Dixie Chicks Tinley Park, IL

I'm scheduled to see 3 Dixie Chicks concerts this year! The first was a few weeks ago up in Tinley Park near Chicago. I was beyond excited to see them and even more so because it was the 4th concert on the U.S. leg of their tour.

Then I got to the concert and realized I was seated in the 13th row!!! Now I just needed to pass the time until the Dixie Chicks came on.

Once I found my seat (which was located in the "confetti zone"), I scoped out both sides of the amphitheater to get/signup for any freebies. Thanks to the Illinois Lottery, I won a $25 iTunes gift card.

I've seen vending machines with prizes at fan events like this, but this particular one was logistically challenged. Instead of their booth rep watching you tweet a promo for the IL lottery and then activating the machine, the machine was completely automatic. The "brains" inside the machine was scanning Twitter's hashtags, and once it found your special promo code, then it would dispense an unknown gift.

Sounds like a pretty cool system, but when you get tens of thousands of people bouncing their phone signal off of one tower, it takes minutes for a tweet to go through. Well, that's if you're lucky! Mine technically never went through, but an antsy pantsy person behind me tweeted my code. Thank you!

Anyway, back to the concert... Josh Herbert was first up. He had good music, but nothing that hooked me enough to spend my iTunes gift card right then and there. I don't know how long he's been touring, but if I had to give him advice from a fan, it would be to open up with the audience a bit to create a connection.

Next up was the group Augustana and they shared the stage for a few songs with The Secret Sisters. Definitely a solid group, but the lead singer's voice is just not quite for me. The iTunes gift card was still fully loaded after their set.

After a surprisingly quick bathroom visit in between sets, I made it back to my seat in time for the Dixie Chicks to take the stage. My smile would have looked a mile wide to an ant, and it prevented me from singing along to the first few songs.

It was pretty fabulous to see Emily (left) and Martie (right) playing on stage with huge smiles in response to the ecstatic crowd. I'm sure Natalie (center) felt our love too, but she was just a tad busy belting out some vocals for us. It was such an electric atmosphere!

I don't have many photos because I was bound and determined to stay in the moment, even if that moment included some college age girl puking her guts out in the row in front of me. Luckily my aisle-side neighbors never took their seats, so I was able to scoot 4 seats over to avoid the "smell zone". I shake my head knowing the college girls left 2/3 of the way through the concert and their seats cost upwards of $150. Which reminds me, shout out to Mom and Dad for the adding to my Dixie Chicks tickets fund at Christmas.

Here's a nice glowy photo of Natalie. She's just a powerhouse of vocals. Love it! Anyway, I'm debating on bringing a true camera to my next show, but need to figure out a happy medium between taking better pics and staying in the moment.

Despite the incredibly awesome set list they played, the show ended way too soon. But then again, you can't expect them to play every song they've ever recorded. I've included the set list below thanks to setlist.fm and added a few comments...

1. The Long Way Around (Great song to start with, considering it had been 10 years since they toured in the U.S.)
2. Lubbock or Leave It 
3. Truth #2 (So happy they played this song!)
4. Easy Silence 
5. Everybody Knows
6. I Like It
7. Long Time Gone (Another absolute favorite!)
8. Nothing Compares 2 U (A tribute to Prince, beautifully done and Natalie's vocals couldn't have been better)
9. Top of the World
10. Goodbye Earl (Gotta say this one had the most known lyrics of the night, I could feel the power of the people on the berm singing along to this one)
11. Travelin' Soldier
12. Please Don't Let Me Die in Florida
13. Daddy Lessons (I guess this was a Beyonce cover. Haven't looked it up yet, but did like the Dixie Chicks acoustic, countrified version.)
14. White Trash Wedding (Love the bass on this song)
15. Ready to Run (Fantastic video background filled with cartoonish bobbleheads of politicians from all parties)
16. Mississippi (Never expected to hear this song. Have loved it since Sheryl Crow recorded it. Shout out to Bob Dylan for writing it.)
17. Landslide (Beautiful as always)
18. Silent House 
19. Cowboy Take Me Away (YES!)
20. Wide Open Spaces (Thank you.)
21. Sin Wagon

Encore
22. Not Ready to Make Nice (Do not have enough words!!! My favorite lyric of the night as Natalie raises and eyebrow "It turned my whole world around, And I kinda like it")
23. Better Way

WWE Live Peoria, IL with Mom!

