We are spending the weekend at the Palmer Hotel in downtown Chicago this weekend. By we, I mean my mom and I. For $127 a night, I expected more.

My biggest complaint is being lied to about the pool. We only searched for hotels with an indoor pool. We settled on PH and double checked that their pool would be open. Their website mentioned some renovations going on so I was nervous. Three weeks ago we were told the hotel would be open by the end of July and according to the man at the registration desk, it was. Some time between then and now, it closed again. We found this out yesterday. Imagine my disappointment. I’m not usually a big whiner and I don’t throw tantrums when things don’t go my way, BUT this isn’t cool. All I wanted to do this summer was swim. With my Florida trip turning out shit I was putting all my eggs into the PH basket.

My next complaint is the Internet. After being disappointed about the pool, I thought I could weasel my way into getting free net. It’s $12.95-17.95 per day by the way. Nope. Nothing comped here. Unfortunately I have two online classes so the Internet is pretty important right now. Knowing that I could watch my A&P lectures and take math tests in bed sort of numbed the financial pain. Nope! The Palmer House doesn’t have Wi-Fi in the hotel rooms, just the lobby. Way to put that on your website.

The room itself isn’t anything to be excited about. There weren’t even chocolates on my pillow. It’s just like any other Hilton or Marriott room. I’ve come to the conclusion that you pay for location more than service, amenities and swankiness. And to be honest, the location isn’t that great. I’m staring at the CNA building and rooftops when I look out of my window. I imagine a lake view room would life my spirits a bit. The TV works when it wants to. Of course ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPN New, Bloomberg, and all of the hotel channels come in fine. But National Geographic, Hallmark, the Weather Channel, etc. play hookie at times.

That was only day one. We still have another night here and I’m hoping it goes better than last night. A noisy couple next door kept my mom awake at 2:30 a.m. Apparently the walls are VERY thin. I probably won’t be staying here again though. I could pay the same price and get more else where.

I hope everyone else is having a great weekend. Stay tuned for PostSecret (tomorrow) and a blog contest.

I realize that not many of my female readers care about this, so I apologize.

Why ‘Da Bears’ should keep Caleb Hanie as a quarterback:

1. He’s the only QB who seems to know how to throw a pass. (He completed his first six passes and finished 12 of 17 for 115 yards. This may not seem impressive, but it’s better than Rexy & Neckbeard’s performances.) Orton only completed 4 of 7 passes for 51 yards…tsk, tsk.

That would be Neck beard under pressure, just before he threw an interception

2. He’s the only good looking QB they’ve got. Don’t get me wrong, Rexy has his “sexy rexy” moments, but Neck beard? Seriously? There’s nothing attractive about that. (His beard doesn’t boost his magical football powers, sorry Dan.)

3. He would have had a 23-yard touchdown if rookie right tackle Kirk Barton didn’t rack up a holding penalty, which made the TD not count.

4. What about the 38-yard pass down the right sideline to Rideau?

5. Even the announcers agree that he doesn’t look pressured out there. One even went as far to say that Hanie made him feel relaxed. It’s a little odd, but I like the lack of stupid facial expressions and scrambling foot work.

6. For once it’s nice not to have your QB boo’ed by your own team.

7. His nickname could easily be herpe or hymen, which would make me feel a bit better when we’re losing.

8. He’s cute. (What? I’m a girl.)

Lovie, baby, let’s really think about who we’re putting on the field next Sunday when we play the Colts. Do you remember the Colts? Perhaps this will refresh your memory. I found it odd that when asked if they were worried about the season opener against the Colts, every player said no. Um…are you guys watching the same games I am?

The defense is still a huge concern. “Peyton Manning is probably foaming at the mouth in anticipation after another poor performance by the Bears defense.” Uh…yes. Can you blame him?!

Playing only the first quarter Thursday night, the Bears’ No. 1 defense allowed the Browns to amass 123 total yards and 10 first downs while possessing the ball for 11:05. Cleveland picked up five first downs on each of its first two drives, leaving the Bears searching for answers.

It’s not looking good fellas. At least give us a QB who can actually move the football. However, please throw it to someone other than Garrett Wolfe because apparently he’s not very good at moving it. Throw a few more passes, stop running up the middle. The other team is onto you.

In conclusion, I expect more from you. Spend a little less money on the “One City, One Team” campaign and buy yourselves some excellent players. Oh…and put Hanie in more.

Sincerely,
Jenn

P.S. Thanks for winning last night. It’s nice to know we’re not complete failures. Thank you Robbie Gould.

