Sears Tower Skydeck--Crazy!

The Sears Tower opened a new attraction on the 103rd floor today--a Skydeck with a glass floor! Visitors can ride the elevator up, up, up and go out on the balcony to watch the streets, river, people, and other city things below... Amazing pics and the whole story here!

A video from the Chicago Tribune below...

Who let this happen?

And so close to me???

Denise Richards sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" at the Cubs game today.  Well, "sang" might not really be the best word to describe it, but it was something.

Maybe she was drunk.  I'll give her the benefit of the doubt.

Was anyone there to see/hear it live???

How big do you like it???

I like it big and hot, preferably a little greasy and pretty floppy.  How about you?

Pizza.

Mmmmm.

Check out some big pies here, via Just Whatever.

I'm a Chicagoan, and I definitely enjoy Chicago-style pizza; it's something we as citizens are proud of.  It's our own little niche in America's favorite food.  But you know what?  I honestly prefer the Brooklyn style pizza of such places like Bacci Pizzeria (here in Chicago), Flying Pizza on the OSU campus in Columbus, or from a street meat vendor guy in NYC.  Yum.

Bandera Holiday Party!

Last night was the 2nd Annual Bandera Holiday Party, at least in its current state.  During the actual holiday season, none of us servers can find a time to get together, so we wait 'till February

Eight of us had dinner together at what I think is one of the best restaurants in Chicago, and by far the best for a large group, Cafe Iberico.  Totally relaxed atmosphere, good service, great drinks, and delicious tapas, all at a very reasonable price.  Mmm.  The 

best thing about tapas is getting to taste so many dishes; I had shrimp, goat cheese with tomato sauce, beef, paella, chicken croquettes, potato salad, roasted potatoes, "ham & cheese" bruschetta, grilled sausage, etc.  The second best part is the price: after drinking and eating for an hour or so, we each threw in $20-$25 for everything.

After dinner, we headed to SpyBar for a $30 all-you-can-drink cover.  It was worth it.  It's a cool bar and the DJ was spinning some HITS, so everyone spent a lot of time on the dance floor.

Party Time

Lora and I had a party last night to celebrate the New Year.  To put it simply, it was fierce. There were probably around 50 people in attendance, and we had all kinds of fun.  Special guest stars included Annie Lerew, Will & John Forgrave, Dr. A. Barron Breland, Joe Perkins, and Matt Fisher.

Anyhow, here are the reasons for our success:

1. Good people.  (duh, we have fierce friends)

2. Good music.  (Joe was in charge of that, so, again, duh)

3. Good drinks. (beer, jungle juice, champagne, and all kinds of liquor)

That's really all you need for a party.

I am a beer drinker, but the jungle juice we served was pretty fierce.  Here's the recipe:

3 handles of cheap citron vodka 

1 package kool-aid, red

6 apples, cut up

4 bananas, cut up

6 oranges, cut up 

1 pineapple, cut up

1/2 c. cranberry juice

2 c. sour mix

2 2-liters diet Cherry 7-Up

2 2-liters 7-Up

1 liter orange juice

Mix all ingredients in a large cooler (clean) with a bag of ice.  Place on cold porch and serve with a soup ladle.

Anyhow, yeah, if you were at the party, you know how much fun it was.  If you weren't, well, you should probably consider coming to our next one.  Lora and I don't mess around.