Over the last few years, it's become harder and harder for me to talk Mom into attending a concert with me. Outdoor venues can be too hot, fancy stage backdrops shine lights in your eyes, college venues have obnoxious students, and there's always the possibility of blowing out your eardrums. I can't blame her... I just have to be choosy with the potential events I invite her too.

As some of you know, I watched WWF with my brother on weekend mornings way back in the day during the time of Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Junkyard Dog, Andre the Giant and the likes. Recently I had a friend reintroduce me the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment), which I have come to greatly enjoy as my sports "soap opera".

WWE was planning a stop in Peoria, which seems to happen every couple years, so I couldn't help but ask Mom if she wanted to be my guest. I promised her very few shiny lights, not too loud, and the potential for some good people watching. To my surprise, she accepted my invite!

I absolutely love the fact that she made a step towards understanding the event prior to us going. The highlights throughout the guide below were topics that we discussed over dinner prior to going. Seriously, so awesome!

This event was live for us in Peoria, but not a televised event. It was my third WWE event, but first event where I'm so familiar with the wrestlers that I can tell who will be coming through the curtain based on their intro music. I was beyond ready for a memorable event!

Fast forward through the hassle of getting into the event...
With the first two notes I heard, I just about popped out of my seat and may have even startled mom. The music for Enzo Amore and Big Cass hit to start off the evening and I was ecstatic. They are so filled with energy... just electric!

I wasn't aware I knew most of the words to their intro.

Then I was crazy surprised when Titus O'Neil's music started. He's been flying solo from the Prime Time Players lately, but still using that music. 

Mom and I did our best impression of their bouncing (seen above at the 15 second mark).

Mom played along with me, not having a clue who Titus was. She's the best!

Prior to the event I mentioned by dislike for a couple over the top characters. One being Tyler Breeze, who has a hint of Zoolander in him. He has a ridiculous fashion forward outfit and walks around with a selfie stick that shows his posing on the big screen. It's hard to tell, but he's laying across the ring roped on the front right corner, and his cell phone screen fills the jumbotron.

Mom's comment during his match was priceless, "He's not such hot stuff without his selfie stick!"

The reason for the comment was that the tag team of Goldust and R Truth dominated the contest. It was a blast to see The Golden Truth, especially after seeing their vignettes over the last few months where Goldust tries to convince R Truth to join him as a tag team. Just ridiculous.

The next great match was Sami Zayn (pictured below) against Kevin Owens. Sami's intro music pulls me in every single time... I can't help but root for him!

We were pleasantly surprised when their was an intermission. I took a brief look at the merch table and decided there wasn't anything I couldn't live without, and then Mom treated us to a couple snow cones. Yay!

The title matches would finish off the night. Natalya "Nattie" Neidhart (pictured below) vs. the current women's champion Charlotte Flair (the biggest cheat/"rule-bender" of them all... although someone does have to bee the heel and Charlotte does a fantastic job).
It was awesome to hear the crowd get behind Nattie and boooo Charlotte. So fantastic!

Unfortunately, this was the only women's contest of the night. They put on one hell of a match! Totally stole the show... So much so that Mom's comment was, "They're nuts!!!"

WWE should have saved the women's match for last, but they decided to leave it to AJ Styles vs the current men's champion, Roman Reigns. Roman's smug look says it all... "I don't have to worry about losing the title tonight... there's no way there would be a title change at a non-televised event in Peoria, IL." Okay, he's probably not thinking that, but I know that in the back of my head. My suspension of disbelief stopped right about there.

It was such a fun experience to share with Mom. Maybe next year we can both attend our first monster truck show or something else? Goodness only knows what I'll find for us to try.

Here's the card for the entire evening:
1. Enzo and Big Cass vs. The Dudleys
2. Titus O'Neil vs. one of the dudes from The Ascension
3. Tyler Breeze and Fandango vs. The Golden Truth (Goldust and R Truth)
4. The Hype Bros vs. Gallows and Anderson
5. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn
6. Sheamus vs. Apollo Crews
7. Natalya vs. Charlotte
8. AJ Styles vs. Roman Reigns

Not Watching My Cubs

Some evenings, all I want to do after work is snuggle up with the pets and watch the Cubs game. Today I checked the broadcast schedule and saw they would be on ESPN. That gave me one of two options,..watch on the ESPN app or crash a friends house who actually has cable.

