Majorly Behind...

The past week has gone by in a blur 

and my good buddy, Mr. Z Do Da 

has gone to the way side. Woops!

SOO many great pix and posts to share... 

Hoping to get back above water after work tomorrow :)

     

In the meantime, 
hope all's going great on your end!

   

Way to go, Nick Howard!

It's Great. To Be. A MICHIGAN WOLVERINE!

AH-MAIZE-ING

  

One Unbelievable Birthday Week :)

Whatever I did right in my last life, 

I sure am thankful for now...

My 30th birth"week" was everything and more!

Calls, texts, loads of pix of my bestie's adorable children, 

emails, Facebook posts, snail-mail cards...

and the absolutely unnecessary 

(but entirely appreciated!) 

gesture of gifts...

Talk about the best birthday ever!!

Can't say THANKS enough to my friends & family

(and to the Michigan football team for the cherry on top ;)

WHAT A WONDERFUL WEEK

        

Apparently I'm the new LOL ;)

   

Brilliant 

  

Bits of Truth

   

      

Sometimes this city just gets ya...

Tonight I went for a run along the lake and 
had to stop to snap this pick en route home.
  
The temp has dropped 30 degrees over the past 3 days 
so I fully plan to enjoy every ounce of Fall 
before the inevitable arrives...
{insert head shaking here}
    

The Circus Meets the Zoo

Recipe for a perfect day: 

Fam
Friends

Fall weather

Some sunny sun sun

and of course, the Lincoln Park Zoo :)

 

I loved meeting baby Colleen and spending time with my cousins, Timmy & Shannon this weekend. And I couldn't have said "YES!" faster when Maggie needed a friend to watch Soren.
Was truly an awesome afternoon spending time 
with people I simply adore.

Fissssssh!

FUN

Aaaand that's a wrap ;)

I'd repeat today one hundred times over :)

  

Obsessed

    

Now I know what to do on Monday :)

   

HAPPY FRIDAY FRIENDS!

      

DA BEARS DA BEARS DA BEARS

   

Thank you, Spy for the field passes!!

Thank you, Rebekah for the birthday tickets :)

HO.LY AWESOMENESS

DA BEARS

Excelerate Labs Demo Day

Yesterday I had the absolute privilege to attend
the Excelerate Labs Demo Day at the House of Blues.
   
I just wish I could put into words how inspiring it was
to listen to the INCREDIBLE pitches of the
10 selected Excelerate start-ups for 2011.
    

Sandbox works hand-in-hand with this phenomenal brainchild so we got to sit alongside 300+ investors, 
Chicago community leaders, mentors, family & friends
to support their awesomeness in all it's glory :)
        
Even the Mayor (Rahm Emanuel) was there to celebrate!

I couldn't contain my laughter when opened up with, 

"So you think you all have 'funding' problems, eh?" 
Hahahahaha
LOVE
   

If/when you have the time, 

be sure to check out these rising stars:

Cookitfor.us: The FTD of Food. Cookitforus.com will make, and deliver, your favorite recipe. Hungry? Crave your favorite recipe today.

Power2Switch: Compare electricity providers and save money on your next electric bill. It is a painless solution to a very painful problem.

Goshi: Re-inventing the window shopping experience. An app which allows you to experience the store front shopping experience in a virtual, and social, marketplace.  

Shortlist (formerly A Space Apart): The best solution for attendees, exhibitors and conference planners to gain the most value from each conference. Now, all the vendors who pay $$$$ for booths can derive serious value from their investment. 

FoodGenius: Yelp, look out.  FoodGenius is driving individuals to their favorite restaurant based on the dish they wish to consume, not the restaurant.  Common sense, right?

BabbaCo: Announced the launch of the first "Babba Box" for parents, nannies and grandparents to provide creative, stimulating and age-appropriate activities to children on a monthly basis.  Sign up today for a monthly subscription.  Working parents, the perfect solution for spending quality time with your kids after a long day.

Joystickers: Joystickers' accessories will soon be sold at Target, BestBuy, Walmart and other stores. The next time you jump rope, skateboard or play baseball you may be purchasing a Joysticker infused model which is linked to an app allowing you to count jumps, measure the speed of your pitch, compete w/friends, exercise to your favorite tunes, etc.

Exchangery: A unique approach to starting a commodities exchange.  What's next? Organic corn exchange?

Introfly: Helping passionate individuals find their passion in life. Stuck in a corporate job with a hidden passion? Not sure how/where to pursue the right contacts? Introfly to the rescue.

BuzzReferrals: Can help you turn "ordinary customers into extraordinary promoters". Identify, engage and reward your best customers. Your value will only increase with buzzzzz...contact them today.
  

Shot to the heart :(

Last night I got the news that a month at the museum is unfortunately not in my future. But thankfully my sister-in-law invited me to crash her dinner plans so I had great peeps to dine with and to raise a glass for at least trying :)

Onward and upward to figure out my next adventure!

In the meantime, 

my brother's note of "condolence" still has me cracking up ;)