in my own Maliyacular...

The Super Bowl... Not So Much the Snoozefest I Was Expecting

2012-02-05T20:14:00.000-08:00

Let's be real here- me and football do not exactly go hand in hand. I know this is highly ironic, considering I hail from the one and only THE Ohio State University BUT, as I am VERY quick to point out to any/everyone whose eyes alight when I share that I went to OSU... I may have a whole lotta school pride, but I could NOT care less when it comes to that whole football thing.

Hey, at least I'm honest right?

Given all that, it really should come as no surprise that I kept on forgetting that today was Super Bowl Sunday. Honestly, throughout the week, as people would start telling me about their weekend plans and inevitably bring up the Super Bowl, I would literally have to consciously filter my immediate thoughts of "Oh, that thing's this weekend? Didn't we just have one last year?". Since I can understand others' appreciation for this seemingly barbaric sport, I decided to keep such thoughts to myself (empathy personified, I know).

So when my friend, Joyce, texted me about a Super Bowl viewing at another friends' apartment, I was pretty indifferent to the whole idea. I mean, who are we kidding here, the only thing I really cared about was the halftime show (and the commercials, but that just goes without saying).

I was pretty much anticipating what always happens when I have to partake in some sort of football viewing party. I'll go, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to socialize and make merry... and people will just turn out to be GLUED to the television, hooting and hollering at random intervals when Player A tackles Player B. Over. And over. And over...

You get the idea. Honestly, watching a football game is like experiencing that movie, Groundhog's Day. I mean, it all just looks about the same after a while, right? Like... how many downs and tackles and throws and catches can one REALLY keep track of in the course of one game? I mean, football games are L-O-N-G, people!

So you can imagine my surprise with how this evening shaped out to be. Sure, Joyce and I ended up arriving about an hour and a half into the game (just in time for that halftime show... strategy is our middle name), but I have to admit- right from where I picked up the game, I was actually QUITE intrigued. I'm not going to lie... before I got to the party, I wasn't quite positive about who was ACTUALLY playing. I had an inkling that it was the New England Patriots but I couldn't be positive about the Giants... after all, when I think of Giants, I think of SF Giants and come on... even I know they're a baseball team.

Sigh. Baby steps, I know. It didn't take all too long for me to catch on that it was the New York Giants... and I even figured out the team uniform colors pretty quickly, so it was easier for me to track who was doing what to whom. I was actually quite proud of myself, really. Additionally, I FINALLY got to see this whole Eli Manning/Tom Brady saga unfold... I mean, I'd heard so MUCH about EACH of these players, but I finally got to see what they're made of. To be honest, most of what I saw of Eli Manning was him just watching from the sidelines (I guess they didn't need him??), but let's face it- he is just so wholesome and adorable, it's hard not to be completely smitten by him... sidelines and all.

Tom Brady in action? Eh. I mean, I guess he can throw the ball really well (especially during that last minute of the game when he needed to get the ball thrown past that yellow line AND outta bounds? Wtf), but he wasn't all that exciting for me to watch. I think he was just overhyped to me. But then again, what do I really know? (I bet some people reading this thing are literally just cringing. Oh well.)

Overall, though- I did find the game really interesting! I mean, it's really not ALL that hard to follow if you've got that yellow line to keep track of throughout the game! (I'm being completely facetious here... I know there's a lot more to the game than just the little yellow line but... well, baby steps, here, people!) In any event, as the game progressed, I quickly moved from not really knowing who was playing to becoming an AVID Patriots fan... for SEVERAL reasons:

1. I love, love, LOVED how the team had the owner's deceased wife's initials sewn onto their jerseys. Touching, really. Tugged at my heartstrings, to be honest. I love how that one player who used to always give that deceased wife a kiss on the cheek for good luck before the game now gave the owner himself a kiss on the cheek. Seriously, heartstring tugger.

2. I think my favorite part of the game was when that Hernandez player made that touchdown and did his little "make it rain" dance... seriously- it was SO elaborate (like, did he practice that as much, if not more, than he practiced the sport of football??) and so... just plain awesome. I could watch that over and over again.

3. And... well, that's pretty much it. Doesn't take much to make me a fan, apparently...

Sigh. Needless to say, I was pretty heartbroken by the end of the game. I mean, it was so CLOSE... and the Patriots were doing just FINE until the very last minute here. But oh well- it happens, right? Riiiight. I should try using that line of reasoning with that Patriots coach... he looked like he was on FIRE after the game... I certainly would've been running and hiding if I were any of those 200+ pound players. Seriously, did you see him?? Terr-ifying.

Anyway. So, there you hav-

OMG!! After all of the above, I nearly forgot to discuss the two things that were initially my sole purposes for watching the game!! Wow, I really AM a changed person!! In short... I thought the commercials were mediocre (nothing stood out to me as amazing, although there were a couple of laugh out loud ones) but I thought the halftime show was seriously Le-git. For a 50+ year old woman, Madonna never ceases to AMAZE me as a performer! Seriously. Le-git.

All in all... a sweet success of a Super Bowl... despite the downfall of my beloved Patriots. Is it possible to reach "beloved" status in the course of four hours? Apparently, in my book... why yes, yes it is.

Travel Guidebook Happiness

2012-01-29T16:51:00.001-08:00

Lately, I feel like things have been so all over the place that I simply haven't had time to do some of the things that typically keep me sane (reading, exercising, BLOGGING, lounging at cozy coffee shops... I could go on and on, really).

It certainly doesn't help that lately, I've had this incessant feeling that something is going to go terribly wrong in the very near future. My stomach is constantly in knots (I swear, I'm about to develop an ulcer) and that "feeling" literally just will NOT go away.

God. Talk about the OPPOSITE of happiness and sunshine, right? Sigh. I swear, this post isn't an ENTIRE buzzkill (please do keep reading!).

Anyway, after yet another work week (sigh, corporate America), all I wanted to do was come home and...

Well, to be honest, just curl up in a ball and go to sleep for a very long time. (Let's just say, after last Saturday's 18 hours of sleep, I couldn't help but hope for a similar weekend this weekend.) Seriously, my entire bus ride home, I was contemplating different ways to turn down the birthday party I'd promised to go to on Friday night so that I could honestly just go to sleep at like 8 PM.

It's amazing what a looming vacation can do for a girl's mentality. All I've done for my March trip to Australia thus far is book my flights... and that's because I HAD to... who knew how much higher ticket prices were going to get?! Additionally, last weekend, I finally buckled down and secured my purchase for the Lonely Planet Australia guide on Amazon. I'd actually completely forgotten about that purchase until I arrived home on Friday night, to the brilliant surprise that I had a package! (Because I travel during the weeks, I typically catch up on all my mail and stuff at the end of the work week.)

Happiness. Pure happiness. That is the only way to put it. I couldn't believe how much my mood changed simply by riffling through the first few pages of the guidebook. I could literally FEEL the relaxation of the Australian lifestyle emanating through those pages. Not to mention the EXCITEMENT!!! Have I shared how I'm so excited for this trip? Have I? So excited I can hardly STAND IT?!!

And seriously, with the rate things have been going lately, don't put it past me to just park it in Australia for the rest of my days...

Get Ready, Australia! Here I COME!!!

2012-01-15T08:23:00.000-08:00

And who said New Year's Resolutions aren't legit? Guess who gets to cross #1 off her New Year's Resolution list already?!

That's right! I finally bit it and booked my flight to Sydney, Australia!!!

I was wondering if this was actually going to happen. Don't get me wrong- I've been wanting to visit that side of the world for QUITE some time now... ever since one of my best friends, Kathy, moved to New Zealand a year after college. However, while the prospect was always there, nothing ever panned out... all four-ish years she was down there. Lame-o (on my part), I know. What can I say? When it came to lavish vacations vs. paying off my student loans, the frugal, practical side of me clearly won out.

When Kathy and her husband, Liam, decided to move to Sydney, Australia last year, I knew that I simply HAD to get down to that side of the world, before they ended up moving back to the United States (lkfjdsalkfj! Which, can I say, I couldn't be more ecstatic about?!). And, GOD! Sydney, Australia. Doesn't it just scream all things utopian sunshiney happiness?

Now that I think about it, I sure hope I decide to come back. Huh. Anyway!

For me, sure, the location can totally make or break a vacation. But for this trip in particular, I can safely say it's the people that are going to make it for me. Not only is this trip designed to be one giant hugfest of a reunion with Kathy, BUT I also get to reunite with Hazel... another favorite person (ever, in life) of mine who was a fellow coworker of mine in San Francisco (and who currently lives out in Sydney as well... I know, what are the odds?).

You would think that would be enough, right? Nope. Because I've also planned my time in Sydney to coincide with the time one of my college best friends (who is currently living in South Korea) will be in Sydney as WELL!!!

REUNION CENTRALKljdskfjasldkfjlkdsajflkdsjL!!!!!

Sigh. Isn't life just grand? ISN'T IT? High school best friend, college best friend AND a San Francisco favorite all convening on the other side of the world??!! What ARE the odds?! And icing on the cake?! That's right... I'm going in March, which is only... the grandest season of allllll, Falllllll over on that side of the world!!! (You better believe that was always in the back of my mind as I was planning timing for this vacation!)

Huh. I guess I should actually start planning some of the logistics behind my trip... quite frankly, I just kind of booked my flight on a whim about a week ago (throwing caution to the wind and all that) without really thinking about what I'm going to be DOING for those two weeks straight. Sure, Sydney's the priority, but I want to hit up Melbourne, the Great Barrier Reef and... well, that's about all I've got for right now. Clearly, a trip to Amazon for an Australia guidebook is in my near future...

Okay, so this post wasn't solely devoted to bragging rights about this trip. (Only partially... haha.) If you have suggestions of places I should visit while I'm in the land down under, definitely comment on this post or email/text/call/Facebook/Tweet/Google+ me... well, you get the idea.

Cosby Show Therapy

2012-01-08T15:52:00.000-08:00

Well, if my first week of 2012 is a reflection of the rest of the year, all I have to say is... bring back 2011. Immediately.

Let's just say this first week was much more chaotic than one should ever expect for a first week back from a nice, long holiday vacation. Do you ever have one of those weeks where you feel like your days are flying by but the week seems neverending? That was my life last week. So, needless to say, the weekend couldn't come fast enough.

Sadly, I think my poor eating and sleeping habits from the week were quickly catching up to me. I was pretty much useless this weekend... all I wanted to do was catch up on sleep. And just lounge on my cozy couch.

Which is where I discovered the therapy to end all therapies. Enter: The Cosby Show.

Sigh, the '80s. The peak of the television era, if you ask me. Twenty years later, The Cosby Show still remains one of my favorite shows of all time. My loyalty runs so deep, in fact, that you better believe I still DVR any and all episodes that come on any random ol' channel. And sure, while I typically watch each DVR'ed episode and then delete it, there is one episode that I simply can't bring myself to delete.

Do you remember this episode?!?!? Where Denise and Theo are in a car accident with Stevie Wonder? You know, it's funny... over the years, I had always pinpointed my one or two favorite Cosby Show episodes but this one never actually made my list. THAT is quickly changing, because, literally, I could watch this episode over... and over... and over again.

Which is exactly what has been happening over the past few weeks (starting with when I first started DVR'ing it). Sure, originally, I was just watching it for the sheer entertainment value (I literally laugh aloud everytime I watch the below-posted scene). But I flipped over to it this weekend as I was trying to mentally recuperate from the week and I must say, it really did wonders in cheering me up and distracting me enough to forget about the woes of the week for just a fleeting period of time, at least. Literally laugh out loud comedy... every. single. time.

I guess I could have posted the entire episode here, but quite frankly, all you really need to watch is minute 6:30ish of the above clip in order to get the full gist of how/why this episode never fails to crack me UP each and every single time... Denise's reaction was literally how I felt when I met Will Smith... in case you can't tell by my starstruck eyes and mile to mile wide smile...

Any excuse to bring that picture back into play, really...

My Half-Hearted 2012 Goals

2012-01-02T09:51:00.001-08:00

Happy 2012, everyone!

I normally love New Year's. I mean, I love the opportunity to celebrate just about anything and this holiday is seemingly all about new beginnings, fresh starts, etc. So, imagine my surprise when I awoke on 1/1/2012 with sub-par excitement levels regarding the new year laying ahead of me. Sure, part of it had to do with the slight headache with which I awoke thanks to the previous evening's festivities, but I honestly couldn't pinpoint the exact reason why I wasn't all too excited about the prospects to be offered in 2012.

It was only after some serious contemplation about my New Year's goals that it dawned on me. I simply couldn't get too excited about 2012 because, well... 2011 was just so darn amazing. (<-- And that blog post only included the top five reasons why 2011 was so darn good to me.)

I know, I know. Woe is me- I just had one of the greatest years of my life. But let's face it. I hate change. I especially hate change when I have something so wonderful to which it could be compared (i.e. 2011, in its entirety). But whatever. Tradition's tradition, and all that. What would a new year BE without some new year's goals, right? Right. Halfhearted though the list may be, I've at least really utilized my organizational skills to break it into appropriate categories, for your reading ease- you're welcome in advance. So, without further ado, I present to you...

My Half-Hearted 2012 Goals*

TRAVEL

1. Australia - this is #1 on my priority list. It will happen. A bonus goal? To fly there for free... just you wait and see...

Since I'm pretty sure that Australia is going to wipe a fair amount of my bank account (not to mention my vacation days), I've forced my remaining travel goals to be domestic...

2. Vermont - Not only do I just want to go hang out at a ski lodge and sip cozy hot chocolate all the livelong day (haha- screw that whole skiing thing!), but I specifically want to go visit the ski resort/lodge that the VonTrapp family (you know... from the Sound of Music?) owns. I mean, I already did the Sound of Music tour in Salzburg, Austria... this is only the next logical step in my quest to... well, fully and completely stalk the VonTrapp family, I guess.

3. New England in the Fall - this has been a recurring dream over the past few years... I mean, have you heard ANYthing but amazing things about those New England states amidst all that Fall foliage? That's what I thought. (And yes, I know I'm kind of cheating since 2 and 3 can be combined here, but oh well.)

4. New York and San Francisco - these aren't really too exciting of goals since I already know I'll be going to each of these cities (at least) once this upcoming year. But hey, whatever I've gotta do to be able to cross things off my list and all that.

FITNESS

1. To become STRONG - you know how most people's New Year's resolutions involve losing weight in some way, shape or form? Not me. Sure, this may come about given my actual goal, but my primary focus is to become STRONG. I recently started going to hot yoga (which, trust me, is not at ALL like my godawful Bikram yoga experience) and am honestly amazed with how you literally are simply using your BODY (rather than, say, dumbbells, resistance bands, etc.) to develop your strength. (Thanks, Alma and Emily, for actively advertising this enough for me to be motivated enough to try it.)

2. To attend the 2012 Healthy Living Summit (HLS) - I attended my very first HLS in 2011 and LOVED EVERYTHING ABOUT IT! Great panels, great friends, great bloggers, great food, great CITY... so excited to see what location they pick this year!! (My hopes? Vermont or Utah... random, I know.)

3. To seriously work on my knee - ever since my snow day experience last February (any opportunity to bring up my national TV debut, really!), my knee really has never gotten back to 100%. After seeing a some sports therapist at my first 5K, I realized that if I really do want to take running more seriously (read: without pain and injury), I need to strengthen my knees. Thankfully, I have my physical therapy exercises ready and waiting- it's more just me being motivated to actually DO them on a regular basis. (Yes, I know. This goal is super random.)

WORK/LIFE

1. To develop a work/life balance - I feel like it's getting to the point where I'm starting to come to terms with the fact that this is simply going to be a constant battle for me. I have finally come to terms with the fact that I may have some workaholic tendencies, but I'm really, REALLY trying to counter that by simply being aware of how potentially unhealthy it can be and forcing myself to focus on other things I love as well (i.e. blogging, becoming the next Oprah... well, you get the idea).

Of course, this list isn't fully comprehensive. I mean, I could stick in how I hope to keep in better touch with people, learn to cook, drink more water, etc. but those recurring goals just have NOT worked out so well for me in the past. And quite frankly, I want my New Year's goals to set me up for success, if you will :) So biased, that I am.

*Haha. Just rereading that title... talk about a BUZZ-KILL. Sorry! Happy, happy New Year, to one and all!

2011 - One of the Best. Years. Yet.

2011-12-28T18:32:00.000-08:00

I can't believe 2011 is already coming to an end. Although the onset of New Year's is typically defined by the setting of New Year's resolutions, I haven't yet cemented my New Year's goals just yet... sure, my New Year's goals are in their solid formulation/cementing stages, but that post will be coming at a more appropriate time (i.e. closer to New Year's Eve/Day itself) because, quite frankly...

I can't get over 2011. It was ONE OF THE BEST YEARS YET!! I would say that 2011 was right on up there with the years 1996, 2001 and 2006. That's right- I have favorite years... don't judge (unless that ship has already sailed).

I could go into the details about each of my favorite years, but, quite frankly, laziness is getting the better of me. Instead, I'm simply going to provide a synopsis. A synopsis, if you will, of why 2011 was simply one of my favorite years ever. (So far.)

5. I finally travelled abroad a bit more! With the completion of paying off my graduate student loans (there is no greater sense of accomplishment... well, slight exagg but whatever), I finally got to experience complete and total debt-freedom. So... off to gorgeous Iceland and that place which shall remain nameless (for legal reasons) I went!

4. The year started off on just about the most perfect foot possible, when I landed my first television gig (of the year, that is) thanks to Mother Nature... and Weather Channelman Jim Cantore. I think I was the ONLY Chicago resident who was THRILLED with the onslaught of that blizzard to end all blizzards...

3. I made some really just gosh darn great new friends. Sure, I can befriend like a brick wall if I really have to (what can I say? I have that gift for gab, really...). But this year really made me realize just how much I. Love. Chicago. Sure, the city is great. But it's the people that really make this city feel so much more like a home than any of the other cities I've lived in. Sigh. Virtual hug and all that.

2. I realized just how powerful the Internet can be... so powerful, in fact, that I've taken the opportunity to sub-bullet this point:

2a. I was introduced to Twitter... God, it is only the Best. Thing. Ever. Not only was I retweeted by the Today show (as if the Royal Wedding wasn't a glorious highlight of 2011 in and of itself, who knew that my tweet about it would actually be RETWEETED TO 1.1M followers?!?!?), I was also retweeted by Katie Couric?!!?!?!? lskdjflkds! Oh, the DREAMS!! (Clearly, I dream big.)

2b. I joined CNN's iReport team! Not only did I join the team, but it only took me two reports before my second iReport was vetted and approved by CNN... and received 20,000+ hits in the course of three days!!! Having my iReport be like the fourth story down on the CNN US News page that first day it "went viral" was simply icing on that cake, baby!!!!

1. I was invited to the final, final taping of The Oprah Winfrey show - fulfilling a lifelong dream to see Oprah in person AND see a taping of her show in Harpo studio! This was honestly the PEAK of my year... I still can't believe it happened. While I have no idea why her staff chose me to be one of the exclusive few to be in her audience, I am eternally, eternally grateful. All I have to say is that this experience 100% cemented my belief in good karmic forces and the fact that Someone really is watching out for me...

So there you have it! 2011- a year in review, if you will. 2012 sure does have some big shoes to fill...

Holiday Spirit, I Missed You So...

2011-12-12T11:21:00.000-08:00

This weekend was THE definition of the holiday season, if ever there was one. It couldn't have come at a better time, considering I haven't been getting into the Christiemas spirit as much as would be typical for any given year. I'm not sure why... I mean, I'm following the standard protocol... you know, listening to Christiemas music, watching Christiemas movies, talking up Christiemas for all the world to hear...

Anyway! All better now! This weekend was just what I needed to kick my butt into holiday gear. First up? A holiday party. But not just any holiday party, folks... this holiday party was hosted by the one, the only...

PURVI MODY!!! (Weeeeee!!!! First blog post shout-out, by name!!!!! Congratulations!!! This is exactly what the holiday season is ABOUT!!!)

Purvi is one of those people that is simply MADE to host parties. She has a gorgeous apartment (complete with gorgeous views) and, quite frankly, her love for the holidays is actually quite comparable to mine. When she'd described her apartment's holiday decorations (complete with a tree and a Christiemas VILLAGE?!?!?), I KNEW I was not going to be disappointed by her holiday party. I'd been counting down the days since I got the invite (yes, it's been a full two weeks. But whatever.).

As soon as I arrived, I was in heaven. Any party that holds a Christiemas tree filled with cupcakes galore is MY KINDA PARTAY!

Clearly, the cupcake tree was quite the hot commodity of this holiday party. Of course, there were plenty of other delicious treats to be had throughout the night...

But of course, believe it or not, there was more to the party than the delectable treats (so I tend to lose focus pretty easily- sue me). I think the BEST thing about this holiday party was the widely varying groups of people that Purvi brought together... despite everyone's completely different personalities and backgrounds, the party was a huge hit! New friends were being made right and LEFT!

Sure, the open bar might've had something to do with it, but you know what? Whatever gets people in that holiday SPIRIT. In short, the evening totally emblemized what the holiday season was all about, in my opinion.

So, you would think Saturday night would have been plenty to satiate my holiday palate. But no, no, no. That was just the start. Sunday turned into a full day of holiday festivities as WELL!

First up, brunch. My favorite meal of the day... sigh. A few of us decided to try this new place in the South Loop called "Waffles". As soon as I entered this place, I was sold.

Please note the ginormous Christiemas tree hovering in the left corner of the shot... strategic, if you will. :) Waffles is a fairly new restaurant in the South Loop... while I always get super excited about new brunch spots, I have to say Waffles was just... okay. I mean, I'd go there again if needed, but it's definitely not a place that I would be seeking out on a regular basis.

Oh well. Brunch is brunch and you can't go wrong when you have good friends all around, right? Right.

After brunch, Urmi, Joyce and I ended up walking all the way up Michigan Avenue, with a slight pit stop filled with holiday merriment...

