Anyway, wedding. This was my very first experience being a bridesmaid. There’s quite a lot of work that goes into this title, and being one of only two made it an even bigger job. Can I just add that I packed a checked-luggage sized suitcase for the weekend? And that it was primarily filled with toiletries? LOL

So Friday was the rehearsal and dinner. It was the first I had seen of the venue, which was gorgeous. Although not in bloom yet, I’m sure the pictures turned out amazing! Rather than do a traditional rehearsal dinner, the bride and groom decided to book some lanes at a bowling alley so we could have some fun. I liked the idea, but let’s be honest – bowling = broken nails. That’s a bad situation. Also, since I’m crazy and work 3 jobs, I would have had to get my nails done on Monday and pray that they didn’t get messed up during the week. I wasn’t about to take my chances with that, so I got my nails done during the bowling and missed most of it. Oh well.

The groom’s parents got an amazing suite at a nearby hotel and stocked the kitchen with food and drink. While we worked on the last few things for the next day, we got to enjoy some delicious treats and a little champagne I’m definitely taking notes for my own wedding (which won’t happen for decades I’m sure), and this is getting added to the list: a suite with 2 bedrooms. When all is said and done let’s be honest: we all need space to get ready and a regular room isn’t enough. This had a total of 3 full bathrooms. Brilliant!

So Saturday morning I got up early for hair. The grooms cousin is a cosmotologist and did all 3 of our hair and makeup. I was concerned that mine wouldn’t hold up from 10am when I got it done until whenever the wedding was over, but I guess I underestimated the power of hairspray. I LOVE how it turned out (pics of that will definitely be posted). And then we headed to the venue and it all happened!

I love outdoor weddings, but dude – it was COLD! Also, it was about to start raining. The officiant they chose was wonderful. He kept the ceremony short and sweet (side note: the bride told me they were having a short ceremony. She assured me it would be “nice and short, about 45 minutes” LOL short does not = 45 min). The officiant read a story that each of them had written, which was awesome. Note for my own wedding: I like this idea much more than personalized vows. Good choice. Then it was time to break the glass. The officiant instructed people that when the glass breaks we were supposed to shout out something congratulatory, like “mazel tov” or “l’chaim” or “congratulations if that’s more up your alley”. This was my favorite part of the ceremony. The bride’s family is not Jewish and I think being from such a small town in the middle of nowhere they don’t have much exposure to Jewish people. So when the glass broke, half the crowd shouted something in Hebrew, and the other half yelled out “congrats” or “good luck”. The mishmash of words made me laugh.

After a TON of pictures in the freezing cold, we got to head indoors for some amazingly delicious food. They had a buffet, which I’m stealing for my own wedding. One perk of being in the bridal party was that we got to eat first. Score! The DJ was pretty awesome too. We did the Hora, also known as the thing where you lift the bride and groom up on chairs and spin them around. I thought for sure they were going to get dropped, especially since half of the “muscle” were gamers from World of Warcraft. It was amusing.

All in all, an a wonderful event. I passed out hard afterwards. Loooooong day + a couple of drinks = a very very tired Caro.

Anyway, many congratulations (or mazel tov) to Andrew and Rhianna!!

Alright now that there’s no question about that, I can post my blog about board games

From time to time when I wander through Target I’ll actually allow myself to indulge and buy a game.  I’m trying to beef up my collection at home, but in order to keep my wallet happy it’s a pretty slow going process. A couple of weeks ago I bought Yahtzee. It’s the simplest of games really – it consists of a cup, 5 dice, and a pad of paper to keep score. You roll the dice and try to make things, like 4 of a kind, full house, etc. Since you only get 3 tries, sometimes you don’t get all of the items on the list (like  a Yahtzee, aka 5 of a kind).

A couple of nights ago I convinced J to take a break from his work and play a quick game with me. That’s another thing I love about this game – with only 2 people it can be super quick! So we played. It didn’t seem that close, but as we each started finishing our sections, I started adding up the scores. As it turns out, I was ahead by a lot. J only had one item left on his list: Yahtzee. Since this is the hardest one to get, it’s also worth the most. He was frustrated and asked if it would even matter if he got it. I added up all the points and realized that if he rolled a 5 of a kind, we would be exactly tied.  TIED!