Love these shirts.

Not wanting to fix dinner, I nuked some leftover French toast, invited Mrs. Butterworth to join me and logged on to ESPN. I was naive in thinking blackouts only held true for where the game was being played. With the Cubs playing in Pittsburgh, I incorrectly assumed they wouldn't be blacked out.

As I blog, the game radio broadcast is streaming through my phone. The 20 dollar price tag for subscribing to the radio broadcasts is in a price range I can stomach. Most days cable service could remedy this situation, but I can't seem to stomach or justify the cost. Another option would be to move out of market and get MLB TV. That might be a little drastic though.

Time to sign off and flip the laundry. Try not to be to jealous of my exciting Monday evening.

When anxiety rears its ugly head.

It's been just over 10 years since anxiety and panic became and unwelcome part of my life. After some counseling and educating myself about my new "friends", I managed to find ways to cope and even discover some triggers that can be easily worked around.

But unfortunately there are times when being stressed unleashes an abnormal amount of anxiety that leaves me feeling edgy. That, my friends, was my February. I did what I could to mellow out, but there were still more days than not that I didn't feel like myself. If only I had a good answer to those who ask if there is anything they can do. Seeing that none of my friends are genies, I will gladly continue to accept their open ears and arms.

It seems like this time of year is always harder... seasonal affective disorder anyone? Can't just be a coincidence that my first panic attacked happened during February. Maybe I should start to consider a Southern getaway each February. Anyway, combine this silliness with too many abnormally stressful work days as of late and you get an anxiety-ridden Jane ready to flip into a panic attack at the drop of a hat. Yep, not exactly my idea of a fun time.

After a super rocky start to March... I know, only two days in... I'm still quite hopeful that feeling like myself again will be just around the corner. There is no logical reason for me to feel panicky during a simply meeting at work or while chit-chatting with friends(more like sisters). The kicker was today... when I couldn't even have lunch with myself. There wasn't a known trigger in sight, just my silly brain misfiring some flight or fight messages. Why couldn't I just relax and people watch during lunch?

Looking back to earlier today, I gotta admit that picturing myself dashing through Metro Center's parking lot trying to eat my Jimmy John's sandwich without losing any lettuce is fairly amusing. Had I given in to the illogical message and taken flight, then I guess some people would have had an amusing story to tell their family.

More than anything, I'm thankful I have close friends and family I can talk to about this because it would only stress me out more to think I was alone. By sharing this blog entry, I'm hoping to release some stress and bring some peace and calmness to what has become a very tired and rundown brain. I need the days of cracking myself up to start outnumbering the quiet days.

Paperweight Making at J. Draper Glass

Mom treated Laura and I to a little adventure at J. Draper Glass this weekend. She signed us up for the St. Valentine Workshop where we each got to make a heart shaped paperweight.

Here's a quick video of Laura rolling the molten hot clear glass into the colored glass, and then returning it to the heat, so the colored glass would melt.

After heating up the glass, we used the gigantic tweezers to pull and mix the glass which had the consistency of a slightly melty taffy. Two hands were needed to manipulate the molten glass.

There was quite a bit of heating the glass. It's a step that has to be done in between each step you manipulate the glass. The key is to keep the metal bar rotating and level, so it heats evenly and you don't lose the glob.

After this step, our teachers shaped the glass into globe, using a hollowed out piece of wood that stays soaking in water. The globe gets heated up again and then squashed and shaped into the heart (the teacher adds the cleavage by notching at the top of the globe).

In order to elongate the base of the heart, it gets heated up again and then you get to swing it around like a pendulum. Now that it looks like a heart, it's time to release it from the metal bar with a swift knock, and then blow torch the jagged edges.

I think it's safe to say our instructors were having as much fun as we were having.

Here's Mom's finished heart which included reds, oranges and mix of blues.

Laura went with an asymmetric blue heart with a hit of yellow and some cool bubbles.

I made a more traditional shaped heart with blue and white swirly twirlies.

Whether you're interested in taking a fun class we did or just looking for a cool piece of art, I suggest stopping by J. Draper's Studio. 