Gah!!! Sooooo cozyyyyy!!! I love, love, LOVE people watching at an ice rink! So many different kinds of people, so many different skating styles... good times.

After the brief pit stop, we kept on heading north up Michigan, and finally just ended up holing up at Grand Lux Cafe to warm up with some cozy beverages because, quite frankly, we were COLD.

Heaven. Pure heaven.

After loitering in Grand Lux for a solid couple of hours (it's amazing how some good old-fashioned gossiping can make the time magically FLY BY!), Urmi ended up meeting another friend to go shopping while Joyce and I headed to another friend's place for, of all things, a tree trimming party!!!!!

It was the first one I'd ever been to, so I didn't really know what to expect. Honestly, I figured it was just going to be a couple of hours, where people just hung around a tree, stuck a couple of ornaments on, and moved along their merry way.

Umm... I was so very wrong. This party was LE-GIT. First off, the tree that Vidhya had gotten was HUGE...

No wonder she needed a whole party to decorate this thing! But first things first...

Check out that SPREAD! If you think that holiday spread was going to go very long without being dug into, you are sadly mistaken. That dish that's totally front and center? No photographic mistake, my friends. Who knew beet dip could be so tasty and delicious? I swear, this stuff is like CRACK... and now totally one of my new favorite foods. Ever.

Anyway! After a fair amount of time just standing around chit-chatting and eating, we got right to work...

The final product?

Voila!! Holiday magic!!!!! lakdsjflkasjdflkajsdflkj! Come on, you have to admit- just LOOKING at that tree is enough to put any ol' Scrooge in the holiday spirit, RIGHT?! Right.

Sigh. As I was cabbing back to my place, mentally preparing for the work week ahead of me, I couldn't help but think about how HAPPY this weekend just made me. This is what the holiday season is all ABOUT!!! It is, after all, the most wonderful time of year...

Alright! Now that my spirit is back, I'm totally off to start writing this year's rendition of 'Twere the Weeks Before Christiemas...

Welcome back, holiday spirit, welcome BACK!

Welcome to My First Poker Experience... Ever.

2011-12-08T08:02:00.000-08:00

You know, while I'm all about work team events (whatever promotes that one big happy family feel... sigh.), I was inclined to back out of the poker party my team had planned for Wednesday night for a couple of reasons.

One, I have NOT been sleeping well lately (darn hotel beds) and am perpetually exhausted come, say, 3 PM. Two, well... I've never played poker before! And, MAN. These people sounded like they were LEGIT. Combine that with the fact that I scare of people (let alone competitive people) easily and... well, poker with coworkers sounded like a disaster waiting to happen.

Oh well. Twist my arm (it took all of about two seconds to convince me, let's be honest here).

I knew that the poker party was going to be my kind of thing pretty much as soon as I entered the room and helped myself to...

Weeeee!!! Holiday beer?!?! Any party that serves holiday beverages is MY KINDA PARTY!

After some food and chit-chatting, we got down to business... not like I really knew what "getting down to business" would mean in the poker sense but... well, whatever. All I know is that my coworkers started whipping out these like mini-SUITCASES filled with rows and rows of poker chips.

Let's have a double take, folks...

Aaaand that was precisely the point when the whole "addicted to gambling" side of me started to come out... even though the buy-in was only $10 (gotta love being the poker-playing rookie), the THOUGHT of how MUCH those chips could actually be WORTH was enough for my eyes to nearly pop out of its sockets. Obvi, this reaction was totally internalized because, well, I WAS with coworkers and, believe it or not, I CAN temper the chaos that IS me when in professional settings! I mean, professional lines have to be drawn at SOME point, right? (Riiiight... that's pretty much a moot point since you better BELIEVE I'll be sending this blog post to my coworkers... hello! Shameless self-advertising knows no bounds, people!).

Anyway, thankfully my team consists of pretty much the most patient people alive, who had no problems giving me a brief tutorial prior to actually beginning the game. Additionally, two people on my team provided me with different variations of poker cheat sheets (gotta love Smartphones) to help guide me in terms of what hands rank higher and whatnot.

So the game quickly commenced and, well, let's face it. I quickly got confused. Doesn't take much, really. But in my DEFENSE, there is a LOT to keep STRAIGHT in this GAME, people! I mean, Straight, Flush, Two Pair... how in heavens name do people keep TRACK of all THAT (without multiple cheat sheets, mind you) in ADDITION to keeping track of, like, "how" others at the table are betting, how one's poker face is being maintained, etc. etc.

GOD, just thinking about it in retrospect is enough to overwhelm me.

Anyway, whatever. As confusing as it was, it was actually really fun learning about the game. Surprisingly enough, I actually found the game to be strangely fascinating... even if I wasn't winning.

So there I was, just going along my merry way, studying these multiple phones' cheat sheets before making any and every move (and clearly, not pushing the bounds of my teammates' patience) when, out of the clear blue, would you look at that...

I won! I won! alkdsjflkdsjflkjLKJ! OMG, the HIGH you can GET from winning a poker hand is NO JOKE! To be perfectly honest, when I laid my cards out and people started saying I'd won, I totally lost track of even trying to understand WHY exactly I'd won. I mean, I swear things just started moving at such a frenetic pace and PLEASE. I was MUCH too distracted at the sight of... that little pile of poker chips heading my wayalkjfdslkdsjf! Not gonna lie... my palms actually got a little sweaty.

Best. Sweaty Palm. Experience. Ever.

Hahah. TMI? Anyway! And to think, that was just the start! I actually won a couple more hands... but nothing can compare to that first win. Sigh. Let's have a moment to reflect, if you will.

Believe it or not, I actually was totally as cool as a cucumber with my subsequent wins... or so I like to think. So maybe it wasn't necessarily me being as cool as a cucumber so much as it was... well, me STILL not fully and completely understanding the game just yet, let's be honest here. Well, what? How was I supposed to know that triple Queens was some kind of great hand to have?

In any event! All in all, I have to say... my first poker experience?

One. Big. Fat. Success.

Next up? Working on that poker face... ha. And I thought learning the game itself was going to be hard...

NAPERVILLE!!: The Dream (Finally!) Becomes Reality...

2011-12-04T15:36:00.001-08:00

Sigh. Let this post be evidence that dreams really do come true. After all the buildup surrounding my very first trip to my dream suburb, I was banking on some degree of disappointment. I mean, a dream is a dream and all that but... well, you've seen one suburb, you've seen 'em all right?

Wrong.

Let me start at the beginning. Saturday actually started out not looking so hot. With Friday being our company's fancy schmancy holiday party (complete with all the finer glories we call open bar), Saturday morning started off with... well, one of the worst headaches I've had in quite some time. The gloomy overcast skies and the incessant drizzling did NOT help matters in the least.

I was actually a tad concerned about how this Naperville trip was going to go. Things started looking up when I finally ventured out of my apartment for a celebration brunch at Wicker Park's Hot Chocolate with Alma and Cheryl- two of my old coworkers who are simply two of the best things ever.

Please take careful note of Alma's left hand, strategically planted smack dab in the middle of the picture. Then you will fully understand the reason this brunch was of the celebratory manner. lkjdfaslkdjf! (Congratulations, Alma and Doug!!!)

Thankfully, I started feeling a little more alive after brunch. There's just something to be said about reuniting with old friends and chatting and laughing away... I think the food absorbing any of the remaining alcohol in my system also helped matters, but that's just a side note. Next up?

lkfasjdlfkjdslkfjds!!!! Just seeing the street sign sent my heart all pitter pattering. My friend, Joyce (another fine product of Naperville society, if you will), had agreed to drive me out to Naperville and help out with the tour of her hometown . The tour started off with a 45-minute session at this salt cave... the website described the services offered as a therapeutic, relaxing experience amidst the healing powers of salt crystals imported from the faraway Himalayan mountains. The inside of this salt cave was actually pretty intriguing (and quite pretty!):

However, upon the introductory "rules" to the 10ish participants of this salt cave session, I already knew we were going to be in trouble. The lady running this salt cave session explicitly pointed out that there was to be no talking for the next forty-five minutes, to ensure that all individuals who were part of the session fully enjoyed their experience. When the lady was finished running through the rules, of course, Joyce had a question (or rather, a point of clarification). As soon as Joyce said "Soo... when you say "no talking"... you mean literally no talking for the FULL session?"

Hahaha. Considering Joyce and I are two of the chattiest people alive, a full forty-five minutes of silence is... well, pretty much torture. I couldn't even fall asleep in the salt cave (even though I have been perpetually exhausted for the whole week), so I basically just started getting all stir-crazy instead. So much for a relaxing, therapeutic experience. It certainly didn't help that my phone went off in the middle of the session (oops!).

Sooo... overall, the salt cave? A big fat thumbs down. Oh well... at least Naperville offers diverse experiences... or something like that.

Moving on! Next stop on the Naperville tour? Joyce's house! Because she grew up in Naperville, Joyce goes home on a fairly regular basis to drop off/pick up stuff at her parents' house. This girl has this down to a SCIENCE.

I mean, what the heck?? Who lugs a cooler to and from their parents' homes?! Although, I must admit, the ORGANIZATION involved with this process was quite commendable. I couldn't believe how efficient she was in dropping off and picking up whatever stuff she had on the agenda.

Within 20 minutes, we were off again! Our first stop was...

Oh my lord. I knew I was going to love the Naperville school system to begin with (it is, after all, a VERY strong education system), but I couldn't believe how well-kept and HUGE their schools were! I mean, how many PEOPLE go to this school?? It was like a mini-college campus, if you will. Because I wanted to keep the creeper factor to a minimum, I refrained from just walking through the doors of the high school and making myself at home at whatever school event was going on that evening (the parking lot was PACKED on a Saturday night! Sigh. School pride)...

Once I'd fully enveloped the wonders and glories of just ONE of Naperville's schools, we hit up...

That's right, folks. The city of Naperville values its history so much that it actually has its own little historical complex. Of course, the buildings in this complex were only like the quaintest, most adorable things EVER, but it was closed by the time we got there, so I only got a glimpse of what I know is likely one of the best historical establishments. Ever. I can't wait till my next trip out here to visit and read all the finer details of the history of Naperville... in. its. entirety.

Alright, after that quick drive-by, we FINALLY ended up in...

Downtown NapervillelakdfjlksdjlkJ!LKJ!LKjlkjdsf As soon as I caught a glimpse of the downtown area, my heart's pitter pattering went slightly outta control. I mean, GOD DOES THIS CITY KNOW HOW TO DO CHRISTIEMAS OR WHAT?!?!?!?

They had a Santa House and EVERYTHING?!?!?!?

Trust me, these pictures do NOT do this adorable town JUSTICE. (My darn phone's camera was NOT behaving itself yesterday.)

Anyway! After I regained control of my excitement at the sea of Christiemas lights, we headed to the next stop on the agenda...

That's right! My dream come TRUE!!! The Naperville public library system has been the #1 public library system in the U.S. for the past decade. Key to my heart, if you will. Again, unfortunately, the library was closed by the time we ventured over to it, but still. All I needed to see was that #1 Public Library banner to fully grasp that my dream really HAD become my reality. Sigh. A moment, please.

Okay. Once I got the squealing outta my system, we finally parked in one of downtown Naperville's easily accessible parking garages and started wandering around. Our first stop?

A cupcake shop. Naturally. We actually just stumbled upon Sugar Monkey Cupcakes (it wasn't on my seemingly neverending itinerary), but we obviously HAD to go in! And of course, the local Naperville cupcakery did NOT disappoint.

Splurging on a holiday eggnog cupcake was totally the right move. It. Was. Divine. The cake was so MOIST and such a perfect consistency; the icing a perfect degree of sugary deliciousness (maybe a little too sweet, but hey, who am I to complain?). A DEFINITE RECOMMEND for future Naperville visits to come!!

Next up? Well, of course. Barnes and Noble. It had been a WHILE since I'd been to a Barnes and Noble and, well, I don't know. Bookstores and libraries just make me SO HAPPY. I guess that would explain that... after the library AND Barnes and Noble, we hit up Anderson's Bookshop... hmm. Maybe I could start like a Naperville Literature Tour or something... ah, for another time.

But what?! This bookshop was so adorable and had QUITE a selection for a local, neighborhood-esque type of store. And of course... of course, it was the recipient of all KINDS of awards.

Obvi. By this point, it was quite clear to me that Naperville has nothing but the best, so the local bookshop's multitude of awards did not faze me in the least. Rather, it just made me sit back and smile. With pride and joy. My dream suburb was doing nothing but impressing me with each and every stop.

By this point, Joyce and I were ready for a chance to sit down and eat some dinner. I mean, we obviously had so much to catch up on (it's been like a full week since we last saw each other!). Taking the recommendation of another friend, we headed to Bangkok Village.

Did you know that this was Naperville's very first Thai restaurant, opened way back in... 1989?

Ah, the history lessons of this trip, if you will. Although I found the food to be fairly standard for Thai food, the place was PACKED and our service was AWE-SOME! I was totally won over by the friendly (and super attentive!) staff, so, although I wasn't overly impressed with my food, I would obviously visit again JUST to interact with the super adorable staff that was on hand. Sigh. Good times.

To round out the trip in standard Joyce-and-Christie form, we ended up at... well, one of the local bars of Naperville. I'm not gonna lie, I wasn't expecting ALL that much from a suburban bar. I mean, when my frame of reference is Chicago bars, what else would you expect?

But MAN! Of COURSE, Naperville can do no WRONG! I forget the name of the bar we ended up going to, but it was so SPACIOUS and there was actually room to walk around (unlike QUITE a few of the bars on Hubbard Street in Chicago, mind you)... this was MY KINDA PLACE!!! (Please note that strategically placed... Christiemas tree!!Lkjfalkdsjf!)

Our drinks came out like right away and, of course, were so tasty and delicious. And HUGE...

Man oh man. Oh well! I'm not complaining- I pretty much just guzzled mine down because it tasted just like pomegranate juice, rather than a pomegranate martini. De-LISH!

After another couple of hours of chit-chatting (yes, welcome to a standard night with Joyce and I), I was pretty much tuckered out. I mean, it was such an emotional, jam-packed day... the wonders and glories of Naperville certainly takes a lot out of a girl!

Sigh. I'm so delighted. So satisfied. So pleased. I can now say that my love for my Dream Suburb is fully and completely justified. Big. Fat. SIGH.

**Special thanks to Joyce for driving me all over the place and giving me her own insight into the various offerings of this fine utopia some would call "home" but that I call... Napervillelskjafldkjlk!Ljlkjdslkfj!

NAPERVILLE!!: The Eve of...

2011-12-02T05:42:00.000-08:00

So how am I feeling on the Eve of my Naperville debut? It's one of those days that I'm sure I will remember forever, so I want to document my exact emotions to the fullest extent possible, so I can look back on this years down the road (when I am living in Naperville, mind you) and remember all the glorious details of when my suburban dreams officially came to fruition.

Sigh.

Anyway! My emotions at the moment? Mixed, really. Sure, I'm excited beyond words about this grand adventure tomorrow. However, I haven't exactly gotten the greatest amount of sleep this week so I feel like my excitement is slightly tempered by... well, exhaustion. I don't think I'm pleading a solid case here, however, considering I came to the office about an hour early JUST so I could write in my blog. But oh well.

Additionally, I'm sad to say that my Naperville research has fallen to the wayside over the past week. I was originally planning on blogging each night this week about a new component of Naperville I wanted to explore (ie: historical, cultural, etc.). However, that just didn't happen. Can I help it that some people would prioritize work over an inaugural Naperville extravaganza? In short, no.

In any event, trust me. Now that the weekend is (almost!) upon us, I can't help but get caught up in all the Napervillian lkjasflkjds;fkjslfjs excitement!! You would think that my "big weekend event" would be our company's holiday party happening tonight. I mean, it's a fancy schmancy extravaganza, complete with ball gowns and tuxes (I think). Sigh- prom. Good times. Haha. And I mean, hello, it's a HOLIDAY party! I mean, I AM Christiemas! Hahaha.

It was only just yesterday that I realized how deep is my love and loyalty for Naperville. Yesterday, one of my coworkers was asking a few of us what our weekend plans were. My immediate response? "I'm going to Naperville on Saturday!!!" (Yes, the tone was complete with those three exclamation points.) The holiday party didn't even cross my MIND as one of my weekend plans! What the heck, right? I never thought ANYTHING could overshadow any type of holiday festivity, but... well, that was before I realized the full effect that my dream suburb had on me, I guess.

Sigh. I think it's really starting to hit me. This time tomorrow, I will be just hours away from heading over to that dream suburb of mine... the nation's #1 public library for the past decade, the downtown and/or Riverwalk district, the salt cave... why, I think my heart just pitter pattered a tad at the prospect.

Tomorrow is IT! Naperville, here I COME!!!!Ljkdlfsajflkjdsalkfj;dsafljkasdjflaksjd;flkjKJ!M

NAPERVILLE!!: A Historical Snapshot... Dreams DO Come True: Part 2

2011-11-29T18:40:00.001-08:00

Alright. So, to truly exhibit how impartial an individual I am, I definitely just did a little Googling of my dream suburb and... well, so it doesn't have THE most exciting history. But whatever... there are definitely components to Naperville that made me... well, just so darn proud I could hardly sit still.

First, a little background. Did you know that Naperville was founded in the 1830's by some man named Joseph Naper? Originally called Naper's Settlement, Naperville was home to about 100 settlers before being displaced by some massacre during some war (detailed, I know).

Okay, so Wikipedia can only go so far. I got a little bored as I was reading this history (and normally, I love history!) because a lot of it had more to do with how the counties were established and that kind of thing does NOT interest me. HOWEVER! One interesting point I learned was that Naperville's population basically exploded during the 1980's and 1990's (due to the construction of a couple of highways) and has nearly quadrupled in size over the past 20 years!

And no WONDER! Of course there is nothing BUT exponential growth and delight here... it's a utopia! I mean, did you KNOW that it was voted the second best place in the entire United States in which to live (c/o Money Magazine, 2006)??? I simply don't know why it wasn't number one, but that is just my own little opinion. Even more importantly... did you know that the Naperville Public Library has been the NUMBER ONE RANKED LIBRARY in the United States from 1999 through 2010?!?!?! What the heck?!? If that isn't enough to win one over, I just don't know what IS! (You better believe the Naperville Public Library is now totally on my list of things to see/do... one of my own Seven Wonders of the World, if you will...)

Of course, my favorite part of my brief historical research (solely consisting of some Wikipedia reading... sigh- I know. I just didn't have a lot of time tonight!) involved the "famous people" who are from Naperville. Sure, Paula Zahn was the first person to catch my eye (I mean, hello! She's a news reporter! My DREAM!!!). But then. Well, THEN... ummm... did you know that EMILY GIFFIN IS TOTALLY FROM NAPERVILLE?!?!?! Author of Something Borrowed?? Author of Something Blue?!?!?! God, who knew that Naperville could produce such literary GENIUSES?!?!?!

Not wanting to let Giffin totally dominate the Naperville celebrity scene, I definitely continued to scroll through the list and my eyes lit upon... Chris Brown?!?!?! Sure, I'm not a fan of his (I mean, hello. I don't advocate abusive relationships obvi), but STILL. I mean, he's a pretty huge celebrity!! Upon reading THOSE details a little closer, however, I quickly learned that this Chris Brown is actually some running back for the Tennessee Titans? Alright... clearly my interest levels dropped exponentially at that point. I mean... who ARE the Tennessee Titans anyway?

Okay, so maybe this historical snapshot wasn't exactly the most well-researched... nor the most interesting (I'm the first one to admit that!). However, you better believe that I will still continue along with my research (perhaps more luck will be had with the cultural opportunities Naperville has to offer... or the holiday festivities which Naperville has in store for me...) all week long.

lfsakjfls! 4 days and counting!!! Naperville, here I COME!!!!

NAPERVILLE!! 5 Days and Counting... Dreams DO Come True: Part 1

2011-11-28T20:16:00.000-08:00

Weeeeee!!!! I never thought I'd see the day when I'd FINALLY get to visit my dream suburb!!!! I've been dreaming of this day for at LEAST six years... I mean, who would have thought it would take THIS long to get out to Naperville? Not me, that's for sure. Thankfully, with the holidays quickly approaching, I finally convinced at LEAST one of my friends to venture out to my dream suburb with me this upcoming weekend, just to get an idea of how Naperville does the holidays (or something like that).

Sigh, don't you just love the holidays? You can spin like ANYTHING to tie back to the merriment of the season, if you tried really hard. But I digress.

In any event! There's still so much to DO to prepare for this momentous occasion! I wonder what kind of holiday festivities Naperville has? I wonder how cute that downtown ACTUALLY is? I wonder... holy mother, what should I WEAR?? I mean, I don't want to be underdressed in like jeans and a fleece but... well, I don't know, is a cocktail dress too much for Naperville?

Ha. Please. WHAT was I thinking? NOTHING can ever be too much for The Dream Suburb.

Okay. I need to take a few deep breaths. (I have a feeling I'm going to have trouble sleeping tonight...) Let's start at the beginning because, quite frankly, many people are so thoroughly confused (and think I'm joking... which I'm definitely NOT) when I start animatedly discussing 1) that I have a dream suburb to begin with, and 2) that that suburb is, of all places, Naperville, IL. (lksjflkdsf! Just typing out the NAME MAKES ME SMILE!!!)

Ahh, Naperville. Even though I've never been (yet!!), just the name of the town evokes such sunshiney thoughts in my head. My love of Naperville began at least six years ago when I was still in undergrad. While Ohio State has some students from out of state, the overwhelming majority of undergrads are from the grand home state (ah, Ohio), itself. My senior year, I ended up becoming friends with two girls who just happened to be from... where else? Naperville. Of course, I totally became an active advertiser of these two girls (who had been best friends back in Naperville as well) because, well, they just happened to be two of the nicest, smartest, most good-natured people... like, ever.

And that, my friends, is all it took for me to establish my dream suburb. Now, where in heaven's name is the connection, you ask? Well... upon realizing just how down-to-EARTH and genuine were these two girls (Millie and Emily), I of course, naturally pinpointed that I wanted my kids to grow up to be just like them.