So he rolls. Three 6s. Another roll, another 6. Down to the last roll – can he roll a 6? 16.5% chance he will. At this point we’re having a pretty friendly yet competitive game here, and you have to understand there was some serious suspense. He rolled.

6!

I’ve played many a game of Yahtzee and have never once tied. Our final score was 245-245. What are the chances of that? I guess there’s a first for everything. Just for shits and giggles, we did a tie-breaker: one roll of all 5 dice. Add them up and the higher total wins.

I rolled. 15 total. That’s an OK roll but not great. I mean, 50/50 odds he gets higher than me.

He rolls. 15 total!

So we tied a second time. Seriously, we tied twice? I don’t know the statistical probability of that, but I can tell you it’s low. We did a second tie-breaker and I won.

What a great way to end a Monday night!

First Chicago Picture

I honestly am not sure quite what this is. It was all over the sidewalk next to the bus stop. My first thought was “PURPLE SNOW” but after more careful consideration I believe it’s salt to prevent people from slipping. I still have no idea why it’s purple.

I’m not sure what this is either. Giant pilgrims? That man is definitely carrying a shovel lol.

buckingham fountain

As seen in “Married with Children”, minus the water of course

closeup of the detail

my footprints in some snow

view of the city

more miscellaneous city

abe lincoln statue

Lots of Lincoln stuff since he’s from nearby

outdoor ice skating rink

And then it started snowing once I passed this

Chicago River

I absolutely LOVE this picture

alternate view

Michigan Street bridge

one more river shot

Trump Tower - does every city have one of these?

view from the Hancock Observatory

We grabbed a quick drink on the 93rd floor of this building, and the nighttime view was absolutely stunning. I love the gridlines of the city!

nighttime aerial view of Lake Michigan

more Lake Michigan

Can you tell I took this from the bathroom? LOL the wall was floor to ceiling glass. I’ve never been so distracted while waiting in line in the ladies’ room!

a little food porn

It’s official – I’m 100% obsessed with Chicago pizza. I mean LOOK at this gem. I could eat this all day, every day. SO GOOD.

snowflakes!

A picture while delayed at the gate. We had to wait for the wings to get de-iced – an amazing spectacle for those of us who had never previously witnessed this event!!

more snowflakes. goodbye for now Chicago!

I’m absolutely in love with the Olympics, and while the Summer games are definitely my favorite of the two, the Winter Olympics never fail to provide me with joy. I mean what’s not to like about sports such as the Biathlon? Cross-country skiing + target shooting, two things that clearly go together. Or Curling – pushing a giant tea kettle down an icy path and sweeping ice out of its way. What a novel idea! LOL. Actually though, much to my surprise the 2006 US Women’s Curling Team was pretty attractive. I’m not sure where they find these people, but apparently attractive curlers do exist!

Seriously though, there’s tons of great winter sports, both random (see above) and high profile (skiing, snowboarding, figure skating, speed skating, etc). The one sport that bores the crap out of me is simple cross-country skiing. I mean yeah, it takes incredible skill and athleticism to ski cross-country. But why watch this when you can watch people ski AND shoot in the biathlon? I’m also personally not into hockey. I’m sure I’ll catch a game or two, but I definitely don’t plan to make a habit of watching all the games.

As always I’ll be cheering for the red, white and blue of the US and the green and gold of the land down under.

The full schedule can be found here, but these are the highlights as I see them:

February 12, 2010

• Opening Ceremony!!!
• Ski Jumping (Quals)

February 13, 2010

• Alpine Skiing – Men’s Downhill Update: Postponed to 2/15
  
• Biathlon – Women’s Sprint
• Freestyle Skiing – Women’s Moguls (Quals and Finals)
• Luge – Men’s Singles (1st and 2nd runs)
• Ski Jumping
• Speed Skating – Men’s and Women’s Short Track

February 14, 2010

• Alpine Skiing – Ladies’ Super Combined Downhill, Super Combined Slalom Update: Postponed to 2/18
• Biathlon – Men’s
• Figure Skating – Pairs Short Program
• Freestyle Skiing – Men’s Moguls ( Quals and Finals)
• Luge – Men’s Singles (3rd and 4th runs)
  
• Speed Skating – Ladies’ 3000m

February 15, 2010

• Alpine Skiing – Men’s Downhill (originally scheduled 2/13)
  
