Tag: chicago

Dim Sum and Then Some

The girls ( and ) and I have been having a great time. As you can guess from my icon, I’m currently in Chicago. The weather’s been perfect and we’ve been on many Grand Adventures thus far.

Friday morning, I headed off to pick up mom and we went to our WeightWatchers meeting. My weight was down again – whee! I’ve now lost 20lbs since I restarted WW. I decided my goal for this week is to gain no more than 2lbs during my time in Chicago. I may even lose weight (at the rate we’re going, I will!) I returned mom to her home and drove directly to the Columbus Airport.

The flight to Chicago and train to Roosevelt were both uneventful (just the way I like it), and Judi and I met on the streets near the station to get a late lunch. We tried out the new (since last September) Artists Cafe. I got a strawberry & spinach salad (with goat cheese and pistachios and such a small amount of vinaigrette you’d think I’d put it on myself. Heh) and water. Judi tried one of their gyros. We both enjoyed our lunches.

Back at Judi’s we vegged a bit and then eventually went to the pool. I didn’t think it was warm enough to swim, so we didn’t dress for the occassion but went to sit and read. That didn’t last long because when Judi found her dog sitter there (she’d borrowed Judi’s pool fob) the lady talked & talked & talked. I can get into that state sometimes, but Judi assures me that this is her default state. We eventually untangled ourselves and returned to the room.

Elsa arrived before 6pm and we decided we’d go off to Ma & I for some Thai food. There was a 20 minute wait, but we sat & chatted and were eventually seated. I, of course, ordered pad Thai (with tofu) and, once again, it was very delicious. Ate it all, too! (I think the WW points assigned to pad Thai in the database is a bit low, but I’m not changing ’em!)

The three of us went for an evening walk along the lake path and it was simply beautiful to watch the skyline get darker and darker. Judi has a lovely city, especially at night. And as we returned from out walk, we popped into Little Branch cafe and ordered ice cream. The pistachio was yummy!

We’d decided that Saturday morning would be our Dim Sum day. Elsa got up earliest and then rode her bike off to a nearby farmer’s market. When she returned, I took a walk around the Field Museum and Shedd Aquarium. By the time I was back, Judi was up and ready to go, so we headed to Chinatown and Three Happiness, our Dim Sum place of choice.

We were good girls at Dim Sum and didn’t overeat. Well, Judi and I had two sesame balls each, but I did track it! It’s funny, Judi had surreptitiously wrapped the last sesame ball in a napkin, intending to take it home for later. And then one of the waiters popped by and handed her a small takeaway box to put it in. And she thought she was being subtle! 🙂

We stopped at Target on the way home and Judi got some essentials. Then we returned home. After awhile, Elsa and I took a walk around museum campus, which started out perfect, but was just a smidgen warm by the end. I grilled her about names of flowers and wildflowers, but probably won’t remember any of ’em when I get home.

For supper that evening (I had no lunch – just ate most of the cherries that Elsa had bought at the farmer’s market) Elsa made us salads with fresh greens, tomatoes, peppers, onions, raspberries, and strawberries topped with a homemade raspberry vinaigrette. She also found a package of Jiffy corn bread mix and made that up, but realized after the fact that it was probably out of date. (Judi found the expiration date – it was 2008.) They were dense but still tasty. She’d also had some brie/bleu cheese hybrid she’d gotten at the farmer’s market which we also had with supper. A very filling meal.

I had pre-ordered tickets for us to see the Navy Pier fireworks on a boat, so around 7:45pm we headed off to Navy Pier. Our original plan had been to take the bus, but that had been changed to car trip. This turned out to be not the best idea we’ve had for the trip, but it all worked out in the end.

When we got to Navy Pier, the main parking lot was full. So we were shunted to alternate parking. Having never done this before, we wound up on lower Wacker and then upper Wacker and Judi finally got us to streets she knew better. We eventually found a parking garage (the prices? OUCH!) and then walked toward the pier (once we figured out where it was in relation to where we were).

It was a long walk and I was afraid there’d not be enough time to get some Haagen-Dazs ice cream before we had to queue for the boat. Judi was more optimistic and insisted I stay in the line. We got our (teeny tiny) scoops of mint chip ice cream (very yummy, and really, the size I should get) and found Elsa at the boat booth. We wound up being nearly the last on the boat, but we still found seats on the bow and waited for launch.

