Chicago

I love Chicago. It is no Omaha, but it is right up there. I think I'd move to Chicago in a heartbeat.

For some reason, I feel right at home in Chicago. I don't know why. It is not like it's anything like Omaha. But I got to thinking, while strolling down Michigan Avenue this evening, I've been to Chicago a lot. Like really a lot.

1. I think the first time I was in Chicago was when we met the Hartfelders here (I'm in Chicago now, so it is the proper adverb usage) soon after meeting them in Florida. Memories from that trip: meeting Jim Harbaugh (I was 10 so I didn't see the "hotness" my mom and Debbie were talking about; but in looking at photos of him now...HELLO JIM HARBAUGH!). I digress; other memories of that trip: playing games at Excalibur, Ed Debevics, the kick-ass funky outfit I wore and overhearing a woman making fun of it, on the flipside of that outfit - the outfit of pumps (as in Nike, not heels), tightrolled overalls with one strap down, a hypercolor shirt and dangly peace sign earrings. As if that outfit wasn't bad enough - Amy and I BOTH wore it. The SAME day. Double dose of 1991 coming straight at ya! Last memory (I can't believe I have such vivid memories of a trip that was nearly 20 years ago) - running into my sixth grade teacher - the teacher I had at that time - in the lobby of our hotel. (To make matters more ironic, she was from the same town in Michigan the Hartfelders were from. Detroit is one thing, but we're talking Swartz Creek - population 5,000. Such a small world.)

Alright, this post is getting long already. Gonna speed it up:

2. High school prom dress shopping circa 1998. Five girls and three moms went. It was a great time, and most importantly, we got great dresses. I vividly remember taking a limo from the airport to the hotel (we were SO cool) and Kristina Conrad rolling down the window saying "Pardon me, do you have any grey poupon?" FYI - Trevor. Just be prepared I will be taking our daughters prom dress shopping in Chicago.

3. That trip was a bad influence for Emilie and I, as we then went to Chicago twice, if not three times, during college just to shop. One time we tried to add culture to our trip and visited the Art Institute of Chicago. We lasted, oh, I don't know, 20 minutes, and then it was to Michigan Avenue! Two places we always had to hit: Filene's Basement and Cheesecake Factory. That's good for the Freshman 15!! We would stay at her aunt and uncle's gorgeous home in the 'burbs. I laugh thinking about it actually - Em, you know what story I am thinking of. "Can you guys just hold him down?" Priceless.

4. Trevor and I took a trip to Chicago in college. I gave it to him for his birthday. I was actually really cute (go me) in giving it to him. I took him to Windy Cities, a hot dog store in Lincoln where he worked - for hot dogs, not money mind you - and told him about our trip then. (If any of you know me well, you know I don't eat regular hot dogs so it really WAS a big deal!) Anywho, we had a great time in Chicago. But, my most vivid memory was my credit card getting declined by the hotel. So, I s'pose, thanks for taking ME to Chicago for YOUR birthday, Trev :).

5. Again in college - this time we drove! Ugh. A few of us advertising majors tagged along with the AdClub to tour J. Walter Thompson (RIP). And of course we then hit the city. I vividly remember Cari xxxxxxxx Ferguson getting pulled over while driving the 16 passenger van from Lincoln to Chicago. Fake IDs might have also been involved at some point. Not really sure. The school trip to Chicago is a bit fuzzy, ironically enough.

5. We made a pit stop in Chicago in May 2004 on our way to South Bend, Indiana, for my cousin's wedding. Trevor was in Arkansas and I was in KC at the time, so we, and my mom, dad and Kalin, all met at Midway and enjoyed Navy Pier before heading back to the airport to pick up "the grandmas" and head to Notre Dame country. I should also point out it was in South Bend, at Olivia and Todd's reception actually, where Trevor asked my dad's permission to propose to me. Sigh. My folks and extended fam spent a few days in Chicago after the wedding, and apparently had a hoot. Trevor and I had to head back to bring home the bacon.

6. In September 2006, I walked 60 miles in and around Chicago with Lizzie, Shannon and Michelle during the Breast Cancer 3-Day. So, that was obviously a memorable experience in the city. The day before the event started - when we had to fly to Chicago - was my birthday so Shannon and I did some damage on, where else, Michigan Avenue. That was a fun day.

7. Last May, Trevor and I vacationed in Chicago for a few days and stayed with his sister Alissa. We had a great time and we both attended our first Cubs game, which I loved. That was a fun trip because we had a real life, local host to take us around, guide us on the L, etc.

