Lately

It's time to update what's been going on lately...

1. Tom started a new job working for a company that is the 2nd largest producer of natural gas in the U.S. This company is also #32 on Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For. Monday, June, 6th, was Tom's first day as a Title Landman at Chesapeake Energy Corporation. I'm so proud of him and excited that he received this opportunity!

2. Ruby got a summer 'do because her thick coat caused her to get so overheated on walks and such. Poor thing looks a bit ridiculous but she'll feel better in the hot summer heat.

3. My total weight loss is now up to 14lbs. Amazingly, after eating lots of desserts, hush puppies, fries, fried shrimp, and lots of yummy seafood - I did NOT gain any weight while we were on vacation. I attribute this to all the swimming in the ocean, walking on the beach, and walking/shopping at the outlet mall. :) I have slowly been incorporating some running into my workout routine. I'm proud to say that 3 days ago I pushed myself to run 1 whole mile straight...and I did it! Then the next day I pushed myself more and ran 1.5 miles straight - no stopping!! The pic below is my happy self right after running 1.5 miles.

4. We took a vacation to Destin, FL from May 28, 2011 to June 3, 2011. It was so much fun to spend a week at the beach with friends. I will post more vacation pics later.

Chicago Vacation: Part 4

Saturday, July 24, 2010:

Our last stop before leaving Chicago on our fourth morning there was brunch at Rick Bayless' famous Frontera Grill. I started my brunch with an enticing Grapefruit juice Mimosa (which was one of their specials that day). It was lovely I must say, if you can't tell from my face in the pic below.

For an appetizer we got the Sopes Rancheros: crispy corn masa boats with savory shredded beef, roasted tomatoes, avocado and homemade fresh cheese. Tom's main course was Sapitos: a trio of Xalapa-style gorditas (corn masa cakes) in chipotle-black bean sauce each with its own topping: scrambled eggs, grilled chicken, chorizo and plantains; homemade crema and queso fresco. For my main course I got the Hot Cakes Indgenas: Iroquois white corn pancakes with whipped goat cheese, piloncillo-agave syrup, grilled chorizo and two eggs sunny-side up. The grilled chorizo bacon was so good, I can't even describe it. It was like eating candy. I realize I blogged a lot about food over these past few Chicago Vacation posts, but one of the best parts about going on vacation is the food you get to try while you're visiting a new place!

Plus I'm a chubby kid who likes to eat!

Chicago Vacation: Part 3

Friday, July 23, 2010:

On our third day in the windy city we made our way to Wrigleyville to catch a Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals baseball game.

Here we are watching batting practice from the lower level seating.

Tom had to get a Chicago dog and an Old Style beer per Wrigley Field tradition.

The buildings across the street had stadium seating to view the game from.

Notice you can see Lake Michigan if you look really closely.

The Cubs won. After the win the stadium broke into their victory song: "Go, Cubs, Go! Go, Cubs, Go! Hey, Chicago, what do you say. The Cubs are gonna win today!" It was such a fun atmosphere.

After the game we traveled to Greek town and ate some authentic Greek food at Athena Greek Restaurant.

Chicago Vacation: Part 2

Thursday, July 22, 2010: We began our second day in Chicago with a boat tour on the Chicago River. The tour was given by an extremely knowledgable volunteer docent (tour guide) with the Chicago Architecture Foundation. It was so interesting and a great way to see parts of the city that we otherwise wouldn't have experienced. We really enjoyed learning about the architecture and the stories of those who designed the city.

After our boat tour we decided to go eat deep dish Chicago-style pizza at Giordano's Famous Stuffed Pizza. It. was. amazing!

Our next stop was the Art Institute of Chicago. Admission was free on Thursday evenings after 5pm, so we decided to take advantage of that deal. We were able to see many famous original works of art including several Monet pieces.

In front of the Art Insitute

This pic is blurry because we couldn't use the flash, but it is one of

my favorite works of Monet.

When we were done at the Art Institute we walked over to Millennium Park to check out the Bean.

Tom playing in the water area with the kids.

Outdoor theater where a Brazilian quartet was performing a free concert

while the onlookers relaxed on the lawn.

The Bean!

We capped the night off with some gelato at a cute little Italian place called Caffe Baci. Mmm!

Chicago Vacation: Part 1

We recently took a vacation to Chicago for a few days and had a great time. We left Wednesday morning, July 21, 2010, and arrived at our hotel around noon after a chaotic commute on the El.

We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott in Downtown River North.

I'm a dork and I always take pictures of the rooms we stay in when we go away. Tom thinks it's silly but I still continue to do it. Here's our room and the view from the window.

After dropping off our luggage we left to explore the area and found ourselves on Chicago's Magnificent Mile (aka Michigan Ave). Hello shopping! :)

Here we are at the intersection of Chicago and Michigan Avenues.

To get a really good view of the city, you can go up to the observation levels of either the John Hancock Tower or the Willis Tower (fka Sears Tower). While we were shopping on Michigan Ave we realized we were right by John Hancock tower, so we decided to seize the opportunity to get a good view of the city.

You can see Navy Pier in this photo. It's the skinny part completely surrounded by water with the white buildings.

You can see Willis/Sears Tower here, it's the tallest building in the Chicago sky line. The one with the two large antennas on it.

The shore line of Lake Michigan.

Wednesday evening we went to Navy Pier to eat dinner and see the attractions.

We ate dinner at the famous Billy Goat Tavern, from the old SNL skit. They serve "cheezborgers" and chips. I wasn't impressed, it was mediocre at best. But, we were tourists and now we can say that we've been.

We rode the ferris wheel after dark, which gave us an awesome view of the city lights.

These pictures are blurry, but nevertheless, I think they look cool.

The night was capped of with a fireworks display at Navy Pier courtesy of Pepsi. My camera isn't so great, so none of my pictures of the fireworks turned out.