A Motorcity Easter Bunny

Easter is a time of family and friends and baseball........  This year was no exception.  It was the first Easter my sister has made it home in about 5 years.  It was nice to have the whole family together for a long weekend so we decided to take a trip down to Comerica Park to watch the Tigers beat the White Sox 9-0.  Before heading down to Detroit I was able to get a lot things done around home and just relax and hang out with some friends at Dagwoods.  It was so nice to just not have a care in the world for a few days. 

Turns out I am the only one in my family who has been to a Tigers game at Comerica Park so it was time to fix that.  While so many people make Detroit out to be this horrible abandoned place I find it quite nice.  Sure it's a little rough around the edges but there are so many things that make it into a wonderful place at the same time.  Yes, I live in Chicago and I love where I live its just not the same.  I have grown up cheering for Detroit teams and I always will.  As far as I can remember back I cheered for the Redwings, the Tigers, and the Pistons.  I have never been a big pro football fan but I do enjoy the Lions! 

I got my family some nice seats; second row of the upper deck just past 3rd base.  We finally got some nice weather with the sun out and 70 degrees.  We loaded up and took the 1 hour and 20 minute drive from DeWitt to Detroit for the game.  We got down to Detroit early before the game and walked around a little bit.  I showed my parents the little that I know about Detroit most of which I learned from my friend Mandy.  We went to the game early and walked around the stadium and my parents thought back to their days when they were my age and going to games at Tiger Stadium (sadly I will never make it to a game there).  My mom, dad, and sister were all very impressed with Comerica Park and I was just happy to see them enjoying it.  The game was great too!  We beat the White Sox 9-0!  I hate the White Sox and living in Chicago I have to see them alot.  After the game I took my parents over to Greektown and we eat at Pegasus.  It was really nice to see lots of people out and about walking the streets of Detroit.

We continued a new tradition started last year based off an idea I got from a friend when we made it home from the game on Saturday night.  We had Chocolate Bunny White Russians.  They are great, take a hallow Easter bunny and chop the ears off.  Fill it with a cold White Russian and enjoy the chocolaty goodness! This is a tradition I hope to continue on for a long time.  Its just simple yet fun all at the same time.  When we were growing up the tradition was to make hard boiled eggs.  We still have hard boiled eggs but its not the same when your older.  This chocolate Easter Bunny White Russian tradition is one that our family can carry on in a fun adult world that we all now live in.  Now, wheather or not we want to be in the adult world is still up for debate.

Easter Sunday!  I woke up and attended mass with my parents.  I have become a Chreaster over the past few years and well my reasons for becoming that I think have come and passed.  I used to be very annoyed by the church my parents go to because they liked to force their opinions on the people of the church.  I do not go to church to hear who I should vote for, what I should think and anything else along those lines.  I believe that separation of Church and State is a two way street not just a one way street that government can not dictate religion but religion should not dictate government.  The way I viewed the church was just like a giant lobbyist so I stopped going.  The Mass I went to on Sunday was actually almost pleasant.  Maybe it is time I give this another chance........

When we got home from mass we all quick had a bit of breakfast and then packed up the car and headed to Grand Ledge to my grandma's house.  My aunt and uncle and cousins where there so it was a nice little family treat.  We enjoyed some good wine, some great food and some enjoyable stories.  After dinner some of us went for a walk down to the park along the Grand River where people go rock climbing on the ledges.  I was able to get some really nice shots down there with my new camera but my mom had to show me up and borrow my camera to take a picture of me and my sister that turned out better than any of my photos were.  Boo, oh well so I still have some getting used to.

After dessert, of raspberry cream pie (per my request), we took off to take me to the train.  When we first arrived at the station it was only 10 minutes delayed.  Nothing strange about that but as we waited it grew and grew and grew till finally it was an hour and 10 minutes delayed.  I have had many friends voice their opinions on Amtrak for this reason but I have never experienced it.  After listening to my friends horror stories I still do not come close to their delays in the multiples of hours but it was still an annoyance non the less.  While it was annoying and I made it home later than I would have liked it is definitely still a great way to travel.  Over all the weekend was wonderful and I can only hope that the coming of spring is truly here and that summer can bring some more fabulous weekends like this one!