8. I've been to Chicago a lot for work. We used to have monthly Breast Cancer 3-Day meetings here, but they were typically day trips. (Love the 5 a.m. flights!) But when we'd come with Blue Bunny for the FMI show, we'd stay a few nights and make the most of it. I think I attended FMI in Chicago three times. And then there was last May, when all of Barkley PR went to Chicago for the Cause Marketing Forum. And after the CMF, Sun Dee (with AMC), Kelli (with Kohl's then), Lindsey, Rachel and I all reunited for an evening of fun and Sex and the City. 'Twas the premier and we all dressed up like the characters we were most like (thanks to a quiz). No, those photos will never be shared. Ever.

So, while I'm in Chicago again tonight, I now remember why I feel so comfortable strolling around Chi-town's downtown area. I have a lot of memories here in what I believe is one of the greatest cities in the world: The Wendy, err, Windy City.

PS: Southwest, feel free to let me know if I should expect my free voucher at my home or personal address.

Lucky/Unlucky Weekend

I love day-drinking which is probably why I love Las Vegas. We did a lot of day-drinking last weekend in Sin City.

Day-drinking began upon check-in at NY NY with mimosas for the girls and red eyes for the fellas.
Fast forward to 9:33 a.m.
If this picture had a time stamp it would probably say 10:23 a.m. This is at the point when I tweeted "Damn, I love Vegas" because it was around this time when we exited the MGM Studio Cafe with our Bloody Mary's and red beers. Drinks to go = more reason to love Las Vegas.
It's probably 11:14 a.m. at this point. By now we've migrated from NY NY to MGM to Walgreens for Alka Seltzer Morning Relief and to Planet Hollywood for Wheel of Fortune slots which paid out the opposite of a fortune.
And this is post gambling-run at Paris - here we're on our way to a 4 p.m. lunch at Caesars.
And this, well this is just proof of what happens after a long day of drinking.
After our day-drinking stint, we retired to the room for a little three hour catnap (detoxing). We rallied and went downstairs around 10 p.m. It was a rough start - coffee and Baileys for the girls and RBVs for the boys. We wandered the NY NY floor for a while because it was so packed. We ended up venturing to Excalibur for some gambling and a great time with a cover band at Dick's Last Resort. Then it was off to Luxor for some more gambling (stupid popcorn slots!), more "CRAAAANNNDDYYY drinks" (Cranberry Vodkas) and RBVs and then we wandered to Mandalay Bay. That place is so gorgeous. At Mandalay Bay we played a Wizard of Oz slot (especially for Rachel) and the guy sitting at the Wizard slot machine next to us was from Omaha. RANDOM! After losing our asses even more we cabbed it back to NY NY, had breakfast and called it a day. At 7:35 a.m. That my friends, is what I call a rally.

I should also note that while we were out getting our asses kicked by drinks and dealers, my brother was getting his ass kicked in Kansas City. For those of you that don't know, he got jumped leaving the Brooksider Friday night (also his last day at Sprint). He and another friend left the Brooksider around 2 a.m. The buddy went one way to catch a cab, my brother the other way to his car. All of a sudden he looks over and sees his friend getting the shit kicked out of him. So much blood apparently that my brother thought his friend was dead. My bro ran over there and the 5-6 black guys (just stating the facts) started wailing on him. That's about all he knows. He was knocked out cold and woke up at St. Lukes the next day. He was given a CAT scan which appeared fine. Other than his eye swollen shut and a lot of cuts and bruises and soreness, he's recovering well. His friend has a broken nose and the same soreness/bruises/etc. I found out about this Saturday morning, which kind of put a damper on our last day in Vegas. So, to the assholes who did this to my brother - for not only beating up my brother for no reason whatsoever, but for also making our friends and family worried and uneasy AND for distracting me while I was on the vacation I was looking forward to for months, I say go fuck yourself. (Sorry mom but I think you would agree.)

Kalin's story aside we were able to chill by the pool and enjoy $11 Miami Vices and get a little sun. It was much needed.
And now we're back from Vegas and it totally sucks. Vacation went too fast, can't stop thinking about Kalin and it's 38 degrees. WTF? Oh, and just a little something else going on - Trevor's moving to Kentucky for a year. We're really calling it extended travel. He will come home every other weekend which is good. All in all, it's a good career move for him and things could always be worse. Plus, once I train Macy to take the trash out it won't be a big deal at all. Hardy har har. Like I said - things could ALWAYS be worse - but a little good news would be more than welcomed right about now.

