Rain, Sleet, Snow: Flood Watch, then High Wind Warning....REALLY?!?!?!?!

I had to laugh when checking out the news today! Have you ever heard of such thing as "Rain, Sleet, Snow: Flood Watch, then High Wind Warning?" We've seen it all this year! Everyone at each of our works (especially our bosses) keep asking how we're liking Chicago (what I really think they're asking is, "Are you going to hightail it out of here?") We're glad it's been as bad as it has, because we have nothing to compare it to, so all of the other years should in theory feel a lot more bearable. We're now in the top 5 snowiest/coldest winters- hard to believe the year we finally made the move would be the record breaker!

We had dinner with friends last night, and met them at their home. (It made me miss having a home so bad!) They have three levels, a basement, main floor, and second floor - and they just purchased a water alarm they can leave on the basement floor in case it starts to flood. They said they were planning to camp out in there tonight because the snow has been thawing, (and they have about 6 feet covering their whole back yard), and where's it going to go? Crazy, and so thankful we don't have to worry about that! People of Chicago are hearty!

I wish Drew had been awake to see me leave for work today, but let me go ahead and paint this nice picture for you. It was pouring out, and I walk to work, so I wore my purple and black rain boots, my orange Harley Davidson rain jacket, and had a blue and green polka dot umbrella. It was kind of embarrassing - but at least I arrived to work warm and dry! :)

  Here's a great aerial view of Lake Michigan and the city this winter

Being a Chicagoan...

Being a Chicagoan...

It hits me that we live here when we do normal things. The first time it hit me was when we went to see a movie at the theater, Ender's Game. It was the first weekend we weren't running around like tourists doing tourist things. Since then we've done a lot of non-touristy things, but it still hits me. Especially when we're doing some of the following:
-Riding the "El" Train, the mostly above ground subway system
-Riding the bus system - I get giddy when sliding my Ventra card to pay
-Giving other people directions!
-Anytime we're downtown with the tall buildings
-Going to the doctors or dentist
-Getting in a taxi cab and giving our home address - and knowing if they're going the right way (which they always have...)
-Going to a theater show before someone at work, and telling them how it was
-Attending a work event (Drew's company's Holiday Party at the Hard Rock Cafe, or the recent party we went to for one of my colleagues - she had a Valentine's/Anniversary/Birthday Party - and it was awesome!
-Trying one of the many, many new restaurants, coffee shops, and stores the area offers
-Not complaining about the cold and snow - just grinning and bearing it (which is getting increasingly hard to do).
-Buying concert tickets for the summer
-Walking to the grocery store

I'll have to ask Drew what makes him feel like a Chicagoan!

 Drew with a dagger…no, an icicle! 

 City pics from Sunday

 Cute tea shop, it's all glass like a greenhouse! 

Below is the view from my seat inside the shop

40 Maps That Will Help You Make Sense of the World

I found this article on Zite back in August, and have been meaning to share it for a while. The maps on here are very interesting!

//twistedsifter.com/2013/08/maps-that-will-help-you-make-sense-of-the-world/

Which also has a link to another very cool website:
http://twistedsifter.com/2013/03/most-perfectly-timed-photos-ever/

Enjoy!

It's warming up! See you Chiberia!

Chiberia - like Siberia…that's been Chicago's nickname lately as we've battled through the polar vortex. However, warm weather is on it's way! It was in the 30s yesterday, and heavenly! This weekend we'll have some chilly lows, but highs are still in the high 20's - low 40's for the next week, and that's something to get excited about! Happy Valentine's Day! We're going to a birthday/anniversary party for someone at work tonight - at a German Dance Hall. Tomorrow Drew may or may not be going ice fishing, and on Sunday we may or may not be going snowboarding…Monday I have the day off, and I'm super excited for that! Wishing everyone a wonderful, warm weekend! 

Girl's Weekend!

Had a great weekend with Jodie and Shani, it was a pleasure to have them here and get to visit with good friends!  Thursday night we went to a nearby Mexican restaurant for a quick dinner, Friday we went on the Brown Line into the City, and had a wonderful lunch at the Russian Tea Room, which had great Russian tea served in Bavarian style mugs, a shot of vodka ,and a delicious lunch with Russian delicacies. Yum! After filling up we went to the Art Institute of Chicago, and it was wonderful! There were Renoir's, Monets, Manets, Van Gogh's, all kinds of Asian inspired art, a paperweight collection, and a miniatures collection. We had so much fun walking, talking, and seeing.  

After that we saw the Bean, but it was chilly (especially for the FL girls), and so we tried to hail a cab back to our apartment for Pizza. We had a rough go of hailing cabs this weekend. Apparently the cold weather is causing everyone to take cabs, so it was hard to find open ones. We finally did, and when we arrived, we all enjoyed relaxing at home. We ordered Peqoud's Pizza, which I think the ladies enjoyed, and watched our wedding video, and the opening ceremonies for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. It was a great night, and didn't end there - we then went to Second City for the Let Them Eat Chaos show at 11pm.

Saturday we went shopping in the Wicker Park area, and the snow outside was beautiful! It was big flakes, and looked like a snow globe! Saturday night we went to a theater show at Steppenwolf, called Tribes. It was very good, and we all enjoyed it, and really liked talking about it afterwards at dinner. We went to Uncle Julio's for more Mexican and chatted about everything under the sun. I love these ladies, and love that our conversations cover such wide range of topics. Always enjoyable!

Sunday we met for coffee, and chatted some more, and then they were off! Very bitter sweet moment, as who knows when we'll have another opportunity. I spent the rest of the day reading, and finished Bridget Jone's Diary, and started A Moveable Feast. Then Drew and I went back to Uncle Julio's, and had a late lunch/early dinner. He then drove me to Target where I stocked up on household items (it's weird being down to one car). Then we just hung out at the house watching the winter sports, and that's it. A very fast weekend, it seemed to fly by! Looking forward to the coming three day weekend!

 

  

  

Last weekend's update

What a great weekend we had, still pretty quiet and lazy, with this winter weather bringing me down. Friday after work I ran errands in our neighborhood, and stocked up on groceries and such. It was still light out when I got home, which I count as a win! The time till darkness has creeped up from 4:30pm to 5pm! After that we had dinner at home, and then went and saw Tom Pappas at UP Comedy Club. I really, really liked him, he was so funny. His skits about family life, and hipsters were too funny.

Saturday we watched a stupid movie based in Chicago called Drinking Buddies. It featured Revolutionary Brewery, and Saturday late afternoon Drew decided we should go to their Brew Pub. It required taking the El Train. Which was fun, as we haven’t done that together to go somewhere since we moved here. We took the Brown Line from Sedgewick to the Loop - which is in the Downtown area of Chicago, and then caught the Blue Line at Clark and Lake, and went to the California Stop. Then we bar hopped and had dinner at Revolutionary Brew Pub, drinks at the Logan Bar, and last stop the Boiler Room. It was fun to be out and about on a Saturday night, in a different neighborhood. I love all of the options at our disposal.

Exhibit B of the Grey Days!

 Above, while it's snowing, below, after the snow at Sunset  (this is the view from the 44th Floor in our building where the Gym, and Amenity Center is)

But this is beautiful!

 Snowiest steps ever!

A Hot Spiced Apple Cider!

Long Awaited Sledding…a Success Story in Pictures: 

I know I shouldn't love this photo of me flipping over, but I do :)

Drew's face says it al! It's hard work sledding :)