CubsCon2016 - Day 3

Day 3 at the Cubs Convention started without a headache and a breakfast of champions, stale two-day old donuts and a bottled frapuccino I brought from home. The ballroom events weren't of much interest to us, so the goal was head back down to autograph land and get as many autographs as we could before checkout time at noon.

We began our line waiting around 8:30 or so. There were definitely fewer fans this morning, but that still didn't guarantee you'd make it through two autograph lines in an hour. I started out getting Dan Vogelbach and couldn't help but mention how I'd love to see him hit a Vogel-bomb this year. He liked the sound of that!


My next line was for Stage B. There were stages A through F. Stage F was for kids signings only. Some people "won the lottery" and found an autograph voucher in their welcome packets for the Cubs core team players. Ya know, the likes of Cy Young Award Winner Jake Arrieta, Rookie of the Year Kris Bryant, and many more. Then there were the free-for-all stages that Tom and I lived in because our "lottery win" was a $5 off coupon when you spend $50 in the team store. Below is a photo of Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg who actually did double-duty on Stage A because Jorge Soler was unable to make it.He's going to make a good ambassador for the Chicago Cubs.

Tom did a good job cleaning up on autographs and got 5 within the time I got 2. Here he is below with Jeimer Candelario, which I managed to snag while I was waiting for Dan Vogelbach.

I opted to be one of the first in line for the 10am signing by Steve Trout and bounced hopped over to get Eric Jokisch's autograph.

While I was still holding my place in Steve Trout's line, Tom got his 3rd autograph of the hour and had noteworthy conversation with Dan Vogelmonster. Pretty sweet sig from a kid we've been rooting for ever since he was a Peoria Chief.

After I got Steve Trout's autograph, Tom asked that I stand in Randy Hundley's line and get a card signed for him. I thought it would be easy-peasy, but little did I know that I'd be standing in the slowest moving line of the weekend. Even with a free voucher, I was concerned if I'd really get an autograph... would Hundley keep signing past his allotted time? The answer, yes! 

It was about 5 after 11am when I got to meet Hundley and there was still a quarter of the line for him to get through. He made a comment to me about how he wasn't sure what he'd done to go over time. I kindly explained to him that it was because he was taking time to talk to all of us, which was really friendly and unexpected, plus he was helping make our day. I received a gigantic smile in return.

Above is the completed home plate, which thanks to Tom's help has 33 signatures (30 players, 1 organist, 1 agent, and 1 front office employee). 

It was a definitely an Epic Sibling Weekend! 

Closest we would get to Jake Arrieta, Joe Maddon, and Kyle Schwarber... and the only pic of the two of us together. Living in the moment is pretty fantastic!

CubsCon2016 - Day 2

The second day of the Cubs Convention was slated to be a filled with autograph seeking and games galore.


I was a little slow-going waking up with a thumping headache. As I tried to clear my head, Tom took the plate and headed to the lower of the hotel to get Matt Szczur's autograph. He told me it was a must have for the plate, so who was I to argue? Too bad Szczur decided to smush his signature in the bottom corner of the plate.

While Tom was staking out the autograph table, I snagged us some seats for Cubs Jeopardy. Tom opted to stay in autograph land and missed some great laughs, but he did snag Randy Hundley's autograph on the plate for me.

Jeopardy was an absolute blast... in part because of our fantastic game show host Pat Hughes, the voice of Cubs radio. He is so sharp, although this next bit doesn't reflect his wit. At one point while the two teams were thinking of the answer, Pat had a brain fart and called on an audience member who had raised their hand. The fan answered correctly and Pat immediately said, "Why did I do that!?!?"

Here's a list of the two teams:
Hitters included Bill Madlock, Jose Cardenal, Bobby Dernier, John Baker
Pitchers included Lee Smith, Scott Sanderson, Jim Lieber, Scott Eyre

Bill Madlock had a couple of the best answers. He's on the far left. At this point Madlock was laughing because he simple pointed to himself when he answered. Yes, he was the player who won back-to-back batting champs in '75 & '76. Pat Hughes got a kick out of it and mimicked the pointing, while the crowd couldn't help but laugh.

