEXAS!!!

I would like to introduce you all to my BESTEST from TEXAS

Charles Cody…but we call him Cody

Cody is by far my best guy friend. We have been friends since the 7th grade. We met in 6th grade, but I didn’t know much about it him. He was the guy that wore the Cowboys Starter jacket and arrived to camp half way through, because he went skiing with his family. (He is not one of those rich snobbish guys at all…FAR from it) We met in Jr. High because our lockers were right next to each other. We didn’t really talk much, only when we were at our lockers or if we had a class together. I would say that we started to hang out and become friends the start of our high school years. During our high school years I became Cody’s #1 fan, well besides his momma. One day I was shopping with a friend at Savers looking at old T-shirts and what do you know. I find a CODY shirt, but not just one but two. I knew that I had to purchase them. I washed them a few times because they smelled like death and I wore it to school. You see I was not ashamed to let people know that I was the crazy girl. (I don’t mean like stalkerish or anything just didn’t care what people thought) I remember walking into the school that day all excited to show him my new purchase. When he saw my shirt he seriously turned a few shades of red. It was classic. My shirt was the talk of the day (actually the rest of the year) I wore that shirt to a lot of his games junior and senior year. I had to show my support. He showed his just in yelling and cheering me on at my broomball games or giving me pointer at my tennis match. Cody and became best friends. If I had a problem with a boy or was just down, he would be right there to pick me up and tell me things were going to be ok. We would have dance parties, drive around listening to Regulators, play cards, color, and just relax. It’s funny because when I think about when we would hang out at Cody’s house I had my “office” and when we wanted to have serious conversations or just talk we would always go into my office. I sure do miss those days.

After we graduated spending time with Cody was coming to an end, not because we got into some huge fight, because he was going into his freshman year at THE Ohio State University. I was so excited for him because Cody was/is a HUGE Buckeye fan. I remember that summer I pretty much spent a lot of time with Cody and Stefe. We 3 did a lot of things together. We went to graduation parties together, had sleep overs, watch movies and just enjoy each other’s company. When our summer came to an end and Cody was leaving at 6 in the morning to move into his dorm at OSU, I remembered the night before just crying in my “office” and telling Cody that I was going to miss him and who was I going to talk to. I was a real mess that morning too. Stefe and I rode over there in the morning to say our good byes and I remember hugging Cody so tight, not wanting to let him go. He was my best friend and he was starting a new chapter in his life. I was really happy for him but I was also really selfish because I wanted him here.

Cody has been there for me. It helped me with a lot those next years when he was down in Columbus and I was up here. We talked all the time and on some weekends I would even make a weekend out of it visiting family and other friends. Nonetheless, Cody and I have remained Best friends all these years later. Two years ago I went to visit him in the great state of Texas. I loved it because I never been there before and I got to see and meet so many wonderful people, including his dad that I hadn’t seen in sometime.

Last night as I was talking to Cody I was reassured that I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful guy in my life. He is always there for me and gives me some of the best advice. He thinks that I don’t listen to it but I do. So I just wanted to thank you Cody for being such a blessing in my life. You have helped me with so much and talking to you last night was just a reassurance that you are AWESOME!! You are 1 in a million and I am glad that we have been such great friends all these years. I don’t think I can thank you enough for everything you have done.