PS Pictures will be added shortly.

One Planet we call home!

Earth day is Friday and while I am not sure I am doing anything specific for it I feel I have done a good amount this year to help give back.  I have recycled as much as I can.  I use re-usable water bottles always. Though I drive my SUV I have cut back driving to about two days a month and take the CTA everywhere. By taking public transit I have helped reduce my carbon foot print by 4,800 pound per year just by taking the train to work.  This is all according the the CTA's Website.  I am a huge fan of the CTA regardless of what anyone else says.  On the idea of Earth Day a friend posted this video on her Facebook and I thought it was really a great video so I wanted to share it as well.

The Mountain from Terje Sorgjerd on Vimeo.

I find this very relaxing and just soothing and I hope it helps to inspire others to want to give back to this planet that we call home so that this grandeur that is displayed here will be available for generations to come.

Num Num Num

So about 2 weeks ago I did not know what num num num meant. Apparently it is quite common. It was a trivia category a few weeks back and since then I have seen it everywhere. I wonder if it is one of those things that you just don't know about and could go your whole life not knowing but once you know you realize it is everywhere and unavoidable. Ok maybe not quite that harsh but you get the idea.  But now that I know what it is I definitely said that a few times this past weekend.  I even said it about Jimmy Johns. Not so much for the taste but more for the sentimental feelings.  Thursday marked the return of kickball!  It was just a pick up game but it was nice to be back out on Thursdays with a bunch of old friends and even some new friends.  After the games we head to Jimmy Johns and grab subs before making our way to Nick's for some flip cup action.

Friday was another blah rainy spring day in Chicago and it was also my friend Brandon's birthday party.  We went out to Jimmy Fig's in the loop after work and helped him celebrate.  A few of us decided it would be a good idea to go grab dinner.  We threw out a bunch of ideas but landed on Zed451.  It was a really nice place in River North and I had never been to a place like it.  Sorta the Brazilian Steakhouse set up with the skewers of meat and the all you can eat aspect.  It was really nice and I enjoyed a ton of really great food.  I definitely over did it on the eating but everything was just so good.  They have about 25 salads of sort plus cheese and fruits and soup and then on top of that about 15 types of meats.  I tried most of them and most of them were amazing.  The bottom roast and the duck were my favorites.  It was a tad pricier then I would have liked for a Friday Night dinner but I came to the realization that I can no longer talk about going to try new restaurants unless I actually go out and experience them.  I was not disappointed with this place and would probably go back again.

As if Friday wasn't enough......  I woke up early on Saturday to get to the gym and go boxing.  I had to switch from going Thursdays to Saturdays because of kickball.  After I got finished with my workout Newman picked me up from the gym to head over to Hot Doug's.  We got there at 10:15am and the place didn't even open till 10:30 and even then we waited till about 11 to order and get our food.  I had "The Game of the Week" which is chardonnay and jalepeno rattlesnake sausage with roasted yellow pepper mayonnaise and morbier cheese and I also had the smoked Hungarian Pork sausage with smoked paprika mustard and smoked gouda cheese.

I would certainly recommend this place to anyone that likes meat.  If your a veggie sorry but you might want to try somewhere else.

The rest of the day I just relaxed and went to a couple friends birthday parties.  First I went to Ashley's white trash birthday and then to Nagy's and Jenni's Birthday Pandemonium.  Clearly my friends like themes or atleast fun titles.  Both were a lot of fun and wore me out to the point that all I did on Sunday was go for a run and take some pictures with my new camera and meet up with a friend for some white chocolate hot chocolate at The Bourgeois Pig.  This is one of my favorite independent cafes I have been to and I am very happy that is just a little ways down the street from where I live.

