Chicago Auto Show's Women Driving Excellence Sponsored by Kia

Woman's Day? At the Chicago Auto Show?  To some it might not seem like girls and gears go together. And let's be honest for the most part woman aren't concerned with the technical side of cars.  Horsepower, torque?  I couldn't really care less.  I DO know I prefer a 6 cylinder ideally for a good balance of get up and go versus gas consumption. But beyond that it's all about the style, comfort and safety for me.  And it'd be wise for car makers to realize that since woman not only carry the purses, they carry most of the power when it comes to making a buying decision, yes even when it comes to cars (or vans, trucks or SUVs).

This week I was honored to be part of a fabulous event at the Chicago Auto Show...Women Driving Excellence hosted by Beth Rosen and MJ Tam, both of Chicagonista LIVE and sponsored by Kia.

The day began with some networking with many other fabulous and successful woman in Chicago.  Followed by some exceptional woman being honored for how they are Driving Excellence and continuing to do so by sharing inspiring words with the crowd in attendance.  

After a short break we were entertained by the fabulous cast of I Love Lucy LIVE.  I LOVE musicals so this was a ton of fun for me.  I really want to go see their full show downtown because they really were great.




 Then the ladies of Chicagonista LIVE did their show.  Talking about all things tech, cars and life.

 Then I grabbed the chance to wander around the show.  I had seen the Superman car featured on TV and online and knew I needed to head to Kia to get some pictures of it for my boys.  It really was cool looking.  Although I do feel like Supermom SOME days, I don't think I'm ready to drive around down with the red "S" blazing just yet!

 So I took a look around at the rest of the Kia line.  My husband has been eyeing the Optima. And I have to say I was pretty impressed with the interior room it has.  But I was most surprised to see that there is a Hybrid. 

Of course you can't talk Kia without thinking of the Kia Soul and the dancing hamsters.  

 But my pick from the Kia line would have to be the Sorento.  Although I've been driving a smaller car for awhile now, I'm really missing my larger vehicles.  I'd give my left arm for third row seating again so the boys aren't on top of each other anymore.  

I like the idea of being able to get all my soccer mom STUFF into without looking quite so soccer momish!

 Before heading back to the Woman Driving Excellence stage for a performance by Miss Lori I had to recharge my phone.

Thanks so much to Kia for sponsoring a fabulous event.  It'd been about 10 year since I'd been to the auto show, but I definitely won't wait that long to go again.

Rockettes' Radio City Christmas Spectacular Review

THE ROCKETTES TAKE CHICAGO ON AN UNPARALLELED
CHRISTMAS JOURNEY THIS HOLIDAY SEASON FEATURING
NEW SCENES, DAZZLING COSTUMES AND A 50-FOOT LED SCREEN COUPLED WITH SHOW STOPPING ROCKETTES PERFORMANCES

I'm not sure I can find the words to accurately discribe the beauty and enchantment I experienced last Friday night while watching the Rockettes at Akoo Theater with my boys.  It was truly breath taking and magical.  Between the costumes and the kicks there was also holiday joy and amazing stage design.  

Did I mention, I took my boys who are currently 10, 9 and almost 5.  I have to admit I was a little nervous about how much they'd enjoy the show.  Honestly, at 10 the oldest isn't yet into appreciating the beauty that is a Rockette.  But thankfully there was Santa and Christmas magic and awesome scenery so they all loved it.  Admittedly, probably not as much as this momma did but they enjoyed it nonetheless.  It made for a fabulous date night with just me and my little men and was a great way to get into the Christmas spirit.

And there's still plenty of time to get tickets and see the show that runs until December 30th.  I promise you won't be disappointed.

Ticket Information
The Radio City Christmas Spectacular, presented by Chase, plays at the Akoo Theatre at Rosemont during the 2012 holiday season for 34 dazzling performances, December 14-30, 2012. A limited number of Premium seats are available for $79.00 - $89.00 and single ticket prices range from $30.00 - $75.50. Tickets for the Radio City Christmas Spectacular are on sale to the public at the Akoo Theatre at Rosemont box office, online at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-745-3000. Groups of 10 or more may reserve tickets now by contacting Group Theater Tix at 312-423-6612.