Ringing in 2009

While we missed ringing in 2009 with our friends, we could not have been anywhere better. My family was privileged to celebrate the new year (and Husker victory!) in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. There was never a dull or inactive moment! We rode snowmobiles through Yellowstone, sledded, skied, went on a sleigh ride, got massages (at least the ladies did!), hot tubbed, sauna-d and ate and drank too much. And somehow... even though we flew through Denver and in and out of Idaho Falls - in December/January...all flights were on time. It was the perfect culmination to 2008 and a fantastic way to commence 2009.

Happy three years, TFitch.

This anniversary will almost be as great as last year. Although last year we didn't have to work and had dinner aboard the Carnival Elation, whereas this year we're working, having dinner in Omaha (but at the Paxton which I can't complain about) and it's -10 degrees outside. Totally as great as our second anniversary. :-)

While I love Omaha, I wish I was still in Nova Scotia

We just had the most incredible trip; it was the vacation of a lifetime. While I have been on many, many great trips in my 27+ years this one was unforgettable and one of the tops. I'm not sure what made it so amazing - perhaps the fact we stayed at the most gorgeous home on acres of oceanfront land and were treated way too well. Perhaps it was the fact we just needed a vacation. Or maybe because my mom, dad, Trevor, Kalin and I have never taken a trip together besides the trip to South Bend, Indiana, for my cousin's wedding. It could also be that while it was busy and nonstop and crammed full of activities it was extremely relaxing.

I have to admit I was a little concerned about how our trip to Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia would go after we landed in Chicago to see this on the monitor:

See the Halifax flight? That was supposed to be ours. We instead hung out at O'Hare for five hours and made it to Toronto around midnight EST. Upon arrival in Toronto we, of course, had no bags. At this point we just laughed. Trevor and I checked into the airport's Renaissance hotel and, after the guy could not look up my Marriott rewards number and I got a little ticked, we brushed our teeth with airline provided toothpaste and called it a night around 2 a.m.

Alarm clock went off at 6:30 and we caught the shuttle to the airport at 6:50. It's amazing how quick you can be out the door when you sleep in your clothes. This is the point at which Trevor said "It feels like we are on the Amazing Race" and his eyeballs were the color of Barney since he had his contacts in too long.

All was well though - we landed in Halifax around 11 a.m. and were greeted by "Carl" in the baggage area - holding a sign that said "Fitch" of course :-). Our bags, at this point, had made it from Chicago to Toronto, but we were told we wouldn't have them that day (Wednesday). After about an hour car ride, we arrived at paradise and immediately hopped in the sailboat. (I owe my mom a big thanks for letting me borrow some clothes so I didn't have to sail in the capris and polo I'd been wearing for 24 hours!) After that it was nonstop. Hot tubbing. Cornhole. Dark and Stormies. Homemade strawberry daquiris. Huge home-cooked steak dinner. Wine. More wine. A third bottle of wine. Great conversations, lots of laughs and a night cap in the guest house/sports bar. Our luggage arrived Thursday -yay!- which was another nonstop day. The boys hopped aboard Mrs. Maverick - the speed boat - and the girls piled in the Explorer and headed to Mahone Bay for a little shopping. We met up with the fellas at the Lunenburg Yacht Club and parted ways again, where we went back to Mahone Bay for more shopping. It's a darling little area. We reconvened at the "compound" and all headed to Lunenburg where we toured the fisheries museum. My mom and I hit up a few shops in the area and met up with everyone to wet our whistles with a dark and stormy. It was then time for dinner and we feasted at a great Italian restaurant. Trevor and I opted for Penne pasta with lobster and vodka sauce and it was incredible. Back to the house, listening to McGinty's sea songs - a CD that Dave bought. (Apparently it is his eighth one because Peggy keeps throwing them away. This copy was gifted to Trevor and is now in our library.) More drinks in the sports bar and another fabulous day comes to an end.

Friday = Happy Fourth of July! We started our day with a relaxing boat ride aboard Mrs. Maverick where we tooled around and visited the Bay of Chester. Back to the house for Deluxe nachos and then steamed mussels. That was also the day we kayaked and played a lot of Bocce and Cornhole. (Trevor and Kalin are horrible at that game, BTW.) We had an Americana dinner of burgers, brats and dogs and capped the night off with fireworks at the firepit. Mom, Trevor and I did take the Bobcat for a late night drive on the trails to try to look for wildlife and it was pretty damn funny - especially mom pretending she was a ghost. WEIRD - we had a few more "for the ditch" at the sports bar and it was nighty night for all.

