We Went To Chicago And IT WAS FABULOUS

Ah Sigh... I had a wonderful weekend. Just me and my man this time. No kids. It was us at The Hyatt for a nite. And jeeze what fancy shmancy place! We spent about 160 dollars just on dinner for two. I mean, the food was really good and all, but we could have ate a steak just as good right here in this area for about half that amount. I guess I'm just so used to being broke and poor that 160 dollars is a lot of money for ANYTHING (Case in point: my car cost me 400 dollars. I've had it for almost three years, it has over 180,000 miles on it and it still runs good. It's a 1991 Chevy Lumina Van. I highly recommend this vehicle.) I mean, I could buy groceries for two whole weeks (Aldi's is the Midwest's best kept secret. You can still get a whole chicken there for under 4 dollars) to feed a family of four for 160 dollars. But that nite I just had to shrug my shoulders and say "Oh well, I guess you only live once and it's not like we get to do this every day." Another thing that I thought as we were eating there, was "We're wearing clothes I got at Target." Both of us looked great, but our outfits cost less than the food... COMBINED! Could they tell? Did they care? Ah... Probably not. Here's another first for me: I've never tipped a waitress 20 dollars before.

We went to The Millenium Park, which was where I wanted to go so badly. It was beautiful, but it was very cold and cloudy and windy. I bet it's wonderful in the summer. I had a very special moment with my man there that day. We were just about to approach the specially designed overpass walkway created by Frank Gehry, and I said to him "I love you. So much." I say this every day as it is, but this time his response was "Really? Because sometimes I can't tell if you do. You get in these bad moods and you get so mean." And that just stopped me in my tracks completely. He was totally right to say that. So then I got to say that I was sorry, and that the bottom line was that having him in my life just made it so much easier to handle. That I finally knew what it was like to have someone help me co-parent these kids, and that there is no one else, and boy do I mean NO ONE else, that loves me as deeply and as passionately as he does. I've found true love before with a few others, but nobody has ever adored me quite like him. So there you have it. Every time I get shitty with him I need to remind myself of this basic fact.

Oh, and The Art Institute was divine too. Our personal faves? The African Tribal Art. Hands down. It was thousands of years old and the aesthetic itself came from a very pure place in their souls. Very unlike say Matisse trying to compete with Picasso.

Best Movie I Saw This Week: Kinsey. I've seen it before, and I've wrote about it before, and I have a great admiration for the work he accomplished, and it's the best movie I saw this week.

Book I am Reading This Week: Vanith Fair's Hollywood Issue. I's a controversial one because of all the titties you see. Oh whatever! Jeez.

Best Album I Listened To This week: I have downloaded a few choice cuts from Robert Randolph. I LOVE THIS BAND!!!! He is just the WICKEDEST steel guitar player I've ever heard. We're Going In The Right Direction... indeed! Oh and I almost forgot to mention this. We saw NINE INCH NAILS IN CONCERT SUNDAY! I really loved this show and I didn't think I would, but I did.

Current Sewing Project: This week I have continued to focus on the cross stitch thing I started about six months ago. I'm tired of working on it, and I just want it to be done.

Top News Story: We just heard that a body was indeed found in the rubble of that downtown fire I mentioned in the last post. I'ts probably that kid who went missing the nite of the fire. But the question remains Why? Was it an accident? Or was it still something more sinister at work? I hope we find out. Also, Vice President DICK Cheney accidentally shot his buddy in the face this weekend when they were out hunting. The press is upset because they didn't get the info fast enough. His office was too slow in their response. But come on! Look who they're dealing with. We aren't going to get the whole story. They do fancy double talk the best. Whether it's this current story, or even the dubious "I did not have sexual relations with that woman."