Columbus, IN

Last week we were in Indianapolis. I have always stayed downtown when I have been there, but they had us playing a university, so we were out in the burbs. And what a nice burb it was, if I do say so myself. However, there wasn't really a lot to DO where we were. I went and saw Alice in Wonderland one afternoon (totally not a fan), and we just kind of hung out.


I had read about a town about 45 minutes away called, ironically, Columbus. It is ranked in the top 10 places in America for it's architecture, and is the only place on that list that is not a major city. So I of course dragged Kevin on my little adventure with me.


We went on a tour of the town from the visitors center, and I was pretty amazed at all they had in this tiny little town in Indiana. Their library was built by the same guy that designed the glass triangle pieces outside of The Louvre, and most of their other 71 structures and buildings were done by famous architects that I have never heard of, but that sounded very important. What was interesting was that I saw a few things and said, "that's nothing special- it looks like a building from the 70's". Then I would be reminded that it was built in the 50's, which is why it was so significant. My favorite place that we visited was the North Christian Church, built in 1964. It was just so funky! The entire interior was poured as one huge piece of concrete, and the baptism area was the oddest thing....

There were little things throughout the town that made it was it is... sculptures in the park, street lights with character to them, etc. The chandelier below is a Chihuly. Chihuly is the guy who did the ceiling at the Bellagio in Vegas, if you have ever been there. Oddly enough through touring, I have seen his pieces in different small towns across America.

Our last stop (after the tour) was this old ice cream and soda shop called Zaharako's. I think they said it opened in the late 1800's, and it was recently renovated. They actually made soda the old school way, and made their own ice cream. Good stuff. On the opposite side of the counter they had a little museum area with all of the old fountains that had been restored. My dad would have loved it there.

Oh- did I tell you our tour was cancelled? Yep, that's right. Done. So I won't be exploring too many more cities with the puppy show.... more to come on what's next later, because I don't know right now!

Columbus, OH

Last week I spent the week in Columbus, which was great because it was so close to home. I was able to stop in Cleveland for a few hours to pick up my car. Having a car on the road is the greatest thing in the WORLD.


My mom, Aunt Susan, and cousins Heather and Kelly came down to visit for the weekend. Kind of a mini vacation for them (why they didn't come visit me in Miami is beyond me..... just kidding). I was able to spent a good amount of time with them, considering the fact I was there for work. They came to see the show, and loved it.


A few other happenings in beautiful Columbus:


I went to a place called Thurman's in the German Village. I was told the burgers were big. That was an understatement. You can't really tell HOW big they are from the picture below, but you get the general idea. My friend Mikey got a coney island and it was bigger than his head. No worries- he ate the whole thing, and wings. The dude behind us got the "Thurmanator". I have never seen anything eaten like that. The burger was so big (twice the size of ours), that he just held it, shoved it in his mouth over and over, and his friends wiped his face. He should have gotten his name on the wall for that one. I was of course cheering him on from our booth.

The Columbus Zoo was nice enough to invite our entire company to a special private day there last Friday. The guy who trains our dogs is friends with Jack Hanna, and is from Columbus. So he came in town, and totally hooked us up. I didn't realize we were going to be outside for part of our private show- no kidding when I say that my butt was totally numb from sitting on the metal seats. But anyway, they had over 100 animals come out and do a little show for us. Everything from kangaroos to bear cats to mice to dogs. We got to meet the kangaroo and bear cat after, and the bear cat smelled like popcorn. It was so strange.

Then after the show, we went inside (thank god) to a classroom type setting and they brought out odd animals for us to learn about and see up close. The armadillo was so funky! Then we went to the aquarium, and unfortunately one of the moms was feeling really sick. They had all taken a bus to the zoo, but I happened to have my car, so I offered to take her back to her hotel. I was more than happy to do it, but everyone else might have stood next to a baby elephant and fed a rhino after I left. Not jealous at all.

Chicagoland

I spent two weeks last month in Chicago, and I'm just getting around to writing about it. It was a GREAT two weeks, minus the freezing cold weather. It's not like I'm not used to it, but it's just different when you are in a city and you have to walk everywhere rather than drive. Your ears feel like they are going to fall off.



