Believe

Yesterday could not have been a more gorgeous day.  The humidity was gone, and the temps in Chicago were in the low 80s.   I wasn’t sure where my sister and I were going to meet for lunch, or even at what time, so I made a bagel thin egg sammie and grapes before I left to catch the train downtown.  That was 7 smart points.

I grabbed a giant coffee for the hour and ten minute train ride.  I actually don’t mind it at all – I watched youtube videos the whole way down town.

As I was walking towards my destination, which I can’t talk about yet, I ran into an attorney I used to work with.  I haven’t seen him in probably 10 years since he left the firm so we caught up for about 15 minutes.  Tony used to always make fun of the way that it didn’t seem to matter where we went, I would run into someone I knew. 

My meeting lasted longer than I thought, but my sister stuck it out and waited for me before we grabbed lunch.  I think it was just after 2 by the time I got to her office.  She works near State and Madison and the choices of places to eat around there are limitless.  We decided to go to Peach & Green. 

I’d never heard of it, but it was a really cute place.   That is just a stock photo from Google.

We each got the Pilsen Wrap – slow cooked beef, black beans, cheddar cheese, avocado, romaine lettuce, green salsa with a chipotle and cilantro crema.

It was so filling, I was only able to eat half.  Well that, and I was talking so much catching up with my sister.  My guestimate was 10 points for half, but it could have been more?  Before we knew it, she had to get back to work – it was great catching up with you Jenn!

I walked around for a while, and then sat at the Millennium Park Plaza and enjoyed the breeze with a small beer.  The view isn’t too shabby, is it?!

My sister told me about Cindy’s Rooftop.  The Chicago Athletic Association was once an all male private club, but in May of 2015 it reopened to the public as a hotel.  Cindy’s Rooftop is on the 13th floor.

As I was waiting for the elevator to go up, I met yet another attorney that I worked with 16 years ago.  I was his first secretary out of law school.  I had heard that he had a baby, and I don’t know what I thought, but his kids are now 9 and 7!   I guess as we grow older so do our kids!  I just think it is such a coincidence that I met two attorneys from the same law firm I worked at in the giant city of Chicago on the same day.

My meeting went really well.  And even if it turns into nothing, I wanted to celebrate where I was right then and there.  I believe I can get the job I want and be happy.  It was such a good feeling to stand at the rooftop, look at the beautiful city of Chicago and just believe and feel confident that I am at the right place at the right time.  I can’t explain how happy I felt in that moment.

I got a lot of walking in yesterday, nearly 12k steps.  I love all the people watching when I am in the city.

After our lunch, my sister took me over to Naf Naf Grill, which I totally want to go to next time because their falafel looked amazing.  But for $4.50 for half a dozen, we each bought their fresh made pita breads.  These pita breads were soft and warm when we got them, it was all I could do not to eat one on the train ride home. 

I had Greek marinated chicken in the fridge, so I made greek chicken pitas with braised red cabbage and tzatziki.  The quick red cabbage braise was simply chopped cabbage with 2 teaspoons of red wine vinegar, salt and pepper.  It took only a couple minutes to cook – I still wanted the crunch, but the acidity of the vinegar really paired well with the well seasoned chicken and creamy tzatziki.

Today is going to be another gorgeous day.  Low 80s and low humidity.  I am off to WW right now for my weekly WI.  Wish me luck! 

Make it a great day!