Mr CrossFit Getaway to Chicago Day 4: Shedd Aquarium plus I miss my flight

Ah yes... it was inevitable. I got behind this week and haven't had an opportunity to post day 4 of the Chicago trip. People this morning were asking about Day 4. I hope you can forgive me. I'm sorry for failing you... :(

Well, needless to say, after Day 3 and the incident at the bus stop sign, I was not ready to rip and tear on Monday morning. I stayed in bed for a little while until Tanya called. Then I hopped the train to meet up with her. We headed out to Shedd Aquarium which was a ton of fun. As you can see by the photos, Tanya and I had ourselves a blast! After that we took a little trip uptown to go get some Chicago style pizza. After all, how could I be in Chicago and not try the pizza? :) So Tanya took me to one of her favorite spots, and had me some deep dish Chicago style pizza. Now, sadly you can't hear my voices that I was using as I said Chicago, but imagine me with a very funny accent! :P

I have to say, I really liked the dough on the Chicago style pizza (we all know I'm a HUGE fan of bread... which is why I'm NOT allowed to keep it in the house) but I wasn't such a fan of the sauce. Just my preference, but the shop used a sweeter pizza sauce, whereas my tastebuds and their delicate sensitivities (*snicker*) like marinara style sauces. What can I say? I'm a wee bit traditional. :P So Tanya and I stuffed ourselves silly on pizza and cheesy garlic bread (no this meal was not Zone friendly... it was the only one in Chicago though! Cut me a little slack... :P) before attempting to walk back to the hotel. I say attempting because I was in that place where you are so stuffed that the only thing you can call is "food coma." You know, where you eat and immediately fall asleep? I really wanted to, but I had a train to catch to get to the airport. So we got my bag from the hotel and headed for the train. Tanya walked me to the Blue Line and it was a very bittersweet parting. I had a TERRIFIC time in Chicago and was sad to leave, but at the same time, I was ready to be in my own bed and with my CFOT crew. Aww... :) I heart you guys....

Well, the train had several stops before O'Hare, and as time crept by I was getting more and more nervous about missing my flight. It took the train almost an hour to get to O'Hare. I hauled ass through the airport, trying to get to the United counter, which of course was in terminal 1, all the way across the flippin airport, and of course also had the longest line. I finally go to the counter to check in, and it wouldn't let me. It said I was too late. I started to panic and waved the woman over, who promptly told me that baggage check ends 45 minutes before take-off. My flight left at 6:00. It was 5:21. Of all the ****(**#&@)@A_A*@*#& So, she sent me to another really long line, and there I stood for more time, trying to be patient. Well, I finally got to the counter and the dude was all, well I can confirm you but you're going to have to pay. Well, I didn't have a sub scheduled for Tuesday and I needed to get home, and there wasn't another later flight, so... paying up it was. Damnit. By this point it was after 6 and the later flight was leaving at 7. So I hauled backside through security and made it to gate with 15 minutes to spare until boarding. Seriously... I really was aggravated with United. Yes I realize I should have been earlier, but who has 3 attendents working? Eesh... apparently I have enjoyed the joys of flying... :P

Anyhoo, I finally got to board, and the flight back was pretty smooth.... until drink service. I didn't get a drink before on the plane because I didn't want to have to get out of my seat to use the bathroom. Well this time I was still not feeling so hot, so I got a Cranapple juice. No sooner did the flight attendant serve me, that we hit turbulance. Not the shimmy and shake kind, the kind that drops you a few feet before the plane catches. I had all my report cards out frantically bubbling them in, and thinking that if I spill my juice on these I'm so dead. Thankfully, I didn't spill a drop, but the guy who was yapping about Fairfax County schools the entire was back from Chicago was covered in hot coffee. That was a little bit of revenge for me... ;)

