Well, the title of this blog leaves much to be desired- but it rhymes and it's true. So that's good. Last month I turned 35. THIRTY-FIVE. Can you believe it? I can't. Well I can, but I still feel 16. Unfortunately I am starting to look my age- gray hair, eye wrinkles, glasses (for the first time ever). But I love my thirties. I really do. It's WAY better than my 20s.
Have I mentioned that my other half is the best husband in America? He may be the best husband in the world, but that is a lot of pressure and I wouldn't want to do that to him. He took me on a surprise birthday trip to Chicago. I had no idea we were going there, until the night before. He had been planning it for months.
Events of the weekend:
*Jackson Park- this was the location of the worlds fair. I had read Devil in the White City (highly recommend) which made looking at the park that much more interesting. It was beautiful on it's own, but knowing some of the history was helpful. Also, my husband is super smart and told me lots of little anecdotes about the area. We saw the Museum of Science and Industry building (got there too late to go in) which was originally the Palace of fine arts from the World's fair and we saw the Japanese garden which was beautiful. Now, getting to the park was slightly terrifying. We took the L from downtown and had to walk through Washington Park. I knew something was up when a lady on the L said "now where are you two kids going?" in a slightly concerned tone. Lets just say when walking through Washington Park I am glad I didn't realize I was wearing red pants- I am sure no one would have mistaken us for Bloods, but you never know. It was a fun adventure none the less.
*The Bean- we went and saw the infamous bean and the fountain from Married with Children, which is ENORMOUS by the way.
*Sears (Willis) Tower- where we witnessed a proposal and stood in a big plastic box that stuck out of the side of the building a hundred plus floors up. The hardest part for me was the elevator ride. They cram you in with about 25 other people and shoot you 100 floors in the air. Good thing they show you a video on the way up, comparing each floor level with something of similar height ("You are as tall as a giraffe, you are as tall as the St. Louis arch, Eiffel Tower, etc. ), without that I may have required a paper bag to breathe into. The distraction was helpful. Oh, and did you know that every building in Chicago has a revolving door? I am not exaggerating. I HATE revolving doors, they terrify me (quick someone psychoanalyze that).
*River Walk- we were staying very close to the river and walked along side it many times during our short stay.
*Ate lots of food (the first two days)- We had deep dish pizza and a Chicago hot dog and a super fancy dinner for my birthday. But then, on the last day we were there, I woke up with food poisoning and so I did not eat a thing for 24 hours. I don't recommend getting food poisoning on the last day of a trip where you have to check out of your hotel at noon and not get on a plane until 7, all the while wandering the streets feeling like you are going to barf and/or poop your pants. It was totally miserable.
*The Art Institute- Unfortunately we went to the art institute on the last day. The food poisoning day. The museum was amazing and I could not fully enjoy it because I felt like death warmed over. Poor Nathaniel. It is all he really wanted to do and I kinda ruined it. There were amazing things in there. My favorite was the American Windows by Chagall. They were beautiful (it didn't hurt that there was a bathroom right next door and a bench right in front of then so that I could sit and not move in fear I would throw up all over the floor). Nathaniel had his Cameron Moment, so all was not lost.
*The Book of Mormon- On my actual birthday, Nathaniel took me to a fancy restaurant and surprised me with tickets to the Book of Mormon later that night. I loved it. The music and even the message. Don't get me wrong, it was terribly irreverent. But I still thought the church came out on top. Nathaniel and I both agreed that it seemed that the play was more harsh on Africa than it was on the Mormons. One of the leads was played by a guy on the movie Pitch Perfect. There was even an add by the church in the playbill. THIS story is pretty cool too.
*Water Tower Place- this is a mall that I went to as a child when we lived in Wisconsin and would go to Chicago to Christmas shop. It is one of my favorite memories. Oh, and there is a giant Lego store. I thought Nathaniel was going to die of happiness. Who knew he loved Lego's so much??
