Shoutcast radio-don't stay home without it.

Saturday morning in Chicago. So far,the sun has been shining and I couldn't sleep in any longer. It is now 9:58 am as I write this,summertime in Chicago does not allow you to sleep in,since there is so much going on here. I am sipping on green tea and eating toast and marmalade as I write this. I am also listening to one of Shoutcast radio's house stations. What is Shoutcast you ask?

Shoutcast radio is a website that provides online radio stations 24/7-you can download the toolbar and in an instant you can type in any type of genre of music you want to listen to-ranging from Rock to Pop to Dance to Hip Hop. I love the afternoon mix that features live deep House and soulful music and my other favorite one is Deepvibes that also features House music.

If you got other things going on,just let the radio play behind you,it seems for me that getting tasks/chores done is so much easier when you got some great music playing.

Summertime in Chicago

I just took a picture of this when I was in the south loop area last Friday. For those who haven't been to Chicago, Millenium Park is a must see should you ever visit here. Visit the "Bean", pictured here, for some fun pics and nice memories to take back home. We took a few friends out here to check it out and it was a great day for it. What I love about taking out friends and family from out of town in this city is that I am able to relive the moment when I first came to Millenium Park and in Chicago through the eyes of others. We ended the night with cappucinos at Whisper's Cafe, an outdoor cafe in Mariano Plaza off of Rush St, a great hang out for people and car watching.



For any tips on Chicago and ideas,let me know, I'd be happy to be help!

I'm back!

After 2 grueling weeks without internet,I have finally gotten it back. I have installed another year's worth of anti-virus software and I am good to go.

In the meantime,I have been enjoying summer in the city of Chicago-I finally moved to my new apartment at the beginning of the month. So far I have discovered that I live close to two Ex-Yugoslavian import stores,where I can get my Nutella and Rose Hip jam fix whenever I want now. I also live by Dominick's, your typical corporate supermarket,all within walking distance. Aldi is coming soon and it's just around a corner from me-so I have no excuse not to cook so my mother says(ha!)

I also live around the corner from a hip coffee shop and also next to the coffee shop a dry cleaner's that is way cheaper than the other one that I used to go to that was by my old apartment. The fact that I don't have to drive to the cleaner's and the items are cleaned by the next day is such a big bonus for me.

Even better, I live very close to the lake and by various beaches and parks,which is where I have been doing my jogging and walking lately. To top it off I live smack next to the Red Line train where I can hop on anytime and hit up downtown in minutes. A tad noisy but somehow I sleep right through it(don't ask how).

All in all I like my new place so far and my neighborhood is great-I will let you know how things go for the rest of the summer,as I plan on hitting up festivals,the beach,and Venetian Night, A light boat parade that they do every year on Lake Michigan,something I have yet to see.

Letting go was hard to do,but I had to do it.

We are now in June. This month has just begun and already I know I will be busy,as I mentioned in my last post. I managed to clean out my old room at my parents house and donated two bags worth of clothes to the less fortunate. Rummaging through my closet and drawers brought back memories of the days where I hit up downtown and also all the major events that I attended. It felt good to clean all of that out because it brought back a sense of renewal,a sense of starting out new,even though I went through major changes already over the past year. However, throwing out all the things that I did not need anymore also gave me a sense letting go of the past and moving on with the future. Also,throwing out my old stuff was the remainder of all the things that I let go of over the past year,which included people that were toxic in my life.

Soon it will be July and I hope to not be as busy and start hitting up the beach. I live next to the lake now and will go whenever the weather is warm,but the real action is North Ave beach where all the youngsters hang out,play volleyball,and listen to live 80s music. Also,catch up with some friends that I haven't had time to meet up with is something I want to put on my to do list.

Time is of essence.