We finally hit down and I spent 20 minute in baggage claim looking for me bag before they announced that they had told us the wrong carousel for our baggage. So then I had to go to another one. Thankfully it was there, and I immediately headed for the cabs. I was going to metro then cab (cheaper) but I just wanted to get home. I finally got home just shy of 11, and I was exhausted, but very happy. Overall it was a great weekend and it's hard to believe that it was over a week ago already, but it's not the last time I'll see Chicago. I'm pretty confident that Tanya misses me... and will be begging me to come back soon! :) Tehehehe. And ladies and gentleman, this concludes my CrossFit Getaway to Chicago. Thank you for flying on the Katie Express. ;)

Some more Zone math and some Zone travel tips from... moi!

Well, as many of you know, a while back I decided that for me, it was necessary to give up soda completely and eradicate it from my diet. For someone who could seriously be described as a soda junky, this was no small feat of arms. It was really rough for me. Well, here I sit this morning at day 32. I have OFFICIALLY broken the one month barrier. I'm not going to lie, this was unbelievably difficult, and when I started doing this, I really didn't think I was going to make it to this point. Soda has long been a vice for me. When the kids are wonky in the afternoon, the sugar boost would get me through. It would also get me up and running in the morning. It's insane just how much I relied on soda. So, per my new feat, I decided to do some more Zone math. So just in case you needed some reasons, say different than the fact that Coke cleans RUST!!!!, to give up soda, here are a few reasons I can think of.

Cans of soda saved
32 days X 3 cans= 96 cans

Amount of money saved
3 cans/day x $.75= $2.25/day
32 days X $2.25= $72.00

Amount of calories saved
150 calories X 3 cans/day= 450 calories/day
32 days x 450 calories= 14,400

Grams of sugar
42 grams/can X 3 cans/day= 126g/day

126 g/day X 32 days= 4032 g

Now that we are at the month mark, let's break this down a bit. In one month, but not drinking soda, I saved almost $100. Wow! Holy cow. Talk about amazing. And if you want to hear something even crazier and perhaps more amazing listen to this. I am calculating my soda intake based on what occurs at school. I was also drinking soda outside of school at dinners or at work. Or if I would get groceries, I would allow myself to buy just one 20 oz. soda. So I probably actually saved over $100. Holy bananas! I could get a mani/pedi (which I am in dire need of!) for that amount of money! I could get a massage (mmmmm massage). Or go on a Dick's shopping spree. Oooh, how I heart Dicks. (I am now a rewards member... yeah, I get the coupons and the gift cards for $10 when I spend money. And I have about 30 coupons for there from other teachers' mailboxes... what? They weren't going to use them... so I say.... YOINK!) :) Anyway, back on track here. I don't keep soda in the house, but I do drink it away from school. Especially at the restaurant. The fountain is free to employees and we have HUGE classes. Probably roughly around 16 oz, and I could easily down 4-5 of them per NIGHT. So you can also figure those numbers into the soda that I saved myself from drinking. Seriously, this soda thing was not a small problem. It was a big one, and I am very happy that it's a habit I've managed to change.

Now, the biggest part of this experiment. The calories. Figure that the average person basis their diet on the 2000 calorie pyramid. If you go by that figure, I saved myself 14,400 calories, or roughly 7 DAYS worth of food. Let me say that again. 7 DAYS. That's an entire weeks worth of food that I was not eating, but drinking in addition to my normal diet! So I was really ingesting enough calories for 39 days, in 32 days. That is insane!!!! Holy balls Batman! Furthermore, look at the sugar intake. I have saved myself over 4000 grams of sugar. No wonder my body is now speaking to me and not so angry with me all the time. Wow. I just can't get over these numbers. I think in order to keep going, I'm going to need to do this every so often, just to remind myself why I started this. Now, I have had some ice tea since I gave up the soda, but it's minimal, and nothing compared to the amount of soda. I will have to be careful though that I do not replace soda with Starbucks. That is actually even worse. I do love their lattes and mochas though... yummmmmmmm..... but back on track again here.