I had such a blast watching Jeopardy (I was actually brought to tears of laughter), that I was on a mission to get signatures from all of the participants. With Tom's help, I managed to acquire 7 of the 8 players!

It was nice to have something to talk about with each of the players. I recall having trading cards of Scott Sanderson (not pictured), but don't ever recall seeing him play, so I had to let him know that I would have given him the MVP for the pitchers for being quite the baseball trivia buff. Then he shared with me the reason Lee Smith didn't answer a single question and was laughing the whole time... well, as Scott mentioned, Lee whispered in his ear something along the line of, "I don't know why they have me up here, I don't know baseball trivia."

I also had a fun conversation with John Baker (not pictured). I mentioned how he and Dernier really shouldered the weight of their team because Madlock only answered a couple questions (yes, he was the answer to those questions) and Jose kept testing the bell to see if it worked or answering partially read questions. The answer of Ron Santo was not even close for the question "The ex-Cubs broadcaster and player who "touched them all" to clinch the 1993 World Series." Jose sure did give us all some laughs! As a true competitor, John just kind of shook his head at Jose's shenanigans, and commented how he would have answered more questions right if Dernier hadn't kept placing the bell so far our of his reach. It was classic!


As you can see from the pics, I had a fun conversation with Jon Leiber, and luckily, Tom was at the front of the next line to take these pics. I simple wanted a pic with Jon, and next thing I know, I'm sitting behind the table chatting and cackling. Gotta say, it was nice to hear his experience of the convention and how he was enjoying the time as much as us fans.


Like I said, Tom was in the line next to me. At this point, I was about halfway through Jon Leiber's line, only moments away from getting knuckles from Lee Smith while Tom took a much deserved seat at the front of Ron Coomer's line.


During the 11 o'clock hour Tom and I scooted upstairs to here a good portion of Joe Maddon and coaching staff take questions from the audience. Prior to entering that ballroom, we happened into Trevor Cahill and Clayton Richard signing in an empty ballroom, and then Neil Ramirez on a radio commercial break. Close to zero wait time and three more sigs for the plate!

[Insert pictures here] (Oh yeah, I was living in the moment and have zero pictures from these happenings.

After the coaches talk we weaved our way down the three escalators to get back to autograph land for the 1 o'clock hour. Despite the fact that I line hopped like a fool, I managed to get 4 autographs! Here's my craziness:

1. Standing in Dallas Beeler's line, but he was a few minutes late.
2. I hopped to Scott Sanderson's line because he came out early and it was moving fast.
3. Tracked down Tom in the Bill Madlock to alert him that he'd better get in the Pedro Strop line if he really wanted Pedro's sig. I swapped places with Tom and acquired Madlock's auto. (Note: Tom did not opt for Pedro's autograph... silly goose.)
4. Got back in Scott Sanderson's line, and was pleasantly surprised to see that Jay Johnstone hopped up on stage to sign with him. I acquired both.
5. Speed walked around the back of all the lines growing for the 2:00pm players so I could come full circle and get Dallas Beeler's sig. Tom and I were lucky to be a couple of the last people in line.

Here I am with Dal-las Beel-er... clap, clap... clap, clap, clap. Yes, I walked up to the table quietly chanting his name and he very humbly hushed me. It was fantastic! "Please don't start a chant!" he said with the look of a deer in the headlights. I proceeded to have a talk with him about our Twitter interactions, which also involve the chant. Really hope to see him in the Bigs next year.

Now for one of the craziest turn of events of the weekend. Tom's autograph goals for the weekend involved getting Pedro Strop (that didn't happen) and above all else, David Ross. Rewind to Day 1 as we perused Vendor Alley and how I happen to be in the right place at the right time. I overheard a fellow say that he didn't need that, go ahead and give it to the next person or kid.

I approached the gal behind the table and inquired about what they were talking about, and it turned out to be a Fast Pass for the autograph lines. I kindly asked if that was something this kid at heart could possible have? To my surprise she said yes, and all I had to do was pick a line we'd want to zip to the front of. Line E at 2:00pm please. David Ross was guaranteed to be in Tom's future. If only I could have waited in line with Tom to capture a better photo.