Saturday - our last full day in Nova Scotia :-(. We woke up and headed to Peggy's Cove, which is home to the most photographed lighthouse in North America. The setting was gorgeous and picturesque. We then had an appetizer and beer lunch at a pub back in Mahone Bay - one of my favorite meals. Here we were introduced to poutine which is a staple of the area. At lunch we had Clancy's Amber Ale but throughout the week we had been drinking Alexander Kieth's which is awesome. The boys went sailing and apparently had a lovely day. Mom, Peggy and I got massages and briefly lounged by the pool at the spa which was awesome. We met back up with the boys at the house and had a very yummy dinner - an outdoor boil consisting of corn on the cob, potatoes, shrimp and sausage. We wrapped the night up by playing a very fun game. We each had a person taped to our foreheads and had to guess who we were by asking questions to the others around the table. It was a hoot.

We flew home Sunday aboard a private jet, which, let me tell you - is THE way to go. If I had the option, I'd never fly commercial again :-).

So here we are, back in Omaha. It's back to work tomorrow, which I am dreading but if I learned one thing this week it's work hard to play hard. Cliche? Yes, but so true.

We are so, so grateful for the vacation we just had and words can not express our thanks to Dave and Peggy for opening their home to us for some of the best days of our lives. Thanks to Dave, Peggy, Peggy's mom or "GG" as we came to know her, mom, dad, Kalin and Trevor for the memories and the laughs while in Nova Scotia. You're the best. And a thanks to the Hites for watering flowers, taking out trash and looking out for the Fitch abode and to Joe, Kathy, Griffin and Cassidy for taking such good care of Macy while we were gone. Somehow she's more wiped out than we are!

Happy 4th of July!

Just wanted to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy and safe 4th of July! We're heading to Canada (eh) tomorrow to spend the week in Nova Scotia and we absolutely can not wait. Photos and a recap will definitely be posted upon our return to Nebraska - if we decide to return to Nebraska.

Memorial Day in D.C.

We had a great long weekend in D.C. with Kalin. It was quite exhausting! We hit up the Leesburg outlet mall, the batting cages (Kalin hit 90 mph baseballs), the Newseum - very cool BTW - some great bars (the boys had seven car bombs in 24 hours), a Nationals game - the new park is AWESOME - and we did a TON of walking. We also met up with Lizzie and Mike which was fun. I guess I'll just let the photos tell all about it!

Checking out 1600 PennsylvaniaHanging with Lizzie and Mike
Nationals game
Brother and sister
Lunch in Reston
Dominating MegaTouch at Glory Daze Atop the Newseum
Front pages from 9/11 @ the Newseum
The Washington Monument

Trevor & Wendy in the Windy City

I love Chicago. I've been going there for years but this weekend was a different kind of trip as we stayed with and were guided around by Trevor's sister, Alissa. We visited the local bars, took the L and walked our asses off. We hit up a Cubbies game (I'm newly obsessed with the Cubs because Wrigleyville is the coolest!) and Michigan Avenue (Trevor opted to drink at ESPN Zone instead). Even the trip home was fun because we flew out of the best airport in the country. Why you ask? Well Midway lets you buy beers at the airport bar and walk around with them! Plus, they have security lines for expert travelers, casual travelers and traveling families. We started in the expert line but apparently the TSA could tell Trevor wasn't an "expert" and they made him move to the casual line while I whizzed through the expert line. It was freaking hilarious.

As Frank said, "Chicago is my kind of town!"



May 15
Southwest Airlines
Depart Omaha on-time

May 17
Southwest Airlines
Depart Chicago Midway 25 minutes delayed

Viva Las Vegas

Last weekend a large group of gals headed to Vegas for Kristis's bachelorette party. In abiding by the famous "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" slogan, I can't reveal too many details. And honestly, the details are a little fuzzy anyway. What I can tell you is 12 of us crammed into an 1,100 square foot suite at the Venetian. The room and resort were beautiful! In fact, the only time we left the Venetian was when we ventured to the liquor store Friday night upon arrival in Vegas. We manged to get into the VIP line to Tao, which meant no line, no cover and and free drinks from 10-11. Can't complain about that! Sadly, we didn't see any celebs there. It's quite a celebrity hot spot you know. Saturday was spent by the pool and it was wonderful. The highlight definitely came Saturday night when Kristi and I put an $11 voucher in a dollar slot machine and hit a $722 jackpot. We were pretty pumped!

I'm heading back to Vegas May 4 for work and I have a feeling that trip will be a little different than this one :-).

Happy bachelorette party, Kristi!

O!nline

This is not news to the Omahans that read this blog, but to the out-of-staters (and there are so many of you - not), Omaha has this great "O" sculpture thing going on. A few years ago artists designed their own "O"s and they, all very different, are located throughout Omaha.

Anyhoo, I just read an article on Omaha.com about a Web site that allows everyone to make their own virtual O. It's very fun and I encourage you to check it out!