Now that I've kicked the soda habit, I really need to ramp up my Zoning more. I'm sneaking little cheats in, but not adjusting to account for the cheating. So I really need to get stricter and stop justifying things by saying stuff like, "I can eat this. Really. I ran 5 miles this morning and walked another 2. It's fine." ERRRR! Wrong answer. It's not fine and it takes away the balance my body is trying to create. The start of the summer means that Zoning becomes trickier because we are on the road, at weddings etc. But again, ERRRRR! Wrong answer. I've been traveling around a decent amount lately, and I'm finding it easier and easier to stay in the Zone while I'm on the go.

First things first, read the Zone guide to dining out. Many people think if you are going to eat out while you're in the Zone, it means that you have to order a salad or cheat. Not so. There are plenty of things you can do. If you order entrees, most places will allow you to sub extra veggies or a salad for the potatoes. Lots of places also have things like fruit cups that you could even sub in. So, don't feel like you need to get locked into a big salad and nothing else. Usually the protein is more than you need, so just ask the server to box it. We don't mind, and it's great for lunch/dinner the next day. Seriously. It doesn't get much easier than that.



Ok, that's great and all, but what do you do if you're not dining out? If per say you are on the road traveling. Certainly you don't always stop to get a meal at a sit down place. How do you cope? Alright, well in my travels in the last month, here is what I've figured out. The invention of gas stations like Sheetz and Wawa has all but saved the Zoners. Both places do MTO (made to order) food and you can get things like fajitas, chicken sandwiches, salads, and now, Sheetz has started offering apple slices as well. That totally made my day to see as I was traveling back to PA a few weeks ago. The bag was roughly one block. So two packs, plus a block from the wrap on the fajita, plus the chicken and cheese from the fajita, and the sour cream, and I was Zone friendly! It was really pretty simple. Now, Wawa (from what I remember) actually has a larger selection than Sheetz in terms of offerings, so it too can be Zone friendly. I know that these are two of the biggest gas stations on the East Coast, so they should be found in most places around. There may be others too that I don't know about, so feel free to let me know if I don't.

If you get in a pinch and there is no such thing around where you can do a MTO or there are options, drive through BK or McDonalds and order a grilled chicken sandwich. Ditch the bun, and then order a parfait. It's not perfect, but getting some carbs from the yogurt would be preferable to getting them from oh you know, the fries?! :P So really, it is possible. I know that maybe this sounds crazy, but think about it. You don't want to undermine all your hard work during the week with your weekend trip out of town. You can even do Chinese, but you need to order something veggie heavy (Chicken and broccoli) and not fried, and ditch the rice. You just need to keep in mind what the friendly foods are, and I bet you'll find that most places will have some way to make things friendly. Wraps are even ok, you just need to watch the amount of lunch meat you eat, plus the carbs from the wrap, and if you're using mayo as your fat, ask for it on the side. Servers also do not mind things on the side. Well, unless they really suck and they just hate life in general. Then they hate you for being picky. :P

So, stick with it. You can do it, and keep in the Zone. I hope that my travels can help you be Zone friendly even on the go. :)

I got a little overzealous today...

So, I'm going to walk you through a scenario. You've just signed up for a race. You've trained for it. You've prepared. You've done everything you could to be as ready as you can be. Then race day comes, and blam. Rain, snow, humidity, any of these. Funny, the one thing you didn't train for was weather. I didn't want my experience at the Baltimore 1/2 to go like that. I want to be like a Boy Scout, always prepared. So despite the ungodly heat and humidity this morning, I decided to go have a run. Who's to say that that fateful day in October when I run 13.1 miles will not be like today? Exactly. No one. So I figured, today would be a great day to train. Humid and digusting. At least then if the Baltimore 1/2 happens to be on a really humid day, I can understand what to expect and how my body will react. In theory, this idea is wonderful.

