Catherine Hits Chicago

Last weekend I went to Chicago to see Hamilton, but it was really much much more than that.

When I go to Chicago it is always an amazing time because Jeff and Jeffrey live there and they are really the most amazing hosts.  They have all the coolest adventures planned.  I am sure for them, it is just regular life, but for me it is full of amazing adventures that I always enjoy.  It makes me want to step up my adventure game in South East Michigan so that I can show others a good time when they are in town.  I often feel bad for other people who are going to Chicago if they don’t know Jeff and Jeffrey because I know they are not going to have the peak experience.

The biggest adventure for me was the trip to a trendy neighborhood.  Trendy neighborhoods strike that amazing balance of being upscale enough to not be dangerous, but cheap enough to have cool unique places to visit.  It makes it so much more fun to explore.  I can’t give you tips to try to have your own adventure there because I don’t know the name of this neighborhood.  I will have to ask Jeff and Jeffrey.  A Trendy neighborhood always makes me a little nervous because I am worried about not being cool enough.  Sure, I am super cool, but am I TRENDY cool?  Or scarier still, am I hipster cool?  I would love to be hipster cool but I am just too cheap and lazy.  Unicycles and Monacles take a lot of practice.  Typewriter ribbon and Polaroid film can get pricey.

We had dinner at a hipster pizza place.  I was not worried about this at first.  I know pizza.  FALSE!  This place revealed how much of a country mouse I was, and it was hilarious.  The first sign that I was out of my element was the drink situation.  The super cool waiter informed me that they had no cranberry juice.  I had to quickly navigate the confusing menu and order house brewed rootbeer instead.  This is barely a complaint, because that rootbeer was delicious!  I wasn’t the only one confused by the drinks.  Jeff got a drink with bobas in it.  Bobas are fascinating little creatures, but they taste disgusting.  YES!  I tasted the bobas.  Jeff has talked me into trying so many things.  Most of them have been wonderful.  Bobas are not wonderful, but then again, he didn’t like them either.

The confusing menu also stated that they politely declined any special orders or substitutions.  WHAT?  You can’t tell a picky eater that they must eat one of the specialty pizzas.  I read each description with such care trying to find one that would work.  I ended up ordering a carnivore Detroit style pizza.  There was some stuff in the description I didn’t understand, but I was thinking it was the closest I was going to get.  Turns out it was also DELICIOUS!  Also, it is hilarious that we went to a New York style pizza place in Chicago and ordered Detroit style pizza.  I think that makes us very urban.  Jeff and Jeffrey ordered vegan sausage on their pizza.  This blew my mind!  Who would do such a thing?  Jeffrey got me to try one of them.  Turns out it tasted just like regular sausage.  Who would think that I would ever try vegan anything?

Just when I thought I had the hipster pizza place figured out, I decided to go to the bathroom before we left.  I am an adult and I was sure that using the bathroom could not be at all confusing.  FALSE!  There was a hallway that said restrooms and then there were 4 unmarked doors in the hallway.  I could get past the fact that the restaurant is so woke that all the bathrooms were gender neutral, but I was very confused about the fact that there were 4 and they didn’t at least say “bathroom”.  What if one of the doors lead to the kitchen, or an office?  I just stood there like an idiot for a while before a guy came out of one of the doors and I could tell that it was a stand-alone bathroom.  

We had many more adventures after that.  None of them were as educational as the pizza place, but they were all delightful!

Did you already know how hipster pizza places work because you went there before they were cool?  What is your favorite trendy neighborhood so that I can take people there when they come to visit?  Do you brew your own rootbeer?  There was a club we didn't go to called the slippery slope, and there were no slides in it.  LAME!  Which style of pizza do you prefer: Chicago, New York, Detroit, St. Louis, or Quad City?

What does society want me to do next in my life?

When I turned the age that a teenage girl usually starts to date, everyone started asking me when I was going to get a boyfriend or if I had a boyfriend or telling me I should get a boyfriend.  When I was that age, I would have loved to have a boyfriend, but that was not something that I had total control over.  It would at least take an interested boy.

Eventually, I got a boyfriend.  Once I had been with my boyfriend for a while, everyone loved to ask me when we were going to get married, or if we were going to get married, or tell me that we should get married.  I would have loved to get married, but that was not something totally under my control.  I was not going around throwing engagement rings out windows.  It usually takes two people to get engaged.  It helps if both people are interested in getting married.

Eventually, I got engaged and married.  Once I got married, everyone asked me when I was going to have a baby, or if I was going to have a baby, or told me I should have a baby.  At that point in my life, I would have loved to have a baby.  Not everything happens exactly when you want it to happen.  Some things take a while and you just have to wait for it to work out no matter how painful that is.

Eventually, I had a baby.  Once I had a baby everyone asked about the next one.  I was in the same situation.  Giant EYE ROLL!

