The Up and Up

These pictures are from Friday when it felt a whole lot like spring instead of winter. It was one of those days that idealistic moms-to-be daydream about as they rub their pregnant bellies

Benton and I woke up and he gave me a bunch of kisses and said “I ooou.” This is his short version of “I love you.” We had breakfast  and then went out to Grant Park.

He is completely obsessed with stairs since it is his latest skill, so I thought it would be fun to go to the statue of Grant and let B loose onto the hill. He went nuts for about an hour or so. It was nearly 50 degrees outside, and the sun was almost warm.

I offered him my hand a few times to see if he wanted help on the way down the stairs. Denied. BIG KID. I get it.

After all those stairs, we went to a new restaurant in my south loop hood called Waffles. I was so happy, just sitting there on my date with little B after a fun morning in the park. The waffles were perfect. Sometimes life is so good and simple.

Benton then passed out in the stroller on the way home, and I transferred him to the bed without any trouble. We both napped. Then we went to another park in the afternoon with a million other neighborhood kids. This is completely bonkers in January. The sunset blew my mind. I ended the day with a fabulous tapas dinner with good friends and stayed out way past my bedtime. Just a really sweet day, no?

Not every day is like last Friday. Especially in the winter. Today, I found myself in the familiar winter funk again today. I wish I could say that it wasn’t common for me to feel this way, but I can’t claim that. I don’t like my mood to be so dependent on the weather and I would do almost anything not to feel this way. But it’s extremely hard for me to control. So grey is what I felt. This winter has been so mild so far, that it makes me feel even more silly to feel so low.

I have probably written about winter sadness every year on this blog. I’m tired of writing about it and certainly tired of feeling it. But I figure I may as well stick a few paragraphs in here at the end of some pretty pictures and get it out-of-the-way for 2012. So there you go.

I know that getting out of the house and getting exercise helps. Seeing friends and not being alone too much helps. And sometimes comfort food really does help. Taking photos and posting them here helps me end the day end on a good note. So thanks, little blog. You do me good.

A Little Walk

I wore a hat indoors all day. It kept my brains inside and trapped a bit of heat. Today was one of the first really cold days here in Chicago. It seems like we Chicagoans have gotten away with something for the icy air to wait until January to smack us. Things are CRISP out there. Or frozen if you will.

I had to pick up dry cleaning today, which can only be done via stroller, so Benton rode in his cozy Arctic Bundle Me thingy and I pretended my stroller muff was going to provide sweet precious warmth for my whole body. It did not, but it is still pretty sweet. Probably the best winter accessory I own. You should get one if you walk around in temps under 30 degrees like I do. *Waves to other crazy person.*

For being so cold out, it was still kind of pretty because of the time of day I chose to go. My eyes were a bit watery from the air, so everything looked kind of like a fun house. These photos are from my phone of course, but they document our little insignificant walk pretty well. And we didn’t get hit by any cars running red lights at State and Roosevelt. So there’s that. *Shakes mittened fist at stupid cars.* 

Thanks for walking with us. Wish you were really here. Bring a muff.

Six Day Weekends? Yes. Please.

Are you one of those people who have never been to Lake Michigan? Just so you know, it isn’t really a lake/pond. There are waves, beaches, and you can’t see the other side. If you have been to a “sea” or a “gulf” then you should expect something more along those lines when you go to the Great Lakes.

I grew up fairly close to Lake Michigan. So I didn’t give it much thought and just assumed that it was normal to live in the middle of the U.S. and have access to thousands of miles of coastline. Not so much. Just think of Iowa for a second…

…did you just fall asleep and then wake up with keyboard marks on your face?

It is because Iowa has no beach.

However, Michigan does. See:

Here is Grandpa on the dunes. He is quite the daredevil, as you can see. Sign reads "Fragile Dune Area Please Keep Off"

So if you have never been there, and you don’t already live on the coast, I would highly recommend a visit to the Great Lakes. Stay in Michigan. Spend some of your money there. They can use it these days.

My family rented a house with a view of the lake for labor day. It was a three generation gathering, so that meant that we all make and eat these:

Here they are all lined up and ready to be boiled. I can't spell the name of them, but we call them "Bien-churs"

My Uncle Craig rolls out the dough

Mom helps put the filling in the dough. We call this "bowing" for some reason.

Most of the my time was spent lounging around and walking the beach or giving photography and Photoshop lessons to my brother, who has a ridiculously nice Canon. Some more ambitious family members went for runs and multi-mile bike rides. Others gained 4 lbs over the weekend. All in my face. Here are a few more captures of the most relaxing 6-day-weekend I have ever had: (full set here)