Weekending Like A Boss

So for all of you Chicagoans out there, can I just say that the weather we had was UH-mazing?! My weekend wrap-up is coming late because well...late concerts happen...and blog posts don't sometimes. SO Friday night I was completely exhausted, but that didn't stop the celebratory festivities at Buffalo Wild Wings or as other annoying people call it, Bdubs. The whole family was there and my FIL decided to order hot wings with their hottest sauce made with ghost peppers. It was then where bets were placed to see who would be eating them. While Josh had the julios to eat one, I said "eff that" and sat back to witness the others incinerating their mouths while watching the first Bears pre-season game HOOZA.

Saturday was our day to hash out all of our bills and such to make sure that our list of favorite places would be possible to afford. And BOOM they are. Winning.We'll be setting up times to visit them this weekend!

Sunday morning was race day! I was really dreading this 10k simply because my stomach hasn't been feeling that great during my previous runs leading up to Sunday. HOWEVER the weather was pretty much perfect for a race. Overcast and cool to start and then it didn't get too sunny until I was halfway through the race! I ran the whole way without my stomach acting up once AND come to find out, my average pace was even better than I thought by a whole minute! I felt so solid throughout the whole run and I wasn't dying by the end of the race either.

This gives me tremendous hope for smashing some PRs for my 15k and moving forward with my training. :D The only qualm I had was that the start waves weren't released far enough apart...soooo those who pretty much LIED and said that they run at a faster pace than they really do...were holding up a lot of other people...#GGRRRRR #getoutdawaybitch.

Once both my friend and I finished and patted ourselves on the back for kicking ass, we took a million photos per usual.

We gathered our free post-race snacks for the road and I had to head out to prep for the concert later on that night with Josh and the in-laws. Yep... Daughtry, Goo Goo Dolls and Plain White T's. It was a blast HOWEVER leaving concerts early is not my cup of tea, especially when I was holding out at least to hear Iris.

And let's just face it, 85% of Daughtry's fan base consists of middle-aged women who wish their husbands were Daughtry. There was a group of older women next to me and uh, girl needed to cut back on the canned limeritas. I'm all for a girls night out away from the kids (lord knows I'll be one of them one day) but handle your damn liquor properly and don't flail your arms around and obstructing my view. I'll break your hip. Concert etiquette, ahem!I'll be damned if you ruin "Black Balloon" for me.

Josh however was less than enthused. I'm pretty sure he would have rather watched paint dry than go, but he didn't have a choice in the matter. People watching at a venue like this though is one of my fav things to do. Entertainment for days. Overall, I love this windy city and summer just couldn't end without an outdoor music experience!

What are your concert pet peeves?? Did everyone else have an amazing weekend??

Legends of Summer

So I've been very MIA lately (big surprise). My life has been tied up into huge knots due to wedding planning, my job, freelance work and other family affairs BUT this past week was spent on VACATION....as in...no work. Let me repeat, I did not do ANY work for a whole week. I can't tell you how weird it was for me to do absolutely nothing. Every summer it is tradition for Josh's family to rent out a bunch of cabins at Johnson's Resort in Hayward, Wisconsin. It takes some time for me to get over being so disconnected from the outside world (no cell reception) but I love it. I can leave my phone in the cabin and head out to get my tan on without worrying about how many calls I've missed or how many emails I need to check up on.

This was my view for the majority of vacation and it was glorious.

 

It was extremely hot and sunny there all week which made for great tanning/swimming weather. The only huge bummer this year was that the resort's pool was out of commission so if we wanted to swim, we would just need to jump off that dock and into the lake. No biggie...minus the thought of leeches latching onto your bod.

When Josh and I traveled into town this time I was on a mission to buy some Minnetonka moccasins and they were everything I hoped they would be. They are the most comfortable pair of shoes EVER and I'm making it a point to wear them as often as possible for the remainder of the summer.

We also made the mandatory trip into the candy store. Peanut brittle and caramel apple suckers? Yes please. It's vacation and that means splurging just a little and I brought some kettle bells along for some strength training so I was set! Bring on the Grahm Central Station ice cream! Indulging in a waffle cone of that while dominating in Word Dojo with Josh is something that is another part of the tradition. However this year, we had some pretty good competition but ended up on top still. Word Dojo champs!

The dart tournament also proved to be victorious with Josh's Dad bringing home yet another Guenther fam win this year. I'm absolutely awful at darts and don't want to make anyone else suffer at my lack of dart throwing skills so I cheer on everyone else and enjoy a drink or two or three. It was the best waking up and not having to do ANYTHING. Want to go swimming? Okay. Want to read a little bit and play a round of extreme badminton? Okay, sure! Relaxing days fishing and hanging out on the dock were plentiful!

I came back from vacation refreshed and with a clear head which felt AMAZING. I've been so busy at work it was crazy! Although now, I faced the dreaded Super Spartan Race.

This was the first obstacle race I've ever done...8 miles and 26+ obstacles. It was a 95-degree day, went to a wedding the night before and I ended up getting heat stroke and having a hypoglycemic episode. I totally thought my body was shutting down. I went through horrid mud pits, climbed up walls and ropes, climbed up crazy hills and swam across muddy water while running in between and all of a sudden...my body just gave out on me.

