Blizzard Basketball

One of the craziest things I did this month was to go to a Chicago Bulls basketball game on the day it didn’t stop snowing for 18 hours.  There was so much snow accumulation that people had difficulty coming into work.  They pushed back the game to start an hour later so I told my brother we might be ok.  It would give the city some time to clean up the streets.  We rode downtown via Blue Line and then took an Uber the rest of the way.  Needless to say, we won the game and had a blast.  Hey when you live in Chicago you always ride out the storm!

I layered up since it was cold!

Super Bowl Sunday

I’m recapping February events in February!  Lol.  Since we’ve had terrible weather on and off, I kept a low profile so far this month.  The last weekend in January I went to visit my friend in Michigan, and then the following I pretty much stayed in except for Super Bowl Sunday.  The groundhog was right.  We’ve had so much extreme weather that it’s hard to predict what happens next.

I caught up with my chores since I was gone and also my workouts.  I normally don’t eat out at restaurants too much, but since I was celebrating my friend’s birthday, I had to oblige.  On Super Bowl Sunday my brother picked me up early and we headed to my Dad’s.  This has become sort of a tradition for us, which is nice since my Dad is a sports buff like my brothers.  His wife left us alone to watch the game, and brought down dinner for us to feast on.  How did you like Justin Timberlake’s performance?  I thought it was great!  I couldn’t understand what everyone was fussing about.  Oh well.  That’s the internet for ya!

Lunch in Windsor!

On my last day of my weekend getaway in Michigan, my friends woke up early to drop off their friend at the airport.  My train was set to deport at 6pm, so I had plenty of time to hangout.  Since we all went to bed so late, I didn’t hear them leave in the morning at all.  I had some crazy nightmares, too.  I woke up around 10am and could tell they were still sleeping.  I didn’t disturb them.  I jumped in the shower and got ready on my own.  I went downstairs and watched some good old cable (since I don’t have it myself) and waited for them to get up.  They eventually did, and we decided to have head to Windsor for brunch.

Windsor is right across the bridge from downtown Detroit.  We noticed there were a lot of people around and realized the Detroit Auto Show was taking place.  We finally made it to the tunnel to cross over and ended in Windsor.  This was my first time there, but it was pretty dead.  I guess a lot of businesses are closed on Sundays.

We made it to the restaurant and I ordered Pho.  It was delish!!  I couldn’t believe I almost had the whole bowl!  I barely eat my whole plate, but this was good. 

After lunch we went to a market so they could pick up some groceries for home.  My friend’s husband worried that we shouldn’t stay out too long since there’s always traffic at the border.  We decided to head back so we could enjoy downtown Detroit before I left out.

It was nice walking around.  There was some outdoor fest going on and we enjoyed it for a bit.  The drive to the train station wasn’t too bad.  I made a promise to my friend that I will be back in the summer to enjoy Michigan some more.  What a great little getaway!

Detroit Institute Of Arts

The weekend I was visiting my friend who moved near Detroit, she warned me her and her husband had tickets to see Sesame Street at the Fox Theater.  Their son absolutely adored Sesame Street and was infatuated with Cookie Monster.  I mean, who wouldn’t be??  Lol.  She suggested dropping me and her friend to the Detroit Institute of Arts museum since it was near the theater.  We could kill some time there while they enjoyed the show.  Her husband made an amazing breakfast for us, and we quickly got ready afterwards.

Me and her friend walked in and were mesmerized by the Diego Rivera Detroit Industry murals.  We were probably in that room for over 30 minutes!  I was completely blown away by its size and detailing.  We slowly made our way around the other exhibits and took our time visiting the artwork of our favorite artists.  I’m glad her friend was just as interested in art as I was.  Sometimes it’s hard to go with a person who isn’t interested in this kind of stuff.

We also refueled at the restaurant/ café located in the museum.  I enjoyed people watching and despite it being a Saturday, was surprised how many people were around.  I think the Institute is a place many locals come to hangout (since it’s free for them).  Regardless, me and her friend had a good time.