So my master plan today was to strike out and run four miles. 2 miles down, 2 miles back. The farthest I have ever run is about 3.5 miles, so I figured it was time to start stretching the length of my runs. 4 miles didn't seem like a far stretch from where I've been so I decided to go for it. I even picked what I thought would be the perfect spot, The Dyke Marsh. Oh I know I know, the word Dyke makes you all giggle like 8th grade boys, but it's the name of a really pretty area just along the bank of the Potomac, near Fort Hunt Road. There is a path that winds through the marsh and continues along the GW Parkway all the way to Mount Vernon. The path also heads north along the Potomac all the way up towards, and I think, past Reagan. It's really pretty to run along. So, my plan involved me using the mile markers along the trail to keep track of my miles run, and help me with pacing. Well, I failed to realize that the first mile marker was about a 1/2 mile away from where I parked my car. Oops on that one, so automatically I had a 1/2 mile walk to warm up with.

Well, once I hit the mile marker, I struck out and started to run. I immediately regretted this idea. My legs were burning from the front squats yesterday. We didn't use much weight but my posterior chain was on FIRE. I made it through the first mile with about a 12:30 pace. Considering the tightness and the heat, I figured that wasn't too bad. During mile 2, I started to loosen up a bit. My strides felt stronger and when I hit the mile marker I realized I had dropped my pace to 10:00 just about even. Now, here's where I hit the snag. After mile 2, I should have turned around and headed back for my car because that would have been a total of a 4 mile loop. Well, my ingenius self thought, well let's just run 3 miles down and see what happens. Well, I hit mile 3 and realized that I was still on pace at 10:00. I was pretty stoked that even on a day like today I hit just about a 5K in 35 minutes. That was pretty solid work.

But then, I realized I needed to turn around and get back to my car. So, I decided that since I had 3 miles to repeat, I would walk mile 4. By this point, my hip and left knee were throbbing. Had my car been beside me, I probably would have listened to my body, happy with the 3 mile day and called it a day. But, since I wasn't anywhere near my car, I couldn't stop. I kept walking, and hoped that I would get back to my car soon. Well, at the next mile marker, I decided I would run. It was excruciating on my hip, but I just kept going. I had to stop and walk a few times, but I kept plugging along. Not very fast at all, but I kept going. I hit the mile marker and mile 5 (4 of running) was about a 12:30. I was thinking again, not bad all things considered, especially the fact that I have never run over 3 miles. So I just kept going. At this point, I figured, the sooner I get back to my car, the sooner this is over, and damn my hip cause it hurts.

Well, my last mile was about 12:30 again and at the mile marker where I started, I stopped running and walked the rest of the way in. That last 1/2 mile walk from the mile marker was nearly unbearable. I'm sure the other people on the trail wondered what in the Bejesus I was doing, but I really needed to stop and stretch a few times, which involved sticking my spandex clad butt high in the air, which I'm sure also amused the drivers along the GW parkway. Great.... :P It's also at this point that perhaps I should tell you that since I had yet to do laundry this week, all my workout shorts were dirty, and I was forced to wear pants today. I was already getting tons of looks from people, who I'm sure were wondering if I am a glutton for punishment by wearing pants in this heat, and to that all I can say is, dude, I CrossFit. What do you think? So, all along my run, and also at the end, I got tons of strange looks. Ah yes, just a normal run would be too much for me. :P

Now, once I finally hobbled back to my car, the first thing I did was drink water. At no point during the 7 miles did I drink. That was a bad idea. I didn't have a way to carry it, so I didn't, but boy I really could have used it. So immediately after chugging half the bottle, which is definitely a no no, I sat down to stretch. Wow oh wow. I really think I did myself in. Something is really wrong with my hip... or, well, really, my buttocks to be more specific, and even more, my left one. I definitely was overzealous with the 7 miles. I really need to be careful with my increases in distance. Overdoing it at this stage and hurting myself could keep me from running for awhile, which could really hurt my chances of being prepared for my race in October. So, I need to really listen to my body from now on, and stop when it says "ow". Yeah, I know, I'm really bad about that. :( But I've iced and taken some Advil, so hopefully I'll be good to go for CrossFit in the am. If not, I'll probably still come in anyway and cheer everyone on. You know me... I just can't stay away... :) I love CrossFit like a fat kid love cake! :) Tehe...