I mean, isn't that the connection that any normal individual would draw? Duh.

But hey, it can't just be a COINCIDENCE that Naperville produced two such great people in LIFE, right?!?!? Right.

But it's not just that! Sure, my love for Naperville started way back in the day, but it has only continued to grow... exponentially, at that. Ever since I moved to Chicago, I feel like I have met SO MANY PEOPLE from Naperville. And, sure, while they are all very unique in their own right, the one common thread among them all? They are like the FRIENDLIEST (and, for the most part, smartest) PEOPLE EVER!!!! GOD, it's like the EPITOME of Midwestern charm and, well, just plain genuine HAPPINESS all in one happy dreamland of a suburb!!

Not only that, but you know how some people brush aside where they grew up because it was super boring or hickville or whatever? NEVER have I encountered such a situation with individuals from Naperville. No way. I honestly have never experienced such overwhelming PRIDE from people growing up in a suburb! From its fantastic education system (you know me and education... staunch supporter, that I am) to its adorable downtown area, people were HAPPY growing up there. Can it BE any more utopian?

Whew. Now that I've given you a little (or a lot, whatever) of background on my dream suburb, I have simply GOT to focus on next steps here to prepare for my grand Naperville debut!! First, there's the whole research component that's involved. I mean, I don't want to make my grand entrance into my dream suburb completely IGNORANT- hello!! Therefore, for the next five days, I've taken it upon myself to educate myself bit by bit about my dream suburb (whether it involves learning more about Naperville's history, Naperville's cultural goings-on or what Naperville has in store for the HOLIDAYSDlkfjsalkdfj!)... and blog about the fun facts/informational GEMS that I find along the way.

Get ready!!! Naperville: A Historical Snapshot will coming at ya tomorrow...

Saks & Dunkin' Donuts... Good Times.

2011-11-25T15:23:00.000-08:00

Most people are quite surprised when they hear about how low-key my holidays at home actually are. For a girl who believes it her true mission in life to spend the last three months of the year actively spreading holiday cheer to all who will hear, my actual holiday festivities are fairly mellow. This Thanksgiving was no exception.

My sister and I arrived in Cincinnati around the same time on Thanksgiving afternoon. While Thanksgiving typically consists of my parents cooking up a variety of dishes (most concoctions a derivation of some Food Network idea or other), this year was... slightly different. Let's just say my sister and I entered our house to the sight of... well, this:

A readymade meal from the local grocery store. Haha- good times. If you're going to go, go all out, right? Sure, this meal was huge and complete with all the trimmings but, well... there was just some necessary supplementation that HAD to take place. No better way to supplement than by...

Heading to the local Boston Market. Well, hell, if you're going to go, go all out, right? I mean, have you HAD Boston Market's cornbread?? A-maze.

Anyway! Now that Thanksgiving is outta the way, we can FINALLY focus on the REAL holiday at hand... ljfaldsfkjl!! Welcome to Christiemas!!!! While many individuals also assume that I would be all OVER Black Friday (because of that Christiemas zest I tend to spread to all the land), I actually can't. stand. Black Friday. Sure, I can appreciate an economic boost as much as the next person. But seriously? Pepper spray? Trampling people in lines?

I. Do. Not. Think So.

Therefore, when my parents had the brilliant idea of getting out of our house today to do some shopping, I was the first to nix it. As if shopping isn't annoying enough on a regular basis, you better BELIEVE that I have zero interest in shopping on today of all days.

Rather, we decided to head to downtown Cincinnati, since my sister had to return something at Saks. (I know, right? Don't ask. I'm not sure how we are related, myself.)

What better way to start off an afternoon of high-class downtown shopping than with a cozy cup of coffee? I mean, there's nothing like a cozy little latte or espresso to sip on whilst perusing those high-end shops, right? This explains how we ended up at our first stop of the day...

Sigh. Way to really plummet those classy levels, I know. But oh WELL! Dunkin Donuts coffee is just so darn delicious it surpasses all rules of classiness.

Yum, yum, yum. But I digress. Next stop...

While I could not care LESS about anything high-end retail, I have to admit it was more than a little entertaining partaking in this shopping experience with my parents. While most of this experience involved my parents picking up various items and commenting in hushed (and not-so-hushed) tones on some of the ridiculous prices, at least my sister got some decent shopping done...

Haha- she WISHES. It was at this point in this little shopping experience that my parents shifted their attention from the exorbitant prices to... well, health and safety issues. I believe the words "Will you take those shoes off? You are just going to fall and break your leg" (complete with genuinely concerned tones and "looks" exchanged between my mom and dad) occupied the majority of the conversation at this point in the shopping experience.

Ahh- good times. Welcome to Thanksgiving and Black Friday festivities, Maliyacks-style. Classiness, at its finest.

Evan!!!!!! (Plus or Minus an Exclamation Point)

2011-11-21T17:28:00.000-08:00

LklAjf;ldskajflkjdsf!!! I think it is only fair to start off this post with some spirit fingers since, well, that pretty much epitomizes Evan's and my friendship. Well, so does the term "hugfest", but you can't exactly relay THAT concept via a computer keyboard... wait, can you?

Anyway! Let's back up. So, why, all of a sudden, a post about only one of my Favorite (understatement) people alive? Well, when Evan mentioned that he was stopping by Chicago en route to New York this weekend, you KNOW that my mind instantly toyed with the idea of... what else? A tribute, of course. A tribute to one of my Favorites, if you will. I don't know why I didn't think of this grand gem of an idea when he came to visit earlier in the year, but whatever. Better late than never, right? Right.

Yeah, the tribute idea was pretty much signed, sealed and delivered as soon as we reunited on Saturday. I mean, what do you get when two of the happiest people to ever grace this fine planet we call Mother Earth (deep, I know) reunite?

That's right. Pearly whites GALORE!!! (Just disregard that minor face invasion I call a godawful cold sore... darn drastic weather changes. TMI? Eh, oh well. Hahah.)

Anyway! Evan and I used to work together at my first job ever, out in San Francisco. No joke, two of the greatest highlights of my career were when:

1) I had to write Evan's project evaluation. Considering it was my first project as a senior, I knew I was supposed to be all professional and whatnot, but... well, screw it! I couldn't hold back the exclamation points!! Whatever, at least I refrained from incorporating smiley faces into that official document/permanent record. Sigh. Oh well. I tried. Kind of.

2. Evan requested that I be his mentor!!! lkjfsadlkjdsflk! lkafdsjlkj! I remember the day I got Emily's email coordinating this request as if it were yesterday. Hahahah- seriously! As a select few people know (read: Jenna), one of my FAVORITE things about my job was mentoring people... and by mentoring people, I really just mean... well, instilling the general Christie-ridiculousness (but that I like to spin as "words of wisdom", if you will) upon those lucky individuals who were my mentees. Sigh. Good times.

Sadly, I decided to peace outta Triage about a month after Evan became one of my mentees. While my adoration for dear Evan was totally OBVI from the first day I met him, I suck at keeping in touch with people so I figured that he would just be "another person that I knew at Triage". But no, no. It turns out that Evan, himself, is actually quite phenom at keeping in touch with people (and by "phenom", I just mean that he's better than me). And thank GOD! I mean, Gchat at work just wouldn't be the same without Evan on my little contact list! Hahaha. Lord, I'm divulging way too much information at this point, but I don't care! I get so excited when I pay tribute to a Favorite!!

Seriously, the few times that Evan and I actually get to reunite are such happy little hugfests, I can't stand it. (It certainly doesn't hurt that he totally has all this faith and confidence in me "making it big" with that TV show I am SO ASPIRING TO GET!!! Omg, can you imagine? He would obviously be the manager and... well, how could you NOT want to work for either of us?!!? Hahaha just kidding. Just KIDDING!) But seriously. He's just one of those genuinely good-hearted, genuinely happy people. Even when he's having a bad day, his reactions come across as more entertaining than anything else (well, at least on Gchat. And at least to me. So I find everything to be funny... so sue me).

No, but seriously. You know how you can just tell "good people" when you chat with them for a few minutes? That pretty much defines Evan. Sigh. While I do proclaim a lot of people to be my favorites, it takes a LOT to make "Favorite" (note the capital F) status. And for Evan, I can honestly say "Favorite" is a total understatement.

Lkjfdslkajfdljdslkfjlkj! TOTAL HUGFESTLKjdsflkajfdslkj! I'm already so excited for our next reunion!!

Do You Oovoo?

2011-11-14T12:20:00.000-08:00

Have you guys heard of Oovoo before? I certainly hadn't until... well, yesterday.

A couple of weeks ago, my company sent out an "all company" email indicating that, in honor of an all company meeting coming up in a few weeks, we were encouraged to submit videos of ourselves speaking to what the company means to us in three words, ten seconds.

For those of you who know me, all you had to read was the line "submit a video of yourself" and you KNOW I got right ON THAT PUPPY!!! Well, WHAT?! My company is pretty large and spans the country!! Who knows who could be watching and... weeee!!! DISCOVER ME?!?!

Naturally, I'm sure this is the thought process of most persons who would read such an email. All kidding aside, I certainly DID email a couple of my friends who are on opposite ends of the country with the prospect of doing a group video... and, well, thank God they are as shameless as I am, because... wowza! I wasn't expecting such enthusiastic responses! (Okay, this may be a point of SLIGHT exaggeration, but only a SLIGHT one! They really were excited!!I think.)

Anyway! After the respective parties had agreed to this "event", if you will, I went to town trying to figure out the appropriate technologies to utilize for this cross-national video extravaganza. Skype was the first option, but GOD! There are so many additional apps that you would need to download to display video, video record, etc.* F that!

Next up: Oovoo... I know, right? What kind of name IS that? Ironically, I hadn't heard of this thing until just yesterday and now I'm so actively advertising it, it's not even funny. I have only my dearest twinster, Mars Bars (formal name: Maria), to thank for introducing me to this wonderful source of technology. You can video record with up to six people for free! Screw actual person-to-person parties anymore! Oovoo is the new party for the digital age, if you will...

Okay, another slight exaggeration. But whatever- it certainly was the closest thing that came to a party today, when I was in my office, and had the brilliant idea of testing out my very first Oovoo experience with the one and only Maria herself! I was so delighted when Maria responded to my text, indicating her willingness to help me navigate this Oovoo thing this afternoon... not only was it an opportunity to test out this wonderful work of technology but HELLO! TWINSTER REUNION!!!!!

And, oh sigh. What a reunion it was. I literally got SO EXCITED when I saw Maria's face pop up on my computer screen!! And thank GOD I'd moved into a conference room for this, because you better BELIEVE no reunion would be complete (virtual or otherwise) without the standard squealing, giggling, general chit-chatting.

I can't get over how much this delightful experience MADE my DAY!!! I was initially going to post our "test" video but realized a couple of things:

1. I ended up recording essentially ALL of our reunion, rather than just a portion of it (like I had thought), and there is no way you are going to listen to our conversation in its entirety.

2. Since Internet security is my middle name, I wasn't sure about posting something like this video without Maria's consent. I mean, we are fairly shameless people, but within the fine bounds of Internet security. Obvi.

3. Let's be honest, I look like a TRAIN WRECK today! (So I didn't have time to straighten my hair this morning, so sue me.) Granted, I normally couldn't care less what I look like (so long as those pearly whites are preserved haha), but this is different... if I posted this video for all the world to see, who knows when it could come back to haunt me? I mean, for all I know, I could end up on Ellen someday and she'll just showcase this as a "Before She Was Famous" type of dealio. But I digress.

Anyway! I would highly, highly recommend this application if you're not already using something that you are attached to (like Skype). The video quality is fab and SIGH- it's the perfect forum for REUNIONS!!! THANKS, TWINSTER!

*Special thanks to Hazel for assisting in this effort as well. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your additional Skype research- you are a GEM!

Internet Gem of the Day: From Pi to Pie...

2011-11-13T10:24:00.000-08:00

Today's fun Internet gem...

Isn't that crazy?!?!? When I saw this picture pop up in my news feed from one of my newfound Facebook friends, my mouth literally dropped open! I seriously can't get over it!

Maybe this is totally lame-o but WHATEVER! I'm sure your mind is blown as well... whether you care to admit it as openly or not...

First Class?! YES, PLEASE!

2011-11-10T21:39:00.001-08:00

After a long week traveling for work, the last thing ANYONE wants to hear is that their flight is delayed. Talk about the buzzkill to end all buzzkills, really. Of course, if you are flying back into Chicago's O'Hare airport on anything BUT Southwest*, you KNOW that the likelihood of a delay is more than inevitable.

Alas, this is what I get for following the crowd (read: my team) and flying United. I'd checked in to my 5 PM flight and gotten my 2E seat with the usual lackadaisical fanfare. I just figured this was one of those tiny planes where you can pretty much feel the propellers all along the way, but I didn't care as long as I was near the front so I could peace outta that plane once it hit ground.

A seat's a seat- I just wanted to get HOME (which, to be honest, was slightly questionable considering Chicago had its first snow of the season today...). When we got to the airport and found out our flight was delayed by an hour, I actually wasn't too put off- I mean, I'm a seasoned enough traveler to expect SOME sort of delay flying in and out of O'Hare, who are we kidding here?

As my teammates and I were chilling in the airport, I brought up how delighted I was with my second row seat... you better believe I was going to be ready and SET to peace outta that plane the instant it landed! It was only through this conversation that one of my teammates mentioned that the plane was, in fact, one of the larger planes and not one of those tiny little planes like I'd previously expected.

And that's when the lightbulber went off... I. Had totally. Gotten. A FIRST CLASS SEATlkjfsakdjlkfjsl!!!!

I honestly could not contain myself!! I don't know HOW this happened, aside from the fact that I had booked my flight super last minute and some sort of plane angel just had to be looking down upon me at that moment in time. I mean, I've never flown first-class before! I had no idea what to expect!! If I'd KNOWN such a momentous occasion was going to be happening, I would've totally dressed in my Sunday best for the experience! Duh.

Instead... I just shamelessly took pictures to document this entire experience. Whatever, I turned my flash off so hopefully no one really noticed (HA- because discretion is my middle name? PLEASE. Oh well).

First class is NO JOKE. My experience started with me quickly shoveling away my luggage in order to quickly get cozy in...

Heaven in a seat. I mean, can it GET any plusher? Any cozier?

Even before the flight took off, the stewardess came around asking the first-class people for beverage orders. Ummm... I don't even really LIKE wine all that much, but I figured I simply HAD to order some... to get the full first-class experience (or something like that).

I felt so refined, so high-class (well, as high-class as I could get sporting my puffy Gap vest rather than my Sunday best... SIGH)... so SHAMELESS. Yes, my friends. I certainly did ask the random businessman sitting next to me (who, quite frankly, looked like he was going to fall asleep... but whatever- shamelessness has no bounds, after all) to take my picture!

All in the name of documentation. You're welcome in advance.

And to think- all that over-stimulation happened BEFORE the flight even took OFF! Okay, sure, I didn't exactly get to enjoy my entire glass of wine (well, what? How was I supposed to know that the stewardess would come through and snatch up the cups before takeoff?), but it was more the thought that counts, right? Right.

Once we were nice and turbulent-y in the air, the stewardess came around with cashews and another beverage order. I settled for water this time (gotta stay hydrated!) and reached for a cashew... but lo and behold! These weren't just ordinary cashews! These cashews were PIPING HOT!!!!

Ummm!! All I have to say is it's amazing what heating up some cashews can do to the experience of eating cashews. A-maze.

I swear, the food wouldn't stop COMING! Once those cashews were devoured, the stewardess whisked up the empty little dish in order to place... dinner on my tray! What the heck! I can't even remember the last time I was served a meal on a plane! But check out this meal! It was no. joke.

So colorful! So... well-balanced! You would think that would be it... but no. What dinner wouldn't be complete without a dessert, after all?

Just like those cashews, this cookie was piping hot and everything. Need I say more?

God, this seriously was one of the best flights ever... delays and all. Normally, I tend to nap on flights just to make the time go by faster but not today. Today, you better believe I was wide awake to fully cherish every single moment of my first class experience.

I can safely say that I am now officially spoiled rotten.

*Just a friendly FYI: I'm a die-hard Southwest supporter. I actively advertise just how splendid and delightful of an airline they are to pretty much any and everyone. Any airline that promotes rapping stewards to enhance your flight experience is a complete and total winner in my book.

Youtube Gem: I Told My Kids I Ate All Their Halloween Candy

2011-11-06T08:28:00.000-08:00

Everyone knows that the Internet is a world of opportunity in terms of useless videos that seemingly spark such interest and/or ENTERTAINMENT! Lately, I feel like I've become a lot more appreciative of such Internet videos- primarily thanks to Ellen's heavy incorporation of ridiculously, laugh-out-loud funny videos she's found on the Internet.

As such, I've decided to take the liberty of sharing some of my favorites as I come across them. Keep in mind that it takes a LOT to make me laugh aloud at movies/TV/books/Internet stuff. (Seriously! It does- I know this is hard to believe since I laugh a lot just in general, but trust me on this.) Therefore, you can rest assured that each and every video that will subsequently be posted will be nothing short of hilarious.

Today's video? "I Told My Kids I Ate All Their Halloween Candy"

I don't know whether this video is hilarious because of the kids' reactions or if it's simply an awful trick to play on your kids. Whatever the case, I was definitely laughing out LOUD... the last segment of kids is the funniest! Enjoy!!

It's Official!! Starbucks Has Brought Back Their Christiemas Cups!!!!

2011-11-01T06:57:00.001-07:00

OMG!!! Today just keeps getting better and better!!! I started off the morning all ready and excited to head over to my local Crumbs bakery to pick up some cupcakes for some new members joining my work team (you know, the usual corporate America welcome, welcome, welcome!!... Christie-style, at least).

However, my plans took a slight detour. I hopped off my bus this morning, and was wandering to the corner of the block when... I literally stopped dead in my tracks. You would think that I had just witnessed a car accident or a murder or something. Because not only did I stop short, but my jaw pretty much dropped to the ground.

What in heaven's name would spark such a reaction? Welllll... it's November 1st. How could I forget? Now that Halloween is over, we are in FULL-BLOWN holiday MODE!!!!! And no holiday would be complete without... the return of the Starbucks Christiemas cups!!!!!!! To me, it really does kind of symbolize the start to the grandest season of alllll (aside from Falllll!).

So, that's right. I totally saw someone standing at the corner of that block... HOLDING A CHRISTIEMAS CUP!!!!!!

Well, SCREW getting coffee from Crumbs Bakery, itself! I HAD to pay tribute and honor where such tribute and honor is very well DUE!! Starbucks, here I COME!!! You know it!!!!!

OMG, I was literally BEAMING in excitement as I waited on the third street corner block and could just see my little Starbucks, ready and waiting for me!!!! The closer I got to the Starbucks, the more and more people I could see with their Christiemas cups!!! I wanted to seriously just go up and hug them. Each and every one.

No worries. I have social boundaries. So I just kept the merriment to myself (minus the beam, but WHATEVER) as I headed in and... TOTALLY SCORED MY FIRST CHRISTIEMAS CUP OF THE SEASONlkfdjasldkfjoIJ! Let's take a moment, please.

Don't worry! After all the internal chaos of those ten minutes, I didn't forget about the cupcakes! Duh. I have my priorities aligned. You better believe I just headed right into Crumbs after the magical Starbucks Christiemas cup experience and bought... well, $40 worth of cupcakes. So I get a little carried away- so sue me.

Sigh. Christiemas cups and cupcakes... can this day GET any BETTER?!?!?!?

Halloween, 2011 - A Success Story

2011-10-30T17:35:00.001-07:00

I love Halloween!

I used to strongly dislike Halloween, because it just seems like an opportunity for people to get annoyingly crazy, creepy and/or skankified. However, over the past few years, that mentality has totally changed, because, quite frankly, I have had some F-U-N Halloweens these past few years.

Now, don't get me wrong. I still don't exactly enjoy the act of dressing up. Quite frankly, I think it's a waste of money to invest in a costume that you will be wearing approximately one time. MY approach to the Halloween costume is twofold:

1. If you can't re-wear the outfit, then it is so NOT a worthwhile investment.
2. You know, if you do "have" to dress up for Halloween, you might as well be comfortable, right? After all, it's the one night of the year that you can go out to your favorite bar/club in sweats and have it be socially acceptable.

Let's just say I have embraced these two points to the fullest extent possible.

If you read my above-referenced "Halloweens of years past" post, you'll know that, because of the minimal effort I put into my costumes, people often have a hard time figuring out what the heck I "am". For instance, the one year I was a cowgirl, people mistook me for Aunt Jemima and/or a slave. Another year, I dressed up as "ghetto" and people mistook me for an '80s workout girl.

God. I just can't take the humiliation anymore (ahh, the melodrama. Hahaha). This year, I was bound and determined to "fine-tune" my "ghetto" costume with an investment in Adidas workout pants. Now, I know this goes against my whole cheapness rule (because, MAN! Adidas pants are EX-pensive!) but hey. I heard that this was totally going to make the costume work itself out. Next, I borrowed a big ol' blingin' gold dollar-sign chain and dollar-sign ring from my friend, Jay. Jay has (successfully!) been a pimp and an early 90s rapper in his Halloweens past, so I am incredibly grateful for his help in supplementing my poor excuse for a ghetto costume.

So, there I went, Halloween night- Adidas pants, a white tank top layered with a gray tank top, and the BLING! Yesss!! I was tempted to put on a backwards baseball cap, but I didn't plan enough ahead of time to ask to borrow one (and please- you think I OWN any baseball caps?).

It turns out... I totally didn't need it! I walk into this house party and one girl was like "Are you Run DMC?" OMG, I wanted to give her a giant hug. That was all it took to make my NIGHT!! Sure, I wasn't exactly GOING for Run DMC, but it was in the same general territory as ghetto, right?? So much more in the same general territory than, say, an 80s fitness instructor...