When our friends came to pick us up, it was already late in the afternoon.  Her husband took us along a driving tour of their suburb.  We decided to head to a restaurant they’ve been wanting to check out for a while, and see if we could all get in.

Sure enough, there was a line out the door.  We waited for over an hour.  It was a Venezuelan restaurant and had great reviews.  I wanted to try their arepas.  Luckily, we didn’t wait too long for our food and everything was delish.  Unfortunately they did not serve alcohol, and we wanted to get back to their house for some wine they had received as a gift.

We spent the rest of the evening watching movies and drinking wine and catching up.  Her friend had an early morning flight out, but we stayed up past 1am just talking!

Aquarius Season

Happy Valentine’s Day everybody!!!  I hope everyone gets to enjoy the lovey-dovey experience today.  I love Valentine’s Day even if I’m single.  I told someone they are my Valentine’s this year and he seemed ok with it, so who knows???  Hahahahaha  A girl can only wish…

Around the middle of January I booked a train ticket to Detroit to visit my friend who moved out there a while back.  Her birthday weekend was coming up and I knew she’s been missing her friends here in Chicago.  Unfortunately when I brought up the idea to visit, everyone was busy that weekend.  I decided to go regardless, and she was excited I was coming down.

I don’t remember the last time I took an Amtrak train.  Since I work downtown, I took a half a day off from work and ran over to Union Station.  I arrived to Detroit 30 minutes later than anticipated.  I still don’t understand how that happened.

My friend and her family were excited to see me.  The best part was another friend of hers fly into Detroit from Baltimore.  He was going to arrive around 9pm.

We decided to head downtown and have a birthday cocktail in the meantime.  Detroit has definitely changed since my last visit over a year ago.  More new restaurants and bars have opened up.  I am excited to see what will be next for this city that has so much potential.

We picked up her friend at the airport and headed back to the burbs where my friend lives.  Luckily they picked a wonderful restaurant that was opened late.  We were having a great time catching up. 

That night we stayed up drinking champagne and munching on Sprinkles cupcakes.  One of the girls had picked some up for her birthday, and I brought them along on my trip.  They were delish!

Happy Galentine’s Day

I’m still recapping the month of January.  Despite its frigid weather, I had to step out for my step brother’s birthday.  My mom wanted to have dinner at her place to celebrate.  That same day my friends wanted to get together to catch up.  They needed some girl time.  I told them I would head over once dinner was over.

In lieu of Galentine’s Day, I wanted to mention how incredibly important my friends are to me.  I can honestly say I have been blessed with an amazing support group.  These girls have seen me at my worse and still wanted to stick around.  I love them very much.  I don’t know what I would do if they weren’t in my life.  Even my friends who live afar are my secret treasures.  I don’t think distance can tear apart the bond and memories we have shared over the years.  I am a lucky woman.

With that in mind, I am also very protective of them, and who I include in my circle.  It’s not easy to share your deepest secrets.  As I have gotten older I pride myself with the girls that I have.  I absolutely HATE drama of any kind, and unfortunately, in an age of self-absorbed personalities, it’s easy to mistaken a foe as a friend.  Don’t beat yourself up if you’ve made the wrong assumptions on people.  It’s all a part of growing into your true self.  Honesty is the best policy, and knowing when to spot the fakes is a process itself.  Just like any other relationship, some friendships grow apart.

My mom made an amazing dinner.  I know she loves her husband’s son very much.  Me and my brothers were goofing off as usual.  It felt like we were little kids again.

Once dinner was over, my brother dropped me off at my friend’s place, and we stayed up all night talking about everything.  Girl time was a blast…    

Clueless vibes 

Le table

Banana bread birthday cake 

Happy Hour at Sunda

In January we had temperatures go up and down.  One particular Thursday the temps touched 60 degrees but then fell back into the 30s the next day.  My friends wanted to take advantage of this warm weather to ge together for happy hour.  A friend of theirs was in town and wanted to meet up.  I brought a pair of jeans to change into after work and made my down to Sunda.  I was in the mood for sushi, but everyone else ordered a bit of everything.  It felt weird being out and about.  I cannot remember the last time I hung out with this set of friends.  I usually hibernate in the winter because I loathe the cold weather but this was a nice break from the norm.  Of course now that I’m recapping this day, Chicago is experiencing a blizzard.  It will snow for 12 hours straight!  I guess winter isn’t done with us yet!

