The People's Party

I still can’t believe that I missed the People’s Party. I walked back to the Sheraton Lugging my HUGE Swag Bag back to my room after attending the Social Luxe Party. On the way back I had a funny encounter on the bridge. Three officers were standing around speaking to some young woman. Here I am all dressed up and in high heels lugging this huge bag.

One of the officers said, “That’s a big bag.” I knew he was talking about the Swag Bag but I thought I’d poke some “old lady” fun his way.

I looked at him with my best “annoyed look” and said, “I can’t believe you just called me a big bag.” One of his fellow officers was trying hard not to crack a smile as he said, “No. No he was just getting ready to offer to help you lug that big bag back to your car weren’t you?” The first officer said, “Yes. Yes that’s just what I was getting ready to say. I was just getting ready to ask if you needed help with that.”

I was going to carry the joke a little further by saying, “Oh so you think I’m too out of shape and old to carry such a heavy thing?” I thought better of it though and just said, “That’s OK. I’m fine. I don’t have much further to go.”

Being 50 (well almost) is very liberating. People will expect you to have peccadilloes and idiosyncrasies. While some of my contemporaries still spend hours fussing with their hair and make up. I am no longer a slave to fashion. While I have not yielded to the call of house dresses and Mom pants, I am no longer worried what label is on the back of my pants.

I read somewhere that being elderly in America is like being invisible. I’m not so certain that’s as bad as I once thought. As a teen you feel that all eyes are upon you. Each mistake, each fashion faux pas, is dissected and discussed. I have reached an age where I truly am my own person and realize that being me is not so bad at all.

I marched back to my room determined to document my trip to the Kraft Food Kitchens and my encounter close encounter of the Obama kind. I dumped my treasures on the bed and immediately began to write about all the fun I was already having. I also had to call my husband to tell him that I was doing OK. I think I totally let the time just rush past me and I wound up just crawling into my nice comfy Sheraton bed to just relax.

It wasn’t until the next day that I realized that I had totally forgotten the People’s Party and the Room 704 Party. I’m not certain what happened at these two events but I always feel there is a reason for everything that happens and even for things that don’t happen. I will sadly wear the crown of party pooper by missing these two parties. I was determined to make up for lost time the next day.

BlogHer Day Two - SWAG!!!!

After my tour of the Kraft Kitchens I head over to the Social Luxe Party. I think this was the party was the one I looked forward to the most. It promised primping and pampering and let me tell you I got all of that. I had a backrub. I had some photos taken for a new avatar. I had a makeup artist touch up my makeup. I even went crazy and got a tattoo. OK not a permanent one but I did get a tattoo. It was a Henna one and I selected a Chinese symbol for luck and wealth. I can truly use both.

The swag I received was GREAT. Let me start by adding this disclosure policy.

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I made it a point to meet the Swiffer Representatives. I wanted them to see the video I had made for their contest a couple of years ago. Now I will admit that for me it was my time to shine. what I didn't know was that these two ladies would treat me like a Hollywood movie star when they discovered that I made the video. They couldn't wait to see it.

My Swagbag included things like a Proflowers Gift card, cards, One Hope wine, a Kodak Zi6 and so much more.



Finally at the end of the party I trudged back to the hotel hauling my HUGE bag of goodies. When the elevator door opened to my room I saw an employee pushing a huge cart with vases of flowers. I joked with him, "Oh they must all be for me." He said, "I already put one in your room." Just an exchange of words nothing more.



Boy was I wrong. When I opened the door to my room I was greeted to a lovely bouquet of flowers that included four yellow roses. They were from Colombia, Land of Flowers. Just too beautiful. Did I mention I love BlogHer so far?

There are also some contests that are going on here that are exclusively for people attending BlogHer. I've entered both of them. There might be more but I will find out soon.

BlogHer Day Two Gratitude Post

Many people worked hard to make this trip to Kraft Kitchens and BlogHer so perfect. I know I mentioned Kevin earlier but I also want to thank Susan Davison, Director, Corporate Affairs, and Sarah D Young. Thanks for putting up with me in all my excited school girl glory. There were so many others and I just wish I could mention each and every person that I met at Kraft Foods. They rolled out the red carpet for me and we talked about one of my FAVORITE subjects, FOOD. I can't tell you what it meant to me to hear that the food professionals LOVED my recipe!!! This truly was one of those once in a lifetime moments for me. Thanks again to everyone who voted for my recipe!!!!!

