Should Have Worn My Girdle Today...

No, actually, I am not pregnant.

But thanks to the multiple strangers who asked.

Margie's Candies

My boyfriend and I went to the Margie's Candies today in North Center, near the Montrose Brown Line.  Our treats definitely hit the spot, but we weren't expecting them to be so huge!  He got this one scoop coconut ice cream cone (pictured right), and this is what it looked like after he had a few bites.  I got one giant scoop of pistachio, my favorite.  It was nice to go somewhere different together, as we tend to eat at the same places over and over again.

Apparently the original Margie's Candies located on Western Avenue is a bit of a Chicago landmark.  I'll have to check it out sometime.  Al Capone is said to have visited, and the Beatles ate there after a show in 1964.

The best part?  Definitely the little wafer cookie they serve with everything.  Yummy.  Also, they served whip cream with my coffee, and it doesn't get much better than that.

Last Snowfall?

This was the view from my old apartment on the third floor, beautiful in winter.  No doubt it looks very similar today.  I moved my desk to the window so I could enjoy the view - in the summertime all you could see were leaves and the squirrels running through the branches; it was like living in a tree house.  Now I live on the first floor of the same building, and although the top half of my windows display branches, I really just stare at the apartment complex across the street.  It is snowing today, and I am still enjoying the view.

Chicago Park District Classes: Super Affordable!

It's 11:00 A.M., and I have been checking the sub scheduler periodically since 5:15 A.M..  No jobs. I've been sitting alone with Jack the Cat as he continually meows at the door, waiting to be let out into the hallway of our apartment building so he can run up and down the stairs.

While dilly dallying on the computer, I started looking into places offering ASL courses.  I stumbled across the Chicago Park District website, which offers 8 weeks of classes for only $35!  Unfortunately the course is full, but I think I will call to check if there have been any cancellations. 

To my delight, I noticed they have a plethora of courses ranging from upholstery (how useful!) to auto repair (how practical!) to quilting (how fun!) - all for under fifty bucks.  For about $120 - $170, you can take pottery classes, offered at a much more reasonable price than some of the art studios in my neighborhood.  I'd like to do that over the summer.  They also offer adult swim lessons, figure skating lessons, knitting, sewing, photography, and stained glass classes!

Check it out here.  Online registration for the Spring session is closed, but you can still register for classes with openings by calling the park directly.   Registration for the Summer session begins in April.

Spring is Almost Here!

The first day of spring is only a week or so away, yet snow can still be found in piles along the road.  Year after year, Spring arrives before I have had time to completely fulfill my sledding fix or build a snowman, winter activities I continually put off until the next snowfall.  Spring reminds me that I need to stop procrastinating or waiting until next year to try something new (Luge!).

Spring is Summer's herald, and that's what I love about it.  I saw a tamale cart today, a great sign of the coming warmth!  

My friend and I are planning a garden, and soon my neighborhood will look like this:

CONSTRUCTION ZONE!

I'm trying out some new templates.  Until my programmer beau can save the day over here at Disaster Cat, things might look a little jacked up.  Lord knows I can hardly use a calculator and ultimately fail at technology, so please excuse any programming/ template/ computer errors for the time being.

In other news, I met the speech - language pathologist at the school where I subbed today, and was able to get her email in case I would like to observe her in the future.  We played a game together in speech with one of the children I was assisting, and it was fun and interesting to see how she worked with the kids.

Crazy Stuff I'll Do for Free: Piano Moving Edition

So on Monday I missed Step Aerobics class.  Yup, aerobics, like the kind your mom probably took when you were little.  Like I'm thirty or something.

(Does everyone associate step aerobics with this particular demographic, or is it just me?  Also let me just point out that I'm getting closer to thirty myself.  I try not to think about it.)

Anyways, I missed it because I was doing something much better with my time.  I MOVED A PIANO.  Yup, that's right. Two boys, my friend Pamela, and I MOVED A PIANO down three flights of twisty stairs and up one and a half flights of steep stairs.  Dangerous and scary?  Yes.  Crazy?  Also yes.

Miraculously (with no small amount of swearing and squished toes) we managed to get the piano safely into it's new home so my friend can continue to write music.  Check it out here.

Auto Show Skinny Minny

Tonight I get to take Bosu Sculpt class at my gym!  That's right, "get" to take it, with an exclamation point.  No sarcasm here, honest.  For those of you who have never heard of this, a Bosu is half an exercise ball with a flat bottom, and the class combines cardio with free weight exercises that totally kicked my ass last week.  And I am back for more.  Or I will be, tonight at 7:00.

I have a hard time motivating myself to get to the gym some days.  Yesterday I drove over to the Y on my way back from work and, because I was tired, decided to rest my eyes in the car before going in.  Then I fell asleep.  In my car.  In front of the YMCA.  So I decided it would be more fun to drive home and take a nap, which is exactly what I did. Then I got up and went out for tacos. 

So yeah, usually the classes are fun and I always feel that I get a better work out after taking one.

And I really need to keep to my routine, which I slacked on during my ten day stint at the Auto Show even though I was working with a real live model who was unaware I had on some sort of spanky girdle thing just to fit into my pants (I have no shame posting this on my blog). This alone should have been enough to motivate me.  But then one of my friends took a picture of us together, and I remarked "Oh wow, she looks like a model, and I look like - a regular person."

I like to keep this blog on a positive note, so let me say that I am happy with my appearance, I just want my pants to fit again (something happened over Christmas break - I don't know, maybe it was the cookies) and to feel healthier and have more energy.