I wonder how often I reuse blog titles. Some times I recognize it and remember that it’s already been used in a previous post. Other times…meh.

Chicago bloggers: I hope you’re available Sept. 15 because Lacey from Perks of Being a JAP will be in Chicago and she’s treating joining us for dinner/drinks. Details are still being ironed out. More than likely it will be downtown. Right now the BIG Bar at the Hyatt on Wacker is our tentative location. (Unless there is a BIG objection to this place, consider it our final choice.) Plan on getting there between 7-8 p.m. I realize it is a week night so if you can join us, please let me know so I know how many to expect. If not, you will be missed! I’d appreciate it if you guys could advertise this on your own blogs so all of the Chicago bloggers can see it.

Twenty (and thirty!) something bloggers: Please keep in mind that a final city has NOT yet been chosen for our Big Blogger Meet-up. Anyone in Boston, Chicago and New York is welcome to submit reasons why the meet-up should be held in that city. Please keep in mind that you have until Sept. 5th to get your information back to us. Either comment here or on the forum post at 20SB. Once I have all of the information, I will post it along with another poll so we can make an educated decision on which city should host the meet-up. Do what Arielle did and share your thoughts on your blog. Spread the word so we can get everyone’s opinion.

Think you know music? Check out Mr. Mega’s blog post today and share your favorites.

Jamie wants to know why or how you chose your blog name. Click here to let her know and to check out the other blogger’s answers.

I know there’s a significant amount of Blackberry users who read this. In addition to taking out your battery for phone maintenance, be sure you clean your cache. This will help improve your phone’s memory.

Will you be participating in Blog Day on August 31st? I will (if I remember!!) The (short version) of the rules are as follows: Find and share five new blogs that you find interesting and include a description of that blog. Notify those five bloggers that you recommended them as part of Blog Day. This is a great way to build traffic, share content and say thank you to some of your readers.

I’ve recommended Captain Blasto in the past and I know some of you are enjoying the web series (yay!) The Captain Blasto team needs your help to get noticed by the Apple iTunes team. All you have to do is watch and write a review! It’s simple

Recommended Reading:
One Wandering
I’d Blog That
Blog Nosh Magazine
Insert My Blog Name Here
Honest to Blog?

Don’t forget about the other excellent blogs on my Blog Roll

Er, Rex Grossman Day? Wait what? Kyle Orton will start the preseason opener? Well there goes my title…\

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Dear Chicago Bears,\
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I realize that this is just the preseason and what you do here really doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. But it does. Don’t be foolish. What you do in the next four games will set the tone for the rest of the season. If you fail, my faith in you and Kyle Orton will diminish greatly. Of course that would mean we’re without a reliable quarterback (AGAIN) and the little rock, paper, scissors game that Lovie made you play to get this starting spot will have been a bad idea.\
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Don’t get me wrong! When Grossman is good, he’s good. It is possible for the Bears to have a great quarterback as well as a great team. We did once upon a time. I want to see that again.\
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I watched every game last season and I have to say that I was not impressed. Grossman, buddy, you’re cute, but come on. If I need to remind you what a football is, I’m going to be very mad. I’m still a little bitter about that whole Superbowl fiasco so let’s not eff it up this year.\
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Apparently this is the year for Chicago sports teams. Don’t make me cheer for the eff’in Patriots again because I can’t handle it. Brady and his baby mama drama and ridiculously beautiful girlfriend. Why don’t you just rub it all of our faces a little more. And don’t even get me started on the Manning brothers. It’s cool, it’s cool. I’ll walk it off!\
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So I guess what I’m trying to say is that even though this is a preseason game, you better not eff it up. I only have the energy to hate one Chicago Bears quarterback per season. Choose wisely.\
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Sincerely,\
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Me\

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P.S. Orton, if you lose tonight, I am shaving your neck beard. I can’t handle it.