Disclosure: I have been provided with complimentary tickets in order to facilitate a show review. 

Sesame Street LIVE: Elmos Super Heros

Elmo and my little Elmo Fan. 

That little cutie pie over there...the one that ISN'T furry, he can be a real maniac, but for the most part is a very patient little man who regularly spends hours each week sitting somewhere while his brothers do their thing.  So I was exstatic when I won tickets to see Sesame Street LIVE Elmo's Super Heros.  I knew he'd enjoy the show.  But I didn't expect him to be so totally engrossed in it, to be thanking my multiple times a day for taking him, even days after the show.

I think it was partly do to knowing it was something special, for him, that he brothers had to sit through.  (Though truth be told they didn't hate it at all. But sshh don't tell their friends that.) But mostly I think it was because it was just a really fun show. We have been our fair share of productions over the last few years and as far as those targeted specifically for preschoolers, this was the highest quality I've seen.  The set was amazing, the sound was perfect.  The show as just terrific.

It didn't hurt that the helped create a fabulous atmosphere from the moment you enter the door with fun scenes to take photos in, to a coloring table and a small show area where the cast performed a few songs before the auditorium doors opened.

He kept mentioning a scary purple monster.  It wasn't until after I saw this shot that it occurred to me that THIS was what he was talking about.  He is NOT a fan of the Count's laugh...even when his dad does it! LOL

The stage before the show started.

Elmo is by fan Bryan's favorite but he loved bumbling Super Grover too, and Grover is MY personal favorite Sesame Street resident.

There were so many different scenes.  The staging was awesome.  The story was engaging for my four year old.  But it also had a tiny little one (maybe a year old if that) in the row in front of us dancing on her mom's lap like crazy!

I won these tickets but was not required in anyway to share with my readers about the show. I just genuinely thought it was a great show that made for some fun photos to share. If you want to find out more about a Sesame Street Live production near you visit the site here.

Stouffer Farmers Harvest Event #StouffersTrip

 A couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to take my first press trip.  I left early Monday morning and was picked up at the airport in a beautiful Escalade (I currently have a mild obsession with these sexy vehicles) and taken to Springhilll Suites just outside of Cleveland, OH.  What a fabulous hotel room.

 

My early arrival gave me the chance to get in a great workout in the hotels fitness center and then take a nice long shower and take my time getting ready for the evening.

 Before I was done getting ready, a fabulous surprise arrived at my room....

 Check out these goodies.  Lots of tastey things I didn't even know Nestle made. And why yes that IS a Nikon Coolpix!

That evening we were picked up from the hotel and taken to the Nestle frozen food headquarters.

For the evening we were paired up with Stouffers chefs (and given our own, personalized chef jackets) to help prepare the evenings meal. 

I helped make these lamb chops.  They were really good, much thanks to the chef though as I only really grilled them. (Ok, helped grill them, just slightly longer than it took to take the photo above.)

And the other event attendees helped create some of these delightful dishes. (Confession, I did not even attempt to track my Weight Watchers points for this evening but I lost 5 pounds that week anyway)

I was going to be good and pass on dessert but it just looked so good I figured one small piece wouldn't kill me.

After dessert and a little more chatting we were taken back to the hotel for the evening.  The next morning after some breakfast at the hotel and checking out, we returned to Nestle.  There we went through a brief version of sensory training that Nestle employees go through.  This was super interesting.  We learned about the parts of taste and the types of taste.  And I confirmed that I do NOT enjoy bitter tastes (IE why I do not enjoy dark chocolate or wines) and learned that it is most likely because I have a high concentration of bitter taste buds.  This also seems to mean I have a LOW concentration of salty taste buds, hence my overuse of salt!

We learned about a lot of variables that go into perception of taste and how they minimize these when they do product tastings.  It was a very interesting session! 

And then we lunch and more learning.  We learned about trends in food and culture and how that translates into marketable products.

 This was a sampling of customization of food.  Main dish above and add on choices below.  So yummy!

