What I Did
-
Chicago History Tour–I Love to Play Tourist Locally!
Disclaimer: I received complimentary tour passes in exchange for sharing my experiences on the tour. Last Saturday, I played tourist in downtown Chicago for an afternoon. There were no loud shirts, dark socks with sandals, or large cameras on straps. (It’s November for heaven’s sake–winter coats and hats were the appropriate attire!) My group included myself with my husband, teenage daughter, and my other teenage daughter (more specifically, my daughter’s BFF). (She took my son’s place since he was participating in an Operation Snowball retreat that weekend.) We started at the Hyatt Regency for a Chicago History Tour. This activity was conducted by Chicago’s Finest Tours. There we met up…
-
My Intro to Geocaching
On a cold, wintery November morning, I joined Lawrence to go geocaching. On one of my Facebook calls for “who would be interested in teaching me something new?”, Lawrence jumped at the opportunity (well, perhaps not, but he responded) to teach me about geocaching. I had done it once to find one geocache a few years back, but, since I did not remember much, I considered this a fresh start! I was in for an adventure! Long story short, I had a great time, and I can see how this can become addictive! First, Lawrence recommended that I register on-line at geocaching.com, which I did, and download the “Geocaching” app. …
-
“Whose Live Anyway?” at the Genesee Theatre
After hearing about it for many years, my husband and I finally had the chance to check out and enjoy a show at the Genesee Theatre in Waukegan, Illinois. What a great night!
-
9Round
I should exercise more often. (Anyone else?) I know that. I try to stay active, but the reality is that I don’t exercise quite as much as I should. When the opportunity came to try a free week at 9Round, I opted to check it out. Taken straight from the website, “9Round offers a kickboxing themed fitness program that incorporates a functional, interval, cardiovascular, and circuit training regimens.” There is no set schedule nor formal class times. When you arrive, you can get ready to start your workout. Under the close guidance of trainers, you go through nine three minute rounds with brief periods of other exercises between…
-
Aloha from the Suburbs!
Disclaimer: My son and I enjoyed a complementary dinner and show at Tiki Terrace in exchange for me sharing our experience on this blog. My son and I traveled to the South Pacific for an evening (yes, one evening) earlier this week! No airports; no luggage; no hassles. It was a VERY mini vacation, but it was a great little evening getaway, and it was nice to have some one-on-one time with my son! We went to Tiki Terrace in Des Plaines, IL for a Hawaiian dinner and luau show (it was Hang Loose Wednesday!). As soon as we walked in, we certainly felt transported. No suburban feel there! We…
-
Axeplosion!
Disclaimer: My family received a complimentary axe throwing session in exchange for my sharing of our experience on this blog. I admit that I have never watched an episode of Games of Thrones. Nevertheless, I recently had the chance to wield an axe (in a controlled setting) and felt great doing so! A new axe throwing facility just opened up a few weeks ago not too far from me. Axeplosion has come to town! Prior to learning about this place, I did have an interest in trying out such an activity, but I only had heard of places downtown and just never followed up. When I recently saw mention of…
-
Trapped! (aka Broken Car Door Handle)
One recent morning, I arrived at my office for work, and when I tried to open my car door, I heard a strange noise, and the door remained shut. Lovely. The handle would move quite freely and easily, but it would not open my door. I tried to lock and unlock it from the inside but to no avail. Fortunately, I wasn’t wearing a skirt, so I “gracefully” climbed over my front passenger seat, climbed out of my car, and went around to the driver’s side. Once there, I could successfully open the door. This verified that the door as a whole wasn’t messed up, just the inside handle.…
-
Walk, Sweat, and Paint
My friend, Cheryl, and I have known each other since we were three. We grew up next door to each other and were neighbors until we headed off to college. Despite many years of coloring, Lite Brite, Spirograph, and Fashion Plates as kids, we never really painted together. Well, that has now changed! In response to my “Who wants to teach me something?” call, she offered to teach me to paint. She had no experience teaching painting, but I had no experience being taught (elementary school doesn’t count), so we had absolutely nothing to lose! Long story short, we had a fantastic day together! We did not start at the…
-
Super Shed 3000
Spoiler alert: The title may be just a bit of an embellishment. Just a bit. Every so often, I put out the call for “who wants to teach me something new?” Recently, I had a taker who said that she would soon be building a shed and wondered if I would be interested in participating. I have no idea as to what response she expected, but I took her up on the offer! Whether or not I would be of much help would soon be determined, but I figured that we could have fun, I would try something different, and my friend and I would get a chance to get…
-
Let’s Get Down and Dirty
I spent a recent Wednesday afternoon getting down and dirty! Outside! Eventually in the rain! (FYI–This is a family friendly blog.) I spent that afternoon volunteering for the Lake County Forest Preserve. My day off of work is Wednesday, so I was looking for something different to do. I learned that there are multiple programs and volunteer opportunities with the county forest preserve. Via the website calendar, I found a “Restoration Workday” listed for the particular date of interest to me. On that particular date, there was volunteer work available at the Native Seed Nursery , so I went and brought my teenage son with me. (He was given two…
