Happy weekend, everyone -- hope you're all having a good day. It's back to feeling like winter here in Chicago, after a week of 40- and 50-degree temperatures that had me almost convinced that spring was here. But no, not quite... spring continues to be quite coy and elusive. I was just telling Rick that I'm really looking forward to spring, which at first he took to mean, "I'm so tired of winter." But that's not what I meant -- in fact, I have LOVED the winter here this year, and still quite enjoy walking outside in the brisk weather and then wrapping my numb fingers around a cup of hot cocoa. It's one of those simple pleasures in life that I rarely had a chance to experience in Austin. But one of the reasons I was looking forward to moving here was the fact that all FOUR seasons make an appearance at one point or another. And now that we've had a good dose of one particular season, I'm looking forward to moving on to the next one. Winter in Chicago was pretty cool (no pun intended), so I can't wait to see what spring in Chicago is like...
We saw a few more condos this morning, and I think we may have found The One. I'm not a big believer in love at first sight when it comes to people (honestly, how can you LOVE someone as soon as you SEE them? Not even possible...), however, when it comes to accommodations, I think love at first sight is a distinct possibility. As soon as I walked in and saw the light streaming through the windows and the amazing view of the Hancock building from the living room, the condo immediately jumped to the top of my list of properties to consider. It's actually two one-bedroom condos that were combined into one unit, so the kitchen area of one condo was converted into a huge closet for the master bedroom, and the living area is twice as big as a regular unit. It's also in a great area close to all kinds of shops/restaurants/transportation/etc., and there's a pizza place and a small grocery store in the lobby. AND the price is pretty decent -- we might even save enough to make a couple small upgrades (the stove and fridge were a bit old and could be replaced, for instance). We'll see what happens...
I made the mistake of buying and consuming some almond milk last week. As I mentioned in this post back in 2009, I've suspected for a while that I have some sort of sensitivity to almonds and/or walnuts, since, when I first started my job and was eating them for a snack every day, my skin would NOT stop breaking out. Actually, I think stress may be a contributing factor as well. And stress + nuts = horrible, horrible things. I started pouring that almond milk on my morning cereal last week, and within a few days, I was afflicted with a blemish from Dante's seventh circle of hell. (By the way, as Dante envisioned it, the seventh circle is for those who are violent and murderers... I could've gone with the fifth circle, which is "anger" -- and I'm sure we've all heard of someone describing an "angry blemish." However, I honestly believe that this thing is trying to kill me...) In order to leave my condo, I've been forced to visit Home Depot and several craft supply stores to fashion a rubber latex Star Wars costume, which I explain to people by convincing them there's a sci-fi convention in town. Before they can ask where, I announce in a panicked voice that I accidentally left my deluxe DVD boxed set of all four seasons of Battlestar Galactica on the bus, and then I rush off, yelling "live long and prosper!" The whole scenario is so confusing that no one even notices this crazy thing that's been attempting to eat my face...
We're going out with Eric and Rachel tonight to try a new Mexican place that just opened across the street. I was quite surprised when Rick decided that Q was an acceptable barbecue restaurant in Chicago (I never thought he'd find one he liked north of Dallas... :)), so I'll be interested if he can find an acceptable Tex-Mex place. I'm just happy that we're getting Eric out of the house for a couple hours, as the poor guy has been buried under study materials in preparation for the Illinois Bar Exam. He's pretty much been in hibernation for the last few weeks, emerging from his dark den of legalese only long enough for an occasional coffee break or quick dinner. (Just a few more days, Eric!! :))
Okay, I'm off to walk on the treadmill and to ready my Star Wars costume for our night out...
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