I can’t believe I wore a simple tee and jeans in January!

Cocktails 

And sushi 

Dia De Los Reyes

The first week in January was FRIGID!!  It was dangerously cold and a lot of people called off from work.  When the temperatures drop down to 0 degrees there’s usually problems with the trains coming into the city.  It's the switchesthat direct the cars between tracks that freeze, and when a switch fails, it can compromise an entire line.  Hence, people are unable to get to work, let alone wait outside in the cold.  You are unable to do much but stay inside.  

For me, I just laid low.  The first weekend, my dad wanted to celebrate Dia de Los Reyes.  His wife made us dinner again, and me and my brothers came over that Saturday.  It was nice to get out of the house.  His wife even brought the Rosca De Reyes cake for dessert.  This traditional cake has a baby miniature Jesus inside.  Whoever gets Baby Jesus will be very lucky for the remaining of the year.  I had never celebrated this before so I wasn’t sure what to do.  We were supposed to take turns cutting a slice of the cake.  Well I went first and got Baby Jesus on the first try!!  Who knows??  Maybe 2018 will be my year!  Lol

Old boyfriend hoodie to use for layers in this frigid weather.

New Year’s Day Dinner

One of my resolutions this year is to try to balance my time with my family and friends.  In the end, they are the people who matter to me the most.  Sometimes we get caught up on what’s new on the social scene, that we push the ones we love aside in order to meet new people and been “seen”.  I’ve learned as I’ve gotten older that pretentious people don’t matter at all.  They sometimes make you feel important, but in the end, you’re just another player added to their games.  It gets tiring after a while.  With my dad soon retiring himself, I want to make sure he transitions into this next phase much more smoothly than my mom.  He’s five years older than her and I worry that he pushes himself too hard.

His wife invited us over to have a New Year’s Day dinner.  Even though my parents divorced back when I was a kid, my dad became involved in our lives as we were adults.  I am beginning to enjoy our moments together and getting to know him more.  He’s very talkative, except when it comes to himself.  All I could do is observe and learn.

We had a nice dinner and a few laughs.  It’s nice hanging out with the men in my life.

As usual it was FREEZING on New Year’s Day.

Tamales!

New Year’s Eve 2017

I can’t believe it’s already February but I’m barely recapping NYE.  Lol.  I am looking forward to resting up at my apartment this weekend.  I miss being home since I was away.  Not to mention, Super Bowl Sunday is happening and I’m very excited about watching Justin Timeberlake perform!  He’s one of my favs.

Believe it or not, I was not in the mood to celebrate NYE.  The year ended roughly for me and I just wanted the holidays to be over.  I DID cherish my time with my friends, but at night, I felt bad about other losses I encountered.  Sometimes Life throws you curve balls that you were not expecting.  It knocks us off of our feet.  But I was very fortunate to be around my friends and family.  They kept an eye on me.  I think this is what sometimes made me feel guilty.  Knowing that people were hurting while I was in a better mood.  I felt privileged but it made me question everything.  Having a support system is crucial, but I know that there are people who do not have this.  The only thing I can conclude is to reach out and make friends and try to open up to people in order to build relationships.  Life is meant to be enjoyed.  It all starts with YOU!

Luckily a friend of mine reached out and invited me to Booze Box.  I was invited to my family’s as well as another family gathering, but I did not want to be at an intimate setting.  I knew people would bring up the past year and recap but I needed the noise to distract me.  Booze Box was perfect, plus it gave me a chance to catch up with my friend since we last spoke.  I needed the attention on him.

In the end, the music helped out a lot, as well as laughing with random strangers.  I survived 2017…