So, to sum it up, my birthday was amazing. So fun. I love Nathaniel, I love my birthday and I love my 30's. Life is pretty good, even with food poisoning.
Have I mentioned that my other half is the best husband in America? He may be the best husband in the world, but that is a lot of pressure and I wouldn't want to do that to him. He took me on a surprise birthday trip to Chicago. I had no idea we were going there, until the night before. He had been planning it for months.
Events of the weekend:
*Jackson Park- this was the location of the worlds fair. I had read Devil in the White City (highly recommend) which made looking at the park that much more interesting. It was beautiful on it's own, but knowing some of the history was helpful. Also, my husband is super smart and told me lots of little anecdotes about the area. We saw the Museum of Science and Industry building (got there too late to go in) which was originally the Palace of fine arts from the World's fair and we saw the Japanese garden which was beautiful. Now, getting to the park was slightly terrifying. We took the L from downtown and had to walk through Washington Park. I knew something was up when a lady on the L said "now where are you two kids going?" in a slightly concerned tone. Lets just say when walking through Washington Park I am glad I didn't realize I was wearing red pants- I am sure no one would have mistaken us for Bloods, but you never know. It was a fun adventure none the less.
*The Bean- we went and saw the infamous bean and the fountain from Married with Children, which is ENORMOUS by the way.
*Sears (Willis) Tower- where we witnessed a proposal and stood in a big plastic box that stuck out of the side of the building a hundred plus floors up. The hardest part for me was the elevator ride. They cram you in with about 25 other people and shoot you 100 floors in the air. Good thing they show you a video on the way up, comparing each floor level with something of similar height ("You are as tall as a giraffe, you are as tall as the St. Louis arch, Eiffel Tower, etc. ), without that I may have required a paper bag to breathe into. The distraction was helpful. Oh, and did you know that every building in Chicago has a revolving door? I am not exaggerating. I HATE revolving doors, they terrify me (quick someone psychoanalyze that).
*River Walk- we were staying very close to the river and walked along side it many times during our short stay.
*Ate lots of food (the first two days)- We had deep dish pizza and a Chicago hot dog and a super fancy dinner for my birthday. But then, on the last day we were there, I woke up with food poisoning and so I did not eat a thing for 24 hours. I don't recommend getting food poisoning on the last day of a trip where you have to check out of your hotel at noon and not get on a plane until 7, all the while wandering the streets feeling like you are going to barf and/or poop your pants. It was totally miserable.
*The Art Institute- Unfortunately we went to the art institute on the last day. The food poisoning day. The museum was amazing and I could not fully enjoy it because I felt like death warmed over. Poor Nathaniel. It is all he really wanted to do and I kinda ruined it. There were amazing things in there. My favorite was the American Windows by Chagall. They were beautiful (it didn't hurt that there was a bathroom right next door and a bench right in front of then so that I could sit and not move in fear I would throw up all over the floor). Nathaniel had his Cameron Moment, so all was not lost.
*The Book of Mormon- On my actual birthday, Nathaniel took me to a fancy restaurant and surprised me with tickets to the Book of Mormon later that night. I loved it. The music and even the message. Don't get me wrong, it was terribly irreverent. But I still thought the church came out on top. Nathaniel and I both agreed that it seemed that the play was more harsh on Africa than it was on the Mormons. One of the leads was played by a guy on the movie Pitch Perfect. There was even an add by the church in the playbill. THIS story is pretty cool too.
*Water Tower Place- this is a mall that I went to as a child when we lived in Wisconsin and would go to Chicago to Christmas shop. It is one of my favorite memories. Oh, and there is a giant Lego store. I thought Nathaniel was going to die of happiness. Who knew he loved Lego's so much??
So, to sum it up, my birthday was amazing. So fun. I love Nathaniel, I love my birthday and I love my 30's. Life is pretty good, even with food poisoning.
