• Family Fun,  I've Got Mad Skillz,  Pretty Pictures,  Travels

    Word-full Wednesday: The Lake Michigan Edition

    I have a friend named Tara. Many of you know Tara too. If you are one of the lucky ones who know her, you know that she is a very, very talented photographer. Her pictures of the beach, in particular, completely blow me away, and when I see that she has posted new pictures of the beaches near her home in Florida, I always have a couple of thoughts in my head: 1. “My God, is that beautiful!” 2. “Tara is so talented!” 3. “I wish I could take some pictures near a beach right now!” On Monday, I finally had my chance to try my hand at grabbing some…

  • Favorite Things,  Fun in Chicago

    Representing Chi-town, Yo!

    Chicago is a beautiful city: you’ve read that here before. Just one of the elements that makes it so is the seemingly countless collection of art that is scattered all over the city (in addition to permanent installations, we often have traveling exhibits too!). You won’t be surprised to know that I have a few favorite sculptures. These three all “represent” Chicago in different ways, to me anyway. First? “Magdaline” by Dessa Kirk. To me, “Magdaline” says “Welcome to Chicago!” She is located at Michigan Avenue and Congress Parkway, the latter being the road which stems from I-290 (the Eisenhower Expressway), which comes into the city from the west. When…

  • Family Fun,  Fun in Chicago

    Field Trip.

    One of the activities my mother-in-law wanted to do on this visit was check out the Field Museum of Natural History, one of the three museums on Museum Campus, just south of the Loop in Chicago (the other two being the Adler Planetarium and the Shedd Aquarium). The Field is a very cool place to explore if you like mummys, dinosaurs, and the history of humans in all parts of the world. (My very favorite place at the Field, though, is hidden away on one end of the top floor: it’s the Grainger Hall of Gems.) I’ve been to the Field Museum on a fairly regular basis over the past…

  • Best Thing Ever,  Travels

    Thankfully, Pictures Are Worth Lots of Words

    I am still at Blogher in New York City, of course, but I wanted to put up another post with some of my favorite pictures on the trip so far. They were, of course, taken with the PEN E-PL1 camera that Olympus was kind enough to loan me! By the way, if you haven’t checked out my Posterous blog (where I posted these originally), please do. Click on the picture of my dog, Roxie, in the left margin to see all of my Posterous photos (so far)! ©2010 Suburban Scrawl

  • Working On My Fitness

    We Did It!

    This picture was taken by Secret Agent Mama with the PEN E-PL1 camera that Olympus was kind enough to loan me! Yay us! Michelle and I completed the Blogher 5K this morning! Michelle ran just about all of it; she had to stop at certain intersections to figure out which way to go! I ran more than half of it before I alternated running and walking. I have a blister the size of a quarter on the bottom of my foot that I got over the last two nights while hoofing it all over Manhattan in non-sensible shoes (THANKS, annoying sandals…NOT!), and that bothered me a bit. Plus? It was…

  • Best Thing Ever

    Five Guys and a Baby

    We took the baby out to dinner with us last night.I have started a Posterous photo blog, so that I can upload pictures taken with my “foster baby” (my loaner Olympus PEN E-PL1) on a regular basis (I’ll be carrying it with me at all times this summer, I’m certain!). I’d love if you would subscribe to it. Check it out by clicking here; the subscription link is at the bottom of the page over there. Alternatively, you can check it out by clicking the adorable button over there in the left margin! Disclosure: I have been loaned this camera this summer to use and review without any additional expectations.…