For a while I lived in a really rural area. While driving through southern Illinois during a pretty bad storm, I noticed all of the cars on the highway pulling over and people running beneath a viaduct. Being the intelligent woman that I am, I pulled over and called my mom. Looking back, I wouldn’t have pulled over if I were able to see out of my window. I definitely would have kept going. “What does it mean when people go hide beneath a viaduct during a storm?” I asked my mom. I had her check the weather and learned that there were a number of tornadoes in the area. I was still about two hours from my house and decided that I’d be fine. I can race the tornado!!\
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I laughed as I drove past the people under the viaduct. “Ha ha suckers! I’m going home and I’m NOT wet!” About fifteen minutes into my drive, the winds picked up and the rain pelted my car. Once again I had to pull over because I couldn’t see. When I was able to I noticed the sky was black. I could feel the wind push my car and I was pretty sure I’d see a cow fly across the highway. Where’s Helen Hunt when you need her?\
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Long story short, I survived. I later found out I was a mere mile away from where the tornado hit. Awesome. I like to think that my survival tactics (aka stupidity) help out when tornadoes attack Chicago.\
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As soon as I got out of the shower last night our TV screen went black with a message from the national emergency broadcast folks. They warned us that a storm was quickly approaching the Chicago area and we should all take shelter in our basements. I tap into my survival skills and what do I do? I go outside! I walk down to my mom’s house to borrow some candles. The minute I say “Well, I should go before the lights go out.” Boom! Lights out. Awesome. As I walk home I watch the sky change from gray to red to black. Just as we sit down and start enjoying the candlelight my cell rings and my aunt tells me there is a tornado headed for Harwood Heights (a little town about 5 minutes away). We hear the sirens and head for the basement.\
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Thinking that it’s totally possible for the roof to blow off, I go upstairs, yank my cats out from under my bed and hide them in the basement bathroom. Seven thought it would be fun to stab me with her claws before setting her down. Jerk. She managed to get me right where a doctor would draw blood.\
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The thunder was right above us for a little while. The windows shook from the wind. Where was I? Standing by the back door which is made entirely of glass. I wanted to take the lanterns off of the table before they blew off and broke. I’m glad I had my priorities in order. So being the genius I am, I go back outside! Nevermind the 60mph winds, black sky, the 15 lightning strikes a second or the thunder that shook the ground. Thankfully I didn’t blow away and the lanterns are safe.\
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After the storm calmed down we went back upstairs to find pieces of tree all over the place. I read a book out loud and burnt myself with candle wax. I fell asleep while watching High School Musical on my laptop (don’t judge me, I was traumatized) It was an awesome night.\
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It was even better to wake up and find out our power hadn’t been restored yet. Please imagine the levels of humidity in a closed up house. Needless to say I am NOT a happy camper today. I’m thinking about staying at work later than I need to just so I can have lights, AC and the internet. If anyone with AC wants a roommate, I’m very clean and quiet.\
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I recommend checking out Pete’s pictures of the storm, as well as Kayleigh’s experience with the storm.\
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Pictures courtesy of the Chicago Tribune.

I participated in TWO blogger meet-ups this weekend.

The first took place Friday night. Jessica arranged this meet-up and she did a lovely job. We met at Giordanos and were soon joined by Jenn, Penelope, Joy and our honorary Chicago blogger Rebekah. I was thrilled to be seeing a couple new faces.

The conversation flowed, followed by food and drinks. We took a pretty spiffy picture, but because I don’t know who’s anonymous and who isn’t I won’t post it. We had some pretty interesting discussions about twenty-somethings, blogging and men. We laughed a lot which always indicates a great night. Mr. Mega made an appearance toward the end of the night, which was much appreciated. It was a low key night and I didn’t even mind missing Psych for it.

On Sunday I hosted a wine tasting with a woman I work with. She works for The Traveling Vineyard and braved the heat to stand on my deck for nearly two hours teaching us about wine. The weather was beautiful, the wine was delicious and the company was great. I was joined by Dan, Rachel, Kristen, Angela and a good friend Jen and her guest Vikki.

I learned that it is possible to enjoy red wine. I’m more a fan of white wines, but I really liked the two reds we tried. I already lost my sheet that told me what it is we were drinking so I have zero information to give you about that. I’ll find them! I even enjoyed the accessories she brought along. I was very tempted to purchase the wine cooling pack so I could put it on my arms after giving massages! The wine tasting was really fun and I’ve already signed up to do another. I believe a couple of the other guests signed up as well. I definitely recommend hosting a party if you like wine. You don’t have to know anything about it to have fun. If you’re interested, let me know and I’ll get you the information.

After the tasting we sat around for hours talking about everything from blogging, to naming our boobs, to the mating call of the Illinois Cicada. I found out that my mom, who lives four houses down, could hear our laughter. She even made a brief appearance! Yeah..my mom totally attended a blogger meet-up It was the perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon and it was only made better by the Cubs winning!

My evening was just as fantastic as I had some great company. Like I said in my previous post, I am very thankful and happy that I am able to have these types of conversations with someone. I definitely need to spend less time in my own head and more time with them.

Mosquitoes optional, though not preferred.

I hope you all had fantastic weekends! Chicago bloggers, be sure to let me know your date preference for Lacey’s visit. Check your 20SB mailboxes.

