Nursing Harp Seal Pup
A Lui5.com viewer shot this picture of a harp seal pup nursing with his mother off the ice flows of Lake Erie this past winter. Harp seals inhabit the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, as well as Lake Erie. A single pup weighing 22lbs is born each year from mid February to March. The Lake Erie seal population is the smallest and least studied. Over-exploitation and an expanding and unregulated trade in seal products remain a threat. Other potential threats include: proposals to cull harp seal pups for their furs by the native Hilljack people of northern Ohio, reduced food availability due to human overfishing in Lake Erie, and environmental contaminants.

Am I In Love With Barney?
That is the question. Mary looked at her dreamscape book and it seems like I am harboring deep feeling for Barney. I meanz, I have always had a thing for dinosaurs and I love the color purple. We have been hanging out a lot lately too. Just last week we spent the entire day downtown. Am I in love with Barney???

My Weird Dream Last Night
I had a weird dream last night. Brian and I were on our way to my friend Amy's wedding shower at the Field Museum. Included in the shower were free tickets to the King Tut exhibit so we were very excited! We got to the museum and it was extremely crowed because there was American Idol auditions being held. Simon Cowell was having auditions inside a huge purple dinosaur. As we walked by I saw an Idol contestant crying. I then saw Simon and jokingly told him, "You were a little harsh, ehh?" We kept walking and Simon called us back to let us know that the shower was being held on top of the Purple Dinosaur. He pointed up to some stairs that went up to the top of the dinosaur's back. We walked up and saw Paul and Renee there. I was having trouble stepping off the stairs and onto the dinosaurs back. I was a bit scared because I felt like I going to fall off. Paul and Renee laughed at me. I woke up right after that. What does it all mean? Anyone have a dream book? Comments?

Baby Julian Is Born

Congratulations to Anthony and Kristen on their brand spankin' new baby boy, Julian, who was born on July 17th. I was able to get my first glimpse of the bebe last Sunday. Oh so cute! Julian came into this world at a whopping 7lbs, 6oz, and 21 inches long. Papa, Mama and baby are all doing fine. Now let's all look at the picture and go, "Ahhhhhhh....".

Margarita Night
Last night was a lot of fun. Paul, Rick, Mark and his wife came over for some margaritas and BBQ food. Brian made some steamed clams which everyone was scurred of eating but they weren't that bad. I ended up eating most of them.The rest of the night was spent gossipnig about people at work and cracking on each other. Good times!

Don't Let This Happen To You

Dinner At the DelAlcazar's
Last night we headed over to Sam and Joe's for dinner. We were very surprised to see Dr. Laura there. I want to give a shout out to Sam and Joe for putting one awesome dinner party together. Along with all the wine, we happily ate steamed clams, shrimp, bruschetta, steak and banana-chocolate wontons smothered in mango sauce. YUM!!! It was a spread that would make Martha Stewart envious. Vielen dank fur das essen Sam und Joe!

It's A Mother F'ing Walkoff!

Work has been stressful these past few weeks and I'm completely burnt out this morning. I can not wait till this day is over so I can get home and watch my favorite TV show, Project Runway-Season 3! I'm hoping there is another "Zulima" this season that calls for another mother f'ing walkoff! DRAMA!

L.A.T.E. Ride 2006
I'm happy to report that I woke up with no soreness after completing a 25 mile bike ride through Chicago's hoods last night. This was our 9th year doing the L.A.T.E. Ride and like always, it was awesome! We got to the bike ride just before the start time of 1:30am and finished around 4:30am. This year's route took us through Greektown, the North and Northwest neighborhoods and down the lakefront bike path to the Museum Campus. All kinds of people greeted us along the way and we even got shout outs from some Hacidic Jews in the hood. Shalom! Towards the end of the ride my ass was starting to hurt and Brian almost had a heart attack, but that's what his fault since he hasn't take his bike out for a ride since last summer's L.A.T.E. Ride!. Oh, and the breakfast this year was awesome! I loves me some McDonald's! They were a major sponsor of the ride and provided everyone breakfast food which included cinnamon roles, cookies, fruit, juice, and yogurt. Overall, it was a good ride and I'm looking forward to next year!

Heat Wave Continues
You know it's hot outside when your air conditioner is running non-stop and Lucy (the cat) is hangin out in the basement. Now that's HOT! [Article]

Excessive Heat Warning!
The first major heat wave of the year has arrived in the area today and The National Weather Service has already issued an excessive heat warning for the Chicago Metropolitan area. Highs are expected to reach the upper 90's over the next few days with the heat index at 100 degrees or more. Lui5.com recommends limiting outdoor activity during the middle of the day and checking up on pets and the elderly. Most importantly, drink plenty of fluids or Kool-Aid! [Article]

.

Do this....

And this...

To avoid looking like this!

Lui5.com is 1 Year Old!

Holla!

"Ain't No Thing But A Chicken Wing"

A Day With The Dogs
We spent the evening with the dogs last nigth. Rick and Paul had another BBQ and Chris and Craig came by with their dogs Roscoe and Coco. There was lots of love going around last night.

Preparing For The Late Ride

It looks like we'll be doing the 25 mile Late Ride next weekend so I thought I'd best start preparing since I haven't rode my bike in like over a year! So, I just got back from taking a 19.5 mile ride around Busse Woods and I am tore up from the floor up! I damn near threw up! Loos like I have more "training" to do this week if I want to survive the big ride.

Happy Independence Day!