Oprah....

Two and a half years ago, i moved 800 miles from Atlanta, to Chicago. I was perfectly happy with my life in Atlanta, but the long distance had begun to wear on Ken and I and because i got transferred, it was sort of a no brainer to move. Now don't get me wrong, Chicago is a nice enough city, but I never fell in Love the way others have with this city. I am a southerner. I don't care how many museums, restaurants or sports teams you have....i am never going to be able to get over the fact that there are 9 months of winter here EVERY YEAR! (bless its sweet heart).

There were only two enticing elements about Chicago, that i was overly excited about. 1) Kenneth and 2) the chance to go to the Oprah show. Truth be told, i was pretty sure my chances of marrying Kenneth were much higher than the chance of me being able to go to the Oprah Show...considering it has been statistically proven that you have a better chance of winning the lottery than getting tickets! So i did what everyone does. I went online and wrote heartfelt stories on oprah.com, in hopes that they might throw me a bone and I could get some last minute seats. That didn't work. Seriously, i wrote the saddest fake letter about my impossible destitute financial situation to try to get on a Suzy Orman episode... to no avail! So i asked myself a question....What Would Oprah Do?? Oh yes! She would...duh...PUT IT ON HER VISION BOARD! So here is the answer to everyone's question... YES!! Vision Boards work!!

So i got a ticket....not one... but FOUR tickets!!! Now here comes the hard part...who do you invite? And that's where the vision board ended. So alas, I am ECSTATIC about the opportunity, but equally sad that I knew EXACTLY who i wanted to bring, but yet many of them were much to far away to come with me. And no one was more upset about that than my poor mother!

I did get a group of Oprah fanatics like me together and we had a WONDERFUL time. We had tickets to the first show, which means we had to check in at the show at 7:00am. I have never been so excited to get up at 5am in my life. I was sad that i couldn't get pictures because they do not even allow you to bring a camera or cell phone into the building.

The show was all about women's rights and had Maria Shriver, Gloria Steinem and Billy Jean King featured. It was truly empowering, and i had a reah "ah hah!" moment. Since i have been married, i have struggled with finding my footing with the balance of work and home. My husband was raised in a household (much like mine) where women worked full time, came home, cooked for the family, cleaned the house, balanced the books and raised the children. I know you ladies hear me when i say, yes we love our husbands, but did you ever know men were so helpless? I feel like i have to organize and execute nearly EVERYTHING sometimes! Yes, it is probably because i feel that my way is the best way, the most convenient way, the most logical way....(because it IS!). To be fair, Ken does help around the house A LOT.....much more than any of the men in my family, so in that regard, i am very lucky. My mother teases that he does so much around the house because "his wife" doesn't do it. So i struggle with the question of if i should feel guilty about that. Should i feel personally responsible when there are dishes dirty, laundry piling up, groceries are running low, or the baseboards need to be cleaned even though i work as hard as my husband at my job? Should i feel guilty that all i want to do when i get home, is the SAME thing he wants to do when he gets home.....sit on my rear end and watch TV? Well Gloria Steinem gave me my answer to that.... a big fat NO! She stressed that the women's movement for equality in the workplace was not to put more pressure on women to "do it all" but to put more emphasis on equality for men AND women in both the workplace AND at home.

Don't worry, i won't stop wearing a bra and shaving my arm pits. But i will not however spend a moments worry when that load of laundry takes an extra day to get folded and put away. I am woman, hear me ROAR!

P.S. Gloria Steinem is 74 and looks FABULOUS! Good grief!

My Night in the ER

I have the best and worst luck of all time. I'm that person who wins a new car, then gets hit while sitting at a stop sign....that's me...full of drama. My friends Sebastian and Jon came to Chicago to visit and I of course wanted to show them around the city, and not just all the touristy spots, but the places that REAL people who live in Chicago go to.

