On Friday I had to use my misbooked Priceline.com hotel.  Back a couple months when I had my bachelor party I somehow put the wrong date down and got a hotel for December.  Luckily it ended up being Friday so we took advantage of the hotel and spent the weekend in Chicago.  We drove down after work and checked in.  I’m glad I didn’t pay over $80 for the room because it was about 2×2. After we check in we cabbed it a place Jocelyn found called the Beer Bistro.  They had the typical bar food but also had a deal with the twelve beers of Christmas.  We sat down and asked about the deal and they were out of a bunch of the Christmas beers.  That didn’t deter me though so I started my way through as many of the twelve days as I could.  We weren’t really planning on spending all night here but we ended up talking and eating some burgers and the next thing we knew I had drank all the beers they had available.  I asked the waitress for some substitutions and she didn’t know.  The actual owner came over and talked to us and he obliged us by giving us a shirt and talking to us for a bit.  We took our hundred dollar t-shirt and headed back to the hotel a bit before two.  We ran unexpectedly late.

Saturday we drove to J’s mom’s place.  We lounged around all day and watched some TV and exchanged presents.  I got a very nice suitcase that I desperately needed and a nice shirt and tie.  Then that night we headed back to the city to go out for Arianne’s birthday.  We went with her and a couple of her friends to a sushi place.  It was one of those trendy sushi restaurants.  I really wasn’t all that impressed with the sushi but they did have a great lava rock appetizer.  They bring out a very hot rock and some thinly sliced beef.  You then cook the beef on the rock.  It was fun and the best thing I had.  The craziest part of the whole restaurant experience is that we ran into my cousin Craig.  Jocelyn spotted him and he spotted Jocelyn.  So he can over and chatted a bit.  Talk about crazy.  After dinner we headed back to the burbs.  They had just had a new bar put in their basement and we needed to break it in.  We sat there the rest of the night talking and drinking wine.  If I ever get a bar in my house it could be trouble.  There bar is very very nice but I’m afraid if I ever had it I’d never leave.

Sunday we had a nice lunch.  We ate up, gave our holiday wishes and headed home.  One week of work left then vacation!!!