 I started throwing up over and over again and was removed from the course by a medic. I was freaking out since they were insisting on taking me away in an ambulance and all I wanted them to do was find Josh ASAP. Once they found Josh (which seemed like an eternity) my blood sugar was back up from 40 to more of a stable level and they were working on getting fluids in me. I eventually was able to keep water down and went to immediate care with Josh. The two-hour car ride was the absolute worst and I couldn't tell what was worse, the bruises I saw forming on my body from all of the obstacles or my bruised ego from not finishing the race. Although I did finish more than half of the race and this was my first obstacle course ever, I eventually understood that I should be proud of what I did finish...but... it still really sucked not making it to the finish line after training so hard for it. Oh well, at least I didn't break anything like some people did or contracted this weird and unknown rash that started to appear all over people after the race! This race was INTENSE.

However the following day was the best pick-me-up. Ladies and gents...I give you Justin Timberlake and Jay Z's Summer Legends Tour at Soldier Field. I luckily made a speedy recovery from the previous day's events and was able to rock it out to the best show of the summer with my sister. The last time I saw JT was in his N'SYNC days with my sister. Apparently the whole city of Chicago was also planning on going to the show as well since it took a million years to get there, but oh my was it worth it. Can anyone think of anything better than hearing JT singing Sexy Back in person? No I didn't think so. I actually even knew every Jay Z song that was played as well. It was great how they collaborated at times and then switched off.

My inner pre-teen was thrilled. Can you tell?

Rocking out to JT and Jay Z with my sis was the best ever and definitely healed any ego-bruising  that happened the day before. We brought sexy back. Yes I said it.

It was like seeing two shows at once and it was totally worth being wallet-raped by Soldier Field. $40 T-shirt? Macklemore would not be proud.

Welcome Home Fall Out Boy!

Yesterday I got to regress back to my high school days and rocked out to some good ol' Fall Out Boy. Their new album rocks my socks off and hearing it live definitely did not disappoint. The venue was small and intimate and the show sold out seconds after tickets went on sale for their Chicago date. Nothing like a sweet homecoming for this Chicago band! They mixed it up quite nicely with their old and new hits. Fall Out Boy isn't really Josh's music scene but he tagged along since he knew I loved them. We met up with my friend Laura who is another FOB fan.

We opted to stay out of the pit and still had a decent view, although if you are vertically challenged, it wasn't a good option. The opening act, Hollywood Hilt or whatever...yikes...not a fan. He was a good rapper if you're into that kind of music but ummm yeah everyone wanted him to gtfo the stage. If didn't even make sense for him to open for Fall Out Boy either. It's not a crowd you ask to "twerk dat ass".... When he announced his last song, everyone was basically cheering since the end was near. FOB had amazing energy and loved hearing them live. I never got to back in high school. Total win.

Laura and I saw Blink 182 last summer together, so seeing FOB together this year I think is a great start to this trend. I surprisingly still have a voice today and adequate hearing. It was quite a bit of work elbowing some bitches out of the way who tried to finagle their way through to get closer. Not happening. Pet peeve to the max when it comes to shows...if you want a closer spot, get there earlier because you are NOT going to shove your way past me. You will get an elbow....in the face as I daaaance, daaaance away.

Needless to say, just like any other time post-concert, I will binge on FOB's albums for the next couple of weeks. Also, leave it to my future hubs to be rocking a Hawaiian shirt to a show like this. Goodness I love that man to pieces.

They came back doing one encore starting out with "Save Rock and Roll" one of my fav songs on their new album. After the show ended, all of the hot, sweaty and sticky bodies ventured outside to face the clusterfuck of traffic. Josh was worried his car would get towed, but thankfully it was right where we left it! Phew. One of the battles always to be fought here is parking which is why I ALWAYS favor public transportation. Great music, great company...an amazing night to a summer that is only beginning.

Come Away With Me

Yesterday was a mid-week date night with the bestie since my original plan of taking my mom to see Norah Jones for her birthday at the Chicago Theater didn't end up happening. She's currently at the Mayo Clinic with my sis so I made sure to get some over-priced merch for her since she couldn't actually enjoy her present. However I must say, the show was UH-mazing.

The opening act was a local band, Cory Chisel And The Wandering Sons. They're a two-person band (guy and a girl) that totally kicked ass. Both of their voices were mesmerizing so I of course had to support them and buy their album. I got it signed and had the opportunity to chat with them for a moment during intermission. I'd definitely pay to see them again! The whole album is great but I'd have to say that two of my favorite songs are "I've Been Accused" and "Never Meant To Love You."

Norah Jones of course was beyond amazing. She is so talented unlike the auto-tuned pop performers out there. Seeing someone live really creates a whole different level of respect for the artist. There's nothing worse than paying to see an artist perform and they end up lip-syncing the WHOLE time. My one slight disappointment was that "4 Broken Hearts" wasn't included in the set list but I'm over it. She pretty much played every other song on her latest album including hits from her previous albums such as "Chasing Pirates" and "Come Away With Me."

She did a great cover of Grateful Dead's "It Must Have Been The Roses" and compromised the set list to also include "Man Of The Hour" which is a hilarious song dedicated to her dog. Now I get to go through a giant Norah Jones phase that will last for at least a couple of weeks. This occurs after seeing any show pretty much.

After staying for one encore we still had time to snag a cab and catch an earlier train. We were determined to make that happen. However, there were NO cabs to be seen!! Oh and did I mention that my umbrella broke and it was freezing rain? Yeah, it was. SO instead we tried to walk it and prayed that we would see an empty cab along the way. We were halfway there and drenched from head to my cute ankle booties when we FINALLY spotted an empty cab. Of course we got a slow cabbie and had no more than five minutes to spare until our train departure. Long story short, we made it and without anyone wiping out while running on tile with wet boots. Win.

Even though I didn't land in bed at a reasonable enough hour to not be dead to the world for work the following morning, it was definitely worth it. Hats off to Norah from Chicago!