Pics of Angie

Yup... now I understand why I was so flippin' sore... please don't ever accuse me of cheating my push ups... :P

Jerry's famous CrossFit "gassers"....

Usually when we hear the word "gas" it's not used in a pleasant form. Usually someone is discussing bodily functions that you really don't want to think or hear about. But after working out with Jerry, the word "gas" has taken on a whole new meaning. Especially when he alters the word by adding a suffix and turning it into an noun like "gasser". (Is my teacher showing? I'm sorry... :P) Whenever Jerry starts talking about "gassers" I know that whatever he has in store is going to hurt.

We started today by warming up with some quick work on the front squat. If I thought Angie and her push-ups had put a whoopin on me, I was totally wrong. This morning I hurt. Just ached. My shoulders and especially my traps were just sore and achy all over. Those clean and presses that we did while I was still sore from Angie really took the wind out of my sails. Not to mention, I gave myself a whole ton of bruises by cracking the bar into my collar bone. Getting the front squat into the rack today hurt like no other. There's a reason you don't touch bruises. Yeah, duh! They hurt! :P But nonetheless, I showed up to work this morning, and work was just what Jerry had in store. Today's fun looked like this...

Warm-up
2 X 5 front squat
35
65

First WOD
21-15-9
Front squats (85)
Ring dips (double floss)

Second WOD
21-18-15-12-9-6-3
KB swings (45)
Jumping lunges

One the first circuit, I felt like utter and total poo. Like I said, just keeping the bar in the rack hurt like a son of a gun. Then ring dips... oof. Ring dips are a gasser. I wasn't very speedy, but nonetheless, got 'er done. I hit this one in in 9:56 I think.

I have been having some trouble lately getting off the 35lb kettlebell for swings. 35 for me is relatively easy. Kettlebell swings are not my bread and butter and I do struggle with them when we do high volume, but the 35 goes over head very easily for me. I've just been having trouble going up in weight. I'm not sure if my hips are not strong enough or what the deal is, but when I jump to the 45 I have a really difficult time. Well, today I did pro level on the first set, and I figured I needed to step the weight up for the second set. I've only ever really swung the 45 a couple times in circuits, and so today was a bit of an experiment for me. I was able to get the 45 to eyelevel, but I just can't take it overhead. I'm not comfortable enough, and I think I'm lacking on the hip snap that I need to really get it up there. I'm sure that the 45 will get easier if I keep picking it up, but the problem is, I need to keep picking it up. :P Regardless, I did do a whole bunch of KB swings with a 45 today if you add them all up. 83 if I'm counting right. Which it's entirely possible that I'm not.... :P

The second circuit was in in 8:24 I think. Leslie smoked this thing in like 4 minutes. She is freakin' rediculous. Speaking of ridiculous... holy freakin' balls dude. I looked at the numbers from yesterday. Stacey use 85 and absolutely crushed me. She did 22 reps on like every round, and Georgia was posting 20's each round too. Balls! I work out with some A-T-H-L-E-T-E-S!

Got off topic for a second... sorry about that... but back to the topic of gas. Yes... Jerry has accurately described these workouts. Afterwards, I had no "gas" left in my tank. I was "gassed" and unable to move. Jerry's little "gassers" are aptly named... and therefore... aptly disliked... :P

"If you keep doing what you're doing, you'll keep getting what you're getting."
~ Jerry Hill (the living legend himself...)

