27 Fun Things To Do in Downtown Chicago

Thanks chicagofree.info for putting this list together!

What are the fun things to do in downtown Chicago?

1. Find a great Chicago hotel in downtown Chicago to set up as your headquarters.
2. Pull out your wallet and shop morning to night along Chicago's Magnificent Mile, a roughly eight-block stretch of North Michigan Avenue offering every kind of store imaginable.
3. Slowly make your way through Millennium Park, an extraordinary testament and home to world-class art, music, architecture and landscape design.
4. Take your kids to the Chicago Children's Museum, with three floors of engaging and educational exhibits.
5. Enjoy one of the world's greatest art collections at the Art Institute of Chicago, especially when free on Thursday nights from 5-8.
6. Come see all the fishes and more at the world-class Shedd Aquarium.
7. Go cheer for one of Chicago's two Major League Baseball teams. Watch the Chicago Cubs (now under new ownership – yea!) at one of America's oldest, smallest and best-loved stadiums, Wrigley Field. Or catch the Chicago White Sox at the modern U.S. Cellular Field.
8. Visit the trendy boutiques of Oak Street or venture to revitalized State Street to browse through historic anchor Marshall Field and other fun shops.
9. With jogging paths and plenty of water sports, everyone will want to spend time on Lake Michigan.
10. Sail off into the sunset on one of Chicago's dinner cruises like the Odyssey or the Spirit of Chicago.
11. For an awe-inspiring view of the city from above, go out on the ledge at the Sears Tower Skydeck or the Hancock Observatory.
12. For family entertainment from the famous Ferris wheel to free public shows, Navy Pier is a fun place to visit.
13. Take your kids to the wild side at the free Lincoln Park Zoo.
14. When you're feeling blue, stop by one of the longstanding favorite haunts for blues music: Blue Chicago, Buddy Guy's Legends, House of Blues or Kingston Mines.
15. Get jazzed! Chicago is home to some fabulous Chicago jazz venues like Andy's Jazz Club, The Back Room and Joe's Be Bop Café & Jazz Emporium.
16. Soak up the sun while you lie on the beach, inline skate or play sand volleyball at the Oak Street Beach, a popular spot to see and be seen.
17. Where can you find a WWII German submarine, a baby chick hatchery and the Apollo 8 Spacecraft? At the Museum of Science and Industry, the oldest museum of its kind with more than 800 exhibits and 2,000 interactive units.
18. Stroll through Grant Park, Chicago's most prominent and beloved park, where you can enjoy an outdoor concert or throw a penny into Buckingham Fountain.
19. Imagine what the world was like when dinosaurs roamed the earth when you visit the Field Museum of Natural History, home to the largest, most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex.
20. Check out a concert happening — a visually stunning and musically powerful performance by the Blue Man Group at the Briar Street Theatre.
21. Chicago is home to a vital, vast and varied Theatre District where you can enjoy everything from traveling Broadway hits to experimental theatre to world premieres from up and coming theater companies.
22. Test your luck at one of the local casinos and gaming establishments like the Horseshoe Casino.
23. Walk around and admire one of Frank Lloyd Wright's architectural masterpieces, the Robie House, a premier example of his Prairie School style.
24. Chicago pizza is a complete dining experience. That's why a visit to the legendary Pizzeria Uno is a must for Chicagodeep-dish lovers. Our favorite for deep-dish Chicago pizza is fresh ingedient king Edwardo's Pizza
25. History buffs and architecture enthusiasts will love the Tribune Tower. The facade is constructed of a collection of stones from other famous edifices, like the Parthenon, St. Peter's Basilica, Notre Dame, the White House and the Berlin Wall.
26. Girls of all ages will love American Girl Place, a special boutique shop with the complete line of American Girl dolls.
27. Embark on a culinary adventure to Chicago's finest restaurants. Guests are chauffeured around the city in a stylish coach bus to enjoy Hors D'oeuvres served at the first restaurant, the Main Course at a second restaurant and Dessert at a third restaurant. This Progressive Dining Tour offers a unique, fun and exciting way to experience Chicago dining.

A Great Way That Very Busy Individuals Can Have More Time By Taking Advantage of Errand Service Companies

Thanks to the "Dealing with Difficult People Blog" for this post.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you for once could wake up one weekend after a long day at work and not need to run any errands? Now there are errand services that are run all over the country to help folks manage their time in a more efficient way. Errand services are a like a personal assistant, but they became more popular in recent years. Many homebody mummies are opening up errand services as a home based business to stay with their children and work at the same time.

Errand services are for busy people who wish that there were 1 or 2 more hours in the day. The services that are offered by these corporations are varied, but theyare generally separated into two different types of services, depending on your demands.

The private services can help with jobs like: food and household shopping, gift shopping, dry-cleaner drop off and pick up, post office and drugstore errands, library or video returns, package and gift delivery, appointment scheduling, home organizing, and special events help ( garage and estate sales too ). The professional services offer all the above-mentioned things, but with things included like : posting open house signs ( set up, etc . ), meeting and special event planning ( in-house or off-site ), delivery of packages containing documents, and all copying or banking needs.