Not only that, BUT!!! Once the drinks were a'flowing a bit, I got up the nerve to demonstrate my "ghetto walk". Now, here's the thing about the walk. Those individuals who have seen my ghetto walk in years past often just... well, laugh in my face. I simply don't understand why. I think I'm very good at the walk! I mean, what? All you have to do is limp, right?

Sigh. I guess there's a little more to it, and you would think that after people tell me that I look like I've just been SHOT, I would give up on the walk. But heck no! I still stand firm that my ghetto walk is one of the best of its kind. Quality, if you will. Whatever... in any event! My walk was actually greeted with much support (and/or a little bit of laughter, but oh well) this fine Halloween night. (Sure, the world was QUITE a merrier place after a couple of drinks, so maybe the supportive nature of my audience was all in my head, but oh well. Just go with it.)

Thank goodness the costume was such a sweet success last night! I'm not going to lie... I'd printed out the lyrics to my favorite rap song (Jay-Z's Big Pimpin') so I could spit some rhyme (hahahaha is that the right phrase?!?!?) intermittently throughout the night on an as-needed basis. Sure, I was a little disappointed that I didn't actually DO so (I don't know why I'm going to admit this, but I certainly did practice the rap earlier this week... never again can people say I don't exert enough effort into my Halloween costume), but I guess... well, for another time.

Overall... this Halloween? Another one for the books! It was so NICE to reunite with a few of my favorite girls and just make merry with the rest of the people at this fine Halloween house party... much of whom was from the grand home state, of all places!! Wahoo! I mean, let's be honest- how can you go wrong when you have a bunch of Ohioans together? Sigh. Ohio love.

Pumpkin Carving Party Time!

2011-10-22T08:23:00.000-07:00

For as much as I love, love, loooove the grandest season of alllll, Fallllll, I actually don't think I get as over-the-top festive about it as some other folks. I think I'm GETTING there, but some people have it down PAT.

Earlier in the week, one of my friends, Joyce, had invited me to a pumpkin carving party at one of her friends' places. I'm not going to lie- I hesitated before accepting the invite. I mean, I know, I know- what could be more fall perfection than a pumpkin carving party of all things? But I've never carved a pumpkin before and, quite frankly, it seemed like it was going to be HARD. WORK.

I was so wrong. Last night's party turned out to be one of the best events I've attended in QUITE some time!! It sure did add to the whole "love of the grandest season of alllll, Fallll" element, let me tell YOU.

I knew that it was going to be a great shindig when I get to the apartment and the hosts greeted me with... mulled wine/cider. Have you guys ever had this stuff? I've had it before and l-o-v-e it. It's so dangerous because it really does just taste like apple cider! And last night's mulled wine was no joke... so fresh, so tasty, so... well, deliciousness in a mug, if you will.

As folks kept on coming, the pumpkin pile kept on growing.

And that was just a portion of the pumpkins present! These hosts clearly knew what they were doing- the turnout was IM-pressive! Who would've thought? Once everyone had arrived, we got right down to business.

And by right down to business, I mean the experts in the room were quickly made clear. One girl went right to town while another person whipped out... an electric drill.

Umm. As soon as we saw THAT, Joyce and I just looked at each other with... well, not going to lie. A slight look of terror. Considering neither of us had ever carved a pumpkin in our lives, we decided to share one to... well, blame one another if it ended up looking awful, let's be honest here. Trust me, I was not holding out much hope.

It turned out to be so FUN though! We got started by cutting a hole at the pumpkin stem...

And cleaning that puppy OUT!

One of the experts at the party had offhandedly mentioned that the cleaner the insides of the pumpkin, the better it was going to look once carved. So we kind of took that to heart and proceeded to spend much longer than necessary cleaning the pumpkin out. So much longer, in fact, that by the time we were ready to copy our design template onto the pumpkin, others were already in FULL CARVING MODE.

This should have been our first clue that we were going to fall quickly behind, but... well, we had so much to catch up on! Bear in mind, Joyce is like my twin. So you can imagine how quickly we can get distracted by our gossip/catch up session when we're doing something as mindless as cleaning out that pumpkin. You know what? OH WELL- the people sitting around us were clearly entertained by our stories. And, well, it's all about the company and stuff, right? Right.

Alright, so once we had cleaned that pumpkin out so well you could eat straight off of it, we embarked on the whole tracing the template we'd picked out and starting the carving process. Dude, this was HARD! I happily delegated the tracing of the template to Joyce (after all, she'd picked the pumpkin!)... let's face it, I would have ruined it. I. Am. Not. Crafty.

Once the template was traced onto the pumpkin, I was delegated the task of carving. Lord have mercy. Since I don't have patience nor that whole attention to detail quality, I was all ready and set to just use a knife to start the carving process. It seemed like it would go a WHOLE lot faster than the miniscule little tools the pumpkin carving kit came with. But... well, using a knife was a little scary! I feel like it's HARD to carve a pumpkin with a knife- you have seemingly little control over how that knife is going to cut!

So... after just a fleeting few minutes of using the knife, I resorted back to... well, those miniscule pumpkin carving kit tools. And wow- what. a. difference. I mean, I'm not type A by any means, but there is something OH so rewarding about being able to cut at the EXACT points you've traced onto your pumpkin. It was actually quite a delightful experience!

Well... it was delightful until the experience took a turn for the stressful. I guess it turns out that Joyce and I were so busy chit-chatting during our whole pumpkin cleaning spectacle that, by the time we had started the carving process, people were already done! God, we were totally like the remedial students in pumpkin carving class.

It's amazing how quickly we can switch gears though. If we'd known each other in school, I think we would have totally been best friends. Because as SOON as we realized how behind we were, we ceased pretty much ALL forms of communication and went to TOWN carving that pumpkin- Joyce took one half, I took the other. All in the name of... well, not looking like complete failures during our first pumpkin carving experience.

It's amazing how quickly it all came together though! I guess that's what can happen when two of the chattiest girls alive just shut it and FOCUS. Hahaha. Alright, so maybe the party had to slightly delay the whole jack-o-lantern picture taking experience, because they were waiting on us to finish but hey! They didn't have to wait ALL that much longer!

And check out the result! Amaze!!

Joyce and I were SO PROUD OF OURSELVES!! Can you tell?

So proud, in fact, that we lugged that thing out to Old Town Social (a neighborhood bar) afterwards. That's right. Shameless, that we are. But look at this thing!

If it's just not the most adorable jack-o-lantern you've ever laid eyes on, I just don't know what is.

Sigh. All future pumpkin carving parties... sign me UP! Best. Idea. Ever.

Ugh. Sick AND Grumpy (well, kind of).

2011-10-19T11:27:00.000-07:00

Let me preface this post with two disclaimers:

1. This post is completely the opposite of the tone of typical Maliyacular posts. So, if you are expecting a post filled with merriment and sunshine, well I am sorry but you can just plain forget about it. Kind of!!

2. I never get sick. Ever.

Anyway! :)

So, have you heard about this weather in Chicago lately?

I know, right? Trust me, this isn't going to be some boring old weather report. No, ladies and gents. You are lucky enough to be treated to a post filled with all kinds of things anti-merriment and sunshine today.

Let me just start off with saying that I. Hate. Rain. I hate it so much, in fact, that I lost my umbrella about a month ago and refused to buy another one because I figured "how often does it ACTUALLY rain during the grandest season of allll, Fallll?" (Seriously. I actually VOICED that thought process to a few people.)

Pretty darn often, actually. Trust me, this is NOT a pleasant revelation. Let's just say that I have since reconsidered my original plan to go without an umbrella until Thanksgiving (when I go home and can steal one from my parents... yes, I am this cheap). This reconsideration began a week ago- last Thursday to be exact.

Remember last Thursday? The day a monsoon basically barreled itself right on through Chicago? WTF, right? Anyway, so although I didn't have an umbrella, I figured I'd be okay since I was wearing my hooded, down vest. This was all fine and good for my hair, but... well, forget about the rest of my body.

I. Was. Drenched.

Not to mention UN-happy.

Because I am the greatest decision-maker ever, I decided to go out Thursday night... still amidst the rain... still sans an umbrella. After proceeding to get four hours of sleep Thursday night, I was just plain exhausted come Friday. And trust me- I wasn't exactly Miss Sunshine and Smiles. I actually was thinking to myself: "Is this what it's LIKE to be GRUMPY?" (I'm very self-aware, can you tell? Hahaha)

Anyway, I cancelled my Friday plans to stay in and rest and relax. My plan was to go to sleep super early to get back on my normal, happy-go-lucky Miss Mary Sunshine way of life.

Um. Note to self: a Cosby Show marathon playing in the background is NO way to be lulled to sleep. Now, don't get me wrong! Normally, I have no problems whatsoever dozing off with the TV in the background. But... well, the Cosby Show is just so GOOD! And every episode just kept getting funnier and funnier! This is not my fault.

So much for going to sleep early on Friday. Whatever, I had the whole weekend to catch up on my rest and relaxation. And boy, did I ever rest. I feel like I slept more than a dead person. But oh well. It clearly didn't really help all that much, because come Monday, I still wasn't feeling 100%.

It certainly did NOT help that all these weather reports were forecasting some Godawful storms/monsoons. @nbcchicago tweeted: "Brace yourself, #Chicago. The next big storm of the season is headed our way"; @todayshow tweeted: "20-25 foot waves forecast for...Chicago."

Upon seeing weather reports of this kind, I decided to do the responsible thing and go on the hunt for an umbrella last night. And sweet success! I found one!

Unfortunately, I'd just hurriedly purchased it from Walgreen's and... well, I'm no brand snob, but I guess Walgreen's umbrella quality standards are pretty minimal. I mean, I literally walked out this morning, all confident to brave this Godawful weather (seriously- when did monsoons start actually happening in Chicago?). I walk out my door, open that umbrella of mine, walk about four feet when (no joke), this damn umbrella just turned itself right on inside out.

Awesome. It didn't take me long to reverse that damage and continue along... about another four feet. When the SAME thing happened. Again. I hadn't even gotten to the end of my BLOCK.

By this point, my frustration levels were peaked (I have zero patience when it comes to rain/wind/weather extremes in general). So, after all that hunting for an umbrella last night (okay, maybe I could have exerted a LITTLE more effort, but whatever), I just closed my umbrella right on up and sped-walked to my bus stop. It just wasn't worth it with all this wind nonsense.

GOD, and to top it all OFF, I could barely even breathe by the time I got to the office, because my nose was all stuffed up. And it's amazing how achy one can start to feel in the course of like a half hour.

And that, my friends, is when I just came to terms with it.

I am officially sick...

... and kind of grumpy about it! I'm not gonna lie! It's kind of an interesting experience for me, actually. A sociological experiment, if you will. ;)

HairCHOP!

2011-10-17T17:07:00.000-07:00

I love getting my hair cut, primarily because of the glorious head massage that goes right along with it. I guess calling it a haircut would be an underexaggeration. In keeping with my natural flair for cheapness, I apparently do NOT consider maintaining my hair as a necessity in life. Although my hair grows at an alarmingly speedy rate, I apparently don't notice just how LONG (not to mention nappy (sp?)) I let my hair get until it is much, much too late.

Therefore, I typically consider my haircuts to be more along the lines of hairCHOPS.

Well, what? After about six months of growing my hair, I just get SICK of it (I mean, do you KNOW how long it takes to blowdry and STRAIGHTEN thick, long hair? Heavens). As such, I tend to get a little overly liberal at the hair salon and start off the conversation with "Just chop off as much as you think would look good for my face shape".

This lovely little conversation starter could be considered quite risky for the average individual. I, on the other hand, have no sense of general beauty knowledge, so I could not TELL you what "type" of haircut would look good for my (Charlie-brown cheeked!) face shape. And please, isn't this what these hair stylists went to beauty school and stuff for? Come on, I'm paying good money for my semi-annual hairchop!

Oh yeah. About that "paying good money" bit... I guess paying $16 for a hairchop (which includes the aforementioned head massage!) is actually a pretty good deal. I'm not going to lie- I'm actually kind of proud of this fact.

Yes, friends. My cheapness extends much further than just limiting the frequency of my hairchops per year. That's right- in order to score THIS $16 deal, I will only go to the Aveda Institute, which is filled with students using real people on whom to "practice their technique".

Again, yet another risky move. But hey, if you really think about it, students would be the ones to be MOST careful with individuals' hair, because they're so concerned about passing their classes.

Or something like that. If you don't agree... well, don't tell me! This is the justification I have been using for years and it has worked thus far! (And I shudder to think of what the alternative mindset of students "experimenting" on real people hair would be.)

And this past Saturday was another one for the books. You better believe I got my hair CHOPPED the F OFF! I'm so delighted! Sure, once I just told my hair stylist to "go to it", I had that momentary lapse of panic. And, I mean, the panic kind of lasted throughout the whole hairchop session because... quite frankly, how can one REALLY tell what one's new hairstyle is going to look like when it's dripping wet?

But I have to say! I was so pleased with the final, blow-dried result! It's so LIGHT and so EASY to MANAGE now! It took me like a mere second to wash and straighten today! (Slight exaggeration, but hey, what would the Maliyacular be without a slight exaggeration here and there?)

All in all, I must say! Yet another sweet success c/o the Aveda Institute! From elbow-length to shoulder-length... I'd have to say my hair is ready and SET until... April. You know it!

The Most Expensive Groupon Experience If Ever There Was One...

2011-10-12T09:31:00.001-07:00

I love reunions! My friend, Hiral, and I went to Ohio State together and currently both live in Chicago. I'd grown accustomed to seeing Hiral at least once every one to two weeks. However, simply due to crazy schedules, we hadn't seen each other for at least a couple of months.

It felt like eons. Seriously!

Last night, it was total reunion central, though. Hiral picked me up from my Lincoln Park apartment and we decided to venture a bit more north, to (finally!) use Hiral's $22 Groupon for Marigold - an Indian restaurant in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood. We were primarily excited to check this place out because it was so far north, so we had no doubts it would be MUCH easier to find a parking spot as compared to attempting this pretty impossible feat in my Lincoln Park neighborhood.

Lo and behold! A parking lot was ready and WAITING for us, right across the street from Marigold! It was totally meant to be.

Dinner was mediocre (the food was not NEARLY as good as I remembered it to be) but the reunion was oh so delightful! It was so great catching up with Hiral after much, MUCH too long. After dinner, we headed back out to the parking lot, BOTH of us exhausted (it was a Tuesday, after all!) and so ready to get back home.

Yeah... as we're walking through the parking lot, chit-chatting away, Hiral interrupts the conversation with "Umm... where did I park?" To which I immediately respond with: "Oh, like right over there..." (insert an image of my voice trailing off as my finger points toward an oh-so-empty parking spot).

Lord. I've never had to deal with a towed car situation so I had no idea what to do. I was a little nervous, because hello! Wouldn't YOU be pissed if your car was towed?! Well, I guess Hiral has a different take on things. Because HER reaction? "Oh NO!!... Oh well. We can just go pick it up."

Okay, it's kind of summarized, but that was the general gist. WTF, right? I never DREAMED one individual could treat the experience of getting her car towed as... well, a normal occurrence! (For the record, Hiral rarely, if ever, has experienced a towing situation.)

After calling the towing agency, and determining the location of the sadly towed vehicle, Hiral and I embarked on this seemingly never-ending sojourn. Thankfully, the towing lot wasn't all too far from where we were... only a few blocks, actually! Sure, the majority of the walk was comprised of one LONG block, that housed a cemetery, but whatever. We are brave people! Kind of. But I digress.

So, after this brief sojourn, we FINALLY spot the towing agency! Sweet success! Let's get this car and get the F outta here!!

You know, it was actually at this point in the evening, that I totally got into my blogger element, snapping away pictures (yes, I know- how Hiral didn't kill me during her time of distress, I just don't know). But come ON! Gotta embrace each situation, right?! And embrace, oh I so did...

I mean, LOOK at the towing agency's "office"!

If that just doesn't ADD to the creepy element of the night (initiated by that cemetery walk-by), I just don't know what does.

And, well, what's a night out without... some police surveillance?

At least I felt safer with them around. Because trust me. The people of Lincoln Towing were NOTHING to write home about. I understand that towing companies have to develop thick skin, dealing with complaints right and left. But these people were just plain RUDE. And it takes a lot for me to formulate that extreme of a judgment call!

Oh well. So, a whopping $200 later... Hiral FINALLY got her car back. Wahoo! (I tried to snap a picture of her reunion with her car but it came out all blurry.)

Sigh. To think... we'd started out the night excited about our plan to actually save money by using Hiral's Groupon...

Ha- PLEASE. The most expensive Groupon experience, if ever there was one...

My (CNN-Approved) Chicago Marathon iReport!

2011-10-10T10:04:00.001-07:00

Marathon day keeps getting better and better!

I just joined the CNN iReport community a couple of weeks ago and LOVE it. It's totally giving me practice being a "rookie reporter" (so I like to think). Regardless, I must admit- it's FUN!

Yesterday, I submitted an iReport video of the Chicago Marathon. And who would have thought?! It was actually approved by CNN! Wahoo!!!

Let me back up a second. Basically, anyone and everyone can submit an iReport on any topic under the sun. However, only if it is considered "vetted and approved" by CNN, will it be potentially AIRED on CNN! So you KNOW my day was TOTALLY made yesterday, when I received an email from one of the CNN iReport producers yesterday afternoon, indicating that my iReport was CNN-approved! Wahoo (again!)!

As if that weren't enough, I just checked my "views" and my iReport is up to 6,000+ views! In a mere day! I know that isn't like earth-shattering, but for me it is! If this is how excited I get about my 6,000ish views, I can't even imagine my excitement levels if I were to ever "go viral". Hahahah. I don't think Mother Earth would be able to handle the energy levels, let's be honest...

In the meantime... I do hope you enjoy a brief tidbit of the 2011 Chicago Marathon!

Happy (Chicago) Marathon Morning!

2011-10-09T08:30:00.000-07:00

The day of the Chicago Marathon is one of my favorite days of the year! It all starts a full week before the marathon, where you notice the sidewalks slightly swarming with runners wrapping up their MONTHS of training to accomplish this tremendous feat.

I love hearing the stories behind WHY people decide to run 26.2 miles. Some people just want to run, others are running for an organization/cause for which they are passionate, others are running for loved ones... I like to think of it as one of the greatest community-bonding experiences. Ever.

I arose bright and early this morning, hoping to hurry and get my measly 3 miler outta the way before the marathoners made their way through my neighborhood. Not only did I want to cheer them on (cheering is my middle name, after all!), I also just wanted to minimize having to deal with navigating the crowds on the sidewalk in the midst of dying through my run.

As I ventured out around 8:05 AM, I ran into some neighbors in my elevator who indicated that the first runners would be passing through my area (mile 13ish) by 8:15. Well, there was no way I was missing THAT. I headed out of my apartment building and got myself nicely planted on the sidewalk corner.

Right at 8:15, would you look at that?

Speed-ster. Central.

Check out how EMPTY the streets are except for these gold star marathoners! I can't wait to find out which one of them won!

Well, since I was out already, I just hurried and got my 3 miler over and done with. By the time I returned back to my area, I was greeted with a completely different sight. What a difference a mere half hour makes.

Runners, runners and more runners!

The crowds were in full swing as well! Talk about FESTIVE. You seriously get pumped up just standing amidst the cheering fans.

It was so touching to see marathoners locating loved ones in the throngs of cheering fans. I saw a running daughter spot her mom cheering away, and stop to give her a big ol' hug. I saw a mom running her heart out, stopping briefly to hug the daylights out of her two cheering sons. Sigh. And you KNOW that's just the tip of the iceberg.

How I love Marathon Morning. One of my favorite mornings of the year.

My Visit to CNN... Excuse Me, Atlanta

2011-10-04T19:20:00.001-07:00

I guess when most people think of Atlanta, the first thing that would come to mind is HOTlanta.

Not me. Nah. When I think of Atlanta, I think of... CNN! Naturally, right?

This weekend, I made a trip to Atlanta to reunite with some good friends. GOD, aren't reunions only the best things EVER? The weekend seemed like it was going to be jam-PACKED with activities, so I figured there wouldn't be enough time to really explore downtown.

Until, that is, my friend (Nnenna) offhandedly mentioned her (multiple) experiences touring the CNN headquarters. I didn't mean to, but quite frankly, would you expect anything BUT a reaction filled with spirit fingers and a (slight) shortness of breath?

I. Don't. Think. So.

Needless to say, after Nnenna realized THAT was my reaction to her CNN tour experience, she arranged our Sunday activities to... voila! Conveniently end up at the CNN headquarters, ready and waiting for a Sunday afternoon tour!

Weeeee! Let the adventure begin!! Just seeing the CNN logo on the building made my heart go pitter patter... can you tell? At all?

Oh, how the CNN headquarters did NOT disappoint! The grandeur, the American flag, the big ol' globe... lskdjfdlkfjs!

I just couldn't get enough. CNN steals my heart at 4 years old, CNN steals my heart for life.

It was so interesting to learn a bit about the ongoing behind-the-scenes activities. Nowadays, there's so much TECHNOLOGY involved that it never ceases to amaze me. Two of the more interesting things I picked up along the tour:

1. CNN weather reporters use digital screens to do weather reports, etc. As compared to those (seemingly antiquated) green screens that local news stations still use, to vaguely wave in a general direction to "pinpoint" regional weather patterns. These local news stations really need to jump on this digital screen bandwagon. So much more accurate, so much less ridiculous-looking!

2. NOW I know how news anchors always look like they are looking directly into the camera, despite reading the teleprompter... it's because they ARE. I figured there was some technological component behind it that I wasn't aware of, and I was right. It was so cool to see the "dual-functioning" camera that runs a teleprompter while simultaneously holding a lens directly behind the teleprompter to provide video feed to the audience.

The tour included all kinds of behind-the-scenes stops, but my heart jumped a little when we stopped by...

Where all the magic happens, if you will.

Well, okay, my heart also jumped more than a little when we saw Don Lemon doing the Sunday afternoon broadcast, but hey. We couldn't take pictures of THAT. Sigh, the memories.