Quick note: The laptop skin giveaway contest has ended. Thanks for all of your captions. I’m going to pick a winner over the weekend. I’m enlisting my mom’s help to help me choose because I’m stuck :(\

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I consider myself to be a homebody most of the time. I’m not sure if it’s a lack of enthusiasm, socializing or money that keeps me in. Many times going out will be a last minute decision. Sometimes I will regret that decision and other times I’m pretty eff’in happy that I did. Last night was one of those last minute decisions.\
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My friend S, whom I graduated with, invited me out for drinks and music earlier this week. I toyed with the idea, but didn’t give it serious thought. My intention last night was to stay at work late and finish up this recruiting project I was working on. About twenty minutes past “go home time” I got a text from S asking if I was coming. Damnit. So I sat at my desk weighing my options: Go home, watch Heroes, continue tweaking the blog makeover and help out on job #2 OR Go out, drink, potentially get raped on the way back from the train.\
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I went with option number two. S and I ended up at Davenport’s Piano Bar to see his friend’s band. It was a pretty cute bar. I really loved the atmosphere. It was a pretty small place, but never seemed too crowded (except by the bathrooms!) S knew most of the people there either through theater, roommates, music, etc. It was kind of cool being introduced to so many new folks. I’ll never remember their names Sorry!\
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The Flapjacks, his friends band, were pretty good. All of the members are clearly very talented. The lead singer gets a little crazy. They performed mostly covers until the drummer switched gears and played an original piece on the piano. Holy hell that guy is talented. There is just something about live music that makes me happy. S was saying that you’re able to connect with the musician and the music better. True story. At one point during the show the tech guy asked the band to remove their beers from the piano. There are no watermarks in Rock & Roll folks.\

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After they were done we headed to the bar where Smith & Grimm were playing. They are a hilarious cabaret act who I can’t wait to see again. They are at Davenport’s every Thursday from what I heard. Trista Smith is a firecracker. One minute she’s singing all sweet and seductively and the next she’s shaking her boobalies and talking about dirty sex. Smith & Grimm were very entertaining and I highly recommend them to anyone who needs a laugh.

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Over all it was a pretty good night and I’m glad I went out. This weekend I have no time to be a homebody. Tonight I’m going out with some of the fabulous Chicago bloggers. There will be a couple new faces there so I’m really excited! Saturday I have a cousin’s birthday party to attend. What do you buy for a 13-year-old girl?! And Sunday is the wine tasting. All Chicago bloggers should have got the E-vite. If not, and you’re interested in coming, let me know!\
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I hope you all have a fantastic weekend. Any exciting plans?

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Our second stop on the cupcake crawl was Swirlz. Originally we had planned to visit more, but due to time and full bellies we stopped here. It would be pretty difficult to top the delicious cupcakes at Swirlz anyway.
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The options excited me. The first place seemed to have a lot of different cupcakes, but only vanilla was available. Sure the frosting changed, but it didn’t change the taste. At Swirlz they have key lime pie, banana nutella, peanut buttercup, and so on. See below for a list of their flavors.
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Everyone got a different cupcake so we could taste a little bit of everything. I settled on key lime, mostly because it’s green, partially because it’s lime. I’m pretty sure it was the most amazing cupcake I’ve ever eaten.
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Someone had let it slip that we were bloggers and we were given two free cupcakes! That was really nice of the staff and we really enjoy it.
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I don’t know why the mouth never saves!

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Swirlz is located at 705 W. Belden. I definitely recommend stopping by for a tasty treat. It’s a great way to satisfy your sweet tooth.
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I’m toying with the idea of having birthday cupcakes instead of a birthday cake. Living on the edge!
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Flavors

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Thanks to Angela and Jessica for letting me use their pictures

I really wish I wrote some of this down when I got home Friday night so I could remember everything in better detail.
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Friday: Renee and I had the opportunity to watch our Angela in TnTs Wedding. It was a great show. Chicagoans, if you haven’t seen it by now, go. You’ll laugh for pretty much two hours straight. Plus, it’s a good excuse to come up with a fake name and pretend you’re someone else for a while. Angela was fantastic in it, as expected.
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After the show we met up with all of the other Chicago bloggers and visitors. Because I got there late I’m not sure if I had a chance to meet everybody. I saw a lot of faces that I recognized and a few new ones. I definitely have to thank Deutlich and Maxie for putting up with a 12 hour drive to spend the weekend with us. I’m already planning your next trip in my head \

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I have zero pictures from Friday night because I was way too overwhelmed to even think about my camera. So just be patient. I’m sure some will be popping up on many of the other Chicago bloggers’ pages and I’ll be able to steal them \

