Day #2 in Chicago

First thing on the agenda for Day#2 in Chicago was a walk to see the Big Ole Shiny Bean (that’s the proper name) to take some pics.

Big ole bean:

Me in the bean:

I kind of love the bean, not gonna lie:

After the giant bean, we went and saw a giant creepy face:

Then it was time to head to breakfast.  These Adora calcium supplements have been on my blog “want to try” list forever!  Now I have a whole bag to try out 🙂  

The breakfast spread was stellar!!  I wanted one three of EVERYTHING

Bagel thins, peanut butter, yogurt, granola, fruit, muffins, croissants, oatmeal…  Are you kidding??

I ended up with yogurt(x2) and some fruit

I also scarfed down an Empower Glo Bar (check out Oh She Glows):

After breakfast, we had several breakout presentations, one of which focused on photography:

Another discussed potential obstacles to eating healthy:

Misconceptions for sure:

Some things I need to work on:

Midway through the day, we had the hands-down best lunch I ever had at a conference.  I went with a side salad with balsamic dressing, roasted veggies, quinoa salad, garbanzo bean salad, giant pickle spear, and a turkey and ham sandwich on a deli flat:

Here are some of my favorite takeaways from the seminars:

• Only 1 in 3 women ages 18-33 years old cook their own meals 5+ days a week.
• Balance, variety, moderation… 
• Take the first step, then the next. Repeat.
• Time is a finite, non-renewable resource.
• You are beautiful 🙂
• It’s ok to be different.  It makes you a more interesting person.
• Quinoa is AMAZING.  Must cook this myself in the very near future!
• Windows Live Writer.  Changed. My. Life.

After the conference, we went for a walk along the water:

The water in Chicago seems so much bluer than Lake Erie in Cleveland!

After the walk, we headed to Core Fusion Yoga sponsored by Subway.  Luckily, I didn’t snap any photos.  Yoga kicked my butt.  I just hope I’ll be able to walk tomorrow.  Only one thing can help a girl come back from such a beating:

I

Epic. Burger.   EPIC:

When I have hand-cut fries, I LOVE to top them with Malt vinegar….   buuuuut when I asked the waiter for Malt vinegar, she gave me the wonky eye like I was crazy. 

Tweeting ensued:

That’s ok – I got to try out the Organic Heinz ketchup on the fries:

This tasted just like normal ketchup to me!  It didn’t have the super sugary taste that the Reduced-sugar ketchup has.  It just tasted like my normal everyday ketchup.  Just a little dollop of heaven 🙂

And I’m exhausted!  Time for bed!