• Figure Skating – Pairs Free Skate, Medal Ceremony
• Luge – Women’s Singles (1st and 2nd runs)
  
• Snowboard – Men’s
• Speed Skating – Men’s 500. The ice got majorly fucked up halfway through. Shani Davis wasn’t a medal contender so he decided to withdraw and save his energy. Sadness
  

February 16, 2010

• Alpine Skiing – Men’s Super Combined Downhill, Super Combined Slalom
• Biathlon – Pursuit
• Curling – US vs. Japan, US vs. Norway, US vs. Germany (honestly I’ll only watch part of one of these, then get bored til closer to the finals)
• Figure Skating – Men’s Short Program
• Luge – Women’s Singles (3rd and 4th runs)
  
• Snowboard – Ladies’
• Speed Skating – Ladies’ 500m

February 17, 2010

• Alpine Skiing – Ladies’ Downhill
• Curling – US vs. Switzerland
• Luge – Doubles
• Snowboard – Men’s Halfpipe (Quals, Semis, and Finals)
• Speed Skating – Men’s 1000m, Short Track (various)
  

February 18, 2010

• Alpine Skiing – Ladies’ Super Combined Downhill, Super Combined Slalom (originally scheduled 2/14)
• Biathlon – Women’s and Men’s
• Figure Skating – Men’s Free Skate, Medal Ceremony
• Skeleton – Women’s and Men’s
• Snowboard – Ladies’ Halfpipe (Quals, Semis, Finals)
• Speed Skating – Ladies’ 1000m

February 19, 2010

• Alpine Skiing – Men’s Super-G
• Figure Skating – Ice Dance Compulsory
• Skeleton – Women’s and Men’s
• Ski Jumping – Individual (Quals)

February 20, 2010

• Alpine Skiing – Ladies Super-G
• Bobsled – Two-Man
• Curling – US vs. Sweden, US vs. UK
• Freestyle Skiing – Ladies’ Aerials (Quals)
• Ski Jumping – Individual (Finals)
• Speed Skating – Men’s 1500, and Men’s and Ladies Short Track (various)
  

February 21, 2010

• Alpine Skiing – Men’s Giant Slalom
• Biathlon – Men’s and Women’s
• Bobsled – Two-Man
• Figure Skating – Ice Dance Original Dance
• Freestyle Skiing – Men’s Ski Cross (Quals, Quarters, Semis and Finals)
• Speed Skating – Ladies’ 1500m

February 22, 2010

• Curling – US vs. Canada
• Figure Skating – Ice Dance Free Dance, Medal Ceremony
• Freestyle Skiing – Men’s Aerials (Quals)
• Ski Jumping – Team

February 23, 2010

• Alpine Skiing – Men’s Giant Slalom
  
• Biathlon – Women’s Relay
• Bobsled – Ladies’
• Curling – US vs. Switzerland
• Figure Skating – Ladies’ Short Program
• Freestyle Skiing – Ladies’ Ski Cross (Quals, Quarters, Semis and Finals)
• Speed Skating – Men’s 10,000m

February 24, 2010

• Alpine Skiing – Ladies’ Giant Slalom
• Bobsled – Ladies’
• Freestyle Skiing – Ladies’ Aerials Finals
• Speed Skating – Ladies’ and Men’s Short Track, Individual and Relay, Ladies’ 5000m

February 25, 2010

• Curling – Women’s Semifinal, Men’s Semifinal
• Figure Skating – Ladies’ Free Skate, Medal Ceremony
• Freestyle Skiing – Men’s Aerials

February 26, 2010

• Alpine Skiing – Ladies’ Slalom
• Biathlon – Men’s Relay
• Bobsled – Four-Man
• Curling – Women’s Bronze Medal Game, Women’s Gold Medal Game
• Snowboard – Ladies’ PGS (Quals, Semis, and Finals)
• Speed Skating – Men’s and Ladies’ Short Track, Individual, Relay, and Team Pursuit (Quarters and semis)
  

February 27, 2010

• Alpine Skiing – Men’s Slalom
• Bobsled – Four-Man
• Curling – Men’s Bronze Medal Game, Men’s Gold Medal Game
• Figure Skating – Exhibition Gala
• Snowboard – Men’s PGS, Men’s Parallel Giant Slalom (Finals)
• Speed Skating – Ladies’ and Men’s Team Pursuit (semis and finals)
  

February 28, 2010

• Closing Ceremony

One blog is enough for the day. I can say that Chicago was absolutely spectacular though. I ate too much, shopped a bit, drank a little, and saw not nearly enough. I got to wear all my warm clothes and had a great time in the freezing cold. It snowed too!

