Potpourri.

Birthday funnel cake!


Yesterday Ian and I went to the Lincoln Park Zoo -- probably the best zoo I've been to second only to the Omaha Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska (I've been to Denver, Springfield, Tulsa, Kansas City, Washington D.C., etc.) -- for my birthday. And the Lincoln Park Zoo is FREE. Yes, it is FREE, folks. Not a penny is put out when you walk into one of the many wide-open entrances. It was clean, the animals were aplenty and lively, it was just beautiful. Here are a few photos of my favorite exhibits at just about every zoo: meerkatz and gorillas.

Then there was this guy, a red panda, that completely posed for me; it was beautiful!

Then we went up to Northwestern to this little peninsula with a beautiful view of the downtown skyline, not to mention some snazzy rocks that are decorated with proposals and other happy things and lots of boats.
For more fun photos of my zoo and Evanston adventures ... visit my Flickr!

Today (my actual birthday) wasn't so much fun. Lots of things swirling about resulted in me sleeping much of the day and only really enjoying the day long enough to hit up Wildfire for some dinner, which was wonderful; the joint makes me feel like I'm in the 1940s and should be wearing a snazzy cocktail dress. Ian made the weekend truly great for me, and for that I thank you.

So here's to possible massive changes in the near future. Cheers to all!

Not Jewish, just Beachy.

I went to North Avenue Beach today. Yes, it's in Chicago, and it's a beach.

It was Labor Day, and I didn't want to waste it. So I thought, yes, go to the beach. So I hopped on the North Avenue bus toward the beach, forgetting my sunglasses and folding chair. I got to the beach and thought perhaps I'd rent a chair or umbrella and pick up some sunscreen, but it was $15 for a chair, $15 for an umbrella and $18 for sunscreen. So I said screw that and went back a few blocks to the Walgreens and picked up some sunscreen and a beach chair. I wished I had worn flip flops, but it was too late for that. I trekked out in the sand amount the thousands and plopped down. I slathered myself in sunscreen, leaned back, and watched the beach folk.

I did this for nearly two hours before I couldn't take it anymore. I'm not a hot weather person. I don't know what struck me to go to the beach. It wasn't THAT hot out by the water, because the breeze off the lake was beautiful. But I could only take so much of grown men in thongs, grown women with their boobs hanging out all over the place, and teenagers and 20-somethings flaunting a little too much while tanning. I wasn't feeling self-conscious ... at least not for me.

And that was how I spent my day. I probably won't go to the beach again. Unless it's at night and it's cooler outside. I'm a late-summer/fall beach person, where you can walk along the water's edge and it feels romantic, not hot and sexual.

And that's that.