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I received complimentary passes and a tour of the Skydeck Chicago review for this post. All opinions and thoughts are honest and 100% all my own.
I am not afraid of heights, but the Willis Tower can seem a bit intimidating at 1,450 feet and 110 stories tall! Mr. Randal Stancik was extremely gracious and gave us an informative tour of the Willis Tower, and of course the 103rd floor where the Skydeck is located! We also watched a short movie plus it offered lots of great facts about Chicago and the Skydeck.
As you can see in the picture the Willis Tower is the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. As you walk around you can read lots of fun facts about the building.
This is where the fun really starts at the 103rd floor!
The elevator trip is also fun as it took us less than 3 minutes to reach the 103rd floor. As you are riding, you get to see comparisons such as you are now higher than the Empire State Building, the Great Pyramid, and more! It Is Only 2,232 Steps To Get To The Top Of SkyDeck! I prefer to take the elevator but it would make a fantastic cardio workout.
The ledge is constructed of three layers of half-inch thick glass laminated and tempered for durability. This ledge is not going anywhere.
Check out these fabulous views! WOW!
It is just breathtaking and something you really have to experience! I can’t wait to go back again and this time with my family. As you can see the Ledge offers spectacular views spanning up to four states that you will never forget.
Our soveniur picture we took with me and my blogging buddies at the Skydeck Ledge. This is a memory I will never forget.
The Skydeck Chicago is open 365 days a year so make sure if you are in Chicago to stop by and experience the Ledge for yourself!
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This post brought to you by Missouri Division of Tourism. All opinions are 100% mine.
Missouri is called the “Show Me State” for a reason, as there is so much to do in each region of the state. From the Mississippi River with St. Louis to the western side and everything in between from hiking trails, caves, water, Route 66, and so much more! I never realized how much there was to do in Missouri. It is such a beautiful state with lots of great historical sites to all the natural settings to explore. Of course Branson with the popular shopping and musical shows.
I always wanted to travel to Missouri and ride in a steamboat on the Mississippi River as I live in South Louisiana where the Mississippi River ends. I always thought it would be fun to be further up the river and of course visit where Mark Twin lived. I would take my family as this is a great way to teach my son more about our wonderful country and explore it together as a family.
Our trip would begin in Hannibal, MO. Our first destination would be to visit the site of Mark Twain. I would spend a full day visiting the attraction and explore the cave.
Then our next day would be filled with the Tom Sawyer fun park for my son the rest of the day.
Our third day would be to explore the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Musuem and then take a lunch cruise on the steamboat to see the Mississippi River. That evening we could hit the ice cream parlor after we did some shopping at the antique stores and end with a nice supper at Lula Belle’s Restaurant.
Our last day would be spent driving down the state to get more of the Missouri feel and stop in at some local shops and diners along the way home. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my vacation than by sightseeing and also just driving and enjoying the view and meeting locals. I am a small town girl, and I really enjoy the quaintness of small towns and it’s more leisurely for me.
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So I haven’t posted in over two months. I know it’s terrible, but life has really gotten in the way since last year. I finally gave my blog a long overdue face lift. I hope everyone likes it. I’m not sure if I’m happy with all the text colors but it will do for now. I’m pleased with the template design, and I find it a little whimsical. It fits with my blog perfectly I think. So let me know what you think.
I had posted an update in February about how things were going for my family. If you had read then you know that I had a lot going on between my son and myself. I am happy to post that things are so much better for both of us. He finished the 2nd grade making straight A’s most of the year with only 2 B’s on his report cards. He finished the year very strong and should have a much easier time in 3rd grade. I’m very hopeful and just extremely grateful we found some wonderful people to help us.
I had decided to start losing weight at the end of last August. I had tried several times in the past, but I would never stick with it. I would quit all my bad habits at once which would overwhelm me. Then I would completely quit and undo any bad habits I had stopped. I decided to try a different approach by doing it with baby steps. My first step was to quit drinking soft drinks. I thought I had acid reflux, and I was drinking alka-seltzer 3-5x a week. Some days twice a day! It was craziness and I had to stop. I switched to sweet iced tea so no caffeine withdrawls or headaches. I would make a gallon of tea and put 1/2 cup of sugar so it wasn’t very sweet at all. When I got used to that, then a couple of weeks later I cut it down to a 1/4c. Then I finally got used to drinking it without any sugar. I drank more water and I lost 6 pounds in 10 days! That was amazing and 2 weeks later I noticed that I wasn’t having heartburn anymore. It finally dawned on me that the soft drinks were causing my heartburn. Once I quit drinking them it magically went away! That saved me lots of money as soft drinks are expensive. Then I was able to take another step by watching my calorie intake. I made switches from honey wheat bread to dark German bread. I also quit eating white rice by switching to brown. All of these small changes made big impacts on my appetite. I started walking with my Leslie Walk-Away-The-Pounds DVD’s at the end of December. I began slowly and kept challenging myself with slightly harder workouts. I was out of breath but I never quit. I also didn’t berate myself if I had to modify or quit. I just told myself tomorrow you will do better and I did.
I will say that my biggest motivator came in October. I got my prescription for Zoloft and my doctor ran a blood test on me. The results came back that my sugar level was elevated (126) and my cholesterol was 190. The worst part was she wanted me to take Glucophage since I was pre-diabetic! I was shocked and refused it. I had already lost 17 pounds at that point, and was committed to losing this weight on my own. I knew I could do it and I would prove to her that I didn’t need a diabetic medicine when I wasn’t truly diabetic. I had talked to a good friend of mine who is a diabetic and former nurse. She was also shocked and told me no way. She advised me to get a glucose meter and just check my blood after eating to see what would trigger it. I learned a lot by talking with her and really changed my eating habits more than I had. My blood sugar level went to normal quickly and has stayed that way since. I haven’t had a formal blood test but am planning one soon.
We finally got to Disney World at the end of April. I was down 65 pounds and it felt wonderful. I got to a size 16 in bottoms and XL in tops. I had prepared myself for all the walking before we went. Walking around WDW was a piece of cake. We also hit the beach in Panama City. It was a very long overdue vacation and our first family trip ever. I wasn’t even worried too much about the long drive. It was fine and we saved a lot of money by driving instead of flying. We broke up the drive by spending the night in Tallahassee. My husband and son have never been outside of MS or TX so it was a great experience for them. We had a wonderful time and didn’t want to leave. We can’t wait for our next family trip which we hope will be next year. I’m going to wrap up this super long post soon. I am down 75 pounds as of today. I have lost 10 dress sizes and am currently wearing a LG in tops/14-16 in bottoms. I still have another 55 pounds to go but I know I will get there.
I have also started working part-time again as a merchandiser/mystery shopper/demonstrator. It’s not really steady right now, but it’s harder with the summer. My son is home with me so I can’t really dive into it like I want. I did just pick up a great job that has wonderful hours and nice pay. Once he’s back in school, then I’m sure work will pick up for me. I’m going to try really hard not to neglect this blog anymore and adding posts regularly. Thanks for letting me share. I’m not planning on leaving for long periods of time anymore. I will make this blog more of a priority again. I really enjoy having it to share my good deals, thrifty tips, and even about my family.