Often when I tell people I'm a high school teacher they comment, "You must be very brave." Truly most days as a teacher have been everything and more than I ever dreamed possible. When I was a little girl playing school with my dolls or whatever brother and sister was too slow to escape my clutches I was positive that teaching was what I truly wanted to do. The people that I met in the Kraft Kitchens felt the same way about their jobs that I felt about teaching and it was just infectious!!

The people at Kraft Foods go to a lot of trouble to recreate the kitchens that we consumers use. They do that so that when we make recipes with Kraft products they will turn out just the same way they do when the professionals are preparing them. These professionals are very aware that today's family is very busy and they strive to make preparation quick and easy.

I just know I gushed as we talked about food. I had the opportunity to sample a really great recipe made with Stovetop Stuffing that you could serve for breakfast. I also tried my new favorite appetizer which included Stovetop Stuffing, spinach, and mushrooms. They even taught this old dog a new trick. I didn't realize that I could freeze my chicken in a marinade made with Kraft Dressing to make an incredibly moist chicken at a later date.

I honestly didn't want to leave because I just felt like I could live there at the Kraft Kitchens. They have a pantry I would envy and they understood my passion for cooking for my family. I want to answer some of the questions that some of you sent me and I'll try to do it a little at a time.

For the next several days my agenda is packed but I will make every effort to let you know what is going on here at BlogHer!!! Still I didn't want to go to bed tonight without thanking the GREAT people at Kraft for making this moment possible.

I will be posting the photos for this when I get back home. I can't wait to share them with you.

BlogHer Day Two - Walking Tour

My morning began with a few laps in the hotel pool. I got there early enough that i could have the pool all to myself. After taking a swim I decided to take a walking tour of Chicago.

Let me share it with you. I will be uploading videos of the tour but youtube is taking awhile so I will have to update this post a little at a time.

From the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers, cross the Columbus Drive bridge south to Wacker Drive. Head west to Michigan Avenue.

At Michigan and Wacker, start on the west side of the street and head south. The high-rise on the corner, at 333 N. Michigan Ave., is one of the city’s several Art Deco landmarks. Next, you will pass Illinois Center, a cluster of tall, dark, glass buildings, once considered “The Future of Urban Planning.” Underground passages lined with shops make it possible to move among the buildings without ever going outdoors.

In another couple of blocks, you will reach the Prudential Building at Randolph Street. This was the first skyscraper built in Chicago after World War II. Behind it is the Aon Center, originally built as the Standard Oil Building. It is one of Chicago’s three giants, currently holding the number two position at 1,136 feet tall.

Turn left and head up Randolph Street, then cross to the entrance of Millennium Park, a corner of Grant Park that offers gardens, monumental sculpture, a concert venue, terraces, outdoor art galleries, and numerous other opportunities for enjoying oneself. One of the first things you’re likely to notice is the very sculptural Jay Pritzker Pavilion, a remarkable “explosion” of brushed steel with a state-of-the-art sound system that is suspended from an overhead trellis, so no one’s view of the stage is obstructed. It is considered the most sophisticated outdoor concert venue of its kind in the United States.



East of the pavilion is the massive, shiny, silver, bean-shaped sculpture known as Cloud Gate. Cloud Gate is British artist Anish Kapoor’s first public outdoor work installed in the United States. This highly reflective piece of art offers a great photo opportunity, with reflections of the city’s skyline and the lake against a backdrop of the real thing.



The Lurie Gardens offer 2.5 acres of flowers, shrubs, trees, and grasses native to Illinois, and the Chase Promenade is an inviting three-block-long walkway lined by nearly 200 trees.



At the south end of the park is the Crown Fountain, which was designed by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa. The fountain consists of two 50-foot glass block towers flanking a shallow reflecting pool. The towers project video images designed to show the diversity of Chicago’s citizenry. Water flows through an outlet in the screen, giving the illusion of water spouting from the mouths of the individuals pictured. In the summer, the fountain is a favorite spot for children, who can run through the cascading water.



The south side of Millennium Park is bounded by Monroe Street. Crossing the street, you come to the Art Institute, one of the country’s top art museums. Walk around the building, both to see the classic old part and more modern addition and to get to the back of the building. Behind the building, depending on the state of construction at the time of your visit (they’re adding a new wing), you may be able to see the ornate main arch from the old Chicago Stock Exchange preserved and ensconced in a tiny park. But even if this small park is blocked off, continue past the Art Institute and across the street behind it (Columbus Drive).