A week of food

This week is just like any other week with a few exceptions. I feel like all I am doing in eating. Which isn't all bad but it is not helping the diet idea. Last week my friend took me to this amazing vegetarian small plate restaurant in Wicker Park called Mana. I would highly recommend it. We ordered so much food and I couldn't let it go to waste because it tasted so great so I stuffed myself. Then last night I went to Gibson's Steakhouse with a vendor for dinner. I have only ever been to one other steakhouse that I can recall and that was about a month ago with another vendor. I must say I was not all that impressed by Gibson's. The reviews and recommendations are amazing so maybe I am just not a steakhouse kind of person. I love steak and I love the grill so maybe I just need to grill out my own steaks from now on. I was not a fan of the charred style that Gibson's cooks their steaks. Though I will say the baked potato was amazing and I might just have to stop in sometime on my way home from work just to pick up one of those to go.

After I made it home from dinner I went out for the normal Tuesday night activity of trivia. At trivia I talked with my friend Newman about going to Hot Doug's on Saturday. I have been wanting to try this place for a long while now but have yet to do so. Over the weekend I was watching Anthony Bourdain - No Reservations where he went to Hot Doug's. It inspired me! Newman is a regular there so I figured he can help me navigate my way to a great tasting experience. I have decided that I have had enough with the talking the talk about trying some of Chicago's best eating joints I am actually going to start planning this and try them out.

A Shamrocking good time!

In Chicago there is a race that has traditionally kicked off the unofficial start to the Chicago running season. That race is the Shamrock Shuffle. Yes shamrocks..... You think green, beer, St. Pattys day, cooler weather. Yes me too. For some stupid reason Bank Of America changed the race this year to April 10th and kept the name: The Shamrock Shuffle. All things aside it is a really great race. It is an 8k that runs through downtown Chicago. Every year it gets around 40,000 participants and this year apparently broke the record for the largest 8k in the world. Kinda cool really. I ran the race with a handful of friends. Katie drove in Saturday evening from South Bend to run it with me. Considering the temperature at race time was about 70 degrees and it is still early season I was very happy with my time of 38:56.

I spent a good portion of my weekend going to the Expo, the race, and preparing for my now second annual Shamrock Brunch. Last year was just a few friends and my roomie's family came over as well. This year I put alot more thought into it and went a little over board. I cooked an egg casserole, Pull-apart Sticky Buns, and Fruit Pizza. People brought stuff to make bottomless mimosas, bacon, muffins, and fruits and a few other things. It was a great turnout. I had so much fun putting it all together though I need to work on my timing because the race ended at like 10:30 but we didn't eat till almost 12:30. Oh well, can't really complain.

Since Erin is moving out to move in with Matt we interviewed, I guess you could call it, potential roommates. We met quite a few and I think we finally found a great match. Hope that all works out. It really seems as though time flies by, just a year and a half ago Beth, myself and Erin all moved into the Racine Apartment. I plan to continue the fond memories of our apartment through Kickball with both Beth and Erin! Go Kick in a Box!

I am kind of really excited that kickball is starting up this week. I am really hoping to find alot of people came back. Also, hoping our team is still going to dominate. Now that I work along the blue line I need to come up with stuff to do between work and the time kickball starts. I have about an hr to an hour and a half to fill but it doesn't really justify going home to just turn around and go right back, you know.

I am truly enjoying sitting out on the back deck in 81 degree weather in April typing this but now it is time for my first grilling of the season. I am just going to make brats but they are so yummy and a true sign that spring is here in Chicago!

Rain

So on a rainy Friday I find myself sitting at my desk at work. I have zero motivation and about 2 dozen things that need to get finished today. I doubt they will all get completed, but oh well they will be here Monday when I show up again. Now that the temperatures are improving and the weather is getting nicer, though today is cold and rainy, I keep finding myself day dreaming about getting a few friends and pulling a Ferris Bueller. Nothing quite as extreme but find a nice Wednesday or Thursday this spring and catch a Cubs game, go out to lunch, hit up the beach and just relax. My imagination will run wild in planning but I think it should all just be done on a whim.

