More Chicago!

On Saturday I shared my Navy Pier pictures, but here's the rest of Chicago, or at least what I got to see when I wasn't at the conference.

We stayed at the Palmer House, which was over-the-top gorgeous...
Had amazing deep dish pizza at Giordano's...
And spent some time walking around Millenium Park...
and Grant Park.
On Friday we took a walk around the city, and I took pictures of buildings...

and signs...

(We should all ride bikes like this)

And some nice political street art.

I also got some delicious Shepard's Pie at the Elephant and Castle...
and chilled with Bob Newhart outside Navy Pier.
Overall it was a great time, though I am glad to be back home now. And of course I'm excited to get caught up on all the blog reading I missed while I was away!

Don't forget to check out my Navy Pier pictures below if you haven't already.

How was your weekend?

All images in this post are mine, please use only with permission.

Saturday Night Special: Navy Pier

I just got back from Chicago, and it was just as wonderful as I'd expected and then some. I didn't have a ton of free time outside of my conference to spend in the city, but I did get to wander around Navy Pier on Friday night, which was really nice. There's something about a pier near that great big lake that makes me feel so relaxed.

I'm pretty tired so I'll defer telling all about my trip until a later date, but I just couldn't help sharing some of my Navy Pier pictures with you all. It is really nice there, so keep in mind that I and my dinky cellphone camera could barely do it justice.

PS: Sorry I disappeared for two days while I was in Chi-town. Turns out internet at the Hilton is ridiculously expensive. I love you all, but I'm not made of money. Glad to be back though!

All images in this post are mine, please use only with my permission.

Guess where I'm going?

I am posting late today because I have been crazy with work. I'm heading off to Chicago for a conference Thursday morning and that means that I have to fit five days' worth of work into three days. Eeps!

That said, I am not going to complain. Chicago is one of my favorite cities if not THE favorite, so I'm very excited to get a chance to go (squee!), even if I am going to be spending most of my time in the conference. I also haven't been to Chicago since high school, so I thought I would ask you all: what would you suggest I do with the one night of free time I have? I know we are within walking distance of Michigan Avenue, Millenium Park, and some other goodies. I'll probably be in a group so who knows if I'll actually be able to follow your suggestions, but I'd love to hear them! And of course, I will keep you all posted on what actually goes down.

And what's your favorite city on earth?

Image via wikipedia

How about a vacation?

I know, I know, I told you all I'd be posting on time today and here I am posting at 5pm.

Today is one of those days where all I can say is that I need a vacation. I usually try to be super positive on One Happy Panda (because honestly, do we need another blog devoted to complaining?) but really, not much has gone right for me today.

I'll elaborate (if you don't want to hear about my complaining, skip this paragraph). It all started when I woke up late and had about 15 minutes to get ready for work- never a good start to the day. While washing my face, I counted about 5 new pimples on my chin as well. Great. I thought I had finally gotten the acne under control, too. I got out the door on time, though all I had time to eat for breakfast was toast and I practically had to run to work to be there by 7:15. But then at work, nothing goes right and everything takes twice as long as it usually does so I get terribly far behind and super stressed. Whatever. I have an hour break before my class, so I figure I can chill out for an hour and collect myself. No such luck. Turns out I forgot to do a very important homework assignment that is due the minute I walk in the door, and I have to scramble to get that done before class. I manage it though, and only show up two minutes late for class. Just in time to realize that we have a pop quiz which I am so not prepared for. Awesome. But whatever, I make it through class and come home to check my email only to find a notice that one of my scholarships (worth about $3,000 a year) is in jeopardy and could very well be cut because of state budget issues next year. Just what I needed.

On top of that, I have a doctors appointment tomorrow that's stressing me because I had blood tests done last week and they called me in to "discuss" my results. Which means something has to be positive, or they'd just tell me over the phone. And I got a reminder call just now telling me to bring in my list of medications. Which means whatever it is, they probably want me to take medication for it. Did I mention that prescriptions are expensive with my health insurance?

On the upside, at least now I'm pretty much done today. My plans right now include a nap, some therapeutic housecleaning, and maybe a self-pedi because my feet are pretty raunch. And then I'll feel 100% better and be back to cheerful blogging tomorrow, promise.

But I'm still seriously dreaming of getting away somewhere nice right now. A beach would be good, or Berlin (see above), which for some reason I've always been obsessed with visiting.

You tell me: what's your dream vacation?

Berlin image via an unknown source- email me if you know where it's from so I can credit it properly.

Lakeside Vacay Photos

I'm really tired today and didn't have time to come up with a good blog topic so here are some photos from my summer vacation. Last June we went to Lakeside, Oh which is off of Lake Erie. It's this beautiful little town where we rented an above-the-garage apartment and basically relaxed for a long weekend. Very quiet and peaceful.

The lake at sunset.



Along the lake there were all these rocks with little pink/red flowers growing between them. It was a great place to sit and think.

I was lovin' on these glasses from the gift shop. Mostly because they lit up.

If you're ever looking for a place to go that's quaint, peaceful, and not too expensive then Lakeside is a nice one. The town is full of old houses that people rent out and there's a really great old hotel there that would also be a lot of fun to stay in. They're also really close to the Put 'n Bay ferry for what that's worth (you can go get sloshed on cheap wine and not have to pay the ridiculous B&B prices at the island).

Of course, I look back on it fondly now that it's winter and miserable outside but during our vacation it was of course like 94 degrees constantly. Funny how memory works- 95 doesn't sound so bad when it's 15.