Life in Chicago - My Blog About Starting Over In Chicago

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2021 Update

I just want to update everyone on what is going on in my life here in Chicago!

I have started an online business, or should I say a side hustle, and that is going very well. It looks like it is going to take some time to really get off the ground and make enough money to live on, but it is a start.

Things are starting to return to normal (what is normal anymore, right?) here in Chicago. People are returning to work and traffic is crazy again. If there is one thing that I miss from the beginning of the pandemic, it is the lack of traffic. Band playing on Chicago street

Now that people are getting vaccinated, there are less and less of them wearing masks, but some still do and I respect that.

The biggest news that I have to share is that I have a new boyfriend! His name is Jim and he lives about 45 minutes west of the city. He is kind of a country boy, drives a pickup truck and loves to deer hunt and go camping.

I really like him a lot and so I am doing a lot of research online trying to learn about deer hunting for beginners. I’m not sure that I could actually do the hunting, but I at least want to be able to understand and talk to him about it.

I’m thrilled to finally have a relationship and not having to deal with the ghosting when expecting a date to show up.

My little dog Precious is doing great. She loves the fact that I work from home and she gets separation anxiety whenever I leave her for any amount of time. I try to take her whenever I can.

We are actually starting to eat out again and visiting all of our favorite spots, if they are still open. The job market is really short staffed here and some places can get enough help to stay open. I will even take Precious to the ones that have outside dining. She is always a big hit.

In addition to precious, we have added a fish tank to our apartment and I am thrilled that it adds a wonderful ambiance and is very easy to take care of.

That is about it from here. I will try and update the blog as things change.

Talk to you soon.

Starting an Online Business

As this pandemic has worn on, I have come to realize how helpless I feel because I rely on someone else for my living.

The whole world has been shut down economically and there is nothing that I can do about it.

Then I got to thinking…

You know who didn’t get shutdown economically?

In fact, I have heard that they are actually making more money since the Covid19 pandemic.

Those people that run online businesses.

So, I started looking into what is involved with starting an online business and it turns out that there are many different ways to make money online.

I have done extensive research on each of the ways that i have come across and some make sense and some don’t.

One of the ways that I was considering is with an Etsy store, but I am not really very crafty and I don’t already have a product to sell, so I gave up on that one.

The next one that I researched was ebay.

There are a lot of ways to make money with ebay, but the one that I liked wouldn’t really work during a pandemic.

My research led me to find that people are building businesses by finding items on sale or at tag sales and flea markets, buying them and then selling them for a profit on ebay.

This sounds like a lot of fun, but I don’t think that there are many tag sales and flea markets happening during a pandemic, so I gave up on the one as well.

The next one that I researched was affiliate marketing.

This seemed very interesting to me and I already have some experience with a website.

So with affiliate marketing, you build a website around one of your interests and once you have some traffic coming in, you start to refer your readers to products and services that you like and use.

If those readers buy a product or service that you referred them to, you make a commission!

As I was doing my research, I came across this article:

Affiliate Marketing in the New Economy

The article talks about Wealthy Affiliate and the training that is provided on how to start an affiliate marketing business.

I really like what I read.

So that is it!

I am going to start an affiliate marketing business!

I will dive in head first while I am still not working, and if I do go back to work, I will continue building my business part time so that I can eventually count on myself for a full time income.

I feel better already!

Lockdown and Covid 19

Well, it has been awhile since I have posted here! LOL, I had forgotten all about this blog that I had started.

I am considered a non essential employee, so I have been on lockdown for over a month now. That has given me the time to find things that I had started in the past and this blog is one of them.

I felt like it would be somewhat therapeutic to write about my experiences during this pandemic, and I thought that my blog might be a good place to do it.

My life is basically on hold for now until our state opens back up and allows us to get back to work.

I have all of my groceries delivered and the only time that I get out of the house is to walk my little dog Precious.

Precious

Precious is my little Yorkshire Terrier and I don’t know what I would do without her during these difficult times. We take a nice long walk twice a day and I think it is really good for both of us.

It seems so strange to go out in public to walk with my dog and everybody is wearing masks. I feel like we are living in the twilight zone!

Walking dog with facemask

I find that people are generally respectful and maintain social distancing protocols, but there are always exceptions. Some people just don’t get it.

The most difficult part of this pandemic is not being able to interact with other people. I live alone, so the only social interaction that I used to get was going to work and going out with my friends.

I do facetime with my family and some of my friends. Other friends I call or text, and of course social media helps.

I’m pretty lucky that I have some savings to fall back on, but certainly not forever. I find myself searching the internet for ways to make money online and going down one rabbit hole after another.

Well, Precious is reminding me that it is time for her walk, so that is all for now. I will try and post more regularly and use this blog almost like a journal.

Until next time…

Welcome to Life in Chicago!

Hi Everybody!

My name is Sarah Corcoran and I created this blog to chronicle my new adventure as I start my life over over in the big city of Chicago.

I am 40 years old and starting over after getting divorced from my husband of 10 years. I am originally from a small town in Ohio, so Chicago is a big move for me, but I am thrilled for a fun filled adventure in the big city!

I will share my adventures here in these pages as I explore the vast expanses of this beautiful city.

Feel free to comment and share your experiences as well, so that I can learn my way around and make the most of my time here.

My Visit to Millennium Park.