We bounced around the autograph lines for a couple more hours, and discovered that while we had each gotten upwards of 10 signatures during the past 4 or so hours, others had been waiting in Ben Zobrist's autograph line for that same amount of time. I'm not saying I wouldn't want Zobrist's autograph, but being able to meet so many more players was right up my alley. Safe to say Tom agreed...here is is with CJ Edwards Jr.

After a successful day of autograph seeking, it was time to get off our feet and watch the Cubs play their version of Family Fued. I squatted us some seats while Tom waited out Adam Warren's line to get one more signature on my home plate... Tom was one determined man!

Cubs Fued had quite a few good exchanges between the players. So glad we got seats close enough to hear their comments not spoken into the microphones. One of the best parts of the weekend was seeing how the guys interact with each other. The have great camaraderie. As for the pic below... Yes, that is Clark, the teams mascot, on one of the teams. He is fabulous at Cubs trivia, which he also proved earlier in the day when he showed up at Jeopardy with white board and marker in paw.

To wrap up a successfully fun day we hoofed it to Burrito Beach. We needed it even out all of our line standing with some walking, plus our bellies were once again requesting a real meal. Could have been the hunger, but as far as I'm concerned, they had the best guacamole I've ever tried.

Our plan was to kick our feet up in the hotel room and head down to the ballrooms around 7:45 for the 8pm Cubs Bingo. That plan changed when we got back from dinner and saw the supersized ballroom almost packed to the gills shortly after 7pm. I suppose if we had the name Jon Leiber we could have showed up at 5 minutes 'til 8pm and still gotten a table, but unfortunately we weren't part of his entourage. Waiting in the room vs in the ballroom wasn't a big deal, and I was tickled pink to see one of the players & family join us fans for some of the festivities.

Above is the closest I came to winning a game. My hopes were up for about 30 seconds. Too bad Tom or I didn't come home with a Sandberg or Hawk flag that once flew above Historic Wrigley Field. That would have been epic!

CubsCon2016 - Day 1

By December 2015 I knew that I'd be attending my first Cubs Convention in 2016. Having gone the route of getting baseball cards signed during my Spring Training trips, my Christmas list contained the request for an item I could get the Cubs to sign. Did my brother ever come through!!! I received a homemade replicated of home plate, which also represented by ticket to the event.


Friday, January 15th, Tom picked me up around 11am to begin our trek to the Windy City! CubsCon2016 was just hours away. After roughly 3 hours we made it to your destination, the Sheraton. Good thing our plan was to valet park because all of the parking decks were full when we got there. Yeah, just a few thousand Cubs fan descending on one hotel for the 2pm check-in, with the intent of not missing one minute of the festivities to come. Oh, and we learned that the magical valet garage door will rise when your car gets close enough. (I never had to worry about that at a Days Inn.)

Upon entering the lobby, my ears were filled with the sweet music from the Cubs' organist Gary Pressy. There were Cubs fans in every corner and an energetic buzz in the air. The atmosphere was magical. In the photo below, you can see Gary Pressy sitting at the organ, while chatting with who I would learn to be Scott the Agent. Yes, I asked them both to sign my plate!


Tom got us checked in while I got the first to signatures on my plat, and picked up our Cubs Convention 2016 packets. The line waiting had begun, but I never had a disappoint at the other end! We dropped our things off at the room, grabbed one of the programs and started our moseying around back in the lobby. Tom took this pic of the Pepsi and Mt. Dew Cubs logo, which was on our way to Cubs Charities and the Fergie Jenkins Foundation rooms.

This is when it becomes quite evident that I was living in the moment. We found out the Cubs Charities ran out of grab bags to buy, so we popped into Fergie's Foundation to see how much people were signing for. We turned the corner and quite the lineup was sitting in front of us... behold Rollie Fingers, Lee Smith, Bill Buckner and Fergie Jenkins. Wow, was I really going to get them all to sign my plate?!?! Yes, yes I did. Shout out to Mom for the "mad money" and Grandpa for the Christmas spending money.

[Insert photo here]

Oh yeah, that's right, I was living in the moment and have ZERO photos to show for this experience. I recall a discussion between me and "the man behind the table" about whether my plate was a large or small object. Small objects cost $20 for a signature and large objects for $40. With each signature only having a small amount of real estate, I was hoping for $20 per signature. Rollie was trying to get an answer out of "the man behind the table", who apparently didn't have any authority. I held up my money and said, "I have $80 I'd love to give you to get all 4 signatures." Rollie looked at me and said, "Give it here!" They passed the plate down the line and as Lee Smith passed it off to Bill Buckner, Lee said, "Don't screw it up Buck." I was on cloud nine after those fun exchanges.

