Toby's Friends

Toby is getting better with each visit to the dog park. He is playing with some of the smaller dogs and remaining more calm with the dogs in general. Here is a picture of one of the dogs that we frequently see at the park, she is a Boxer and her name is Ali. She is obsessive with her toys just as Toby is with his. Also pictured are two poodles Toby met today, Maya and Suri, and Marley, a Siberian Husky.

Rainy Morning

As I have learned, it is wise to carry an umbrella with you when living in Chicago. Thankfully, I watched the weather, so I knew that it was going to rain today. Even better, the rain didn't start until I was already in work. In fact, we could even hear thunder and I saw a few lightening flashes from our windows. I did take a picture of the gloominess (to be posted later). On a good note, by the afternoon, the weather had cleared up and the sun was shining!

Three Day Weekend

As my car stays parked in an indoor garage, I decided that I should drive to Target yesterday to pick up some essentials that I did not bring with me. For one, I needed to get Toby some dog shampoo as he was in need of a bath as he was starting to smell like a dog (and I don't like him to smell like a dog). While the Target is within walking distance, I wanted to drive my car for a little so it stays in good working order. The Target here has a parking garage and is actually 2 levels (to save on space), but looks much like every other Target. The above picture is one I saw online of a Target advertisement on the "L" train. I was able to purchase my items and get a few groceries too, so that was nice. As I'm sure you are all wondering, driving in Chicago was not that bad. Granted, I was not going that far, but the streets are very easy to navigate. It helps that Chicago is laid out in blocks, so if one street is busy, you can just go a street down and still easily arrive at the same location.

Last night, I was able to give Toby a bath. This new shampoo smells like baby powder and leaves him smelling baby fresh and very soft. He of course ran around like a crazy dog after his bath, it was very funny.

The Taste of Chicago

I walked downtown this afternoon and did a small amount of shopping (mainly souvenir things) and then walked down to the Taste of Chicago. For those of you who don't know, this is an annual street fair where many of the local restaurants come out and sell their food or little sample portions of certain items called "taste" sizes. How this works is you purchase food tickets at a booth, then based on what item you want, give them the appropriate amount of tickets. I ate a bunch of food, but it was worth it (hey, I figured I walked down there, so I could eat a little more). I had a Chicken Parmesan sandwich, a slice of Turtle Cheesecake, a small "taste" of rainbow ice cream (it is a swirl of 5 different flavors), and a small frozen chocolate covered banana. They were all very yummy and well worth the tickets.

After filling my stomach, I walked over to the Buckingham Fountain. This is a very large fountain that some of you may remember from the opening credits of Married with Children. It was very pretty and very large.

Tonight, I will be able to watch more fireworks from my apartment, I am excited!

Happy Independence Day!

Today is the day for celebrating America's Independence from the British influence. While it is important to thank those men so many years before who had the foresight to care about the well-being of all of the future generations of Americans. It is also important to remember those who are currently in the Armed Forces serving our country to protect this freedom that we gained all of those years ago on July 4, 1776.

Last night, Chicago had another giant fireworks display to celebrate the occasion. An estimated 1.2 million people were downtown in various locations enjoying the festivities. Thankfully, I was able to avoid the crowd and sit on my couch and watch the show and listen to the accompanying music on WGN. The great thing about this fireworks display is that as it was televised on WGN, I was able to call my mother and tell her to switch the channel so that she could experience the same fireworks that I was watching. Toby enjoyed the fireworks as well, in fact, he has already learned the word 'fireworks.' Every time I mention 'fireworks,' Toby runs to the sliding glass door and looks in the direction of where the fireworks come from, very cute!

I'm planning on heading out later to walk around downtown a bit. Check out the Taste of Chicago and maybe do a little shopping!

Happy Independence Day!

Pizza Delivery

I decided to finally get pizza delivery today from this place that everyone raves about for "Chicago" style pizza. I ordered a pepperoni pizza and mozzarella sticks. Apparently, Lou Malnati's version of Chicago style pizza is crust, cheese, pepperoni, and sauce with a bit of Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. Unfortunately, I have to say, that while the pizza was not bad, I'm not sure that I would order it again. I guess my tastes are used to Pizza Hut or Domino's type pizza. At least I tried something new!

As for tonight, they will be having fireworks tonight from Grant Park (I should be able to see these from the balcony). Then, tomorrow (I have off work), I believe I will go to the Taste of Chicago for a bit and then there will be more fireworks tomorrow night from Navy Pier! Should be a fun Independence Day Celebration. I will probably also throw some shopping in somewhere over this extended weekend as well!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Toby!

Today is Toby's 2nd birthday! He is such a good boy, and has been a joy for me to have. Every morning, he greets me with kisses, and every day, he is so excited when I come home from work. He makes me being a traveling physical therapist and being away from friends and family so much easier. My mother has already mailed him a card and a small present, and I will probably take him on a walk today after work so that he can play with other doggy friends and give him a special cookie. Happy Birthday, Toby!