So I have been apartment hunting and actually,I may have lucked out. I did my second rounds of apartment hunting today and actually found an apartment with great space,with the amenities that I wanted such as laundry room,elevators,etc, and for a reasonable price. I had to go a little out of my price range but all the utilities are included so it all comes out the same. One block down I live by a major street with grocery stores,coffee shops,restaurants,etc. My favorite Ex-Yugoslavian import store is apparently a few minutes away walking distance as well(I am REALLY excited about this one).Hopefully I won't have to rent any much longer and soon I will be able to own my own condo in the city,something I have been dreaming about for quite some time now. I realized after looking for an apartment not everything you see for rent is "perfect" and unless you own your own place,you really can't be picky.

In the midst of all this I am still planning my wedding,it seems I just am all over the place now. I also have to go to my cousin's wedding in Detroit next month. And of course going to the gym,something I must stick to if I want to be at my ideal weight for the wedding.

One thing I had to let go was my former contributing author gig on GalsGuide. The requirement now is once a week you had to blog,and I had preferred blogging at least twice a week but it turned out that was not what they are looking for anymore. It was kinda a blow to my ego but what can you do? The guidelines seem to be more strict and not as lax as it once was *sigh*.

With my new life right now,I hope to continue my interests,or at least pick them back up once my wedding is all over,but for now everything is just chaotic right now. It's been also my one year anniversary since I began working for the company I have been working for so my performance evaluation is coming up(wish me luck!).

At least I still have my blog,and I may try to focus more on it,if I have the time that is. But at least I can control how often I can post :-)

Book reads that may help your personal life.

So I was chatting away with one of my gal's who lives on the east coast and lately she has been stuck in this rut with men. I was there once. I also have to admit that I am all about self-help books and feel they have an impact on people. You see, some of us learn in various ways-you got the visual learners,who have to see it in written material/video in order to absorb any information that they can apply to in everyday life,then you got learners through practice,and the other way is if someone explains it to you. However,the latter does not always work,you can give someone advice until you are blue in the face and it is sometimes like hitting a brick wall. In one ear and out the other.

Here are some book recommends that I have read that kind of helped me out:

"Why Men Date Bitches"- this book's funny title caught my eye one day so I decided to check it out. Yes, some of the things in their are SO obvious(like all self help books) but it really hit home because I saw it in writing,I don't know,it was pretty insightful. The follow up "Why Men Marry Bitches" is also good.

"The Secret"-Yes again,the stuff in their is so obvious-if you stay positive,positive things will come your way. This is related to the Cognitive Behavioral Theory that I studied in school,but put in more latter terms. Again,to see it in writing and to refer to it is very helpful,reading it just kind of reminds you to stay positive,which can be difficult if you get caught up in being in a rut. This helped me SO much when I took my State Boards,I even did the drawing of the picture of myself passing the test-needless to say I did pass and not only that,the weather was nice and sunny just like my picture! Weird.

"Entre Nous"- A Woman's Guide to Finding her Inner French Girl(whew!). This book is basically about how a woman can stay chic like the French,love life,and don't get fat. Their diet advice was not even about dieting,but about having three square meals a day and non-snacking(duh!). I lost 8 pounds following this.

So if you feel you are in a rut-head to your local bookstore,grab a latte and spend the day reading up these finds or any other books that are insightful-buying a couple of these may not hurt either,you can always refer to them in the comforts of your own place,or better yet,hit up the park and spend the day there.

I joined the gym-sorry Chicago.

April in Chicago,and the weather is just not quite warming up-they even canceled White Sox's baseball game opener because there was snow on US.Cellular Field! It would have been nice to stroll among Bridgeport,home of the White Sox,and head on over to Pancho Pistola's, my favorite Mexican spot,among the Southside Chicago Cops and avid Sox fans.

I have been meaning to jog along the lake once the weather got warmer, and it is April already, and I have just run out of patience. So instead, I decided to join the gym. Yes I know,I probably can still run outdoors,40 degrees is not bad-but for me,it has to be super warm in order for me to tolerate any form of exercise outdoors-so for now I will just hit up the gym. Luckily,it's month-to month membership and I can cancel anytime,so I can be sure to be jogging along our beautiful Lake Michigan in no time,but just not now.

City of Chicago, please,I love you,but we sure hate your schizophrenic weather,and I just about had it hearing it from my east coast fiance...really now,New York has bad weather too I'm sure!