Even though I now live in Chicago, I am still very much a tourist and I love to visit the tourist attractions in the city. Today I spent a good part of the day in Millennium Park and all I can say is “WOW!”.

I don’t know what I was expecting, but this park is spectacular!

I love the way that it is surrounded by high rises and then open to Lake Michigan. It is truly not to be missed.

What is Millennium Park?

According to Wikipedia “Millennium Park is a public park located in the Loop community area of Chicago in Illinois, US, and originally intended to celebrate the second millennium. It is a prominent civic center near the city’s Lake Michigan shoreline that covers a 24.5-acre (99,000 m²) section of northwestern Grant Park. The area was previously occupied by parkland, Illinois Central rail yards, and parking lots.^[1] The park, which is bounded by Michigan Avenue, Randolph Street, Columbus Drive and East Monroe Drive, features a variety of public art. As of 2009, Millennium Park trailed only Navy Pier as a Chicago tourist attraction and by 2017 it had become the number one tourist attraction in the Midwestern United States. In 2015, the park became the location of the city’s annual Christmas tree lighting.”

It is a spectacular display of art and greenery in an urban setting.

I was amazed at the number of people out in the park on this beautiful spring day!

Here you can see people working out in the park. This likes so much fun! I am definitely going to try Yoga in the park!

This is known as the Chicago Bean and is just one of the incredible works af art that you will see in the park.

As you can see, it is a huge attraction and it has to be one of the most photographed things that I have ever witnessed.

Everybody had to take a picture!

Here is a map of the park that shows you where everything is located. The great lawn is where the large crowd was doing yoga.

The Lurie Garden was just spectacular this time of year!

Having grown up Ice Skating, I can’t wait for the winter when the McCormick Tribune Ice Rink is open!

Here is the great lawn at Jay Pritzker Pavillion after the Yoga workout had left. It is such an awesome gathering spot!

I absolutely loved Millennium Park and I will be back many times to spectacular oasis in the middle of urbanity. There is so much going on here all the time. From festivals and parties to people just hanging out and enjoying the breezes off the lake.

If you are in Chicago and looking for a place to spend the day, Millennium Park has to be on your list!

Chicago Deep Dish Pizza at Giordano’s!

So when I told people that I was moving to Chicago, they said – “You have got to try Chicago Deep Dish Pizza!”.

Last night I went to the famous Giordano’s Pizza so that I could try the famous deep dish pizza.

I didn’t have a reservation, so needless to say, I had to wait about an hour for a table. Once I was seated, I was informed that a deep dish pizza is at least 40 minutes of prep time!

What??? This must be some pizza!

I ordered a salad to enjoy while I waited and it came relatively quickly and it was very good, but the anticipation of the Chicago Deep Dish Pizza was killing me.

I consider myself a people watcher, so I amused myself with watching the other patrons at Giordano’s while I watched numerous deep dish pizzas go by.

Ok, now I’m really getting hungry!

So, while I am sitting here waiting for my pizza, I am doing some research on my phone about Giordano’s Deep Dish Pizza. Apparently it is a stuffed deep dish pizza that originated in Italy as an “Italian Easter Pie” and became quite famous. As I am watching them go by to other tables, I notice that the sauce is on top and they are very thick. The other patrons seem to be enjoying them immensely and my mouth is watering!

Just as I was about to give up…

It arrived!

OMG! That is a lot of dough!

By this time, I had been here for almost 2 hours and had only eaten a salad, so I was ready to dig in!

The pizza was very good and incredibly filling, but I think I prefer the thin crust.

There was no way I was going to eat the whole thing, but I put a pretty good dent in it!

I don’t think I have ever eaten that much cheese in one sitting in my life!

Maybe it is because I am not yet a native Chicagoan, but deep dish pizza just isn’t my thing.

If you come to Chicago, you have to try Chicago Deep Dish Pizza, just to be able to say that you have tried it and Giordano’s should be on your list!

My New Obsession – Matcha!

I met a friend of mine the other day at Sawada Coffee, a coffee shop on North Green Street. I was planning on having a Latte to boost my energy and enjoy while we talked.

Well, my friend ordered a matcha green tea. I had never heard of matcha before, so I asked her what it was.

Turns out, matcha is a green tea powder that has amazing health benefits and its caffeine is tempered and there is no crash or jitters.

I am always up for trying new things, so I ordered a military latte which id matcha latte with some expresso and chocolate.

All I can say is… WOW!

I felt so good the rest of the day. I seemed to have this clear focus that I had been lacking for so long.

When I got home that night, I googled matcha and found all kinds of awesome information about this amazing superfood. I found the best website for clear concise matcha information was matchaconnection.com. They have awesome information on the best matcha brands and where to buy it as well as information on the health benefits of matcha and more. Highly recommend it!

So now I not only go to the coffee shop for matcha latte, but I also make matcha green tea at home. I just can’t get enough of the stuff! I love the way it makes me feel,so energized and clear headed.

Yes, I am obsessed!

I used to start my day with a cup of coffee and by noon I was starting to drag and feel tired, but since I have switched to matcha, I feel focused and energized all day long

I’ve already turned a bunch of my friends on to matcha and I even got my mom hooked!

The next time you are out at a coffee shop in Chicago and you see matcha on the menu, do yourself a favor and try it, but I am warning you, you may like it… A lot!