Eventually, I had a second baby.  The first baby was a boy and the second baby was a girl so no one asked me about having another baby.  Everyone counted my family as complete.  I don’t remember what awkward questions they were asking me at that point. 

Eventually, I had a third baby.  We are a pretty happy family.  However, everyone has found a new thing to ask us about.  Everyone is asking me when we are getting a dog, or if we are getting a dog, or telling me that we should get a dog.  I didn’t know this was a societal life stage.  A few things have prompted this question.  The babies are now old enough to enjoy animals.  My in laws have an adorable batch of bulldog puppies and we could just take one home.  Several of our friends and family recently got new puppies.  Everyone has dogs on the brain.  Do people do this to people about cats too?  This is something TOTALLY under my control.  I can go get a dog and bring it home whenever I want.  The thing is, I do NOT want a dog.  Dogs require a lot of care.  I am not up to the challenge.  I am also a little afraid of dogs.  I also don’t like it when they pee/poop/drool on me and my stuff.  I might be more of a cat person, since they take care of themselves, but I am allergic to cats and getting one would cause a lot of sinus issues.  It is probable that I am just not an animal person.  I don’t hate them or want to kick them, I just don’t desire to touch them. 

I am SO happy that at this stage in life, people ask me questions about stuff that I do have FULL control over.  I can have a totally normal conversation about this and not walk away sad because I wish that things were different.  I hope that this line of questioning lasts a long time.  There are so many fun things to discuss when it comes to pets.  We can bring up the perks of bee keeping, backyard chickens, and cuddling with baby rabbits.  The whole thing is delightful.  Everyone, keep it up with the dog questions.  I am READY!  OH and I also get to say fun words like labridoodle!

This stage certainly beats the next stage which will probably have something to do with whether or not I should be wearing adult diapers.

Mushy blog about my sister's wedding.

My sister got married two weekends ago.  Everyone is THRILLED!  The wedding was great.

Big events like weddings get people thinking about big picture life things.  I did not write a toast for my sister’s wedding.  Some people did, but in all the hoopla, we forgot to have people give their toasts.  So, since then I have been thinking about what kind of toast I would give if I gave one.  Several people offered to toast my sister’s wedding, so she asked me if I had a toast ready and if I would be hurt to not give one.   I said, “No, but give me 30 minutes notice and I will have one if you need one.”  I am glad she didn’t take me up on that.  I am a good public speaker and I like to make things up on the fly, but a wedding toast is a big deal and I wouldn’t have done my best in 30 minutes.

I think I would have done something about how we are generally opposites, but that is what makes us get along so well.  Once I started thinking about it, our differences started cracking me up.  One would think that since we are close in age, grew up during the same general time, and have the same parents and family, we would be similar.  Here are the ways that is not the case.

Me	My sister
I have puffy brown hair.  My sister has chased after me with a straightening iron in the past, and when she got done with me, I looked like I had the fattest head ever.	My sister has sleek read hair.  I always wanted red hair, but instead I was blessed with 3 red haired children.  Even when my sister’s hair curls up, it is in cute cascading ringlets.
I am not an outdoorsman.  I enjoy time outside in small amounts, but allergies and heat and bugs force me back inside before too long.	My sister hikes and camps and loves it.
I am short and stout.	My sister is tall and lean.
I love to wear colors and loud obnoxious patterns.  When I was introduced at the wedding the description of me was something like, fashionista to the color blind.  That fits perfectly.	My sister LOVES black V neck t-shirts.  For my sister’s bachelorette party, it was suggested that we wear something that is totally her.  I could only find a necklace that she had made me.  Three people showed up in jeans and black V neck t-shirts.  Their outfits were perfect.  I don’t own a single shirt that fit the criteria.

When we were kids, we would fight all the time.  Then, once when we were teens, she was going to the kitchen to get a drink and I asked her to get me one too.  I think I probably asked mostly to start a fight, but instead of fighting with me, she said ok and got me a drink.  This really made me think.  If she could do something nice for me, maybe I could do something nice for her.  Magically, ever since then, we have gotten along.  I think part of that is due to our differences.

These differences were really obvious as my sister planned her wedding.  It seemed like every decision that was made was the opposite of the decision I would have made.  The nice thing was that it was her wedding and not mine.  So, it was wonderful to just jump on whatever decision she made, and help make it a reality.  The result was amazing.  The ceremony was at her church and only the people closely connected to the wedding party were there.  This made it way easier to do pictures without having everyone wait around forever.  The reception was at the camp where my sister and her groom met.  This made it really special for them, and they put a lot of effort into making it amazing for everyone else.  There were hay rides, a s’more station, hammock gathering, games, break dancing, and strawberry shortcake.  There was some bad weather, but that lead to a lovely time of dancing in the rain and Dess ran through the puddles barefoot yelling, “I am so happy!”.  The whole event was amazing.