Hopefully I will feel better tomorrow and put up a picture or two. If not, Monday for sure!

snd some miscellaneous penguin videos:

Jan-Feb_2010 119

Jan-Feb_2010 121

My flight home was scheduled to leave Chi-town at 6:30pm on Sunday February 7.

Maybe that doesn’t mean anything to you. Or maybe you’re aware that February 7 is Superbowl Sunday, and the Big Game starts at 5pm Illinois time. So basically that means I get to the airport at 5 and watch kickoff through halftime. Then I get on a plane with no TV and no internet. I miss the second half of the game. Another way to spell this is F-A-I-L.

Epic fail.

So without a doubt this must be fixed. I mean Superbowl Sunday is like Christmas v2 to me. Sadly since I waited so long to realize this problem, I now have to leave Chicago at the ass-crack of dawn. It definitely puts a damper on the weekend and gives me half to 2/3 less of a  day to sightsee, but I think that if I didn’t do it I would be pretty upset come game time and wouldn’t enjoy myself as much. So now the mission is changed and I’m going to have to get all the sightseeing done in just 2 days. I’ve consulted my Frommer’s Guide, and I think I can do it.

Wish me luck

J and I found an amazing airfare deal a couple of weeks ago, so we pounced on it. We’ll be gone a total of 15 days, and plan to hit up Rome, Florence, and Naples. Naples is really only on the list cuz we want to hit up Pompeii. I am obsessed with ancient ruins afterall

J has enough hotel points to stay at a SUPER nice hotel for 6 nights for free! We’ll be spending an extra day in Rome just to take advantage of the spa and whatnot. When in Rome… lol

A more detailed itinerary will come, whenever it is that we create it The trip isn’t til the end of summer, so we have time!

A friend of mine has to be out there for 2 weeks for work, so her company is paying for her hotel over the weekend in between. When she initially invited me for the weekend, I was hesitant since I’m trying to start up a savings account again. Luckily my boss gave me (another) free plane ticket anywhere in the US this year for the holidays! Free flight + free lodging = recipe for a wonderful girls trip in the Windy City!

One hitch: We’re going in February, which is notoriously frigid in Chicago. Keep in mind also that I am a cold-blooded creature, and require constant heating. I mean seriously, 55 degrees is COLD. 45 – well it might as well just snow. So looking at the weather forecast indicating temps in the high 20′s/low 30′s minus windchill, I’d bet a 30% chance I would freeze to death.

Thankfully Gap and Target exist. After scavenging eBay for days and losing on a few parkas, I decided to check gap.com. Excellent choice cuz I found this gem:

Of course the one I ordered is no longer available, but add some length to this and it’s my brand new perfect parka On sale too! It’s so cozy, and goes to my knees. It arrived yesterday, and I can only imagine what they thought when they shipped this item to my house. Or maybe they thought nothing of it cuz I live in an obscure small town. It’s not like I live in Key West, FL and ordered a parka. But whatever. Between the parka and my knee-high boots my outer layer is set!

My coworker, who is from Chicago, recommended silk long underwear. Apparently it traps moisture away from your skin so that when you sweat you don’t get cold. What a great idea. I couldn’t find inexpensive silk ones, so I went with a blend. Polyester and spandex maybe? LOL I kinda look like I should be a speed-skater, and the only long john pants available in my size were blue (+ the black top), but if they’re going to keep me warm under my clothes, who cares!!

I also stocked up on warm/tall socks, new gloves, and of course had to get myself a new hat. We all know how much I love my funky winter beanies/caps. Well I got a knit one with earflaps to add to the collection. REI.com was the lifesaver for that one!

I don’t know what exactly I’m going to do while I’m there, but I bought a guide book to hopefully help me out. My friend has been there before and has scouted out numerous places that we need to eat. Chicago deep-dish pizza? Check. Authentic Chicago hot dogs? Of course. I’m sure we’ll stop and get LOTS of other goodies along the way.

I’m super excited!!

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