Many of us are compelled to run their errands on the weekends or perhaps during their lunch breaks. Hiring somebody to do all of these jobs for you would reduce your levels of stress, while at the same time having somebody trustworthy you can count on for explicit needs. The price levels for these services vary substantially typically because the businesses are run regionally, and costs are according to local demand and cost of living indexes.

If hiring an errand service is something that seems of interest there are some questions about qualifications that should be posed to potential workers. You need to learn if the person that you are hiring is good with cut off dates. If you need a prescription picked up by a certain date each month, you would like to be sure that the person that is handling your errands is capable of remembering something that might not be as important to them as it is to you. Also, you should usually ask for references and really check them. Errand running is an easy start-up business and it requires no license, education, or qualifications. The person that you hire must be trustworthy, responsible, and organized. Sometimes, ambition can cloud folk’s understandings of what they are really capable of achieving. Finally, you need to discover how many clients the service caters to. An errand service which has too many clients will have too many tasks to accomplish in a single day, week, or month. Somebody’s list of to-dos must be put on a back burner, and you do not want that somebody to be you.

Letting somebody do your busy work can be hard because it does involve a fair amount of trust. If you think resolutely in the adage, “if you would like something done, you must do it yourself”, an errand service is not for you. However, On the other hand, if you can’t find sufficient time in the week to accomplish everything that you want to finish with no need to sacrifice sleep, this suggestion might be your answer.

Give Up Control to Get Control

This is an excerpt from a article on http://ldkid.com/npb/?p=1105.

For some reason, Americans think they have something to prove by doing it all themselves. People say to me all of the time, that someone else just can’t do for them, the things that are on the “to do ” list. Well, that is not only a ridiculous statement, but one that can be proven wrong over and over again. We all strive to appear in control. However, you cannot be in control if you are constantly struggling to juggle events and lists. So give up some of the control. I know that is a scary thought, but do it. By having professionals handle the items on your list, you will amaze your friends and family by having more time to enjoy life and you will seem more in control than ever. Don’t worry. We don’t expect you to do this cold turkey. We are going to give you tips on accomplishing this daunting task after we shock you into reality.


Don’t Be A Statistic!

Here are the facts……I think the expression is “read ‘em and weep.” I know I wanted to when I saw these numbers.

According to the Economic Policy Institute, the average U.S. family works between 105-115 hours per week. So let’s run the numbers.

168 hours in a 7 day week x2 (if 2 people are working those hours) = 336

Less 110 hours for work

Less 112 hours for sleeping

Less 28 hours for eating

Less 15 hours for commuting

So what’s left……..71 HOURS!!! That is 71 hours for both workers total. Look like a big number of hours? Keep running the math. (If you are single that leaves you with 35.5 hrs - cut everything in half)

Now what do you have to do in that 71 hours? Remember, if you are doing something as a family (both workers), you have to double the hours used when you subtract from the 71.

• Spend time with your family
• Run/attend children’s activities (i.e. soccer, music lessons)
• Run errands
• Visit friends/relatives for special occasions
• Make purchases - clothing, gifts, daily needs

Anyone feeling exhausted yet? I am ready for a nap…oh that’s right…no time for that. Well here is some advice from the BusyB herself on taking back your life.


Remedying the Problem:

1. First evaluate the numbers that we provided above and adjust for your particular family. Some of you may work more than 110hrs, commute more, sleep less, etc. Also, stay at home moms count as working members of the family in our book so don’t forget that their hours count too!
2. Make a list of all of the things you do that take up the 71 remaining hours (or whatever number you now have).
3. Sort the tasks by type of activity. Feel free to make up your own categories.
• Family
• Home Repairs/Maintenance
• Errands/Shopping
• Social Activities
• School Activities
• Other
4. Star the ones you would rather not do (and sorry your job is one of those adult requirements in life so don’t star it - you don’t have a choice).
5. Estimate how much time it takes you to do each task (per week).
6. Now make a list of all of the things that are on the perpetual “to do” list that never seem to get finished. Sort this list as well. Having things that are constantly waiting to be completed, does nothing but add stress to your life.
7. Now here comes the difficult part. Giving up control to get control. You are really going to have to put on your positive change attitude to make this work. Ready? Circle the items that can be hired out. The possibilities are endless. If you are serious about change, then you will not be making excuses at this point as to why someone else cannot do the job. Do NOT, use money as an excuse at this point. You can’t afford to do that. This is your life you are talking about. Here are some suggestions:
• Lawn Care
• Home Repair Specialists (painters, handyman etc)
• Errand Service
• Personal Shopper/Concierge
• Nanny/Babysitter
• Car Specialists
• Financial Specialists
8. Make another list of things you would like to do but never have time to do.
9. If you successfully completed Step 7, you should now be able to make a new list of things to do each week that include your “wants.” Can you replace the “have to” items with the “want to” items? If you answered yes, you did a great job and are well on your way to taking back control of your life. If you answered no, then we still have some work to do.

Now some of you are probably saying, this is easy for her to say. Well, no it isn’t. I have been where you are and it took a major life-altering situation for me to realize what is really important. Do not put yourself in the same situation.

Stop now and take stock of your life and priorities. You may find that when you reprioritize you only need some reorganization and a little help from a life management consultant or you may have bigger problems and you need to schedule time each month for professionals to help you sift through the chores.

Get your life back but appear more in control. You can do it