Grace and Liz, setting up to play “Mindball.” For this exhibit, each person straps monitors to their foreheads… which measures stress levels. The lower your stress level… the more the ball goes towards your opponent.
They were pretty packed there, and we explained we were just wanting a quick drink, in and out. The floor manager and hostess were super nice and accommodating, and we got seated fairly quickly at the bar.
We got some drinks (Grace got a mocktail), and relaxed a little bit after a lot of walking. There may have been some sneaky switching of drinks during the course of our time here. But you didn’t hear that from me.
“Well there were days when you thought you’d just go under
And the weekends you never understood
When you flew from the bar only 17
You didn’t bleed, and no one ever thought you would”
Found this on my camera, from some time ago. This was taken in the parking lot, outside of the Binny’s downtown, off Roosevelt. I was taken with the big electrical substation next door. The lighting was pretty interesting, and the Sears tower peeking up from the background also caught my eye. I wish these Binny’s vans weren’t there, but they’re…
All told, here’s the tally:
Rice Krispies Treats (32)
Hersheys/KitKat miniatures (185)
Twix (32)
Dots (18)
Welch’s Fruit Snacks (60)
Nerds Variety (90)
Reese’s Variety (65)
Ring Pops (22) x 2
Oreos (25)
A nice walk in the cool Fall air. And a part of the grand experiment that is United States. While I have strong opinions on who I want to lead our country, I feel lucky and privileged, fortunate and honored, to have the ability to vote.
I can’t tell you how much this epitomizes the 20×2 Chicago event. Really fun, really surprising, and you never know what to expect. One minute folks are watching a baking tutorial with flour being mixed on stage… and the next, everyone’s tasting some great banana bread with their beers.
In the afternoon, I mowed the yard, did a bit of cleanup. And towards the evening, set up our fire pit so we could sit outside for a little while with some drams.
We had several different sessions at the spa: about 45 minutes relaxing in a salt room, then 15 minutes in a sauna. After that, about 15 minutes in a steam room (which was a first for me, and actually quite intense). And the last bit of it, involved us doing a CBD bath soak for about 45 minutes.
This year, we dusted off the Operation game for Halloween. I’ve been making some variation of this costume for, oh… over two decades now. That’s a little crazy to say out loud.
I did my first version a long while ago, when I was a grad student at OSU. I think the first documented version I have of the costume is from 2004, which was a wearable/portable version.
Back home, Liz prepping for tomorrow. Our Halloween “game” involves sticking small pieces of velcro on every single piece of candy we give out. So it’s definitely time-consuming.
I pulled out the old Operation Candy Dispenser several days ago, and was saddened by the fact that things weren’t quite working. I couldn’t figure out what the issue was, and couldn’t get the door buzzer to go off, despite trying every variation I could think of.
Sometime last night, we realized that our hotel check-out time was 11AM, and our flight wasn’t until 7PM. So while there was a little time to rest, there wasn’t a ton. So we made some calls, and got an early afternoon flight out instead. Which worked out quite well.
A long day, but faster than it seemed. Despite us being in DC for a few days, it felt like we didn’t have enough time to visit with Kirt, Tricia, Paige, and Lisa/James. It felt like a blur to me, but it was probably doubly so for Liz.
All in all, I’m quite awed by what Liz has done. I know Tricia and Paige also completed the marathon, but for Liz… this was her first. And something she’s been working and training for, for almost a year. I’ve seen the work and struggle up close, and trust me when I say to you: it’s a LOT.
For most of the day, but especially starting from here on out… Liz kept saying “I’m freaking out!”