Once we were underway, the boat found a spot and just sat there, playing music from a Pandora radio station. The music wasn’t overly loud and some of it was good. But the star of the eveing was the fireworks show. We could actually see the barge that the fireworks are fired from and the time between light & sound were almost instantaneous. It was the best way, IMO, to watch fireworks.

We got our entire hour (plus change) on the boat and then made our way to the trolley stop that (a) is free and (b) has a stop near our garage. The first trolley was after a 20 minute wait but filled before we could get on. The second was another 10 min wait, but we were the second party aboard. It did get us near the garage and so we got our car out of hock and returned home.

Today we’re off to Taste of Chicago (the dying carcass that’s left of the original Taste, which used to be spectacular) and then on to Galena, IL for a night of dining and day of shopping. The lodge has free wi-fi, supposedly, and wasn’t as expensive as some of the places. (Well, it’s off season for a ski lodge. Heh.) I suspect the fun will continue as normal. 🙂

First Christmas of the season!

Today was our day inside. We started the morning with elsaf making us a breakfast of pancakes & bacon (mmmm, bacon!) and I had whole milk with mine (OMG, whole milk!) Tasty, tasty. Then we didn’t eat at all until supper time, cuz Elsa was making us our Christmas Dinner. (Well, OK, we all had a slice of butter bread from the loaf of bread that Elsa baked.)

I did take a short walk to Jewel (with a stop into Trader Joe’s for grins) to get a few essentials that we needed. Oh, and I took Patty (judiang‘s doggie) out for walkies once. She wanted to get back inside ASAP to watch Elsa cook, so we weren’t out long.

Elsa had e-mailed us last week asking for votes on the dinner. The consensus was rack of lamb, mushroom soup, asparagus, rice pilaf, and lava cakes. She added a red currant & wine sauce, pear salad, and from scratch rolls to that menu.

I think I cleaned the cooking dishes 3 times during the day, it took that much cookware for the meal, but it was worth it when we finally sat down for our meal.

The pear salad was very simple – sliced fresh pears with bleu cheese, walnuts, and a poppy seed dressing (no lettuce). Very tasty. She’s made the mushroom soup (with sherry) before and it was once again very yummy (and I’m not overly fond of mushrooms). The lamb was cooked perfectly and the sauce complimented it well (and was also good on the pilaf). For out-of-season asparagus, they were pretty good. And the lava cakes were spongy and nice, especially with a side of ice cream.

After the meal, we opened presents. I got lots of nifty stuff, including a real surprise – a K’nex roller coaster thingy that Judi got when she was in the studio audience of the Anderson Cooper show. Pretty darn nifty!

I managed to get stuff packed into my bag (and into another bag). I tweeted several photos from the meal tonight, along with a few gift photos. If you visit this lockerz.com page, you should be able to click on the photos that I tweeted tonight.

Tomorrow I fly home for more festivities! Woo!

Entertainment Time!

Today has been a fab day full of entertainment.

We started out (late) to Dim Sum, like usual. Man, I love dim sum. And I was a somewhat responsible eater, keeping WeightWatchers points in mind. And still had lots of yummy things.

On our way back, we stopped off at Bed Bath & Beyond and Best Buy for a few things. I found a Christmas present for the kitties at BB&B, too.

After a spot of resting at judiang‘s, we left for Navy Pier for my surprise of the weekend: Judi had ordered us tickets to see Miriam Margolyes’s one-woman show Dickens’ Women. Woohoo! With Elsa driving, we arrived with plenty of time so mooched about in one of the stores before getting to our balcony seats. It was a small venue and there wasn’t really a bad seat in the house. Miriam was excellent and the show was entertaining. And I realized I have a lot more Dickens to read!

Supper was also at Navy Pier (well, we paid for all day parking, might as well stay longer) and we went to Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville. I had an Angry Orchard crisp apple cider (I do so love those) and a salad with shrimp, crab, and lobster on it. Ate half of the salad and so today I was good for my WW points, I think!

Our final entertainment for the day was another 3D HFR showing of The Hobbit. The first time for elsaf and second time for me. Judi had tickets too, but sadly a sinus headache prevented her from going. So she lent us her phone (which had our tickets on it) and keys (so we could get back into her apartment) and dammit if I didn’t think to send all sorts of tweets & facebook updates about how cool trina is etc. 😉

Now we’re all together (Judi’s feeling better) and ready for another day tomorrow. Woo!

