Wine Night

Katy and I smokin the people behind us.








After the race...ready to eat!

GOOD RUN!

Good run! Lots of leg tats and Bob strollers. What was up with the chick who ran without shoes?!
We had to zigzap past a ton of people!

235 1357 ERIN RYAN 29 F 29:45 9:35
195 639 KRISTINE SANTOS 30 F 30:33 9:50
197 3225 KATY BROWN 30 F 30:34 9:51

Bucktown 5K - Before

Pre-race! Katy picked me up, got bagels and coffee, and met up with Erin. This was Katy's first race since her maternity leave from running.

New Runner to the Lakefront Path

Deluxe!

Me and Laura livin it up in Suite 452 at US Cellular Field.  Sox VS Cleveland Indians.  Left at the 8th inning b/c Sox were losing.  And as Northsiders, you want to hop on the Red Line ASAP!  From one baseball stadium to another - Addison/Wrigley Field and 35th/US Cellular Field!  And if you're wondering why I snapped a picture of the surprised lady with the cart of desserts...it's because we get treats in the lux box!  A cake cart is wheeled around and they stop at your suite and let you pick desserts.  It was a red velvet kind of night.

After: Chicago Half Marathon

Kirsten and I found the guys in the gear check tent. They had to hang out there, sopping wet, for 30-50 minutes. We didn't stick around long and got on a shuttle (yellow school bus with SEATBELTS - in the 80's the didn't give a shit if your little face slammed on the seat in front of you...now they are equipped with seatbelts...litigious america. We got some runner to take a picture of us under the bus shelter. It was freezing leaving the hot and humid bus.

After warm showers, we ate deep dish. I love deep dish. Perfect after run meal.

Before: Chicago Half Marathon

Got up around 4AM not by my choice. After my alarm went off at 5AM, I got up, got dressed, packed my backpack. I dreaded this morning b/c I didn't train for this damn thing. But Team Santos busted ass. In the UNGODLY hour and in the never ending storm, we headed down to Hyde Park.

The pre-race picture. I was very happy to hold onto my raincoat as long as possible. I had to give it up though. RIght before the race started, I took a porta potty pit stop. Surprisingly, I didn't want to leave the thing. It was a shelter from the rain.

Erin's Surprise at Danny's

Erin had no idea that this surprise was in the works. Megan and I took her out for dinner at Coast at 6:30. Made reservations just in case there was a mad rush for sushi on a Wednesday night. To my surprise, the only reservations Coast had available was 6:30 and 9:00. AND they gave me a confirmation number. It's Coast. It's not NOBU or Trotters. Anyway, we got a great table by the window. Earlier in the day, I chatted with Katie P about restaurants in the area. I warned her not to go to Coast. The cab she took dropped her and the other Erin off IN FRONT of Coast. We had to pace ourselves at dinner. At 7:30, I kinda held back from stuffing my face with more nori rolls. At 7:50, I was like, oh shit, shove the last spider roll in my mouth, check please. Called Leah to make casual plans to meet up at Danny's which was right around the corner. We got there a little after 8. There sat Eva, Leah, and Marisa at the bar. Birthday Erin was surprised. Then rolled in Katie P and the other Erin...Robin with her hand on her hip, Anne, met us soon after.


It's an Erin sandwich: Erin, Marisa, Pilarski, Leah, and Erin!



















I love getting into the back seat at Danny'
























The Ryan sisters...no relation to Jake.

Erin's surprise

Peek-a-boo!

Lolla Fun

Change

This was a somewhat traumatic experience for me. I made the decision to cut my hair finally after talking about it for over a year. Cutting it off for my 30th birthday or after a break-up was way to cliche. So I picked a random Chicago summer day to do it. Last Thursday night, I went out with Brenda who was in town for Lollapolooza. Didn't get back from WP until 3AM. Apparently, I was so nervous about the change that I was up at 7AM pondering my decision. Erin was awesome and went with me. Sadly, she actually had to hold my hand as the Lindsey the hairstylist chopped off my ponytail. To the hairstylist, I prefaced the haircut with the following: No bangs, no need for product, blow drying or combing, no blunt cuts. So I got it. It worked out great for Rage Against the Machine and being outside all weekend for Lolla.

Mount Crescent

My first time skiing. Only a 20 minute drive from the Ryan Family Homestead. Who knew that I'd find snow pants in the boys section at Target. And who knew that I'd find some pretty cute aviators at a gas station in the city if Crescent. Erin who is a freakin dare devil thought of this great idea.