Some interval training at CrossFit Old Town...

more cat pictures

So this morning, I hopped out of bed and skipped the whole way to CrossFit with a smile on my face, ready to get me some pain for breakfast. Eh, well that's sort of how it happened. It really went more like. I fell out of bed, stumbled bleary eyed into the bathroom, managed to throw on some matching clothes and got to CrossFit without injuring anyone. The morning was a success! :P When I got to the Blue Room this morning, I was a little, oh how shall we say... SORE?! Geezo peezo. Angie and her 100 push-ups really put a whoopin on my shoulders. I was fried. So when Jerry told us what we were doing, I was a little skeptical. Skeptical, no. Leery? No. Downright thinking I was going to die? Yes. There it is.

Now, see this is odd for me, because normally I love cleans. But today, I really just wasn't feeling the mojo working and I was really kind of terrified of the set. Now, mind you, clean and press sounds easy. *snicker snort guffaw* Yeah well, easy this...

Warm-up
:30 work X 3 rounds clock never stops
shuffle splits
wall ball

:30 work X 3 rounds clock never stops
jumping jacks
KB high pull (35)

WOD
Interval training
2:00 minutes you go/partner goes power clean to a push press
X 6 rounds

Jerry leveled this up and set up a pro, pack, and porch weight. Jerry "encouraged" me to go pro at 85, so of course I did. Wow. Wow wow wow. Did I ever eat pain for breakfast. These hurt. Over the course of all 6 rounds I was able to maintain double digits, which I was happy with. But I felt like a nerd listening to some of the other people's numbers. My total was only 73, and they were all way above me. Karen was an awesome partner to work in with. She's really motivating and she's really on when she gives you cues. Georgia today, holy balls. Keturah too. Freakin' cranking out reps like it's nobody's business. Wow. They put in some awesome work.

In truth, I think these felt so awful because I was sore already, but I also noticed that the higher reps I reached, the softer my lock out got. I really had to think about driving the weight up and locking out my arms. There were a few close calls where I wasn't sure if the barbell was going to come crashing down on my head or not. I'm sure had that happened Jerry would have taken a picture of it for you all to enjoy.

Well, as I sit and type, my eyese are drooping and it's past my bedtime.... Day 4 will come tomorrow... :P

My CrossFit Getaway to Chicago: Day 3- The 5K, Mexican and Margaritas, and the Block Party

If you didn't read Day 1 and Day 2.... read them now because otherwise, this post will make little or no sense... :P

After Georgia's and my night out on the town, I had to be up and ready by 6:40 because Tanya was coming to get me so we could head out to the Zoo for the race. Well, the phone rang for the wake-up call, and let me tell you, I really did not want to move. That little bit of champagne and a couple beers later had really done me in. My stomach was revolting against me. Literally, it felt as if we were fighting medieval style and my stomach was just using a trebucket to throw rocks around. It did NOT feel nice. (Wait, did I really just use the word trebucket?) Wow... ok I did. Anyway, after a little bit of TLC to my tummy, I headed down to wait for Tanya. I was really nervous for the race and I was afraid if I ate, I would get sick, so I chose not to eat anything. Tanya was right on time and she and I headed out to pick up her friend and head for the zoo. Chicago's zoo is free to the public, and I have to say it was amazing. I left my camera in the car, and it was really a shame. The lions were hilarious and the flamingos were very... well... PINK. :P

We did a quick check in and got our chips, and then did a short warm up jog to get ready. Then we headed for the start line. I didn't really think about that part of the race, but where you start is important. I was aiming for the middle somewhere but Tanya wanted to go a little closer to the front, so I went with her. The start line was crowded. We were on the footpaths in the zoo, so it was very narrow. Well, they were playing some music to get everyone pumped and it just made me more nervous. Before I could really think too much about it, the woman was through the prizes, and the horn sounded. I have to say, at the moment my chip crossed the line, I knew I couldn't turn back, and I was insanely proud of myself just for getting that far. This weekend was a ton of fun for me, but it was also about doing a lot of things that I had feared or had felt that I could never do. At the point that foot crossed the line, I realized the weight of what I had just done. I had taken one more big step towards conquering my utter fear and hatred of running. I was doing something not many thought I could do. I was beating a weakness of mine. Running now does not hold as much sway over me as it did. At that moment, I was damned proud of that.