For some reason, I have a lot of friends in Chicago, compared to other cities. Three good friends from high school live there, a good friend from college, and my cousin. They all have families, so we did our best to get together when we could. I didn't take any pictures with my friends- very out of character for me. But I visited them at their houses and condos, went out to dinners, had drinks, etc. My friend Allyson lived a few blocks from my hotel and had a bunch of stuff she didn't want anymore, so I spent a few afternoons over there putting her stuff up on eBay. The girl made over $400 of stuff she never wore anymore! Amazing.


There was one day where it wasn't bitter cold, so Kevin and I decided to take a walk and check out the Art Institute of Chicago, which is right next to Millennium Park. We totally lucked out because the Art Institute was free for the whole month of February. We walked around for a few hours, and I just had to laugh at some of the stuff in the modern wing there. A red chair on a white table? A black canvas wall? I mean, come on. Do you think they would pay me what they paid those artists if I drew them some stick figures? All of that aside, there were some amazing pieces, and some interesting displays. The way they presented their Monet pieces was probably my favorite part of the museum.

We had a day off on Monday, and after visiting a few Irish Pubs and fun areas of town, some of us met up for our company manager's birthday in Boy's Town. (You can guess what part of town that is, right?) And once again, for the second time in my life, but somehow for the second time in a month, I played Drag Bingo. It was too funny! The "girls" loved our wig girl, Kaylan, and had her calling the bingo balls. They were discussing hair weaves as she called out the numbers.

Did I mention that I LOVED our hotel in Chicago? It was a Kimpton property called the Hotel Allegro. Stay there. What I loved even more was going to visit my cousin Jon and his family last weekend outside of Chicago. It was about an hour train ride out to their house, and I made the trip twice. Just for short visits, but it was so worth it. I only see Jon and Rachel and the kids when we get together at larger family get togethers, so it was nice just to sit down in their house with them, play with the kids, and visit. Their older one, Tanner, helped Rachel make pigs in a blanket for us for apps- he did such a good job! And their little one, Landon, is just the cutest.

I was so proud of myself for not shopping in Chicago. OK, well maybe I did once. I just can't walk past a Nordstrom. But really- I spent time with friends and family when I had free time, and feel like I made the best of my two weeks there.

The Giant Mess

Here are some pics of the condo I bought in Shaker last week. And.... it still looks like this a week later. Why is it so hard to get things done quickly in these situations? I'm hoping to make some progress this upcoming week, even though I'll be in Indy with the show. The mirrors are being removed, the walls repaired, and the bathroom re-done. Wishful thinking for one week? Maybe. But a girl can dream.

Phoenix

Not the city (unfortunately), the DOG! Meet Phoenix- he's the dog we will most likely be using for most of our new meet and greets after the shows. To be honest, I don't really like dogs too much (I know, I know) but it's so fun to see the kids in the lobby take pictures and pet him. I actually think the parents are more excited to take pictures than the kids are to meet the dog.

Down In The Dumps

I haven't blogged in ssoooo long- my bad. I had a great few weeks in Chicago that I will write about soon- I promise.

I think I just need vent a little. The last few days have been pretty rough. I haven't really had much to complain about in recent months, so I think when I got hit with a few things at once, it just really got to me. I try to look on the bright side, and things usually DO work out, but sometimes it's hard to see it before it happens.

The good news is that I closed on the condo in Shaker on Friday. My dad and my brother were nice enough to come over and rip out all of the carpeting for me over the weekend. The bad news is how totally overwhelmed I was when I walked into the condo yesterday. It's one thing to look at a place with someone's stuff in it and decide to buy it. It's another to see it empty, with holes in the walls, ripped up carpet, and a vision of what you want with dollar signs running through your head. I have so much to do there until I can move in. Like remove the floor-to-ceiling mirrors in the living room and the horrible sink and toilet in the bathroom. To name a few.

Then I did the whole Lowe's/Home Depot pricing game. That took hours. And how do you know you will really like it once it is all installed? And why is everything so expensive?

I am also pretty upset about a few things possibly going on with my job, but that's for later. Or hopefully not.

Then today, I get an email from one of my tenants that he wants to take me to court over something. You know what I did? I emailed him back and told him some things in life just are not worth it, and I attempted to meet him in the middle. He is totally in the wrong, but maybe if I'm nice about it something good will come my way.

Oh, and I have been in three cities in 24 hours.

Maybe I just need a good nights sleep?!