I kind of feel like I have been in a rut lately. My life seems too routine. Even though every week is very enjoyable with the exception of work I just feel like I have lost my spontaneous thinking. Every week is the gym, trivia, volleyball, boxing, and then out on the weekends with friends. Its all great but I want to break up the routine a little bit. So here is to the day my spontaneous energy returns!

My low key weekend.....

So I went to work on Friday thinking this weekend was going to be super chill. I had the house to myself and I just got my new camera. I was just gonna relax and enjoy that for once. Well by lunch Friday I had plans to go to a movie, then dinner, then the bar for a going away party. Friday would have seemed pretty normal if that is what I actually did. Got home Friday after a hellish week and went to meet up with a friend to go see Lincoln Lawyer and then go grab a pizza from my favorite pizza place in the city, Pequod's. After dinner headed over to Jake's for some drinks cause my friend Patty is moving back to Michigan so it was a sort of going away party. Ran into a few people I have not seen in a while. The last time I saw one of them it was a bit awkward. I think the time has done well and we can see past any awkward issues, which I am happy for cause I think she is really cool and would be lots of fun to hang out with. Our group at Jake's started to thin out which is when I should have left too but well I got talked into going out to Matilda's where we met up with a couple other friends. Matilda's was fun but a little too crowded to dance. When they closed down at 2 I tried to go home but got talked into going to Big City Tap aka Big Shitty where everyone I was with made me their project. They wanted to get me laid. I am not really ok with that. I was dragged through the dance floor and felt like I was being auctioned off like a piece of live stock. Not my style. My friend saved me and I ended up walking her home and then went home and passed out. I pretty much packed an entire weekend into Friday alone so who knew the weekend could get any better.

Friday night a few of us got the idea of hey lets go the Cubs game so Saturday morning I woke up early and went and got ready for the Cubs game. It turned out to be very nice weather for Opening Weekend, 50s and mostly sunny. I love baseball games! I am a Tigers fan but not living in Michigan anymore makes it hard to go to games so I tend to go to Cubs games a bit. I know a lot of people don't like Wrigley and call it old but there really is something about it that is just fun. We picked up some upper level tickets and watched a very quick first 5 innings. That's when the game slowed down. It wasn't looking very good for the Cubs till the 8th inning when they scored 5 runs to take the lead 5-3 over Pittsburgh and ended up winning the game. It was a pretty exciting ending. Somehow at the end of the Cubs game I had enough energy to keep going and went and met up with Kate and some other friends over in Wicker Park to watch the Butler VCU game which Butler won. So I'll be headed back out Monday to watch the championship game with that same group.

By the end of that game I was beat. I just went home but once I got there I realized it was still Saturday and I couldn't very well just sit in on a Saturday so I went and watched a movie with Brit. I love the area of Chicago that I live in. It truly is college with a salary. I can just walk down the street to my friends houses and hang out just like I did in college and I can walk anywhere and run into friends just like college. And best of all when your worn out on a Saturday night there is always someone close by to just have a chill night with and yet still have lots of fun at the same time just like college. Once i made it home Saturday night I had a beer with my neighbor and my roomie on the front stoop and I played with my camera. Some random guy wanted to be in one of the pictures and Nikki wanted to title it "and then there was that guy....."

Sunday was really the only low key day I had. Woke up cleaned a little, went for a 6 mile run with Brit, met up with my roomie and went and saw Sucker punch, went and did a little shopping and then went to DMK with another roomie for dinner. I have been wanting to try DMK for a long time now so I am really glad it finally worked out and I could try it. It was pretty good. It's funny I had not been to a movie since December and before that I think Harry Potter and then in the past 7 days I have been to 3 movies. Sucker punch was probably the only one worth seeing in theatres which was a pretty cool movie but I am a bit confused on what I actually saw.