• Best Thing Ever,  Favorite Things,  Friends,  Fun in Chicago,  I've Got Mad Skillz,  Music,  Pretty Pictures

    Pitbull In Pictures

    August 29, 2014

    On Wednesday I had the extreme pleasure of, along with my friend Samantha, being an audience member at the taping of the season premiere episode of Steve Harvey’s daytime talk show. Steve is great and all (and in fact I found lots of his small talk between takes to be very inspiring), but the “extreme pleasure” part can be credited to the presence of his guest, Pitbull. Pitbull is currently one of my very favorite entertainers. His music makes me very, very happy. His music also makes me dance, even if I’m sitting down. Sofa dancing? Totally. Car dancing? Yes, please. When I’m standing up? Look out. For real. You…

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  • Friends,  Music

    What I Learned Last Friday Night

    August 13, 2014

    Last Friday night Jim and I, along with Dawn and Scott (our oldest friends, who reside in central Illinois), road-tripped to the First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre in Tinley Park to see Mötley Crüe perform on the Chicago stop of their final tour (or so they say). This post is not about the concert. This post is about what I learned that night. 1. I learned that it is really kind of stupid to drive from our home in the western suburbs down to Tinley Park on a Friday night. Traffic was ridiculous. That includes the traffic on the highway, the concert traffic we were in the first time when we…

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  • Friends,  Random Thoughts,  Something That Could Change Your Life

    Calling In The Expert

    August 5, 2014

    You may or may not have noticed that I am outnumbered in my house, gender-wise. I’m fine with it, though. I may not have a daughter of my own but I have lots of friends who have girls and I totally glom onto them whether they like it or not. (I think they do: I’m a pretty awesome pseudo-aunt if I do say so myself.) I treasure the relationships that I have with my friends’ kids (girls and boys!) and love to create opportunities to interact with them as the spectacular individuals they are and not just because they happen to be the offspring of my friends. When I was…

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  • Amazing People,  Blessings,  Friends

    #BlogHer14: It Was About The People

    July 30, 2014

    On Sunday night I returned home from San Jose, California and the tenth annual BlogHer conference. This was the sixth BlogHer conference for me—the second as a team member—and while it was exhausting, it was also just SO GOOD. I’m still recovering, in fact. Reentry, the adjustment back into my everyday life, is the very worst part about attending this conference for lots of us; for me it begins when I say goodbye to my friends and continues as the exhaustion—which has been building for months and approached breaking point last week—sets into every pore and then doesn’t leave for days. FOR DAYS. I expect to regain the ability to…

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  • Do I Really Want My Readers To Know This?,  Food,  Friends,  Fun in Chicago,  I've Got Mad Skillz

    The Purple Pig In Pictures

    July 14, 2014

    Last night, Jim and I drove into the city to meet up with someone I became friends with in eighth grade (C), and his wife (K). We’ve kept in touch all these years and faithfully send holiday cards to each other every December, but we haven’t actually gotten together in twelve years. Or thirteen. We couldn’t figure it out. I was thrilled when C messaged me a few weeks ago to tell me that they would be in town for a wedding and would love to see us, and that’s how we ended up at The Purple Pig on Michigan Avenue last night. We had a great time. I hadn’t…

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