You will find yourself amid more of the many gardens of Grant Park. Amble through the gardens toward Buckingham Fountain. This spectacular Chicago landmark is one of the largest fountains in the world. It was donated to the city by Chicagoan Kate Buckingham, who built it in honor of her late brother, Clarence. Completed in 1927, the three-tiered fountain was inspired by the Latona Basin at Versailles. The great, bronze seahorses that adorn the fountain were sculpted by French artist Marcel Loyau. The fountain operates mid-April to mid-October. Light and water shows are given each evening, and the central spout regularly shoots up to 150 feet in the air.

From this vantage point, if you look to the south and east, across the grassy playing fields you can see, in the not-so-far distance, the Field Museum of Natural History, the Shedd Aquarium, and the Adler Planetarium, which is on a point of land that extends out into the lake.



From the fountain, walking back toward Michigan Avenue along Congress brings you to the grand entrance designed to lead you from the city into Grant Park and toward Buckingham Fountain. This entrance is flanked by two wonderful 1928 sculptures by Yugoslav artist Ivan Mestrovic of Native Americans of Illinois. The statues are named The Spearman and The Bowman.



From here, you have a great view of a stretch of Michigan Avenue that is, in fact, one of the world’s most-recognized one-sided streets, along with New York City’s Fifth Avenue and Edinburgh’s Princes Street. Sometimes called the Michigan Boulevard District, with buildings dating to the late 1800s and early 1900s, this handsome stretch of road offers examples of the work of many of Chicago’s most important architects, including Daniel Burnham, Dankmar Adler, Louis Sullivan, Holabird & Roche, Marshall & Fox, Henry Ives Cobb, S. S. Beman, and Graham, Anderson, Probst & White.

Look to your left (south), and you’ll see the Hilton Chicago. Designed by Holabird & Roche, the hotel was originally called the Stevens Hotel. It was built in 1927 and was, when it opened, the largest hotel in the world.

Cross Michigan Avenue, and, at the corner of Michigan and Congress, you’ll be outside the Auditorium Theater in Roosevelt University. President Grover Cleveland laid the cornerstone for the Auditorium Building in October 1888, and President Benjamin Harrison dedicated the completed building in December 1889. It was immediately acclaimed as one of the most beautiful and functional theatres in the world, remarkable for its perfect acoustics and for innovative design. The spectacular arched ceiling meant no internal pillars were needed, so every seat had an unobstructed view of the stage.

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra resided at the theater until Orchestra Hall was completed in 1904. Roosevelt University moved into the building in 1946. In 1976, the building was designated a National Historic Landmark. Today, the theater is home to the famed Joffrey Ballet. If you think the pillars in front of the building, on the Congress side, look like they have been cut off, you’re right. The street used to be narrower and lower, and great stone stairs were removed when the street was widened in 1952. Now, head north (back toward Wacker Drive).

Orchestra Hall (also called Symphony Hall) is another couple of blocks up, at 220 South Michigan Avenue. The home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for more than a hundred years, the building is an interpretation of Georgian style. As you walk by, look for the names of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and Wagner above the arched windows of the second-floor ballroom.



As you continue north, you might also keep an eye out for the Fine Arts Building, the Chicago Athletic Association, the University Club, the Old Republic Building, the London Guarantee and Accident Building, and other wonderful, elegant, old buildings. One newer building worth noting is the Smurfit-Stone Building, a sleekly modern edifice that contrasts sharply with the antiques around it. Its sharply angled, diamond-shaped roof is lighted at night, with the colors changing with the seasons or for special events.



Between Washington and Randolph stands the imposing Chicago Cultural Center, a Classic-Revival building constructed in1897 as the city’s first library. Enter the doors on the south side of the building and walk up the stairs to the large room on the third floor. All around you, the stairways, walls, and ceilings are covered with millions of piece of glass, gold, and abalone shell. This is the largest mosaic in the world, and it is crowned by an impressive Tiffany glass dome. On the far side of the dazzling third-floor main room there is an entrance to a long hall that leads to the north side of the building. Look for the handsome GAR Hall, where another, even larger Tiffany stained glass dome can be viewed, and tall windows offer splendid views of Michigan Avenue and Millennium Park across the street. Self-guided tours of the building and its exhibits and galleries are available, and a docent-led tour is offered every day at 1:15 p.m. Also in the Chicago Cultural Center, on the north side of the building, is the Chicago Visitor’s Center—a most useful destination, with a nice café, a room full of maps and brochures, and Chicago greeters to assist you.