Oh, how it WAS the most delightful of days. A great day with friends, a tour of the world-renowned CNN headquarters AND an opportunity to "practice" my news anchor skills*...

I mean, if that doesn't scream "CNN natural", I simply don't know what does. Shameless, I know.

*Thanks, Kodak!

Shamelessness Meets... My CNN iReport!

2011-09-25T19:09:00.000-07:00

I'm a fairly shameless person. I have been for most of my life (since high school, at least). And for the most part, it's gotten me some legit opportunities. Here are some of the top moments where my shamelessness TOTALLY paid off in terms of life-defining moments (ordered by importance, of course):

1. Meeting Will Smithlkfjaslkfjsl!!
2. Meeting Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clintonlkajdslkfajdslkfj!
3. Going to the last Oprah showlaksjfdlksajfdl!
4. Getting my picture posted on one of the Times Square Digitron screenslkasjflkdsj!
5. Getting some legit airtime on MTV's TRL
6. Getting interviewed for the Lakers Fan Cam

Well. I can now add:

#7. Shamelessly plucking random individuals from a crowd to interview for a CNN iReport.

Let me back up. So Social Media Week was taking place in Chicago all week long, and I was helping out by blogging for a few of the events. I'd received an email a few weeks ago, detailing the opportunity to submit a CNN iReport on social media, since CNN iReport was one of the sponsors of Social Media Week.

You better BELIEVE I got right ON that opportunity. I'm in love with CNN (I've wanted to be a news anchor since I was about... four years old) and I love all things social media (follow me @maliyacular on Twitter! Shameless, again. I know.)... how much more perfect an opportunity could it GET?!

That said, I figured I couldn't just interview MYSELF about social media... I'm not exactly the most impartial person, in case you couldn't tell. Instead, I just went right ahead and plucked three individuals from the crowd (at one of Social Media Week's panel discussions) to interview for... my very first CNN iReport! Shameless, I know. But hey, they agreed.

All in a day's work, really :)

Therefore... in all things good and shameless, I present to you... my very first CNN iReport! (Apologies in advance for the background noise. I'm a rookie, what can I say?)

I Met Tucker Max!

2011-09-20T20:07:00.000-07:00

And I was impressed!

Trust me. I surprise myself sometimes. When I first learned of this opportunity to blog for Social Media Week Chicago, I was thrilled to bits. You know me and my (slight) love for blogging... now on a grand scale and everything?! Sign me UP!

When we got our blogging assignments for the week, I eagerly perused the spreadsheet for my name. There were so MANY (80+) events going on this week, that I couldn't WAIT to see where I'd been placed.

Let's just say that when I saw my name listed to blog for "A Conversation with Tucker Max", I rolled my eyes pretty much instantaneously. I mean, Tucker Max? Come ON. Sure, I've read his blog and parts of his book (and, okay, I've laughed... aloud and everything... even at the degrading parts about women, I'll admit it), but that doesn't necessarily mean I was all ready, set, pumped to have to listen to him for an hour.

God, I was just envisioning his arrogance, his ego, his... partying/womanizing ways.

But boy, was I wrong. Okay, sure, he may be all of the above (he has to be... read his stuff) but he is also impressively insightful, analytical, candid and... who would have guessed it? NICE!

I'm working on a post for Social Media Week Chicago regarding the content of the talk, so I will post that link here (when it gets reviewed/approved) in case you are interested. HOWEVER, I just wanted to gush here (on the "filterless blog", if you will ;)) about his PERSONALITY! He was not only so obviously intelligent and well-spoken, but I honestly cannot believe how FRIENDLY he was! He didn't even blink an eye when I basically accosted him for a picture (Duh. Did you think I would do anything else?)!

Total winner in my book. Well, ALMOST. I mean, I still know what kind of lifestyle he leads...

A Road Trip in the Name of Alllll Things Good and Fallll!

2011-09-18T19:06:00.000-07:00

I'm baaaack!! After traveling for five weeks, I am back where I belong... CHICAGO!!!! Needless to say, I was so ready, set, PUMPED to be back home. What better way to really express my renewed appreciation for the grand city of Chicago than... to peace outta Chicago and head to Milwaukee the day after my grand return? Oh, the irony.

For good reason though! A couple of friends (Emily and Jay) and I had planned a road trip this weekend to visit another couple of good friends (Scott and Missy) who live in Milwaukee... and were gracious enough to host us during only like the grandest weekend of all time... the weekend of the local FALL FESTIVAL!!!!

OMGDSfkjjdsflaksjfdlkj!!! If you know me at ALL, you KNOW that Fall is my FAVORITE FAVORITE FAVORITE TIME OF YEAR!!!! The crisp, cool air, the beautiful foliage colors, the flavors of PUMPKIN and APPLE... dude, seriously. It canNOT get any BETTER. So you better BELIEVE I basically LEAPED on this opportunity to celebrate Fallll in allll its grandeur at this Fall Festival.

And, BOY, did it SO not disappoint.

The road trip started off... well, kind of anticlimactically. Of course, there were hugs GALORE when I first reunited with Emily... I mean, who are we kidding? It was like giddiness central. We made a quick pit stop at Walgreens since Emily wanted to pick up some iced tea and chips...

Then, we picked up Jay (reunion central again!) and were all ready, set to get on our WAY...

Except that I decided that I now wanted some water and chips as well... so we stopped at our second Walgreens in the course of... well, about ten minutes.

But THEN, we were ready, set and on our WAY! Milwaukee, here we come!!

After nothing short of a FABULOUS reunion with Missy and Scott (GOD, they are some of the best people ever invented), you better believe we wasted NO time in heading STRAIGHT for that Fall Festival! (I initially was doing my best to maintain a somewhat reserved, laid-back demeanor when Missy was asking us about thoughts on the afternoon's activities but... well, that lasted about five minutes. Hello!! A Fall Festival was a'CALLING! There was no TIME for beating around the bush, here!)

As soon as we arrived, I just knew, knew, KNEW I was not going to be disappointed.

And the FLAVORS of Fall!! GOD, it's been so long since I've had anything pumpkin flavored... well, minus the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte I had last week. But whatever. I haven't experienced total and complete pumpkin OVERLOAD just yet... and BOY, was I ready for it.

From pumpkin gelato...

To pumpkin beer...

To pumpkin pancakes...

To, well, pumpkins THEMSELVES...

Sigh. Let's just have a moment here, people. Let's just have a moment to rela-

Oh, screw it. lakjroewijulfkddjsajflksjdflkjlkJ!lkjlksjdflksjdf lkjfalksjfoiewrlkj! lskdjfoieurlwkjlkj! lkjkfasdjowielrkjlkjsdlkfhoiyvidhvlwkjl!jlkjfsaoiewlkjflksjd!! The grandest season of ALL is REALLY AND TRULY UPON US ONCE AGAIN!!!!!!lkfjdslkfjasdlkj!J!lkjlkajfdlkdsj! Seriously, just LOOKING at those pictures and RELIVING THE EXPERIENCE OF ALL THINGS GOOD AND PUMPKIN is making me so squeal-worthy HAPPY, I can barely STAND IT!!!!

You would think that would be the end of it, but I mean, please. It's just plain not. Amidst all the pumpkin-y goodness, we were also graced with the delight of only the second grandest flavor of alllll the season of Fallll... APPLE!!!

What better way to doll up this fine fruit than to... well, dump it in a bunch of chocolatey/caramely/sugary GOODNESS? I mean, will you LOOK at these things?!

God, can life really get any better? Really?

Well, I guess it can. Because, quite frankly, the best part about this weekend was just hanging out with some of my favorite people.

(Unfortunately, I didn't snap a photo of Missy and Scott, but that would OBVIOUSLY have gone here as well.)

After all the (mostly self-inflicted) chaos and delightfulness of the Fall Festival, Saturday night ended up being pretty chill, with a visit to a ping-pong bar:

And eating lots (and lots and lots) of good FOOD. For heaven's sake, Missy and Scott just do things so RIGHT. It had been a while since I've had a nice, home-cooked meal (let alone any fruits or veggies, in general)...

And quite frankly, Scott is a LEGIT master chef. Homemade pizza? I will TAKE it.

(The pancakes Scott whipped up the next morning only further corroborated the aforementioned FACT that he is a legit master chef.)

Add that to the SIXTY* donuts we consumed after the ping-pong bar on Saturday night, and I can safely say our bellies left the grand state of Wisconsin MORE than satisfied.

All in all, I can safely say that this weekend road trip was nothing short of a sweet success. Missy and Scott, THANK YOU for yet another pretty darn perfect weekend in Wisconsin. :)

*Yes. That's right. Sixty donuts. This is what happens when Scott rolls through a drive-thru donut stand (Sil's) at midnight and orders... not one donut per person, not half a dozen donuts, not even a dozen donuts. No, no. This is what happens when Scott orders... an OFFICE PACK of donuts. 60 donuts... for 5 people. Oh whatever, you better be keeping your judgmental thoughts to yourselves until you actually TRY these things. Melt. In your. MOUTH. DELICIOUSNESS. (I wish I'd snapped a picture but, quite frankly, we devoured those things before my camera even had a chance.)

Christie Meets... The County Fair

2011-09-01T18:55:00.001-07:00

Well. That title pretty much just says it all, now doesn't it?

I've been pretty much MIA for the past few weeks, because I've been staffed on a project in a small, northern Ohio town. Sigh, Ohio.

I've always dreamed about leaving the big city and moving to a cozy small town (and, ultimately, owning a cupcakery and bookstore... but I digress). So I figured I might as well see what small town cultural experiences are actually like... especially considering how much BUZZ I'd heard about the Stark County Fair. I simply HAD to take advantage! When in Rome and all that.

Yeah, well, that was before I realized that "Rome" cost eight bucks to get into! EIGHT BUCKS for the county fair?? I was a bit appalled. Even more appalled considering it was FREE on Tuesdays and Wednesdays- I'd just missed the deal by a day. Big fat boo.

It was hard to stay in a bummed mood- I'm a little kid at heart, what can I say? Upon entering the fairgrounds, my heart gave a little leap when I saw all the lights and the rides and the games... oh my!

I started meandering about, and started to feel a bit out of place. I didn't know a single person at this fair and, well, I don't know. I felt like people were looking at me funny. Maybe it was in my head, but whatever. Just as I was thinking of turning around and heading back to my car, my eyes caught sight of a beacon in this sea of strangers...

Can you make it out?! Ohio State! Ohio State!

Sigh. That's pretty much all it took for me to feel nicely comforted in my own skin again. Soo... let the wandering around continue. Man, for such a small town, this fair kind of goes all OUT! There was a concert going on in one area, some kind of animal showcasing event going on in another area... and even "farms" for goats, sheep, and horses!

There was even...

Well, okay. You can pretty much imagine how much understanding and use I would have for tractors, but still. It's certainly NOT something that I would see everyday! All about immersion and stuff.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I guess all of the above would constitute part of the "cultural" experience of the fair. But let's get to the good stuff. I mean, who are we kidding? As soon as you enter the fairgrounds, you are INUNDATED with food, food and more food!

Yum-O. Unfortunately, I wasn't all too hungry so I figured I'd just stock up on something sweet. Can't go wrong with that, now can you? From funnel cakes to sweet waffles to ice cream galore, I had my choice of it all! It was only as I was wandering, mentally complaining about WHY this fair wasn't carrying any darn fried ice cream (yes, this is what my life has come to) when...

Yeehaw! (<--When in Rome, remember?) Check it OUT!!! Just what I was looking for... fried Snickers, Reeses, cookie dough... and on and on. I ended up going with a fried Twinkie (hey, when you're going to go, go all out) and eagerly devoured my first bite.

And nearly burned the roof of my mouth OFF. This thing was PIPING! (I wish I could have snapped a picture of me eating my fried Twinkie, but I felt a little uncomfortable asking someone at the fair to take a picture for me... trust me on this one.)

Sadly, I only ate about 1/4 of the fried Twinkie. I don't know what I was thinking, really. I don't even like Twinkies all that much to begin with. (Hello! It's like eating chemicals!) I guess I just figured frying that sucker would make all things right in the world again.

It. Did. Not. If anything, I feel like the frying just brought out that chemical-y flavor even more.

YUCK. Oh well. You win some, you lose some. Next time, I'm just going to stick with the fried Snickers. Stick with what I know best (have YOU had a fried Snickers before? O.M.G.)

Ah, the county fair. Ah, culture.

Philadelphia - Home of Liberty Bell, Birthplace of... Will Smith

2011-08-21T17:10:00.000-07:00

Of all the big cities in the US, I think Philly is among the last that I had yet to visit. Not anymore! This weekend, I had the absolute HONOR (and DELIGHT!) of attending my first Healthy Living Summit in, where else?

Philadelphia. The land of Liberty Bell. The land of... well, Will Smith.

I wasn't really holding out all that much hope for Philly. I was expecting it to be congested, dirty and kind of ghetto, to be perfectly honest. I'm happy, oh so happy, to admit that I was wrong. Believe it or not, Philly actually turned out to be quite CUTE! Such a good mix of history and big city living- it kind of reminded me of Boston actually (and I LOVE Boston!).

While the Healthy Living Summit (HLS) consumed all of Saturday, I had most of Sunday free to explore the grand city. And explore I did. I started off the morning with some newfound HLS pals at the Reading Terminal Market... TOTALLY reminded me of San Francisco's Embarcadero Center except... holy moly, was this place CHEAP! $0.50 for canteloupe? $0.99 for cherry tomato packs? You know me and my deals...

It was going to be hard to beat THAT kind of start to the day. My HLS pals were catching flights/trains/rides soon after our market excursion so farewells were said and then... Christie took Philly.

I'd already crossed the Rocky steps off my list earlier that morning, when the HLS crew did a 5k that included the Rocky steps...

So next up? The only other "sight" I really wanted to see... the Liberty Bell!

Talk about a buzzkill though- check out this LINE!

There was no way I was waiting around for it. Instead, I circled around to the back of the building in which it is housed and... is that it?

Sure, you may have to squint. But oh well. In any event, I couldn't tell if it was THE Liberty Bell or some other bell that just happened to be in the building. But whatever. A bell's a bell's a bell.

Sigh. Those forefathers are turning in their grave right about now.

Well. I was already in the Old Town Historic area, so I just started wandering around. There's nothing I love more than just wandering around a city, no map and no agenda in mind. Sigh. Today did NOT disappoint. There was just so much HISTORY to drink in! Such a nerd, that I am. And proud of it.

The First Bank of the U.S. (Ahh- where would America be without capitalism today?)

(It's America- gotta emphasize the place where all the money is kept!)

The SECOND Bank of the U.S. (Can't have too many of these in the good ol' USA, I guess...)

The US Postal Service...

Just some plain old touristy gems...

And fasldkjflkdsj!! Cobblestone roads!!!!!

I saved the best for last. These cobblestone roads MADE my DAY!

All in all, such a great day of sightseeing, Philly-style! I was thoroughly impressed with this city. I would totally make a trip back here... if anything, to explore West Philadelphia. I've heard it's got a slightly different feel. Haha- I'm up for the challenge ;) Anything for... well, my one and only:

Great. Now I'm all flustered. Sigh. Must be true...

My First Healthy Living Summit!

2011-08-20T19:26:00.000-07:00

Well. I can safely say that this year's Healthy Living Summit was worth all the hype and all the blood, sweat and tears of getting to Philly. I can't believe it's over!

While I don't live the healthiest of lifestyles, meeting some new friends and attending some panels focused on personal well-being totally has renewed my motivation to lead a healthier lifestyle (primarily by motivating me to get off my butt and exercise more!). I couldn't BELIEVE how nice everyone was! Such a welcoming atmosphere, such a HAPPY PLACE. Must be all those endorphins. ;)

There were so many highlights! I just don't know where to begin.

From listening to some pretty SWEET panels (on social media, on maintaining Realistic and Achievable Wellness)...

To meeting some favorite bloggers (I swear, they were like celebrities to us!)...

To a Sunday morning 5K, complete with the Rocky Steps...

To one of the best breakfasts ever, with Quaker Oatmeal's SNAZZY OATMEAL BAR, complete with an Oatmeal Barista(!!)...

To WINNING one of the raffles (lkdsjflkdsj!!!! I never win anything!!)...

To the sweetest swag bag EVER (thank you, Quaker Oatmeal, one of my new favorite brands!)...

To enjoying some of Philly's nightlife at only one of the BEST restaurants EVER...

To new FRIENDS!!

The Healthy Living Summit just did it RIGHT. #HLS has totally just gained one more humongous fan. Can't wait till next year's!

After all that...

2011-08-20T04:45:00.000-07:00

I made it!!

After all the blood, sweat and tears... my flight was only delayed from Cleveland last night! Not cancelled!!

I never thought I'd be so excited for a delayed flight. I guess that's what happens when you're confronted with the worst possibility.

Sigh. Our flight boarded around 10:15 PM, and I was SO EXCITED I could barely stand it. After all the drama of the past 10 hours, the flight itself was pretty uneventful. Which was fine by me... I'd prefer drama on the ground rather than in the air. Duh.

I have never been so happy to see a "Welcome to" sign than I was last night. 11 hours after my journey began that morning, but a Welcome sign all the same.

The Healthy Living Summit (HLS) starts in TEN MINUTES!! Can't wait to check out my schwag BAG!

A Cancelled Flight, A Rental Pickup Truck, and Northeastern Ohio

2011-08-19T17:46:00.000-07:00

Now, don't get me wrong. I love the grand home state. Anyone will tell you that. I am the first one to actively proclaim my love for good ol' OH-IO! Maybe I should clarify. I love all things CINCINNATI. And Columbus, to an extent.

I've never actually explored all that much of northeastern Ohio yet. Until today, that is. I was in a small Ohio town this week... certainly a different feel than Chicago, Illinois. But charming Ohio, at its best, if you will.

However, I was sooo ready, set, PUMPED for this weekend. I'd been planning to attend this Healthy Living Summit in Philly for the past couple of months and I had been looking forward to it since before I'd even booked my tickets.

So I arrive at the Canton/Akron airport around 12:30 PM, when my flight to Philly only left at 5:45 PM, because I just carpooled with my co-worker to the airport for his earlier flight. And, let's face it, there were no other flights (earlier OR later) to Philly from Canton/Akron today.

So what happens when a flight to Philly gets cancelled? Well, I am quickly finding out.

After being stuck in the darn Canton/Akron airport for 5 1/2 hours, I find out that the flight is cancelled due to storms in Philly. UGH, this SO would NOT be happening if I were flying Southwest, I know that for a FACT. A few options were available- either get booked on the next flight to Philly tomorrow morning at 7:30 AM, drive an hour to the Cleveland airport and take another Philly flight tonight (hoping and praying that THAT flight isn't cancelled), or DRIVE to Philly (it was only eight hours... if I left around 6 PM, I would arrive around 2 AM, which would be fine by me).

Surprisingly, that third option was actually the first one I was opting for. Okay, so when you're stuck in an airport waiting for delayed/cancelled flights, your bound to make some new friends right? So this one girl, this one guy and I had befriended each other and were starting to make plans to actually rent a car and DRIVE to Philly tonight. The poor guy had to get to New York for WORK tomorrow (God, his life blows).

Considering I didn't even know these people's names... I'm actually kinda glad this option didn't work out. Could've been interesting, could've been disastrous.

I ended up going for the second option. Drive to Cleveland and hope and pray for that flight to come in. The primary reason I wanted to do this, was because I wanted to get to Philly at LEAST tonight, since the Healthy Living Summit starts at like 8 AM tomorrow morning... and I didn't want to miss a SECOND of it.

Sooo... I end up going to the National rental car desk (since it was the ONLY one with no line) and they quickly got me a rental car... and by rental car, I mean rental PICKUP TRUCK.

Ummm. Again, do NOT get me wrong. I have nothing against trucks or anything. However, I can 100% say I, myself, have never driven, nor really CONSIDERED driving, a truck.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. A pickup truck to roadtrip through northeastern Ohio.

Awesome.

Once I got into the truck (God), I immediately Google mapped directions to the Cleveland airport. Considering the directions included SIX highways, I already knew I was going to have to buffer some time for getting lost. You're talking to a girl who has NO sense of direction here.

Thankfully, luck was apparently on my side, and I quickly saw the highways come and go, just as I expected. It was all going like clockwork. Faster than clockwork really... let's just say I am LUCKY I did not get a speeding ticket today.

The whole time I was speeding down those highways, the primary thought running through my mind was: if my driving isn't going to kill me, my parents will. Because, not only was I averaging about 80 mph in 55 mph speed limit areas... but I was all the while thinking about what a terrific blog opportunity this was- and snapping a few pictures along for, well, documentation purposes!

As if it weren't enough that I was driving the hour to the Cleveland airport, I of course, of COURSE, came across a toll road. Which requires stopping. And paying. Even more than I already paid for this darn rental car.

Awesome. I can't even remember the last time I saw a toll booth. Hell, I can't remember the last time I DROVE... big city girl, that I am.

I guess that would explain the slightly maniacal driving habits. And by slightly maniacal, I sure do mean I was passing everyone on the highway. Nothing was stopping me... not even construction zones, BABY! (I wish, oh I WISH, I'd snapped a picture of the construction zone. But that would have 100% resulted in an accident. And please. I'm the picture of responsibility. HA.)

Welll... I guess I was going faster than I expected. I actually got to the Cleveland airport in a little under an hour! Wahooooo!!! Well... until I realized that the rental car place is like out in who knows WHERE. Ugh, it was like a neverending nightmare. I hastily drop off the rental car and hop on the rental car shuttle... and thankfully, it was like my personal valet service. It jetted off as soon as I boarded. Wahooooo!!! Again!

Okay. So I get to the airport, hurry scurry through security once again, basically RUN to my gate... to find out my Philly flight is delayed. And it hasn't left Philly yet, due to storms.

I swear, if this flight gets cancelled, I'm going to cry. Cry.

Screw prepping for the Healthy Living Summit. Screw it. I'm having a Dr. Pepper.

And some cookies.

It's been a while!