We had a whole day of different restaurants, hopping in cabs and buses to see different parts of the city. Do you ever have that one thing that you love to do, but can't ever find anyone to do it with? Well that thing for me, was live band karaoke at this lovely southern inspired restaurant in my old neighborhood Lincoln Park called Stanley's. They have an awesome brunch on Sunday mornings, and on Sunday nights only, they have live band karaoke and the fellas were TOTALLY on board. So after dinner, we set out for a night of fun....

So make our way to the front, put our song requests on the list and then.......

A glass got knocked off the ledge, shattered, and as i attempted to move away, my foot was sliced open by a shard of glass......

The guy holding my foot is the random drunk doctor that was in Stanley's that night...and holding the flashlight...THE PARAMEDICS!

Here they are trying to get me to stand up so that they can put me in the AMBULANCE!

Why, why, why is it always ME!? Which is exactly what my husband said as i gave him that dreaded 1am phone call, " Hunny.... I am in the emergency room...can you come pick me up?" Good thing, he is a sweetheart, and knew exactly what he was getting himself into when he married me. But i was okay...my friends stayed with me the whole time...and after i received EIGHT STITCHES IN MY FOOT... i could actually laugh about the situation.

And of course the silver lining....thank goodness i got a pedicure a few days before... i couldn't wear closed toed shoes for 3 weeks!

I have officially accepted, that my crazy mishaps...are truly the charm of me. Although they seem completely inconvenient at the time... the best part about it is.....things always turn out okay....P.S. As we all participate in our civic duties on November 4th, please look into your candidate's plan for health care before casting your vote. Right now, having paramedics in an ambulance take you 6 blocks to a hospital to receive 8 stitches and a tetanus shot will cost you $3,500!!

Seriously........Rock the Vote!

FlugTag 2008

Flugtag is a marketing event from RedBull. Basically, they get people to submit drawings for a contraption that they will "fly" off of a ramp, into water. Each flying device has a theme... and before the individuals launch it, they do a silly dance to themed music. So in reality, crazy people dressed up in costumes, and jump into Lake Michigan...because NOBODY got their invention to fly..... It was a lot of fun though, very entertaining, and because my hotel was a sponsor and we had exclusive access, we got to hang out at Castaways, eating lots of great food and drinking red bull till we were so full and so hyped up on caffeine that we had to leave. Final count of everyone who came out to watch this event?...75,000 people!

We also got to meet an Olympic medalist while we were there...she let me wear it! We ended our afternoon with a walk by Lake Michigan. Summers in Chicago are definitely the BEST!

Glamorama 2008

Glamorama is a fashion show/concert/fundraiser for the Chicago Art Institute that takes place every year at the Chicago Theater. Our hotel has been the host hotel for this event for the past 2 years. When i heard that this year was an 80's theme and would feature performances from Cindy Lauper and MC Hammer, it was a complete no brainer! I love the 80s, i love fashion, and i love getting all dolled up so this had my name written all over it!

First off, MC Hammer looked GREAT! He still has his moves, and yes i was sreaming the words to 2 Legit, and Can't Touch This to the top of my lungs... Cindy Lauper was great as well, and totally made my night when she sang, " Girls just wanna have fun."

The best part about Glamorama, is actually the after party. They clear out the 7th floor of Macys and set up food stations and all kinds of entertainment. They had a DJ playing 80s music all night, break dancers, video games, 25 bars and 25 food stations. Adam, Holly, Camille, Duke, Juan and I had a fabulous time.

Playing a little guitar hero......

Bean Bag seating section.......

Glowing headbands......

Yummy food station.....

Big laughs with good friends....

A Tale of Two Concerts....