Continuing north, you come to the Carbide and Carbon Building at 230 N. Michigan Ave., with its stunning dark green to black exterior trimmed in gold and bronze. The gold decorations at the top of the building are actually 24-karat gold. This handsome skyscraper has recently been renovated and is now Chicago’s Hard Rock Hotel.

You are now nearly back to Wacker Drive and the Michigan Avenue Bridge, from which you started the tour.

Chi-ca-go Baby

The great people at Kraft Foods have sponsored my trip to Chicago and I can't begin to tell you how wonderful this trip as has been so far. I can't honestly say that I'd ever been on vacation all by myself in my whole life. Vacations have always been a family oriented event and I'll admit I was a little nervous about leaving Mr. Thrifty behind. Then again, someone had to take care of our dogs.

The flight to Chicago went off without at hitch. As a matter of fact not only did Kevin, the WONDERFUL rep from Weber Shandwick, did such a great job of planning my trip out here I felt like a Super-Star. (Everyone should have a Kevin!) While I'm not certain he had anything to do with how short the lines were at security, I'd like to believe he was. I'd also like to believe that he was responsible for getting such a great seat on the plane. Not only was I sitting on a window seat but I had the whole row to myself. The flight went smoothly and I even got some reading in on the flight.

When I arrived at the airport, I headed straight for the baggage claim. The driver that Kevin had arranged was waiting for me right at the gate. (Note to self. Ask Mr. Thrifty for my very own Kevin). My driver was so nice and helpful. I was brought to my car with tinted glass which fit my new rock star status.

When the car arrived at the Sheraton I just couldn't believe that a company would be willing to do all this for me. I knew I loved Kraft before but now I'm contemplating having a heart with the word Kraft Foods tattooed on my ankle. (Well maybe not tattooed but I do love Kraft.) Everyone at the hotel was helpful and friendly.

You should see my room. I'm staying on the 24th floor and the room is pure luxury. I'm within walking distance of the Magnificent Mile and the Navy Pier. It's close to just about everything you'd want to see in downtown Chicago. I also have internet access in my room.

Thursday is the day scheduled for my tour of the Kraft Kitchens. I look forward to receiving their magazine every month and then making many of the recipes contained in the magazine. So for this Mom who loves to cook this opportunity is actually a trip of a lifetime. You should have seen my Mom's expression when I told her I was going. For years she told me that if I kept eating Kraft Macaroni and Cheese I would turn into Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. I guess my obsession with all things Kraft (especially stovetop stuffing) did turn me into a Kraft Fan Forever.

I think that some companies recognize that product loyalty is won in small increments by providing consistently good products but also in showing they care about their customers by reaching out with their magazine, their website, providing coupons, corporate outreach (like with Crystal Light's Global Water Challenge), running contests, sweepstakes, and listening to customer feedback.

I don't think that I can thank the people at Kraft Foods enough. I hope to learn many things that I can take home to my students. I am looking forward to telling you more about my trip.

After I checked into my hotel I headed down to the Concierge desk to find out how to get to the local Hair Cuttery. I used to have a Hair Cuttery near me but no more. That would be all well and good except I had a gift certificate that Darryl had won for me last year and I hadn't been able to use it.

Darryl had written this really nice essay about how I deserved a make-over and his essay was chosen the winner. The prize had included a $125 gift certificate for a makeover from Hair Cuttery. I decided to check online to see if there was on in Chicago and there was one. I quickly put away my suitcases and headed off to catch a bus to Randolph Street. There I had my hair dyed and foiled for a frisky new look. I didn't need a hair cut and since I normally dye my own hair I think I was a bit shocked at the sticker price for having this work down at a salon. It cost me $110 for all that. I just can't imagine spending that kind of money on my hair every day. Still it was a treat and one that I might never have had if it wasn't for my darling husband.

After two hours in the salon I took the bus back to my hotel and took a little walk down the Magnificent Mile.

So tommorrow's the big day and I can hardly wait. Come back tomorrow to find out what I learned

Thanks for stopping by and let me know if there's anything you want to tell the people at Kraft Foods.