2011-08-16T17:10:00.000-07:00

It's been seemingly forever since I posted something! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!

I hate slacking on my blog- it really has become like my baby. The reason for my slacking as of late? (And trust me, I'm not using it as an excuse!)

Chicago on the Cheap

I recently got a delightful little opportunity to blog for ChicagoNow- a magazine-ish type deal that is affiliated with the Chicago Tribune. I honestly probably should do my research before accepting an opportunity like this but... well, quite frankly, it doesn't take much to get me all excited about all things BLOG!

I got this gig after pitching an idea to ChicagoNow regarding a blog focused on one's experience exploring Chicago, one deal at a time. I mean, some of my Maliyacular posts were already focused on deals going on in the city and, quite frankly, who doesn't love an honest-to-goodness deal?

I'm so excited to be doing this! However, Chicago on the Cheap is solely Chicago-focused (obvi). Because I get an oddly natural high of seeing my international (and national!) "following" on the Maliyacular, I will definitely be keeping THIS blog up too! I mean, there's obvi more to my life than just DEALS in Chicago, so you better believe I'll be keep you nicely informed of the REST of my daily shenanigans right here on the Maliyacular.

Just wanted to give you a heads up! And, ever the self-promoter that I am, please do spread the word about Chicago on the Cheap! ;) Shameless, I know.

Insomnia Meets the Jodi Picoult Project

2011-08-09T09:57:00.000-07:00

UGH! Waking up in the middle of the night and being unable to fall back asleep is one of my BIGGEST pet peeves. I loooove sleeping- one of my greater values in life, if you will.

So, imagine my surprise (not to mention, general annoyance) when I awoke last night and grabbed my phone to check the time. I normally awaken before my alarm goes off anyway (ever the morning person, that I am), but it's usually around the 5:30/5:45 AM range. Not... the 2:45 AM range.

Sigh. I had been EXHAUSTED the evening before, so I figured falling asleep would be no problem. I guess I was right- because falling asleep WAS no problem. It was more that whole STAYING asleep component...

I lay around for a bit, hoping sleep would come, but, well, that clearly wasn't going to be the case. Seriously, I arose at 2:45 AM like I would have at 6:30 AM anyway... all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Might as well seize the moment, and all that. I guess.

Good thing I have my Jodi Picoult project to keep me entertained, even in the wee hours of the morning! Yup, that's right. I just hopped right outta bed, turned on my light and...

Started reading. I was SO close to the end, so can you really blame me? Come on, now.

Unfortunately, I didn't have the same love for Picture Perfect as I had for House Rules . I actually went into reading Picture Perfect thinking I would fall in LOVE with it right away- it's all about a Hollywood celebrity couple! Hello!

So, without further ado, I present to you my review for...

Picture Perfect

Length: 384 pages

Synopsis: The book starts out with this new LAPD officer, Will, finding this young woman, Cassie, on the streets suffering from amnesia. He takes her in and adores her for a few days, until her husband realizes she has been found and comes to "get" her from the police station, all relieved and happy to have her back. The story basically turns into Cassie mapping back her memory, beginning with how she met her husband. She was working on an anthropology project in Tanzania when her location happened to coincide with the set for a Hollywood film starring none other than the king of Hollywood, Alex Rivers. They quickly fall in love and get married and she moves back to his Bel-Air castle with him. (Eee!! Bel-Air! This book totally won points for being located in Bel-Air, solely because it reminded me of... sigh, Will Smith. And The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Hearts and flowerslkjfslkj!) And that's pretty much where the fairytale ends. Without giving too much away (read: Alex Rivers is a D-bag with an extra capital D), you ultimately get glimpses of each individual character's family history to see how/why they ended up playing the life roles that they do.

My favorite part of the book: How Jodi Picoult presents the awful cycle of abuse/repentance that defines Alex and Cassie's marriage. Depressing, sure. Necessary, yes. Even if you've never been the victim of abuse, you find yourself totally empathizing with Cassie (while simultaneously getting frustrated with her at points!). Picoult's well-developed characters really highlight the feelings and issues related to domestic violence, such that you can truly feel and understand the pain and misery involved (to an extent) in such a situation, even if you have never been a victim of such abuse yourself.

My least favorite part of the book: I thought the storyline was incredibly farfetched. First, they meet in Tanzania, which, sure, is far-fetched, but I can handle that since we're dealing with Hollywood here. But there comes a point where Cassie has to go to Will's family's Indian reservation and, quite frankly, while I found it interesting to learn more about Indian reservation lifestyles, I just didn't think it flowed all that well. I mean, there was some talk about Will's Indian roots in the beginning, but then it kind of fell to the wayside until MUCH later in the book when Cassie has to flee there. And then it's like Indian reservation overload.

What I learned: Just what it is like to be stuck in the shoes of a domestic violence victim. There were points in time that I grew SO frustrated with Cassie (hello! Just LEAVE him!). However, based on my very little education (read: Oprah) of the psyche of abuse victims, her actions were so realistic and necessary to bring to light, in order to understand the Godawful nature of domestic violence. Additionally, I learned a bit about the (pretty sad!) conditions of living on an Indian reservation, but I liked the focus on domestic violence much more.

How it ranks on my personal Jodi Picoult Project list...
1. Nineteen Minutes
2. House Rules
3. The Pact
4. My Sister's Keeper
5. Picture Perfect
6. Salem Falls

Oh well. Onto the next one!

The Jodi Picoult Project - Book #1: House Rules

2011-08-03T12:16:00.000-07:00

Well. That was quick. I picked up House Rules on Sunday evening and, 539 pages and two and a half days later, I'm done! Not too shabby.

That just goes to show how good this book was. Or maybe I was just excited to be starting my Jodi Picoult Project. In any event, I loved this book. I couldn't put it down! And this project was doing exactly what I was hoping it would do- getting me to turn my darn television OFF and pick up a book INSTEAD.

Please see below for my Jodi Picoult Book Review Template. I'm going to try to use this self-created "template" as I review each Jodi Picoult book, so that something, for once, can be standardized on this blog. Please bear in mind that the template will likely continue to evolve, since, well, we're all continuing to evolve, right? Deep, I know.

House Rules

Length: 539 pages

Synopsis: The book centers around an eighteen-year-old boy named Jacob, who has Asperger's Syndrome. Jacob is fascinated by crime scene investigations and has historically put together his own faux crime scenes, in hopes that others can try to solve the crime- his inspiration for this practice is his religious viewing of Crimebusters every afternoon at 4:30 PM. Jacob has a social skills tutor named Jess who is found dead in her apartment fairly early on in the book. At first, her boyfriend (who, by the way, is a complete and total D-Bag) is the most plausible suspect. However, Jacob quickly steals THAT spotlight when his mother realizes that Jess' body was found wrapped in a handmade quilt... a handmade quilt that belongs to Jacob. And so, you have the makings of a fine little story. How did Jess die? Did Jacob kill her? If so, why? If not, well, why was his quilt wrapped around her?

My favorite part of the book: How each chapter is told from the point of view of a different character. There are five main characters in the story (Jacob, his brother Theo, his mom Emma, his lawyer Oliver and the police officer Rich), so I feel like I could have easily gotten lost in the story, since there is so much DETAIL. However, having each chapter told from a different perspective really made me grow that much more attached to each character. More than once did I tear up when reading about how Emma (the mom) deals with her life. Makes me never want to complain about my life again.

My least favorite part of the book: I don't think I appreciate the legal nature of things as much as other people do, so I found the last parts of the book (ie: the courtroom scenes) more boring than pivotal. But that's just me, because obviously other people drink this stuff UP.

What I learned: GOD, I learned so much about Asperger's Syndrome. I'd heard about it plenty, but couldn't really pinpoint how it differed from autism. I have to admit, I was already interested in the topic, but I'm pleased to say that I learned a LOT more from the story that was woven here.

How it ranks on my personal Jodi Picoult Project list...
1. Nineteen Minutes
2. House Rules
3. The Pact
4. My Sister's Keeper
5. Salem Falls

The Jodi Picoult Project

2011-08-01T06:35:00.001-07:00

As I was running some errands way downtown this weekend (and by way downtown, I mean anywhere south of Lincoln Park), I stumbled upon the main branch of Chicago's public library (the Harold Washington Library). Now, if you know me at all, you know I love all things books. I've been an avid reader since I, well, learned how to read (circa 1987, age 4).

One of my favorite childhood routines would be going to our local public library every Saturday afternoon with my dad. He would read that week's Investor's Business Daily (among other things), while I would park it with the latest Sweet Valley or Babysitter's Club book. So peaceful, so relaxing, so all-in-all delightful.

I figured I'd check out Chicago's esteemed Harold Washington Library, since, well, I was walking right by it. So inside its hallowed halls I went.

And there goes that jaw, dropping away.

I was SHOCKED (not to mention slightly overwhelmed) with its grandeur, just upon initial entrance. I mean, TEN FLOORS of library goodness? Heaven.

Of course, not knowing exactly where to start, I just made myself at home at the front desk, interrogating, excuse me, politely inquiring the library staff about "how this place works". (Sadly, those were my exact words.) The staff gave me a little pamphlet detailing each floor, and off I went on my self-guided tour.

Who knew that a public library would house a mini-MUSEUM? Here, you could find the history of theater, if it so struck your fancy.

Or, heck, screw paying for the Internet at home! Check out the gargantuan nature of one of its computer labs!

Once I reached the seventh floor, I knew I'd quite literally died and gone to heaven. Shelf after shelf of all things Fiction greeted my eager little eyes.

Since I'd come here on a whim, I didn't really have a book in mind. I started out just aimlessly wandering the stacks, happy enough to be drinking in title after title after title. Then, I figured I might as well take a more strategic approach to this and try to focus on finding some book (any book, really!) that I've been thinking of checking out (no pun intended!).

The first author that came to mind was Jodi Picoult. Well, if we're being completely honest here, the first author that actually came to mind was Sophie Kinsella but, who are we kidding, I've already read all HER stuff. Multiple times.

Anyway, so off I trekked, to the P section of this glorious floor. I'd read a few Jodi Picoult books in the past, some of which I loved, some of which I couldn't stand. However, I plucked her name out of the clear blue because she is one of the most prolific authors of which I am aware (I swear, every month she has a new book coming out). Therefore, it didn't surprise me in the least when I finally found the P section and, upon a bit further investigating, stumbled upon...

And this...

Told you she was prolific. Granted, there were multiple copies of several of her works, but whatever. You get the picture. Upon reading the cover flaps of several of the books, I realized that I just couldn't choose! They all sounded so good!

And herein, my friends, is where the Jodi Picoult Project was born. The goal? To read every single Jodi Picoult book, over the course of three months. She has written 20 books total, of which I've read four (I think).

Sure, some of her books have been a total "miss" with me. But overall, I have to say her writing totally resonates with me. Each story is not only well-written, but so well-researched that it makes me want to hug the pages. I love thoroughness. I love feeling like I've actually learned something from her stories, whether it's historical, medical, social, etc.

Since I was a little overstimulated by the neverending array of Picoult books right at my disposal, I finally settled on three books to start my project off.

Sure, why not? Kick off the Project with a bang and all that.

I'm excited! And you KNOW that with each book I complete, YOU, my dear blog readers, will be getting a complete and total book review. You're welcome in advance.

All in all, I have to say, what a delightfully little surprising twist my Saturday afternoon took. I'd forgotten how much I loved the public library. I do hope they survive through the years- they are seriously one of God's finer gifts for the general public.

How Mother Nature OWNED Us

2011-07-25T11:45:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it's been over a week since my last update! Suffice it to say that there was NOT much going on last week - you better believe that with the onset of that Godawful heat wave, my activities were quite limited to those of the indoor, air-conditioned sort.

Let's just say- I do NOT do extreme weather conditions. I mean, wasn't it just yesterday that we had a blizzard of historical proportions come barreling along our way? I'm all about the four seasons but this is seriously taking the four seasons to all KINDS of extremes.

Anyway! Since I'm the epitome of all things sunshiney goodness (duh), I've taken it upon myself to focus on the bright side of this heat wave. A list, if you will... a list of...

How Mother Nature OWNED Us - Making Lemonade Outta Those Heat Wave-y Lemons

1. The SUN! - You know me, a victim of Seasonal Affective Disorder if ever there was one. I NEED some serious sunshine in my life and... well, I can safely say that last week certainly sufficed. That sun was beaming its little rays down on us all the livelong day. Even though I was too busy taking cover in the shade and, more likely, in air-conditioned hotspots, I still have to say that I liked LOOKING out at sunshiney goodness.

2. No running! - You know me! The picture of love and devotion for this fine pastime we call running. HA. Needless to say, some executive decisions about my running schedule were made by about 7:15 each morning last week, as I would watch Al Roker dutifully unveil his Heat Wave map and... well, GOD! That map has never SEEN so much RED! (Red=Heat Warning, just a friendly FYI) And, well, I couldn't put my health at risk for a run, now could I? I mean, what if I fainted? Or, heaven forbid, ended up puking out on a public street? Ew. Decision was MADE - nooo running!!!! Weeee!

3. Air conditioner CENTRAL - Since frugality is pretty much my middle name, I like to minimize my use of the air conditioner because... MAN, can it skyrocket your bills! Well... let's just say last week was the exception to THAT frugal little rule. You better believe that air conditioner was blasting its pretty little heart out and I had absolutely NO QUALMS about it. Nothing feels better than coming into a nice, frigidly air-conditioned space from the outdoors where you literally feel like the sunshine's rays are going to burn you alive... but I digress.

4. ...

Ummm. I honestly sat here for a good three minutes, trying to figure out another lemonade maker outta those heat wavey lemons we got dealt last week... but, well... nothing! Nada. Not a single positive thing more could be said about the strike of Mother Nature's wrath last week.

Oh, screw it. Screw lemons and lemonade! Screw me being the picture of sunshiney goodness! Mother Nature TOTALLY owned us last week... and it was GOD-Awful.

My First 5K!

2011-07-17T08:26:00.001-07:00

That's right, ladies and gents! Today, I completed my very first 5K! I signed up for the Fleet Feet Women's 5K race about a month ago, primarily because my half-marathon training schedule me to do so. And you KNOW whatever that training schedule says, I will FOLLOW!

Needless to say, I was not the ideal 5K'er this morning. It all started with my bad decision to stay out till about 1 AM, despite fully knowing that I had a 6 AM wakeup call this morning. Come 6 AM, my alarm went off, and I... well, just groaned, turned my alarm off, and continued to lay in bed, seriously contemplating just skipping the race.

Sure, I was tired, but I think what was mostly contributing to this lack of motivation was the knowledge that it was going to be one scorcher of a day. To say I'm a wimp in heat is pretty much one of the bigger understatements one can make.

Sigh. After about three minutes, I just forced myself outta bed and focused on getting ready... my brand new race shirt certainly helped matters along, not going to lie! :) Yess!

Since I was having some trouble waking up and/or thinking positive thoughts prior to the race, I unfortunately did not snap a single "before-race" picture. Sad, I know.

I have to say, though. Fleet Feet knows how to make a race FUN!

We started with some pre-race stretching, sponsored by Accelerated Rehab. I'm not going to lie... this pre-race stretching was kind of like a workout in and of itself. Let's just say I was DRIPPING with sweat by the end of it... and I still had the race to run! The 90+ degree weather at like 7:15 AM was certainly NOT helping matters.

Shortly after the pre-race stretching (read: workOUT)... we were all corralled together to get ready for the big race! The theme of the pep talks being given in the last ten minutes? Hydration, hydration, hydration!

But you know me and my feelings about water. I hate to say it, but I decided to kind of turn a deaf ear to all those pieces of advice (being blared from every megaphone available).

But soon enough, off we went! I'm very open about how I'm not a fast runner by any stretch of the imagination. My primary goal with any race is to just FINISH it running. Therefore, I was perfectly content positioning myself around the 10:30 pace section, since I'd been pacing at around a 10/10:30 minute mile during my other runs.

And imagine that. Mile 1 went by just like that! I was feeling just fine and dandy, despite my worries about still being sore from my five mile run (!! I know, right?!) on Friday. I felt like I could go on all day long.

But then Mile 2 hit. And hit HARD. I swear, that sunshine was beaming brighter than ever and the shady parts of the path had gotten to be quite few and far between.

I'm not kidding, I felt like death was coming a'knocking.

Okay, maybe I just felt like the heat and beaming sunshine was significantly slowing me down, but whatever. You get the idea. I ended up feeling better about halfway through Mile 2, primarily because I was just thinking "Alright, the faster you pick up the pace, the sooner you'll be done with this DAMN RACE".

Talk about real healthy, positively reinforcing, completely non-abusive thoughts. Oh well. I tried.

Just as I was mentally reconsidering why I'd EVER touted the glories of "sunshiney goodness" (GOD, that sun is INSANE today), sweet Jesus, would you look at that?

I did it! I did it! I finished the race, running! Huzzah!!

Sigh. Don't I look so genuinely happy and refreshed... and not totally ready to keel over from heat stroke? HA. In my DEFENSE, this picture was taken like RIGHT after I finished, when I was still trying to figure out whether my body was going to let me live or die by this point.

It was kind of funny because I hadn't taken advantage of any of the hydration stations Fleet Feet had set up (God bless Fleet Feet- they SO know how to take care of their runners), despite all that hydration encouragement to which I'd turned my deaf ear (hey! I told you at the beginning I wasn't the ideal 5K'er this morning!). However, I ended up snagging a bottle of water that was being handed out at the finish line.

But I got quickly distracted because...

Weeee! There were those Gatorade people, handing out little cupfuls of Gatorade deliciousness. Before I even THOUGHT about opening up that bottle of water, I JETTED on over to the Gatorade guy, snagged a cup of Gatorade deliciousness and pretty much took it like one would take a shot of vodka. I guess I was thirstier than I thought. Whoops.

But man! Talk about a parTAY after the race finish! There were all KINDS of goodies and tents set up for individuals to peruse at leisure. Of course, I first made myself at home at the Luna tent... free samples? Hello.

Next, I decided to get my knee all checked out (it's been pretty swollen the past few days) with a free injury screening at the Accelerated Rehab tent.

After getting myself armed with a sports doctor referral, I decided to make myself right at home at the Moji tent. Before this race, I hadn't really known what Moji was, but BOY, am I glad that I found this tent. Moji is like this special type of icepack which, quite frankly, is heaven. ESPECIALLY in the 90+ degree weather. You basically can get icepacks strapped to you, and it's SO much more flexible than a standard icepack. Anyway, you KNOW it took me no time at all to get myself all nicely situated and start icing my knee.

Very ladylike, I know.

I ended up staying for a little bit longer, checking out the New Balance fashion show, partaking in some post-race stretching, and staying for part of the awards show (umm! The fastest runner had like a 5:53 PACE?!?!? WTF?!). What can I say? Once the race was actually over, I was totally all ABOUT it! Haha.

All in all, a success! Granted, my time was slower than I would have hoped, but I was happy to have just finished this darn thing, given this ridiculous heat wave nonsense.

And the best part? I totally have my day's workout all over and done with by about 10 AM! FAN-tastic! Now I can finally focus on the REAL priorities for today... celebrating National Ice Cream Day! Yessss!

Dance Party Time!

2011-07-15T07:30:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't love quintessential Chicago summer evenings? Yesterday was nothing short of that. Perfect sunshiney goodness, perfect gentle breeze, perfect LACK OF HUMIDITY... you couldn't ask for anything better.

I ended up going to Millennium Park to hear this band that a couple of my friends wanted to check out. Since I'm not the biggest music person, I was tempted to nix the outing and go with my previously scheduled plans. Those thoughts of hesitation quickly flew out the window when I heard that the band was called... Funkadesi. Well, OBVI, there was no way I could say no to THAT.

I'd never heard of this group before, but one of my friends had heard a-mazing things about them. Quite frankly, I just couldn't wait to see what people who were willing to go with a band name like Funkadesi looked like. Haha.

So, off to Millennium Park we went! I wasn't at ALL surprised with the brilliant turnout it had.

I mean, Millennium Park is well-known for their fine array of outdoor events during the utopia that can only be Chicago summers. And with such a GORGEOUS evening ahead of us (after a pretty rough start to summer, let's be honest)? Well, if there WASN'T a good turnout, I would have been a bit flabbergasted.

Up first? You guessed it... Funkadesi.

Unsurprisingly, I was delighted with the music. I say "unsurprisingly" for two reasons: 1. I'm not all too particular about the music I like... meaning I like pretty much everything and 2. How can music really be bad if you mix in some Indian beats? Seriously.

The fact that Funkadesi totally got the crowd to learn how to "bhangra" (a traditional Indian dance that 100% exudes energy, flair and FUN!) was only brownie points. They'd quickly won me over within their first few minutes of music.

Delightfully enough, ANOTHER band was performing right after Funkadesi! And... would you look at that? It was a Cuban band! Sigh. Totally brought back memories of a certain vacation...

I love Cuban music! I think it's primarily because I love Cuban DANCING!! So festive, so MERRY! Granted, I have pretty much no rhythm, so maybe I should clarify that I love watching Cuban dancing moreso than actually partaking in it myself...

Let's just say it literally took no time at ALL to get the crowd on their feet, swinging their hips and doing some seriously fancy footwork. It was one of the more festive public events I've witnessed... since, well, that Oprah Flash Mob Experience which I was part of a couple of years ago (that's right, a claim to fame if ever I had one). I couldn't BELIEVE how many people were getting into it!

Seriously. Don't these last two pictures just make you want to get up and DANCE?! Come on, go for it! No one will judge you... not at all.

What more can be said? All in all... just pretty much one perfect Chicago summer evening.

The Best Books EVER - An Unbiased Review

2011-07-14T07:05:00.000-07:00

With all the hubbub ongoing about the Harry Potter final movie premiere tonight, I started thinking about what is that It factor about the Harry Potter series that turned it into, well, the phenomenon it is today.

