Come on, feel the Illinoise!

Happy Sunday, dear readers. How has your weekend been? Mine has been glorious. My brothers came for a visit, which of course meant a day downtown.

A day in Chicago gets me excited every time. It doesn't matter if I'm walking the same beaten path to the Art Institute or the Shedd Aquarium or Wrigley Field, I love it. The possibilities are endless.

We planned to spend the afternoon at the Shedd, but to our surprise and dismay, the general admission price has nearly doubled since we visited two years ago. Not exactly in the budget yesterday, so instead we wandered along the lake shore to Navy Pier. It turned out to be a beautiful warm day, perfect for walking and admiring the glittering architecture, the brilliant blue water, the pedestrians and their pets, the brave little sailboats, the trees with their arms reached to the sky waiting to be twinged with green any day now. Sometimes, wandering in the sunshine is just as enjoyable as wandering a museum, except it's free [always a plus in my book.]

Later we ate at Gino's East, meandered down Michigan Avenue, and visited the Skydeck at Sears [Willis] Tower. Traveler's tip: go to the Skydeck at dusk or after dark. The wait is much shorter, not to mention how positively romantic it is to see a million city lights twinkling endlessly in the dark.

As I looked out on the teaming city streets and twinkling lights, I felt that gut instinct again -  This is where I belong. 

I feel blessed to live in a hub of art and culture and intellect and opportunity. Living here feeds my constant hunger for learning and exploring new things, whether it's a new restaurant or a museum exhibit or meeting someone new that shares my interests in writing and art and music.

Chicago, every time I visit you I love you more than before.  

CHICAGO

by Sufjan Stevens

"you came to take us 

all things go, all things go 

to recreate us 

all things grow, all things grow 

we had our mind set 

all things know, all things know 

you had to find it 

all things go, all things go..."

The Battle.

I'm no ballerina, but when it comes to writing and blogging (and all creative things), there are days when I feel a little like this:

But here's a great pep talk from Jon Acuff about the struggles of blogging.

And so, my inspirational thought for you today is that anything worth doing is never easy.

(1500 plastic army men, via Adam Katz of design work life.)

On an entirely different note, I've started using BlogLovin' and I'm excited to gather all my favorites in one place, because there are many. Follow my blog with bloglovin.

Also, do you follow me on Twitter? Do I follow you? No? Let's be tweeps!

Happy Monday, friends. Here's to a good week.

Inspired By.

Happy weekend, dear readers. I figured I'd follow up yesterday's slightly crazed post with a simple one and wish you a good weekend.

Here are a few good thoughts I found around the web this week:

I've been following Jessica Quirk of What I Wore for awhile now. Aside from the fact that she's dang cute and talented, her blog continues to be an example of how to encourage personal style. Her post today about fashion norms really got me thinking about what motivates my style.

You ARE the perfect age to chase YOUR dream. It may be hard to make that choice, but it's better to make the change than to look back on your life in regret.

And finally, In Brief, Beautiful Bloom. A heartbreaking reflection on the symbolism behind the Japanese cherry blossom. 

Next week you'll get a couple of good posts out of me, I have a feeling. Check back for a poem draft and post on the 5 things that have made me a writer (as if I can narrow it down to only 5...)

O'Hare, Earl Grey, Apologies and Poetry.

What a day I've had, friends. (And it's not even Monday.) First, I'll mention my utter frustration with myself. My severe penchant for untimely tardiness really distresses me. This statement seems ridiculous, but the reality is that while I am not a morning person, I really don't intend to oversleep by nearly 40 minutes on mornings when I need to get to work early. My alarm did not go off; God only knows why. I'll refrain from the hashing the details about the crazy dream I was having when, inexplicably, I woke with a start and realized I was late. Let's just say it wasn't as bad as the dinosaur dream from Tuesday night. Yes - dinosaurs.

Second, the five hours that I was actually in my office today can be described in a single cliche: time to put my foot in my mouth. This is no different than any other day when I readily express my opinions before I think about how to say them tactfully, but this morning was worse than usual. It was the kind that has left me wincing and cringing for the rest of the day. Did I really say that? 

I am trying to rectify this ever-present flaw in my personality. To those who received the brunt of my mouthiness today, take comfort in knowing that my feet taste disgusting and I am truly sorry.

Third, I love Chicago and nearly every thing about it. I also love doing whatever I can to help a friend, which is why I offered to drive my dear bff to O'Hare this afternoon so that she could hop a plane to Cali for vacation. I love her, which is why I'm not upset that she didn't take me along. My love for her is also the reason I'm simply grateful that I survived the whole experience because believe me, I almost died. Several times. Lots of wailing and pointing involved as I continued to miss exits and swerve away from other vehicles. Chicago rush hour traffic is the one thing I truly hate about living here.

Sigh. It is now 7 p.m. and I am safe and sound, sitting in Starbucks and enjoying an Earl Grey Latte while contemplating life. Our days are a series of decisions and distractions, and all we really want is to follow our calling, fulfill our purpose. It's so easy to let things stand in our way - other people, our selves, our bank statements, our schedules. It's easy to make excuses about why we're never the best version of ourselves or why we said one thing when we should have said it differently (or maybe avoided making the comment at all?)

It's also easy to be too hard on ourselves. We set the expectation that we are super-human, that because others depend on us we have to hold it together no matter what the circumstances are. We have to be on time, be prepared. We have to perfect our craft and our work before we share it with others. We have to have everything figured out.

Both ends of the spectrum keep us swinging back and forth, avoiding the middle of the road where our expectations can connect with our reality:

We are imperfect, yet we are capable. 

Tomorrow is another day to try again to be the better version of ourselves. If we mess it up or say the wrong thing or receive criticism on our work, then we can continue learning and growing from it.

And so, with that thought, I'm going to make a commitment. For the first time ever, I am going to submit my writing for a local poetry contest. (Yes, I write poetry.) It's a baby step, but a movement forward nevertheless. Enough with my expectations. Time to do.

Changing Tides.

Here's a thought for your weekend:

"Just because the tide is out, that doesn't mean there's less water in the ocean." - Seth Godin.

So just because our economy is bad, that doesn't mean we're lacking resources and ideas. We just have to dig deeper, go to greater distances to find them.

Speaking of resources, the people of Japan are desperate for food, clean water, gasoline, and more. I read my friend Wakako's post and found myself in tears for the people who are stranded there. Please consider giving to For Japan With Love, which will give all proceeds to Shelter Box, which will give supplies to the people of Japan. Every donation and prayer will help.

Have a good weekend, friends.