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Oh! And the best part of Friday night is that I saw my very first prostitute in Chicago! Yes I’m really excited about that. You would be too if you had super amounts of alcohol in you. Okay that’s probably not the BEST part. Seeing Angela’s face when her baked apple pancakes arrived was pretty amazing, too. Yelling “gay bar” and learning about drilldos (Mom, don’t Google that) from the ever modest Joy was a highlight as well. Spending some much needed time with my favorite Jamie and leaning on THE Dan Mega was pretty fantastic, too. I could probably go on about the evening, but I won’t \

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Saturday was ridiculous. First waking up moving was probably the hardest thing I attempted all day. I declared it a great day by 9 a.m. just because I was able to get out of bed and down the stairs without tripping over the massive elephant that was walking all over my brain. Note to self: Drink water. Later I met up with the most fantastic women I know for some delicious cupcakes. I’m going to save all the cupcake reviews for another post. I have some pictures and I believe I may have found heaven in cupcake form.
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After filling our bellies with cupcakes, we made the smart decision to hit up the Taste of Chicago because it only made sense to eat more food. I can tolerate the Taste, but I don’t like it very much. Every year I seem to forget that because every year I go back. The food is alright, but the crowd just kills me. Once you’re officially “in” the Taste, you can’t move. We made our way through all the stinky, sweaty people for a photo-op at Buckingham Fountain. It’s so much fun playing tourist. After filling our bellies even more we went to Millennium Park for some much needed relaxation.
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We spent a good amount of time resting in the sun with our feet in the foot bath and I spent about 60 percent of that time being teased . The occasional rain drops were very welcome. The sun was way too hot. Dan joined us later in the afternoon and put up with our lack of/poor decision making. When it came time for dinner, we decided it would be best to go get the car and park it closer to downtown, where we were originally planning to eat. After fighting traffic, finding closed parking lots and refusing to pay $30 for other garages, we decided to go back to where the car was and eat over there. Some might call that a waste of time, I call it an adventure Many laughs were had along the way so that’s okay.
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Giordanos is always a good choice in my opinion. I don’t eat deep dish very often, but I’m quite the fan. Two bottles of wine and three-ish hours later we were ready to sleep. But fear not! We didn’t. After a quick run to Walgreens for a hoodie (it was cold!) we were on our way to crime scene #2 the bar. Nothing too crazy happened there except for the golden retriever Deutlich ran into in the bathroom. That doesn’t happen every day.
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Okay, so forgive my lack of pictures. I’m waiting to steal some from others because I just don’t think about pulling out my camera often enough. Plus I’m a bit too lazy to upload the ones I have right now. I’m pretty confident that you’ll be seeing more of the Chicago bloggers than you ever wished to see in the next week.
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The fun doesn’t stop there…ooooh no. I’m taking a day of rest today. I gotta brush up on my Wii bowling skills. I’ve been mastering the hula hoop for so long I forgot about it. Anyway, back to the fun. Tomorrow night after work I will be joining Jamie (and her lover) for the Sox game. I’m not a super huge fan, but it will be fun to be at the game with friends. Plus…pretzels with cheese…need I say more?
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Once again, thanks everyone for a fabulous weekend! I’ll leave you with this picture:
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Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 2 weeks (or don’t belong to the Chicago Bloggers group on 20SB) you should know that Deutlich, Maxie, Princess Pointful and Renee will be here tonight.
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But before meeting up with them at a beer garden, I will be meeting Renee at Tony n Tina’s Wedding to see my favorite Angela boogie her ass off. I’ve never been to TnTs so this should be an interesting experience. I’m looking forward to it!
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I am thrilled to announce that tomorrow we will finally enjoy the Cupcake Crawl. Of course the weather calls for rain, but hopefully by noon we’ll see sunny skies, hungry bloggers and a lot of cupcakes.
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Jessica sent out an email and message via 20SB about the crawl. If you did NOT get the information, comment or email me and I will make sure you have all the details. After the crawl we will be showing our out-of-town guests around Chicago. Assuming there is no rain, we will be hitting up Millennium Park and possibly the Taste of Chicago.
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So! If you’re a Chicago Blogger who has missed out on all the emails, messages and blogs and you want to join us tonight and/or tomorrow, email me! My phone is attached to my hip at all times so I will be able to send you info about where we are and what time we’re meeting.
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I’m looking forward to seeing ALL of you bloggers this weekend. As for you non-Chicago bloggers, I think it’s time you moved \

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Oh! I forgot! Tomorrow I will have another guest blogger since I will be wrapped up in other things.
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And check out Eff you. I love the name of her blog