 And we learned about how sometimes the WAY something is cooked is the key to the appeal.  This steamed fish was part of the inspiration for the new steamed Farmer's Harvest products.

And then we got to try two of the new varieties

 These single serving (plated amount is a VERY small fraction of the serving because we were trying so many things in one sitting) frozen entrees were really good.  The veggies stay crisp and the noodles al dente.  And the sauces are rich and full of flavor. 

  And then we wrapped up with another fabulous dessert while they set out our final surprise. We were each given a fabulous Nespresso machine!!

Thank you so much to Stouffer’s for hosting me for this two day event. I had a great time, learned a lot and enjoyed some amazing food!Look for the new Farmers Harvest items in your local grocers freezer section soon!!!

Monster Jam Rocks

This weekend we braved the nasty roads to make our trek to the Allstate Arena to see Monster Jam!

I think my husband could have used a Prozac after the trip but we made it, and in pretty decent time even.  After a quick stop for dinner we were ready for some monster truck fun.  And that's just what we got.

Last year was out first time at Monster Jam so I wasn't sure how different it would be this year.  When we arrived I was surprised to see that the layout of the arena was actually quite different.  And the entertainment that took place between the competitions was switched up as well. I won't ruin the surprised but will say that there was some serious high flying fun!

Once again, Bryan's favorite was Monster Mutt.  But the night went to Grave Digger who won 2 out of 3 contests and only missed the third because of 5 point penalty!

If you've never been to Monster Jame, check out this quick video to get a little taste of the fun. (There's not sound on the video because my poor camera's mic couldn't handle the volume.)

 
Disclosure: We did receive complimentary tickets to this event. All opinions expressed are my own honest, personal feedback.

Day Out With Thomas 2011

Big, smelly and noisy...it's pure heaven for little boys.  Not to be stereotyping or anything but it seems boys and trains go together like peanut butter and Nutella (which is a way better combo then pb and jelly in MY opinion). 

And when it comes to trains, Thomas is a rock star.  Several years ago, we took the older boys to a Day Out with Thomas and they loved it, so when we had the chance to go back with Bryan for the first time, I knew he would be thrilled. 

When we went several years ago the boys were 2 and 3 and it was a super hot day.  We hot all the Thomas activities and saw a few other things.  This time, the weather was perfect and though we are out numbered, everyone is older so we spent more time enjoying the full train museum. 

There are tons of trains, some stationary and some not to look at.  Some of them are open to walk through.

I have to admit that some of the areas are a very tight squeeze and begin to spark my mild claustrophobic issues.  But the boys loved checking out all the different cars from the high end private sleepers to the dining cars etc.

checking out an old train car

look a private potty

If I could travel with a private room AND bathroom like this one, I might acutally see myself training it cross country. 

hangin' in the lounge car

shhh, Timmy is sleeeeping

time to eat in the dining car

We planned to arrive a little early but ended up having over and hour and half before our scheduled time to ride Thomas.  I thought Bryan might explode while waiting but we managed to keep him busy checking stuff out until it was FINALLY time to get in line...for our photo.  TIP: We get in line to get our photo before the train gets back for the time a head of us, so about 40 minutes before out time.  Got our photos and then headed over to line up.  Still waiting a half hour but having SEEN Thomas up close and personal was enough to hold my lil man for another 30 minutes for HIS turn!

You have to admit, Thomas is a pretty lovable guy.

Can you TELL how excited Bryan was to be on Thomas?!?!?!

And that is older brother is slightly less impressed but totally tolerant because he knows his brother is happy!

After we enjoyed out ride on Thomas, we ended up riding a cable car/trolley and several (3 or 4) other trains that offer rides at the museum.  While I am sure each museum is different, I highly recommend getting the most our of your day by really checking out the full museum.  The boys really loved riding all the different types of trains and talking to the different engineers who were all fabulous about answering questions and giving suggestions about other things to see and do.

We had an amazing time, and I"m so glad we went because I really enjoyed this trip so much more than our first time!

To find out more about Day Out With Thomas click here!

Disclosure: Our family was provided with a family 4 pack of tickets to check out Day Out with Thomas.  I have not been compensated for a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own honest, personal feedback!