After writing all this, I realize we also have some similarities.

•        We both have great leadership skills.
•        We are both stubborn.
•        We are both hilarious.
•        We are both independent.
•        We are both caring and helpful.  Ok, she is more caring and helpful than I am, but I am working on it.
•        We are both creative and like to make things.  Although, when I make things, I like to use color and craziness, she likes to use detail and skill.

I guess I would end the toast with, “I am so blessed to have such a wonderful sister and that she has found someone to spend her life with.  I love you both so much”

Can anyone else think of ways we are alike or different?  Are you similar to your siblings?

Detroit Scavenger Hunt

My sister is getting married and we are all thrilled.  Along with a wedding comes tons of auxiliary parties.  There are showers and bachelorette parties and pampering events.  This last weekend we did the bachelorette party and a scavenger hunt in Detroit was requested.  I have never been on a professionally organized scavenger hunt, but TV tells me there is a lot of human interaction involved.  Like maybe you would take a picture of yourself kissing a bald man.  Or you would have to just wander the city looking for an old timey spinning wheel.  That might work some places, but since we would be in Detroit, I wanted to avoid talking to strangers and aimlessly wandering the city.  I am really pleased with how the scavenger turned out.  I will put the map, clues, and activities in this blog, and maybe I will put the answers in the comments or in another blog.  That way, if you want to lead your own scavenger hunt, you can OR if you want to join me in recreating the fun with another group, we can do that too and there won't be a bunch of spoilers.  To be completely truthful, nobody had any problem figuring out the clues.

Double click on the map to get a better look at all the locations.

Instructions: Below are clues to interesting sites around the city of Detroit.  As we walk around the city, the first person to figure out the clue for that area gets a point.  (Since this was a bachelorette party, we used penis drink stirrers as points.  That way we didn't have to keep track on paper.  Whoever had the most penises won.)   Once we figure out what we are looking for, we will NEED to take a mob selfie with it (mobfie) to document that we are having the time of our LIVES!  If you have a really big group like we did, it is easier to have the person who figured out the clue take the picture.  That way there are several pictures and no one is left out of all of them.  As we hunt about for the specific locations, there are also a few bonus finds and some bonus tasks that can also earn you points.   We will total up the points at dinner and see who deserves a prize.

We started at the Wheelhouse Detroit.  Thinking back, it probably would have been smarter to rent bikes for our adventures, but it still worked out well with just getting ice cream there and scavenging around on foot.

1.  Where "You spin me right round, baby, Right round like a record, baby, Right round round round" meets "Under the sea, Darling it's better, Down where it's wetter, Take it from me"


2.  "You're a grand old flag you’re a high flying flag in forever in peace may you wave"  oh wait, no, "Oh Canada…" 


3.  "There's a picture opposite me, Of my primitive ancestry, Which stood on rocky shores and kept the beaches shipwreck free, Though I respect that a lot, I'd be fired if that were my job, After killing Jason off and countless screaming Argonauts, Bluebird of friendliness, Like guardian angels its always near "

BONUS POINT:  Anyone willing to run through the fountains gets a point!  Double points if you are wearing white pants and a brightly colored thong.
 
4.  "get a room" When Amy and Jerod want a romantic getaway they want the tallest hotel in the western hemisphere.


5.  "I like to move it move it, I like to move it move it"  A great way to get around the city, if all you want to do is go around and around. 


6.  I have spirit yes I do, I have spirit how bout you? 


7.  It's old, It's famous, and it sells hot dogs.  Hint hint, Amy prefers her hot dogs to be very patriotic. 

BONUS POINT:  Anyone willing to taste a classic Detroit coney dog complete with chili, mustard and onions gets a point.  Double points if you get a coneys from both coney islands and taste test the two. 

BONUS POINT:  Anyone willing to be recorded eating the coney dog while saying "I like to put wieners in my mouth" gets a point.


8.  You gotta know when to hold um, know when to fold um, know when to walk away, know when to run.  You never count your money, when you're sitting at the table.  There will be time enough for counting, when the dealings done. 


9.  Where Hanging Tough meets Good Vibrations. 

BONUS POINT: Anyone willing to make a video of singing or dancing to a New Kids on the Block  or Marky  Mark and the Funky Bunch song gets a point.  Negative point if anyone says they don't know who NKOTB or Marky Mark is.

BONUS:


10.  Amy knows that the only thing better than jungle rules volleyball is beach volleyball.


11.  Row row row your boat, gently down the stream.  Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, life is but a dream. 


12.  Is it a bus or is it a train?  The city may never know. 


13.  We all know Amy is an amazing artist.  Some artists use the city itself as a canvas.


14.  "Say nice things about Detroit"  "Detroit vs. Everyone" There are tons of fun sayings about Detroit.  See if you can spot one.