It was brought to my attention recently, that i attend concerts all the time. I guess i didnt really realize it until last night, when i did a tally. In just the past 2 years i have seen the Dixie Chicks, John Legend, Robin Thicke, Martin Sexton, Maroon 5, Erykah Badu (twice), Kanye West, Etta James, Tony Lucca, Jay Z, India Arie, Neeyo, Justin Timberlake, Franky Beverly and Maze, the Roots, Big Daddy Kane, MC Lyte and Alicia Keys. I have always thought my musical likes were very versatile, especially considering that list, but it wasn't until last weekend's concerts i attended that i realized just how much. First up, my Thursday night concert:

Yes, that's right... Jimmy Buffett. The guy is a legend and the concert was great. I truly enjoyed being wasted away in Margaritaville... a place i visit often. It was unreal, over 20 thousand people showed up with their hula skirts, tropical shirts and parrot hats. Well, i can check that off of my "things to do before you die" list.

Next concert, Saturday Night:

Montel Jordan.... THIS IS HOW WE DO IT!! Before he sang his signature song, his introduction went like this. " I am going to need your energy for this next song. When i am 65 years old, and singing in Vegas, i will STILL have to sing this song. Yes, I will have to sing this song, at every concert, for the rest of my life." Sorry Montel...at least people are still listening....

Up next:
Sisters with Voices, and yes they sure do! If you watched the recent BET Awards, you would have seen the medley that Alicia Keys did with many of the old R&B girl groups of the past, which included, SWV, Xscape and TLC. SWV was fabulous in concert. Seriously, Cocoa (the lead singer) had one of the most incredible voices I have ever heard. I never noticed before, but Cocoa is definitely the "Beyonce" of the group. She was the only one that sang lead, but with a voice like that, i see why. It totally brought me back to the 90's. I wanted to run home and make a mix tape! So now i ask, what special person made you "Weak" back in the day??

Girls Trip 2008: ARUBA

My mother always told me that when it comes to marriage, you should start out the way you want to hold out... meaning, don't do things in the beginning of your marriage that you don't expect to keep up for the rest of your life. The one thing that i insisted upon before i got married (that i got my hubby to agree to) was an annual girls trip; a vacation that i would take with my girlfriends every year, to relax, shop, gossip....you know, all the things that men don't like to do...

I think i got this "request" pushed through because of three major reasons: 1)Ken loves me and knows how much i miss my friends since i relocated to Chicago, 2) because i work in the hospitality industry, i can travel to great places and make them affordable, and 3) let's face it, just because you're happily married, doesn't mean you don't need a little bit of a break from each other once and a while...

So Terri and I packed up and headed to Aruba for 5 days and 4 nights of sun, fun, relaxation at the all new Hyatt Regency Aruba Resort and Casino. It was also Terri's birthday, so we had plenty of cause to celebrate. We spent most of our days laying out on the beach, dipping in and out of the ocean to cool ourselves, and sipping cocktails. The water is so cool and still there, you can literally take drinks into the ocean without fear of them being knocked around because of waves. We spent our evenings dining at the very tasty restaurants on the resort, and finding all the hot spots where the tourists don't visit, to really get a feel for the people who lived on the island... which is our favorite part about traveling.

Although this trip was meant to be extremely laid back and lazy, Terri (always the adventurer) convinced me to do some snorkeling. We took a private boat with just us and the captain, and snorkeled for 3 hours. I am so glad that i went, because it was truly amazing. I liked it so much, that i am getting my own snorkeling gear... i fear i have a new obsession...
When Ken came to pick me up from the airport, he looked at me and laughed. "You look really tanned and really tired" he said. I replied, "Well i guess i did it right then." The best part about a fabulous girls weekend with a fabulous friend, is coming home to a fabulous husband that made it all possible.

Girls Trip 2009?: COSTA RICA!!!

Pause for the cause....

On Tuesday, i attended a charity event at my hotel for NBA player, Antoine Walker's 8 Foundation. 8 Foundation focuses on helping inner city children in Chicago, mainly those of single parent households. The event was sponsored by one of my clients, so of course i was in attendance. I haven't had the best experience with professional athletes, i find them to be arrogant and annoying....probably because i have never been a groupie and i just don't think that the fact that you can play a sport really well gives you the right to be an asshole....but Antoine was very kind, down to earth and pleasant. It was a great night, and a fun way to come together for a great cause...