Our next stop was vendor alley, where you could buy just about any Cubs item you could possibly dream of. The Cubs minor league affiliates also had booths with merch and some giveaways. As you can see, the Myrtle Beach Pelicans had a sand sculpture of Joe Maddon, the Cubs manager...

 ...and they were giving out kick-ass pairs of Joe Maddon replica glasses. Gotta say I had fun wearing those for the afternoon/evening and giggling at Tom as he tried to compute the Joe Maddon/Harry Caray style glasses adorning his sister's face.

Vendor alley was below the lobby, and one more level down was the official Cubs merch store, Cubs authentics, an auction area, and the corals for all the signing stages. At this point it was fairly empty because people had started waiting inline on the ballroom level for the opening ceremony. I snuck off while Tom held our place in line. I found the Schwarber Bomb encased in plexiglass and being guarded.


Next up was the Opening Ceremony. I didn't know what I was in for, other than knowing we wouldn't have a seat and I'd have to bob around to try to see the people on the stage. We settled for a spot off the side of the stage where I could see the video board and Tom had a good view of the stage. While patiently standing in wait for the festivities begin, I had to find out who the well dressed man with the Cubs 'W' pin was standing to my side. I knew he was a worker, and was determined to find out who, and get him to sign my plate. I had a nice little chat with Matt Kenny, Senior Director of Wrigley Field Event Operations.

I also scared him away. I explained to him about my days with the Peoria Chiefs and how the children on DARE Day wanted an autograph from anyone with a team shirt. I was having fun making this a moment like that and asked him to sign my plate. He didn't want to devalue the plate, but the value was in my eyes, and this interaction was priceless. I suppose I didn't technically scare him away, but people started clamoring a bit thinking he was someone. He exited stage left in a blink of an eye.

I had a good view of all the phones and tablets taking video/pictures... thank goodness for the video board.

The best part about the ceremony was the energy in the room. Standing in one spot for the extended period of time was getting to me, so I headed down to the lower level to get in line for the surprise autograph sessions. Apparently all I missed was a video package. I'll take that in exchange for the adrenaline rush of getting autographs and chatting with other Cubs fans.

[Insert photo here]

I don't have any pictures of the fellows I got signatures from during the surprise session. Tom was kind enough to help me cleanup on the autographs during that short time period. We passed the plate back and forth and managed to acquire Eric Jokisch, CJ Edwards Jr, Jeimer Candelario, and Pierce Johnson.

After the surprise autograph session, we headed back up to the ballroom for Friday Night with Ryan Dempster. I always enjoyed Dempster when he played and one of my favorite autographs is a picture I took of him signing autographs at Spring Training, while he wore his glove on his head.

Dempster did a fantastic with the late night show format. I honestly didn't think I'd laugh that much. Between his sense of humor, video packages, and the Cubs playing along, it was fantastic. I've been searching for a video clip to show, but am striking out. Below if a shot of Dempster interviewing Schwarber, Bryant, and Rizzo. (The closet I would get to theme all weekend)

By 10pm are stomachs were craving a real meal, not just trail mix and beef jerky. I do need to mention that was very pleased with the availability of free water throughout the hotel. They had plastic cups next to the water machines, or you could just keep on filling up your water bottle. On the flip side, they could have done a better job making sure us well-hydrated people had enough toilet paper in the restrooms.

Anyway, Tom wanted to take me to the Billy Goat Tavern, which was made aware days earlier via text. It was within walking distance and Tom recalled it having good food, so why not?

When we got there is when I found out it served Cheezborgers! Hey, I remember seeing that SNL sketch. In 2016, the lady behind the counter was pushing Double Cheez, Double Cheez, Double Cheez! Not sure if it was just the hunger factor or not, but that was one really good Double Ceezborger.

Unlike my Days Inn style hotels, the Sheraton would not be serving us a complimentary breakfast in the morning. Since we didn't want to brave the frigid temps the next morning, you could have been able to spot Tom and I walking down Michigan Avenue with a dozen donuts around 11pm.