I'll admit it- I'm not the biggest Harry Potter fan. I just never understood what all the fuss was about. Granted, I've heard that you have to get a few books into the series to truly appreciate its addicting quality, and I only read the first book before formulating my grand judgment. I do think I'll give it another chance (I can't COMPLETELY miss out on a worldwide phenomenon!), but let's just say it's not exactly at the top of my priority list.

There are just so MANY good books out there! As such, I have taken the liberty of outlining some of my favorite books of all time.

1. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee - Hands down, my favorite book of ALL TIME. I try to read it at least once a year, and each year, I seem to pick out new little details that I'd seemingly overlooked in the past million or so reads. You just can't HELP but fall in love with Jem, Scout and Dill. And who are we kidding, everyone should aspire to be an Atticus Finch.

2. Nicholas and Alexandra, by Robert Massie - I love history. I love royalty. I love intrigue. I love suspense. There is absolutely NO better story to fulfill all of the above-stated interests than the Romanov legacy. This book reads like a story, yet simultaneously brilliantly weaves together all the historical facts involved with this family. It's long, sure, but I can assure that you will NOT be able to put this down (if you are interested in the Romanov tragedy... which you should be).

3. Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides - This book was a big surprise to me. I picked it up because it was super popular, but I didn't think the story would appeal to me all that much. I was dead wrong, to say the least. The reason this book quickly escalated into a "favorite" of mine is because of the amazing way the author details the (wide) variety of stories across multiple generations of a family.

4. The Shopaholic Series, by Sophie Kinsella - Without fail, ALL of the books in this series cracks. me. UP. I have to say that my favorite would be the first one (Confessions of a Shopaholic) but you really can't go wrong with ANY of them. The main character is so ridiculously off the wall with her spending habits that, while I can't relate at ALL (I hate shopping), I still LOVE reading about how she gets herself into (and out of) her little life pickles.

5. Nineteen Minutes, by Jodi Picoult - So Picoult is one of the most prolific writers ever, but unfortunately, her books are totally hit or miss for me. I've read QUITE a few of her works, and while I liked a fair amount, I disliked a fair amount as well. Nineteen Minutes is the one work of hers that I absolutely fell in love with. Granted, it's about a school shooting and to say it is a bit depressing is an UNDER-STATEMENT. I was literally crying in my car at points, when I was listening to this book on tape as I drove to work. Amazing.

6. Something Borrowed, by Emily Giffin - This book was a surprising delight for me. When I read the synopsis, I really didn't think I was going to enjoy the story, since it starts OFF with a guy cheating on his fiancee with her best friend. But you'll quickly realize WHY this story won me over, despite the seemingly questionable morals initially portrayed. You really grow attached to the characters and, oh who are we kidding here, this book is HILARIOUS. Yet another one of those laugh out loud ones. Consider yourself fairly warned, in case you decide to read it in a public setting. :) Something Blue is the "sequel" to this book and is also quite a gem, but Something Borrowed by FAR reigns superior in my mind.

7. The BabySitters Club series, by Ann M. Martin - I grew up on these books and to say I was addicted is an understatement. I wish there were more childrens' series like this in today's day and age. I know that they've brought back the BabySitters Club series, but sadly, I don't think it's nearly as popular as it was back in the day. A travesty, in my opinion. These books are timeless- teaching you all about friendships, family, running a pretty SWEET business, etc...

8. The Undomestic Goddess, by Sophie Kinsella - Clearly, when I find an author I like, I stick with her. Again, this book is quite literally LAUGH out LOUD funny. I read this one over and over again and without fail, am bound to laugh aloud multiple times.

Sure, some may call it an eclectic collection. Some may call it a random collection. I prefer to think of it as a unique, well-ROUNDED collection, thank you very much. A collection to suit anyone's reading needs, if you will.

Friendship - An Introspective Review

2011-07-13T11:44:00.000-07:00

Hooray! I just submitted a piece for a blogger contest that I saw advertised a few weeks ago. In 300 words or less, I was supposed to talk about "Who I am most surprised to be friends with". When I first heard about this topic, I figured it would be easy peasy Mac n Cheesy.

But the more I got to thinking, the more I struggled with the topic. "SURPRISED" to be friends with? I've never been asked that question, let alone pondered it of my own accord.

It got me thinking about my closest friends over the years, and sigh. Talk about a sentimental sojourn, if you will.

I've always been a fairly social creature by nature. What can I say? I get a (completely natural!) high being surrounded by people! I used to LOVE a good social gathering of sorts. The larger the gathering, the more excited I would get. But as the years progressed, I quickly realized that, while I'm grateful to be one of those people who makes friends pretty easily, I am pretty much the worst friend with whom to keep in touch. I just lose track of time and, well, frankly put, I hate talking on the phone.

All I have to say is God bless the inventor of all things Internet.

Email...

Instant messenger...
Facebook...
TOTALLY my saving graces in this whole "keeping in touch" thing.

But still. There's something to be said about that personal touch that only a good old-fashioned phone call or, heck, a handwritten letter (remember THOSE?!) can bring. Who would've thought, right? The tools and technology at our fingertips to maximize our connectivity as inherently social creatures... inherently lending to just increased isolation.

Deep, RIGHT? Hahaha. But still, as I've grown up (and, I like to think, matured into a young adult), I feel like I am so much more appreciative of the quality of my friendships, rather than quantity of friends I have. More and more, I find myself making a concerted effort to shoot a quick email, send a quick text, send a quick Facebook message or (imagine THAT) even pick up the phone for a quick (or hours-long... if you're one of the Select Few!) phone call.

I just feel like I have a renewed value for LEGIT friendships. Oh, who am I kidding? I'm likely just getting lazier with age and don't feel like making small talk with newfound acquaintances right and left. I mean, the sheer EFFORT... sigh. Oh, I could go on and on.

See?? Isn't it amazing to see the introspective little treat this simple blog contest's topic culminated into? You're so welcome in advance for this week's edition of Deep Thoughts by Christie Maliyackel.

My ultimate goal? To ultimately have something like THIS...

Or this...

Or hell, even this... a girl can plan 80 years down the line, right?

Or, of course... something like this. Can't go a blog post without referencing The Oprah, herself, right?

Wish me luck! Off to start making some phone calls, touting my renewed appreciation for some of my closest ones and onlies!

In a Funk? Have a Cupcake

2011-07-12T12:49:00.000-07:00

I woke up in a funk this morning after one rather ridiculous phone call last evening. I figured I'd just dwell in my funk for a few hours in the morning and then move along my merry way, being the glass half full kinda gal that I am.

For some reason, the funk still remains (and it's currently 2:53 PM CST).

I didn't go outside for lunch today, despite the ridiculous sunshiney goodness (that's right, folks- summertime Chi has FINALLY arrived!) taunting me through these office windows. As such, come 2:30 PM, I figured a break was much needed. A break from the office, a break from the funk, you get the idea.

I headed out with no real plan in mind- just intending to take a few moments to enjoy some delicious sunshiney goodness.

But then... well, somehow I just HAPPENED to stumble upon...

If a cupcake can't cheer a person up, I just don't know what CAN. Without a MOMENT's hesitation, I made myself right at home. I mean, this place's selection is Ridiculous (with a capital R and everything).

In the end, my practicality got the better of me- I knew I would feel absolutely SICK for the rest of the afternoon if I ingested one of those ginormous specialty cupcakes. So, instead, I opted for a plain Jane vanilla-vanilla cupcake. Aaand added a couple more specialty cupcakes for some fellow coworkers of mine... gotta deflect any and all guilt I was feeling for indulging in such a rich treat on a regular old Tuesday afternoon, after all.

In the end, I must say, cupcakes really do solve all the world's problems. The delicious sunshiney goodness was only an added bonus. :)

Five Miles and Under the Weather

2011-07-11T12:10:00.000-07:00

Boooo. I hate being sick. Fortunately, I'm one of those lucky ones who doesn't tend to get sick all that often.

Until this weekend.

All was fine and dandy come Saturday morning when 5:45 AM's sunshine came around and woke me right on up. I was actually kind of dreading getting out of bed because I knew I had a "long" run scheduled for the day. Considering I'd missed my long run last weekend (that's what vacationing will do to you, I guess), I was more than a little nervous that five miles this weekend was going to be more than a little torturous.

But would you look at that?? It actually wasn't! And you know the best part? It wasn't even just a mediocre, "thank God I made it through this run" run. I actually felt GREAT when I finished it! Granted, running is probably a glorified term for what I was doing (think more along the lines of jogging and/or speed walking for some), but STILL. All I'm trying to do is FINISH this darn race.

At least I know what my goals are.

So there I was, all on my endorphin-y high by about 7 AM on Saturday morning. Isn't it the BEST feeling to get your workouts outta the way so you can just enJOY the rest of your day? Well, "enjoy" isn't exactly the word I would use to describe the rest of my Saturday. In the course of about three hours, I developed an AWFUL headache that simply wouldn't go away (not a migraine, by any means, but still). So you KNOW I was popping that Advil like there was no tomorrow (if there's one thing I canNOT stand, it's a headache).

Maybe it was the heat? Maybe it was dehydration? Who knows. All I know is that after some legit pill-popping and water-guzzling, I took a two hour nap on the couch... usually the solution to most of my headaches.

Not this time. That darn, dull ache was STILL in the back of my head when I awoke.

Thankfully, over the course of the evening, it tempered itself out a bit, so I was all ready, set, in the clear.

Until Sunday night. Which happened to be the first time in YEARS that I ended up vomiting (for reasons completely unrelated to excessive alcohol consumption). Isn't that strange?

I had gone to a picnic and then a barbecue that evening, so I don't know if it was something I ate or a combination of the one bottle of beer and one glass of wine that I consumed... but over the course of like four hours? Really? Yeah right.

Or maybe, just maybe, it happened to be this medication I took when I got home that shouldn't have been combined with alcohol.

Wowza. Whoops.

Chalk this one up to just plain stupidity on my end, folks. Just. Plain. Stupidity. It's just that, quite frankly, I didn't even THINK that the alcohol would still be in my bloodstream considering a) how little alcohol was actually consumed and b) I hadn't remotely felt its effects at all throughout the evening.

Scary (not to mention disgusting!), huh??

Needless to say, this weekend was quite an adventurous health roller coaster, if you will. From the highs of that long run of mine to the lows of separate, completely unrelated (yet equally painful!) health issues over the course of a measly two days... which just happened to be a weekend with ABSolutely perfect weather.

Big fat SIGH.

Bill Clinton, Jake Gyllenhaal and Carrots n Cake... oh yeah, and Icelandic Deliciousness

2011-07-07T08:10:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it has taken me THIS long to write about the FOOD we encountered in Iceland! Typically, that's the first thing I would be focused on... I guess my mindset is a'changing since I'm now such a rugged, outdoorsy girl.

Sadly, the food in Iceland was nothing to write home about though. I mean, everything we ate was quite delicious, but it didn't seem that Iceland had a lot of native, exotic cuisine. I guess they would be most known for their seafood (particularly whale) since it's all fresh and free of any chemicals (only Americans would have to specify "free from chemicals" when describing food, right?). Unfortunately, I only ate seafood one night while I was there and proceeded to get sick. I'm not exactly sure why since everything Icelandic is so fresh and so pure? Maybe my body has gotten so used to processed, preservative-filled foods that it rejects anything fresh and pure. God bless American diets.

One of the things that most surprised me is that Iceland is known for their... HOT DOGS?! What the heck. Who would have thought? I guess it has something to do with the way they process their meat (ie: the "dog" is a combination of lamb and beef, which is SO not what an American "dog" is like). Anyway, one of our first stops in Iceland was to this little hot dog stand that is only like the most famous thing ever.

This was at the TOP of my priority list because guess who has a hot dog named after him?

That's right! My man, BILL! Sigh. No matter how many years pass, I will always have a soft spot for this favorite president of mine.

Any excuse to use (read: shamelessly self-promote) that picture, let's be honest here.

Anyway, this hot dog stand was BUMPIN' with all kinds of people... the young, the old, and... well, only the most ADORABLE BOY EVER!

Can you believe he wasn't even POSING for this picture? I'd initially taken the picture to capture the adorable little hot dog holders this stand had (what a fantast idea, RIGHT?!), but I can't believe how much of a GEM this picture turned out to be with its audience! Sigh. Hearts and flowers and all that.

Aside from that, it was pretty much coffee shop CENTRAL for the two of us. I mean, check out downtown Reykjavik:

If this downtown doesn't SCREAM coffee shop central atmospheric conditions, I just don't know what does. One of my favorites? The Laundromat!

It was only after we enjoyed a good ol' fashioned cozy cup of coffee that my sister informed me that this coffee shop... umm... just happens to be where JAKE GYLLENHAAL was seen (you know, because HE weekends in Iceland as well! Hahaha). Weeee!!! I guess it makes sense though... I mean, LOOK:

If that doesn't scream warm and cozy goodness, I simply don't know what DOES!

And who would have guessed? I am in LOVE with Iceland coffee (although, it must be noted that there is seemingly little to no caffeine in these beverages, per my sister's and my experiences). I don't know what they put in this stuff, but it is just so TASTY to me... as opposed to the bitter, chokable stuff I find here in the States (read: Starbucks). While my sister ordered a few specialty drinks here and there, I was perfectly content just sticking with straight-up coffee.

Now onto my primary sustenance in life... DESSERT! While Reykjavik's oldest cafe was a historical treat in its own right, they also are QUITE famous for serving up some pretty legit waffles.

And let me just tell you, these things were spot ON. Soft, fluffy, with a slightly crisp outer coating... divine. But my favorite part? The whipped cream! So light, so fluffy and, ironically, not all that sweet! Who would have guessed that whipped cream, in its purest form, is actually not supposed to be sweet? Makes you really wonder what's going in that stuff we call Cool Whip, huh?

The waffles were great and all but... my favorite dessert in all of Iceland? Plain jane... carrot cake! They sell carrot cake at EVERY coffee shop possible and, quite frankly, they just do it so RIGHT. I literally had a piece of carrot cake each day I was in Iceland (yes, even the day that I had those waffles, thank you very much).

But I couldn't help it! So moist, rich and holy beJEEZ, they know how to do icing RIGHT. You KNOW that each time I helped myself to a piece of carrot cake, my sister's and my conversation would naturally segue on over to our favorite blog... Carrots n Cake (http://www.carrotsncake.com/)! My sister introduced me to the blog quite a few months ago, and to say we are addicted to it is, um, an understatement. We seriously talk about Tina (the blogger), Mal (her husband) and good ol' Murphy (their a-dorable little pug... and that's a lot coming from me considering I am NOT the biggest fan of animals!) as though they're our friends/neighbors. Ridiculous? Yes. AWEsome? Even moreso. Who knew how much entertainment one blog could provide?!

That's what I'm hoping people will be saying about the Maliyacular one fine day, at least...! A girl can always dream, right?

Iceland! In Brief

2011-07-05T19:34:00.000-07:00

Some of my friends kind of balked when I mentioned I was weekending in Iceland (sigh... doesn't "weekending" ANYwhere sound so, I don't know, classy... weekending in the Hamptons, weekending in the mountains, weekending in Cincinnati... well, whatever, you get the idea).

I'm not exactly sure WHY people would be surprised. I mean, Iceland is known for its natural beauty and outdoorsy-ness, and if I'm not one to fully and wholly appreciate nature and... well, outdoorsy things, I don't know who IS.

Okay, okay. So maybe I'm not exactly the most outdoorsy/rugged/sporty kinda gal. But I DO love being outside (so long as the temperature is within 65-80 degrees, preferably with minimal to no humidity)! And I DO love hiking (for a few hours at a time, that is. People who go on these hiking trips for like days at a time really deserve a medal, in my personal opinion)! And... well, enough justification. I wanted to see Iceland!

I was more than a little shocked when my sister agreed to come with me on this journey. Why? A picture says a thousand words, right? HERE is what she decided to bring along as her little tote bag for our outdoorsy adventures.

Yes, my friends. You are seeing things correctly. That is, in fact, a Marc by Marc Jacobs bag (how/why that's different from a normal Marc Jacobs bag is beyond my realms of caring)*.

And I'M not outdoorsy?

Anyway. Moving quickly on...

Feel free to help yourself to a handy dandy dose of outdoorsy, nature-y goodness... Maliyacular style.

1. Iceland! Part 1: Frigidity with a Side of Whale Watching http://bit.ly/nmB6U2

2. Iceland! Part 2: The Gold Mine That IS The Blue Lagoon http://bit.ly/nOsmUx

3. Iceland! Part 3: Stuck on a Deserted Island http://bit.ly/o7m62C

4. Iceland! Part 4: The Golden Circle - A LEGIT Photo Essay http://bit.ly/pxq9wr

5. Iceland! Part 5: Horseback Riding and... Well, That Should Pretty Much Say It All http://bit.ly/o83ti5

*Apologies for the sideways shot... why in heaven's name you can't rotate pictures in Blogger is beyond my realm of understanding.

Iceland! Part 5: Horseback Riding and... Well, That Should Pretty Much Say It All

2011-07-05T18:45:00.000-07:00

And so, my friends, we come to our final full day in Iceland. Read: the BEST day of our trip!

We had the grand idea of signing up for a horseback riding tour through the lava fields of Iceland which, again, sounds like all kinds of nature and outdoorsy goodness that my sister and I don't exactly exemplify.

Ah well. When in Rome and all that.

I have to say, when we first signed up for this tour, I was a tad terrified. I've only ridden a horse once in my lifetime and that was in fifth grade in India and... well, okay, so I fell off the horse.

DON'T LAUGH! It was terrifying!

Sigh. I don't know why I bother telling you half the things I do. Anyway, as soon as we arrived, we were instructed to watch a brief introductory video about "bonding" with your horse for a few minutes before hopping right on that saddle. I distinctly remember that intro video closing with "Now, don't be scared- there's nothing to be scared about. Some people may require a little work to get close with their horses, while for others, it may just be love at first sight."

I was opting for the latter, really. But please. Me and animals? We don't exactly have the best track record. So I can safely assure you that I was not holding out ALL that much hope for that latter option.

So we get all decked out in quite possibly the most unflattering attire EVER... but since we are clearly the epitome of rugged and outdoorsy, why should we care, right? HA. Let's just say you will NOT be seeing any pictures of my sister in this post, per her deliberate request.

Anyway, off we went to that corral to get assigned our horses (based on experience level).

And here, my friends, is where I was introduced to my pal Pila. If this doesn't scream love at first sight, I just know what does.

Sigh. Can she LOOK any more annoyed with me? I guess it doesn't help that those instructors explicitly mentioned never to let go of the reins when we are standing by our horses but... well, minor details. I had some blog pictures to take! Shortly after this shot, you better believe I dropped those reins to snap a few shots from different angles. But none really captured the essence of Pila's emotion as much as this one does.

Anyway, it was then time to, well, actually MOUNT the horse. Umm. Let's just say there will be absolutely NO photographic documentation of this spectacle. I can safely say it was pretty much one of the more graceless moments of my life. But at the end of the day...

I mounted my horse! Yess!! (See what I mean about that attire? Heavens.)

And!! Since Icelandic horses are notoriously shorter than most other horses around the world, it wasn't even all too terrifying! Given my overwhelming fear of heights, trust me, this was more than a major area of concern for me. Second only to my fear of getting thrown off my horse... yes, again. Lightning can strike twice and all that.

So! Step one- done. But obviously, mounting the horse was just the beginning. Then we actually had to start RIDING these suckers. I wish I had something more humorous to share (I mean, how can stories about me riding a horse NOT have some sort of ridiculous story involved?), but you know what?? It actually turned out to be QUITE FUN! I got the hang of the easy pace pretty quickly... so much so, that confidence overcame me and I even took one hand off my rein to... well, snap some blog pictures.

Sigh. It really does all come back to the blog, doesn't it? But it was totally worth it! We were riding through some lava fields and, man, does horseback riding really let you see a whole new WORLD outside the standard roadside tours or WHAT?!

Since my sister and I had been separated for the majority of this tour (clearly, our horses were the masters and we were the followers, no matter WHAT that intro video told us), I ended up befriending the little girl who happened to be riding in front of me and the tour guide leading the way. I love this picture of them! Totally captures the moment, if you will.

At the end of it all, my sister and I firmly agreed that this tour was our absolute FAVORITE part of our trip to Iceland. It was such a great experience for novice horseback riders AND we got to see some SERIOUS hidden Icelandic beauty.

What ever happened to dear Pila's and my relationship? Well, even after a solid couple of hours together, I can safely say that I don't think Pila and I will be missing each other all too much. That look she had at the start? Yeah, pretty much the same look she had at the end... if not even MORE downtrodden! Geez, girl, what did I DO to you?!

Sigh. So much for love at first sight.

Iceland! Part 4: The Golden Circle - A LEGIT Photo Essay

2011-07-05T15:18:00.001-07:00

Day 3 of our journey was total tourist central... but SO well worth it! If you go to Iceland, you are 99% likely to embark on the Golden Circle tour, which takes you from Reykjavik to central Iceland. While the tours may vary in terms of the stops that you make, you are DEFINITELY going to be hitting up the national park (Pingvellir), a waterfall (Gullfoss), and this valley (Haukadalur) which contains two popular geysers.

It really was quite amazing to see some of Iceland's finest natural beauties. I couldn't get over how well-PRESERVED everything was! This is what happens when people actually have respect for and take care of their environment as a natural duty in life. Sigh. Love those Icelandic folks.

The BEST part of the tour was our GUIDE! His name was something that sounded like the name of that volcano that erupted last year, so instead, he went by the name of Gummi. Sigh. Heart goes pitter patter. My only, ONLY regret of this day trip was that I didn't snag a picture with good ol' Gummi. SIGH- he seriously is a winner in that Adorable Little Old Man department. He knew EVERYthing about his country and the PRIDE that he had in Iceland's history and folklore was clearly evident. PITTER PATTER PITTER PATTER is going that heart of mine, believe you me!

In any event, I think the pictures from this trip speak VOLUMES more than I can justify in the writing of a blog post (a first, I know), so without further ado, I present to you some highlights of the beauty that can only be the Golden Circle of Iceland...