Fun without the Taste

Usually when elsaf and I come to visit judiang over the 4th of July holiday, we visit the Taste of Chicago. But turns out, Chicago has moved the dates of Taste until the 11th of July. So we’ve not been going there for variety victuals.

Elsa arrived late on Sunday, and it wasn’t long before we were all abed. Monday morning, Judi went off to work, so Elsa and I hung out for awhile until she returned. Then we went off to Three Happiness for dim sum (ooooh, two days in a row). During the week, you order off the menu. And turned out when we got done, the three of us ate about the same amount of food as the two of us had the day before. Heh.

We also popped over to Target after dim sum, like the day before, because Judi had tried out a personal float in the pool that worked well with her. And Target sells ’em, so she got one.

Judi lives near all these lovely museums, and so we headed off to the Adler Planetarium. With a suggestion from the lady selling us our tickets, we bought tickets for the Undiscovered Planets movie as well as the general admission. It was a dome movie and was quite nifty (though we were all tired and it was difficult to stay awake). I enjoyed the museum, but I think the girls were too tired to get much enjoyment from it.

So we returned to the apartment and Judi and I headed off to go swimming. (Elsa was feeling a little under the weather.) And after that, we grilled hot dogs & had dogs & beans for supper. Followed by ice cream – woo!

Our evening entertainment was watching The Artist. However, we discovered that Judi’s den DVD player is dying. And then discovered that her living room DVD player is dead. So we wound up sitting on her bed & watching the movie on her bedroom DVD player. Heh. Excellent movie, BTW. (Anyone else seen the DVD version and/or the theatrical version? If so, we’ve got a question for you…)

This morning, Judi returned to work again, so Elsa and I went to Little Branch Cafe for breakfast. I had an egg, bacon & cheese bagel sammich, has browns, and fruit. Oh, and a hot cocoa. Tasty. Then I walked to the grocery to return the video (RedBox FTW) and then on to Field Museum to see the Extreme Mammals exhibit.

Today was under a Heat Advisory from 11am on. So my goal was to spend only about 2 hours and head back to Judi’s by 11am. And it took nearly 2 hours to see the exhibit. The girls and I then went to Little Branch for lunch. After my walk in the heat, I decided I wanted cool, so I had a smoothie (mango, blueberry, vanilla, apple juice) and salad (with blueberries, strawberries, almonds, and yogurt dressing). Very yummy and cool.

We bought tickets to see the matinée of Crowns, a gospel musical. I knew nothing about the musical other than that. And learned it was about Sunday church hats and the ladies who wear them. It was a fabulous musical. I laughed, I cried, I wanted to dance. 🙂

Next was swimming time! All three of us were able to swim and we had a very nice time. Then Elsa made us gazpacho soup and I grilled corn on the cob and flank steak. Supper was lovely. And we followed it with ice cream. And Judi gets leftovers.

Now Elsa and I are watching Game of Thrones season 2 episodes. I won’t get the season done before I go, but I’ll be getting the Blu-Rays when they eventually come out. Alas, tomorrow I must leave here (but hooray, I return to my kitties).

Small Plates Day

Yesterday, I flew to Chicago to visit judiang. Though we arrived on time, the train to Roosevelt took forever. And since Judi had misplaced her cell phone, there wasn’t a way to tell her when I’d arrived (though it wasn’t long before she showed up in the lobby).

We then raced to the Indian place she liked, though the bus also took forever (slow day for public transport) and we arrived 15 minutes before the buffet shut down. So we filled our plates and got our kheer (rice pudding) and had a leisure lunch while the restaurant cleared up the lunch buffet. (We weren’t even the last to arrive – Vernon Dursley and his wife showed up with friends… Well, I thought it looked like him.)

We returned to Judi’s flat to veg & nap. And when Judi awoke, she had a brilliant idea. Ice cream followed by fireworks. Hell yeah! Then I improved upon by recommending the Navy Pier Death March. So we did just that. We took our time walking in the 140% humidity (no, really!) to Navy Pier, then went to Haagen Dazs for shakes (she got strawberry, I got caramel). We then waited for the fireworks.

While waiting, several yachts were mooching about near the pier, several covered in drunk people. On one, a big fat bastard took his shirt off for us on the pier, then turned around, pulled his pants down and mooned us. Um, no thanks. Judi, thankfully, was oblivious and I didn’t draw her attention to it.

