• Best Thing Ever,  Family Fun,  Friends,  Fun in Chicago,  My Friends Have Mad Skillz,  Something That Could Change Your Life

    Whirlyball, Where Have You Been All My Life?

    April 1, 2015

    Actually, I guess it’s the other way around. Whirlyball has been a Chicago staple for years and years, right here in front of me, but for some reason–and I’ll be kicking myself over it for a long time to come–I had never tried it…until this week. (Disclosure: the fine folks at Whirlyball invited me and some friends in for some complimentary play. I was not compensated for this post.) Whirlyball, which is a combination of lacrosse, basketball, hockey, and bumper cars, is a fast-paced team game and SO MUCH FUN. Players are buckled into “WhirlyBugs” with a plastic scoop in hand. The idea is to get a whiffle ball through…

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  • Confessions,  My Friends Have Mad Skillz,  Something That Could Change Your Life,  Working On My Fitness

    Rebalancing.

    January 26, 2015

    Making it through last week felt like a huge victory for me because, well, you probably read all about it already. Besides the moving parts of my life over which I have no control that I ever-so-vaguely mentioned, the other main source of my internal crisis was a repeat offender: hormones. THANKS, MOM. KIDDING, MOM. I took some action over the weekend and reached out to a friend who is a wellness coach and so smart about and active in treating things holistically that one of her nicknames is “Witch Doctor”. This is NOT my thing. I’ve always been skeptical of the healing properties of oils and other natural—what shall…

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  • Blessings,  My Friends Have Mad Skillz

    Reason #829 Why I Love The Internet

    November 22, 2014

    The internet is pretty awesome. Okay, it is awesome if you set aside the ways in which it sucks. I’m focusing on the awesome today. Here’s the thing. It’s very common for people on the internet to band together and come forward to be supportive when there’s a personal crisis going on. There’s always someone on the internet to say, “Oh my gosh, me too!” or “Don’t worry; that’s totally normal!” whether you’re talking about physical issues, mental issues, home repair issues, kid issues, or any other kind of issue, really. The Good People of the Internet* are right there, helping others feel better. I was having my own crisis…

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  • Fun in Chicago,  My Friends Have Mad Skillz,  UGH.

    Survival Skills

    November 18, 2014

    There’s a saying about how Chicago has only two seasons, winter and construction*. My little corner of my western suburb has been experiencing construction year-round for nearly two years now (even through the winter months), thanks to a gutting and extensive reconstruction of a major state route that happens to be one of the few roads that runs through my entire town from all the way north to all the way south. By the way, that state route happens to border my subdivision. The city planners back in the day had absolutely no idea that eventually Naperville would be the fifth largest (by population) city in Illinois and naturally, didn’t…

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  • Friends,  My Friends Have Mad Skillz,  Something That Could Change Your Life

    Tea For Two. Or Four. Or Sixteen.

    November 14, 2014

    Have I mentioned how much I enjoy tea? Oh, right. Because I haven’t shut up about tea for nearly a month now, one of my friends—who I haven’t seen in forever—sent me a Facebook message saying that she wanted to go to Teavana with me. Again, this post is not sponsored. I could think of nothing more fun than meeting her at Teavana, getting her completely addicted to their tea, and then heading across the mall for a bite to eat so of course I said, “Absolutely!” Sabrina and I met as planned, grabbing a sample of tea on the way into the store. The whole time I was in…

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