The start of our tour... not such a bad view, huh?

Gullfoss! AKA: One spectac waterFALL.

One of my favorite pictures of the entire trip... just a simple little stream, but with the most unbelievably clear water you can imagine (unfortunately, the picture doesn't do the water clarity justice...).

Just driving along... you know, the usual.
Weee! Mountains!

I'm not sure WHAT this was, but doesn't it look like such marshy goodness? It's hard to tell we're even on planet Earth at this point.

Speaks for itself, yes?

If you squint just a tad, you can make out the glaciers in the (VERY) far distance!!

That geyser was just about ready set to ERUPT.

I want to frame this.

An amazing crater that was one of the last stops on our trip... check out those COLORS! Unreal.

Sigh. A+, Iceland. Gigantic round of applause, if you will.

Iceland! Part 3: Stuck on a Deserted Island

2011-07-05T14:55:00.000-07:00

Ahh. Day 2 1/2. After experiencing the sheer bliss of the Blue Lagoon (and, let's face it, its free exfoliant), my sister and I had the rest of the afternoon to explore to our heart's content.

What better way to explore than to book some random boat to... a deserted island? Awesome.

While my sister had read that this island (Videy, I think it was?) was TINY (only about a mile long), we didn't really know what to expect... I can guarantee you, being the only two people on the island (plus the owner of the only coffee shop on Videy) was not at ALL what had crossed our minds.

But... well, there we were. Might as well take some time to go exploring!

Yeah. Again, sounds all adventurous and rugged, now doesn't it? I can 100% assure you, the entirety of Videy can be seen in the span of exactly one hour. Why one hour? Because you're at the mercy of that little boat which run every hour on the hour. If you miss it... well, good luck. Because you will certainly just have to make another round of the entire island in order to keep yourself entertained.

I'm just kidding. Well, I'm not kidding about the length of time it takes to make a complete circuit of the island. But really, in actuality, this island was actually rather adorable and OLD. That's why we went to visit it... it's supposed to be the oldest settlement area in and around Iceland (or something like that). And, to be honest, my sister and I are kind of history nerds... don't come with us to a history museum! We're those people who will read any and everything.

And you certainly can't argue with how peaceful this place is. I mean, with a whopping three people on the island, I don't know how it COULD be anything BUT peaceful.

As much as we appreciated Videy for its finer historical components and beautiful views, I wouldn't exactly be lying when I say we were MORE than ready for THIS site...

You better believe we hurry-scurried on down that little hill! We couldn't miss our BOAT! Good thing everything on the island is in the span of about five minutes... we made it with, let's face it, more than enough time to spare.

Iceland! Part 2: The Gold Mine That IS The Blue Lagoon

2011-07-05T13:21:00.000-07:00

After a restless night's sleep on our first night here (how these Icelandic folk deal with 24 hours of daylight is beyond me), I awoke bright and early to hit up the ever-famed Blue Lagoon.

I'd heard nothing but AMAZING things about this little wonderland of a place, so I was more than excited to check it out. The Blue Lagoon is a geothermal spa that apparently achieved notoriety and fame after one of its guests was seemingly cured of psoriasis from its therapeutic waters. Not only that, but you can't discount its amazing natural beauty- it's located in the middle of this lava field out in the middle of absolutely nowhere.

I. Could Not. WAIT.

And holy bejeezleweezles! Would YOU be disappointed being greeted with a view like THIS?!

Granted, I was a little overwhelmed (read: CONFUSED) at first... it doesn't help that you first walk into the reception area and they literally just hand you a locker key and leave you to it. But hello! I needed the rules of etiquette here! Do people just walk out in their bathing suits? It was FREEZING outside! Do people wear flip flops outside? How deep is that WATER? (This coming from a girl who can barely swim, keep in mind.)

It wasn't the hardest thing to figure out. I just befriended some old ladies who were changing in the locker room with me and... well, followed their lead.

For about two minutes. Until we got outside.

And I discovered a whole new realm to the term FREEZING.

I mean, I don't understand! My new two little old lady friends were just taking their own sweet time selecting a spot to hold their towels and stuff but, quite frankly, I was NOT in the mood for particularities. It was at the point where the ladies began asking my opinion about a spot like clear across the Blue Lagoon (slight exaggeration, but only a SLIGHT one) that I literally just dumped my towel and camera on the first open chair I saw and RACED right on into that steaming hot spa of a Lagoon.

Not my proudest moment but... oh whatever. They had each other!

There were literally NO thoughts running through my head at that point except to just get IN the water... until I reached the water's edge and realized I had no idea how on Earth I was to gauge the depths of this thing. Now, for any average individual, this would not be a problem. For a girl who can barely swim... well, problems can quickly arise. (Sigh. And can you believe there was a point in my life where I wanted to learn how to surf? Seriously.)

Oh well- clearly, nothing gets in the way of me and my temperature extremes. You better believe I just jumped right on in! Well, okay. There was a ladder. But "slowly eased down the ladder" doesn't have the same dramatic effect as "jumped right on in", now does it?

And GOD, I have to say, I have no real regrets. Thankfully, this thing is pretty shallow (you can't stand upright, otherwise, half your body will be out of the water) and the brisk breeze on my face and shoulders felt AMAZING intermixing with the gloriously warm blanket that we call the Blue Lagoon.

But that wasn't even the best PART! The bottom of the Blue Lagoon is notorious for this clay-like substance that contains all kinds of magical minerals and algae that serve as one of the world's greatest exfoliators. And there were seriously PILES of this stuff collected at the sides of the Lagoon for people to help themselves to their heart's content.

Ever the fan of a good deal when I see one (this stuff normally goes for $65ish in the US), you better believe I glopped that stuff all OVER my face.

But WHAT?! This sh*t was FREE!

Okay, maybe I got just a tad bit carried away. I mean, doesn't this picture remind you of that scene in Mrs. Doubtfire where Robin Williams dumps his head in a cake to hide his "real" face? Glop-CENTRAL. But still. You get the idea. I'm STILL in slight shock that there were PILES of exfoliant just lying around... it really was a miniature goldmine in the midst of lava fields, if you will. My only regret is that I hadn't brought a big ol' bag to hoard (excuse me, collect in a congenial, legal fashion) more for future use.

I kid, I kid. Kind of.

Iceland! Part 1: Frigidity with a Side of Whale Watching

2011-07-05T12:15:00.000-07:00

First on our itinerary (which, by the way, was created on the flight over...)- WHALE WATCHING!!

I know, right?! I'm totally with ya. Sounds all exotic and glam and Icelandic-y goodness, right?

Wellll, until you actually get out on that open water and realize that... well, summertime in Iceland is about 30 degrees colder than summertime in New York and Chicago. So, summertime on Icelandic open WATERS?

Umm... needless to say, frigidity didn't really begin to cover it.
Okay, I'm exaggerating.

Oh wait, no I most certainly am NOT.

Oh well. As wimpy as I am in extreme temperatures (and trust me, by normal standards, I don't think this would be remotely considered an extreme temperature situation), it was totally well worth it. Because... well, look what we saw!
And not just once!

Granted, it was no Free Willy skyrocketing into the air, but still! Who knew whales could look so SLEEK and full of BEAUTY?! I mean, I don't know about you, but when I'm comparing something to a whale, beauty isn't exactly what I'm going for.

But I digress. So, that was day 1! Not bad, considering we'd only arrived around noon that day. Stay tuned- more Iceland updates are coming your WAY!

My Shortest Blog Post Ever... You Can Thank My Smartphone for It

2011-06-29T14:16:00.000-07:00

i am officially obsessed with blogging. here i am, sitting in ohare, awaiting my flight abroad for the holiday weekend and here is what is consuming my thoughts... and not necessarily in this order, just to clarify...

passport, check

glasses/toiletries, check

checked in, check... haha no pun intended

blog post update...

full stop.

hello. i cant have my blog go without an update at least explaining that i may be slacking on the blog posts till next tuesday. dont want my avid followers to think ive lost steam or anything... haha im sure you were all waiting on the edge of your seat and everything.

sooo... this ones for you, blog fans. from my droid and everything. whew typing a whole post on an itty bitty keyboard is trying with a capital t. not to mention i dont know why in heavens name my keyboard doesnt allow for any exclamations, caps, etc when im updating on blogspot... travesty. utter travesty. soo, im cutting off my post right... now.

till next week, my friends... off to iceland i go... wish me and my oh so outdoorsy self luck..

A Nationality Enshrouded in Mystery

2011-06-28T09:27:00.000-07:00

Okay, can you please do me a favor? Before you continue reading this blog post, can you please take a look at my profile picture and tell me what nationality you would peg me for (if you don't know me, that is)?

I feel like, as of late, I'm having a nationality identity crisis.

Here I was, going along my merry way, fully embracing my identity as "the most Americanized Indian girl you will ever meet". But then I meet a fellow coworker and somehow, we end up talking about nationalities. It was at the point when I offhandedly indicate that I'm Indian and he's like "Wait, you're Indian??", that I begin thinking about how we have just embarked on one interesting conversation, my friends.

Of course, instead of directly answering, I respond with "Wait! What did you think I was??" I actually love hearing what people have to say in response. Because, quite frankly, I have heard it all. I dare anyone to outdo my fourth grade experience, where some chick (read: classmate) asked me about my Chinese roots...

Trust me. I know.

OBVI, it's nothing against Chinese people (or anyone of East Asian descent, really), but seriously. Let's have a look at my profile picture once again... and, well, if YOU can find any rationale behind that comment, you go on ahead and let me know.

Anyway! Back to my coworker... whose response to my "Wait! What did you think I was?" question was something along the lines of: "Oh, I would say anything from Hispanic... to African-American... to Persian."

Ummm.

Yup- my thoughts exactly. WHAT kind of physical resemblance do these three nationalities have to one another?

Sigh. I guess that's better than a happy hour I was at earlier this month. When my nationality was brought up again (I don't know WHY this has been such a point for discussion as of late), someone's response to this fun little game involved the statement, "Oh... I have absolutely no idea."

Ummm!

This is quickly going from bad to worse. NO idea? Seriously? I mean, what in heaven's name do I come across like to people?! And why is there such confusion with ME? It seems that most of my Indian friends rarely, if ever, have a problem being pegged as Indian.

You know, I should probably be a bit more affronted by the fact that people have no idea "what" I am, but I'm really not because... who are we kidding? I LOVE this mysterious nationality thing I've got going on! I mean, I've always dreamed of being a Citizen of the World. And if having this whole "nationality enshrouded in mystery" leads to one more Citizen of the World (ME, just to clarify for that fourth grade classmate of mine who, well, apparently needs all the clarification she can get), well... so very darn well BE IT!

Come to think of it, you know what would be The Ultimate Goal? To have just one stranger guess that I am MIXED. OMHG (Oh, My Heavenly God), I literally think I would squeal, hug, swoon and faint (in that order) because, quite frankly... well, how about YOU go ahead and tell me where you've seen ONE mixed person that looks nothing short of perfection.

Sigh. Oh, the dreams. Oh, the... ridiculous dreams.

Why I am Stuck in the WRONG Age-Span

2011-06-27T12:38:00.000-07:00

Do you ever feel like you don't act your age? I think it would be the coolest thing if we were just born into one age-span and stayed there for our entire lives.

If that were the case, I would most certainly choose to be born into... hmm... the 50-60 year old age-span.

I know this sounds a little weird to want to shoot right on up into the golden years, but I really believe that, after the age of 18, I could have just bumped my way on up to the 50-60 year age-span and been perfectly content for the rest of my days.

With such a grandiose (not to mention completely off the wall) statement, I've taken the liberty of detailing exactly WHY I believe my 20s are lost on me. I narrowed it down to three primary points (all of which have the same general theme, let's face it), but trust me. The list could go on and on...

Why I am Stuck in the WRONG Age-Span

1. I don't really understand the POINT of "going out"... I mean, when I'm out with my friends, I'm hanging out with my friends- why go to some loud, bumpin' bar/club when we could just hang out at someone's apartment or even a low-key (read: quiet) bar?

How on earth are people supposed to enjoy the art of conversation (I guess thinking that people WANT to enjoy the art of conversation when frolicking out and about is my first misstep here...) when people are jam PACKED into a club (to the point where one is more than likely partaking in a SIGNIFICANT fire hazard violation) where the music is so loud you really can't even hear the person next to whom you are jam-packed?

I mean, don't get me wrong. I do love me the merry little tune every now and then... but again, in MODERATION! I don't understand this whole "louder is better" theme that some of these clubs apparently seem to have going on.

I think this point is only further supported by the fact that the one bar that I am dying to try in Chicago is... well, a board game bar. WHAT? Who doesn't like a good board game?!

2. I am NOT a nightowl, so these wild and crazy nights out till 4 AM are few and far between (if not nonexistent, at this point). I swear, if I make it to midnight without a yawn, I am doing WELL for the evening. Let's just say that is more the anomaly than the norm.

I can't help it! I've NEVER been a nightowl... rather, I tend to be an extreme of a morning person! Who are we kidding, I likely awaken earlier than most 50-60 year olds... we can totally just forget about people who are in my ACTUAL age-span. But what can I say? I'm a sucker for the peace and quiet that only a luxurious early morning can bring.

3. This whole excessive alcohol consumption is NOT interesting to me anymore. I really don't understand how people my age are still going strong. I mean, for the most part, we've been doing this since we were in our teens... that's a DECADE PLUS, people! Having a story about how hung over we are the next day after a raging night out really does NOT provide the entertainment that it used to... in my opinion, of course. I'm sure there are plenty out there that beg to differ.

I think my whole thing with this topic is that I really have tried oh so many times to find alcoholic beverages that I actually ENJOY drinking. After a decade plus of experimentation, I have come to the conclusion... that there is none (for me).

I think I'm just super sensitive to the tase of alcohol or something. But honestly... when someone is like "This beer is JUST the dessert I was craving", I swear I have a VERY hard time holding back a somewhat judgmental stare. Seriously? Beer=dessert? I do NOT think so.

While I will not turn any beverage down (Can I help it that I succumb to societal socializing norms? Or that I take weird pride in how well I can take a shot?), I can 100% assure you that IF I had to choose ONE alcoholic beverage to down, it would be a mudslide... which, let's be honest, is pretty much a milkshake.

Trust me, while there are plenty of other reasons why I believe my 20s are truly lost on me, I think you pretty much get the gist of this, right? Right. And, let's be honest, this blog post has gone on long enough. (What? I like to fully SUPPORT my arguments, thank you very much!)

Off to knitting class! Hahaha... just KIDDING. Geeeeez.

Enjoying the Early Morning

2011-06-25T07:25:00.000-07:00

So, after a week of getting about 10-12 hours of sleep every night (don't ask, I have no idea what is going on with my body), I was delighted to be back to my normal 5:45 AM-arise-with-the-sun-sans-alarm-clock routine.

Except for the fact that it was Saturday. And quite frankly, while I do wake up earlier than an average individual on the weekends, 5:45 AM was still pretty darn early, even for me.

Oh well! Up and at 'em, I guess! Haha. Normally, I would have lazed around a little bit more, but after a week of thunderstormy gloomdoom CENTRAL, being greeted with THIS view was more than enough to get my day started RIGHT.

Weeee!!!

Anyway, Because of my abnormal sleeping patterns, I just gave up on my running routine for the week. A shame, too, considering it was supposed to be the very first week of my actual half marathon training. Sigh. I'm not going to let myself off easily, however. I missed a week, but I'm just going to have to start where I SHOULD have been... so four mile run it is!

God, I don't know why I even TRY to sound peppy. I was kind of dreading it, let's be real. And by "kind of", I mean "completely and totally".

But whatever- I got myself on out there... and it actually wasn't all too bad! I mean, it was no walk in the PARK, let's be honest, but it wasn't AS horrendous as I would have expected after having taken a week completely off. I guess when you envision the worst, you really can't be all too disappointed, now can you? Haha. The key to happiness, if you will. Yet another pearl of wisdom for the books, my friends.

Well, after THAT kind of a start to my Saturday, you KNOW those endorphins were all in high gear and I was ready to take on the world...

Except for the fact that it was still only about 7:15 AM on a Saturday... so the world is pretty much still sleeping.

Except for...

Those avid farmers' market fans!! Yesss!! The Green City Market (located right in the heart of Lincoln Park) is one of the BEST farmers' markets EVER! It's huge, has a terrific selection, is centrally located and even has entertainment from time to time! It's SO my happy place, really. And, today was CERTAINLY no exception!

I mean, this place is enough to even almost make me want to eat fruits and veggies sometimes!

ALMOST. It doesn't help that like right next door is...

Well... things that are more along the lines of MY kind of basic food group, if you know what I mean.

I didn't end up purchasing anything at the market since I'm going on vacation this week, but don't you think that was the end of my early morning experience. Please. Last stop?

My favorite little coffee shop... Siena by Maria. It's so cute and cozy and, holy MOLY, I love the owners!! They are the most adorable couple EVER and the service they provide totally reminds me of the kind of down-home, friendly service you would receive in, like, Cape Cod or something. Well... not like I've ever BEEN to Cape Cod, but you get where I'm going... right? Right.

But I digress. Anyway, I had my book that to finish! So, armed with a pumpkin spice latte (that's right- Siena sells these puppies all year ROUND!alkfdsj!) and... well, a lemon cookie (I know, I know. Breakfast of champs, and all that), I settled in to continue Enjoying My Early Morning...

Sigh. SUCH a productive, fulfilling day so far! And it's not even 10 AM yet! Come on, world! Up and AT 'EM!

Cupcakes for Courage

2011-06-23T14:21:00.000-07:00

Today was such a warm and fuzzy feeling kinda day. Instead of going to work, I ended up volunteering with some of my coworkers... and by volunteering, I mean we ended up going bowling, eating pizza and seeing The Green Lantern with about 15 teens.

All good and fine, really. BUT... it was only when I was walking back from the event, just chitchatting away with one of my coworkers when we stumbled across...

Umm! If you don't think I literally came to a FULL STOP and halted any and all forms of conversation... well, you clearly don't know me all that well. Hello! There were cupcakes involved here, people!

Needless to say, my coworker and I parted ways right about there. I guess some people won't just drop EVERYthing at the word cupcake... I am clearly NOT one of those people. Quite the opposite, in fact.

To be honest, I had been craving something sweet all afternoon, so it really was the word cupcake that drew me to the little cupcake-mobile. And their CHOICES for today CERTAINLY didn't disappoint this sweet-toothed gal.

God, I am so darn happy that I'm unhealthily addicted to all things cupcake, because I got to learn about an interesting cause in the process of satiating my addiction.

Cupcakes for Courage (http://www.cupcakesforcourage.com/) is an organization run by two sisters, with a portion of its proceeds going to the Ride Janie Ride foundation (http://www.ridejanieride.org/) and to cancer research (specifically, lymphoma and other blood cancers). The idea came about when Kathryn was diagnosed with cancer in May, 2010 and Laura baked cupcakes for a bake sale held in her honor to curb her medical care costs.

You can likely guess the rest... these cupcakes were such a hit that Cupcakes for Courage is the ultimate product!

It really doesn't get any better than this! Not only do these cupcakes' proceeds support a fine cause, they are also good FOR you (well, as good for you as cupcakes can be) as these sisters only use natural ingredients and products for their concoctions.

Sigh. Told you it doesn't get any better.

It certainly doesn't hurt that they don't bother cluttering their menu...

Weeee! Just seeing "Cupcakes! Cupcakes! Cupcakes!" ... I can't fully describe the jubilee aside from... well... lksjfalksj! But they totally have it RIGHT! Stick with what you know, love and are obviously already good at.

Soo... final verdict?

I ended up going with the Taffy Apple cupcake and, I have to say, it was pretty darn SPOT. ON. I totally felt healthy eating it and everything! What? All-natural ingredients... hello, people!

All kidding aside, I really did think this was such a unique idea for such a great cause- it certainly is one step in the right direction... one step closer to bringing the world together one cupcake at a time, if you will...

Teatime, Teeth and Thunderstorms

2011-06-22T13:06:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, I can tie all three of those things together, thank you very much. Don't put it past me!

I'm normally a fairly focused individual- especially when it comes to my work. Nothing can really get in the way of it. Some may diagnose it as a mild form of workaholism... I prefer to think of it as just plain diligence- hmmph. (Hahaha- can you TOTALLY picture the kind of student I used to be? Ohh well!)

Today is one of those days where I am having the HARDEST time focusing. I think it's the past couple of slightly longer work days catching up to me, but quite frankly, I know when I need a break (lessons learned from In Praise of Slowness, by Carl Honore- SUCH a good read). What better way to take a break than with a good, old-fashioned COZY cup of chai.

With a straw, of course!

Several people have questioned why I drink my warm beverages with a straw. It's all very simple, my friends. I firmly believe that the straw is God's gift to all those out there wanting to preserve their pearly whites. I mean, can you IMAGINE what my teeth would look like if I drank all these beverages notorious for staining your teeth WITHOUT a straw?

(Aw man. I was totally about to insert a picture of my very own teeth right HERE, but I didn't want to 1. Gross you out (what if I have something in my teeth? I haven't checked a mirror in a while.) and 2. Let's face it, I have some degree of shame and didn't want to be taking a picture of my TEETH in the OFFICE, hello!)

I think this afternoon tea break was just what I needed! Who knew that Argo Tea's free samples could make a girl so HAPPY?

What can I say? I'm a sucker for all deals, free samples or otherwise. If you haven't gotten THAT fact by now, well... I'm not going to OPENLY question your personal acuity.

Anyway! Let me just say- it's amazing what being able to get outside and take a break can do for one's sanity! Well... until one realizes that flip flops were WAY too optimistic for today- I'm not sure what this looks like to you, but be fairly warned that some SERIOUS storm clouds were coming our way... and quite rapidly at that.

Sigh. What else can I expect considering yesterday's SO RIDICULOUSLY RANDOM tornado plow-through, really?

Oh well. Nothing like figuring out a creative means of navigating the mean city streets in flip flops during an inevitable torrential downpour to occupy one's thoughts for the afternoon...