Moving away from the start line was complicated and again, not something I was prepared for. The narrowness of the path made passing difficult and people were on top of one another. Through the zoo, the pack stayed pretty tight, and I really need to assess more how to effectively pass people. You can waste a lot of energy and momentum I think trying to go back and forth across the path to pass. I think there must be a strategy for it. It was more complicated than I thought and I definitely need to figure it out before Baltimore seeing as how it will be a much bigger race. Anyhoo, on mile 1 I was really disappointed because the clock was not working, so I had no idea where I was. I was aiming to come in under 35:00. I figured that would be good for my first run. Mile 2 rolled around and the clock was up, and low and behold I was on 21:15. I knew that I was close to my pace. Mile 2 was a rough one though, and Pukie and I nearly interfaced, but I kept him at bay and headed into mile 3. I knew if I could just maintain stride, I'd be in in my goal. But maintaining is hard. I actually felt myself finally settle down and pick up the pace a bit. Before I knew it, I could see the finish line ahead. I could see the clock as I got closer. I was still under!!! When I hit the finish line, I finished in 32:12, way under my goal! I was stoked. But what I forgot, was that I did not cross the start line when the horn sounded. Think of one of Jerry's staggered starts. I had a few minutes. So I found out that my official chip time was 31:56. I was 105th in my division, which was the largest of them all actually, and there were 215 people. So, I was literally right in the middle. I was very proud of myself for finishing, well, and even having the guts to start. I know though, that a large part of that was thanks to Tanya's pushing. :)

Well, after the race, Tanya dropped me off so I could shower, and then we met up a little while later to go see some things. She took me to see the bean, and the faces which are really cool things in Millenium park. We picked up a train and then headed across the city to go eat. I was starving and needed some food. We settled on Mexican, which was great, because I could go Zone. I got fajitas, and Tanya and I celebrated the race and my trip with a pitcher of margaritas. They were tasty! :) Afterwards, we headed out to the block party which was going on nearby. We wandered around, completely stuffed, and eventually wandered to the lemonade stand. The lemonade was quite good, and became ever better when Tanya and I added our own special ingredient. The weather was gorgeous, there was a band playing, dogs were out. It was a great afternoon... for awhile.




I'm not sure when it happened... probably after about the 3rd time we added our special ingredient to our lemonades... that the afternoon becomes, well, how shall I say... a bit muddled? ;) There are photos on my camera that really, I have no idea how they got there. Eventually Tanya sent me in a cab home... and well... on the way to the cab... I ran into Pukie. He was very happy to see me and was waiting beside a bus stop sign.... now you can ask Tanya to clarify, but I'm told that there was some sort of conversation that occurred at this time in which I apologized for eating the fajitas. Don't ask... I'm not sure either... by far though, not a very proud moment for me, but one apparently passers by thought was hilarious. The cabbie seemed reluctant to let me in the cab, but got me to the hotel with no problems. I was alseep by 630 and really didn't move until Georgia told me I couldn't sleep on top of the covers. Heavens.... I told my father this story, and his response was "Great. You embarassed the family."

Yeah... sorry dad... :( But... that is not the end of my Chicago fun... oh no...there is still more fun to come... so stay tuned for my final installment... Day 4- The Aquarium, Chicago Style Deep Dish, and I miss my plane...

I'm not really proud of the last part of that story, but I'm sure it's one that others will get an insane kick out of.... me being very un-me like. :P It doesn't happen often, so you might want to jot this down. :P Ah yes...