Fireworks were excellent (and this is something they do ever Saturday and Wednesday at Navy Pier in the summer). We wound up with a great spot (apart from the terrestrial moon). Sure, we had pondered going on one of the night boat tours, but they were sold out of up top seating. I recommended Judi return to Navy Pier in a week and get on said tour.

We took the bus back. I noticed that we could have walked the way back in less time and for less money, but we got to sit in air conditioning.

elsaf was originally going to join us today, but had to delay her departure indefinitely. So Judi and I opted for Dim Sum for brunch. Mmmm, Chinese tapas! We also stopped over at Target to pick up a few odds & ends, and managed to walk home before the Big Storm hit. (Having had one of these in Ohio recently, I’m beginning to think they are following me.)

We had another relaxation/nap time whereupon I discovered Elsa had texted me a couple of times to say she was able to come along later today. Woo! So she’s on the road to join us after all. *big cheer*

Judi’s next brilliant idea (she’s been full of them this trip) was time at the pool. I wasn’t too sure at first – the storm had cooled things off a little – but we went and had a lovely time. And her next idea was a topper to that. How about we walk to the Spanish tapas place, Valencia?

This we did. We had a lovely variety of Spanish dim sum, including the duck confit which is ambrosia, and the crepe rellena (crepe with goat cheese, spinach, apples, and pine nuts) which is vegetarian ambrosia. We both had the spicy mango margarita, which I didn’t think was all that strong, but Judi did. And then having finished mine, realized that maybe I’d drunk mine too fast. But I followed it with a mojito anyhoo. And I think I’m nicely drunk now. Oh, dessert was their crema con chocolate (creme brulee with bittersweet chocolate).

I am full and happy. And, apparently, drunk.

Spring Break cont.

Yesterday I left Chicago bright & early after making my farewells to judiang and elsaf. *sniff* The night before had been an adventurous one, however.

After writing my last post, I took a walk around Museum Campus, walking around Shedd’s Aquarium in the course of it. It was a chilly day, but sunny and pleasant.

We had my chili for lunch, along with some multigrain bread and some fresh pears. The girls liked my chili, which made me happy. And Judi got some leftovers, too. (I think we left her with a nice assortment of foodstuff.)

The rest of the evening was one of discovery. That is, discovering what lurked in some boxes that Judi still hadn’t unpacked from her move of *mumble* *mumble* ago. For the most part, the stuff that we uncovered was trash (well, not literally garbage, just stuff she has no use for), but there was some treasure as well. Including the three books that I loaned Judi to read before her move. If she’s interested in reading them in the future, she’ll need to borrow them from the library cuz they are now home with me. 🙂

In the middle of my treasure hunt, we headed off to supper at a new local sport’s bar which is a short walk from Judi’s place. The Scout had some pretty good food. I had a spare rib sandwich with au jus and fried tator tots. Yum! Also had an Original Sin hard cider, which was pretty nice. The place was loud like most sports bars, but other than that, a nice time out with friends.

After our treasure hunt was over and I’d cleaned up the mess I had made of Judi’s closet, we finished with pineapple upside-down cake ala mode. Just as good the second day! Bed, then up early the next day for my flight out, which was uneventful.

Breakfast at the airport (Egg McMuffin, McHashbrown, McApple Juice), Auntie Anne’s pretzel at the Columbus airport, followed by my long drive home. The weather was gorgeous. The kitties ignored me at first, but now they are my good & dear friends (both curled up on my lap & asleep right now). Lazy day yesterday, lazy day today. I like spring break!

Thanks Elsa & Judi for the fun weekend/start!

Spring Break 2012! Another day…

Still having fun at judiang‘s. elsaf arrived Sunday by 4pm and we headed off to Navy Pier around 5pm. We had tickets to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Shakespeare Theater.

The last time I had seen Dream was in London and Dawn French was playing Bottom. This production wasn’t a celeb-fest, but I enjoyed the performance. A very minimalist set, but some nice music. Was good seeing a live show (again) with my friends.

When we returned, it was nearly time for the 3rd showing of ep 1 season 2 Game of Thrones. Elsa and I enjoyed season 1, so were looking forward to the premier. Alas, I don’t have cable (and if I did, wouldn’t pay for HBO), so I’ll have to wait for my next visit to Judi’s (and On Demand) or for the Blu-Ray set to come out. Having read the books, I suspect I can be patient and wait for the rest of season 2.

Yesterday started out with breakfast at The Little Branch Cafe, which is just outside of Judi’s complex. I had a fritatta sandwich, hash-browned taters, and a small fruit cup (which was mostly melon, so Judi at that bit). Elsa and I then did some needed grocery shopping with a quick stop at Target while Judi flexed. (Would love to flex as a teacher…)

The afternoon saw Elsa cooking up a storm, as she is wont to do. I got a walk or two in, which was nice. And then we had a late supper in honor of Judi’s b-day. Beef bourgonoine, curried green pea soup, salad greens w/ raspberry vinaigrette, rolls from scratch, and pineapple upside down cake ala mode. Mmmmm. Not a fan of the green pea soup, but snarfed all of the rest up.

This morning, the Elsa Grill was open and we all had eggs, toast, and bacon. I had mine over easy. They were yummy. The toast was from homemade bread leftover from the homemade rolls. I suspect Judi’s gone back to bed. Eep! Well, she worked hard yesterday, so deserves it. Plus, she IS a year older, you know. *ducks*

Oh yeah, and I’ve got a pot of chili cooking on the stove right now. Elsa requested my “award winning chili” which was basically mom’s recipe. So I’ve made it (much simpler than beef bourgonoine) and it’s simmering for lunch.

Spring Break 2012!

Ah, it feels good to be on break. We’ve had a busy school year with no snow days. So I’m further along in my classes than usual, which is great, but man, we’re all tired! Yay for Spring Break!

I have flown to Chicago in honor of judiang‘s birthday, and wouldn’t you know it, but she’s only gone & won the lottery and flown to Wellington, NZ to stalk Richard Armitage. Heh heh.

No matter, I’m having a fun time so far. Late lunch at Ma & I (pad Thai, of course, along with California roll), some vegging time, followed by the 8:30pm showing of The Hunger Games at the Icon theater (hoity toity). We’d’ve gone all out for the VIP showing (at $18.50 per) but the next showing was sold out and we didn’t want to wait until 10:45pm. So supper was popcorn and an Icee (blue, of course). The movie was excellent. Camera work a little shakier than I like, but still a great adaptation of the book.

This morning, we went to Three Happiness for Dim Sum – yum! We ate until we were full and then some. And now it’s naptime for Judi (what, you believed that entry of hers?) and computer time for me. I finished my assignment due tomorrow by midnight (reviewing the midterms of 4 of my classmates) and am now nearly done with this LJ entry. Feels good to be blogging again!

Happy 4th!

Hope folks who celebrate Independence Day today had a great day! Despite having to leave judiang and elsaf, I had a great day.

Elsa made us French toast today, which was very yummy. She even did fancy-dancy strawberry garnish & powdered sugar. (She made ’em with month-out-of-date milk, but I blame Judi for having month-out-of-date milk in her fridge in the first place! As the three of us aren’t dead, I suspect there was nothing wrong with it after all. But Judi, don’t forget to pitch the milk with the pink label!)

This morning was mostly just getting packed (and discovering stuff I forgot to pack) and reading and watching Harry Potter behind-the-scenes shorts from Judi’s On Demand service. Rather relaxing. Then Elsa and I went to the Little Branch Cafe for lunch. I had an (overpriced) toasted cheese sandwich (with tomato), which was very tasty. Judi joined us briefly, before heading back to get ready for her party.

It was quickly time to part company, however. Elsa drove back to Michigan, Judi took a cab to the train station to get to her 4th of July BBQ, and I walked to the El to get to Midway. Things were smooth getting there and getting through security and I had time to read while awaiting my flight. It left on time, arrived on time, and I wound up sitting in the first row by a window, so I was third off the plane. 44th bag out of the baggage claim, but that’s OK. I had my bag back. I even remembered, sort of, where I parked.

A short stop for Taco Bell on the drive back, and I returned home to discover someone shooting off nice fireworks at the edge of town. They were even visible from my backyard, so I spent some time watching them. They went on for at least 45 minutes (though with pauses between). Top quality fireworks – one step down from what the nearby towns use, I’d say.

The cats are glad I’m back, and I’m glad I’m back with my cats. Thanks, girls, for a great weekend! To friendship! And revenge!