chicago elliott

did you hear?

2008-10-22T16:45:00.002-05:00

did you hear that john mccain was in the kkk when he was younger? yea.. AND he still attends meetings.. oh, also he is really good friends with charles manson, he visited him in prison.. yep.. true.. another thing, he likes to hunt people for sport.. yea, it's true, he'll find someone that no one will know is missing and then set them free in the mountains and then track them down and kill them.. and then eats them.. oh yea, i heard it all from this guy that knows mccains dogs trainer..

seriously people.. rumors are ridiculous.. if you believe everything you read and hear you need to not be so damned naive.. it applies to everything, not just scripture (ephesians 4:14).. if you hear something about someone, find out if it is actually true before spreading more lies/rumors.. if you cant get a solid answer, dont repeat it..

but just so you know.. mccain and palin had a love child and that is the only reason she is running for vp, she blackmailed him. you heard it here folks..

well..

2008-06-12T13:57:00.004-05:00

school has been done for a while. and i just now am able to breathe (breath?), breathe..

mary and i moved into a new place a couple miles north of our last place. much bigger and much nicer (much more nice).. my sister also moved in w/ us. i've been trying to get her into the city for a long time.. and she finally took the bait.. so there are 3 chicago elliotts now. dan, mary and tracey (aka sissy).

i bought a motorcycle.. in the 2 weeks i've owned it i've riden it about 3 minutes.. put a hole in the gas tank and now need to repair or buy another.. dang.. just my luck.. so when driving the car, i act like i'm on a motorcycle, much to mary's dismay. car's dont and shouldnt steer like a motorcycle.. it's scary when they lean.. :)

my dad is doing well, i noticed i hadnt updated in a while about his heart surgery. he's healthier than he's been in a long time. he climbed mt everest last week.. and by mt everest, i mean he probably watched the sox win 7 straight.. but seriously.. he said he's in the best shape of his life since he ran track in high school.. my question to teddy is, what did the navy do to ya? was that easier than running track?

mary still workin at the flower shop.. doing sales and design.. very busy. as usual.

anything else i'm forgetting?

loves.d

the classmates

2008-03-11T12:10:00.003-05:00

well...

we are getting ready for our thesis and this is the pic for the front of the invitation.. all the classmates, which by now are more like family...

i'm the H

if anyone would like to attend the final exhibition

april 7
6–9
1314 w. randolph
chicago il. 606(something)

peace out

north carolina

2007-10-17T19:53:00.000-05:00

so, tomorrow.. which is thursday as i type this on wednesday.. i will fly into the beloved RDU international airport. i'll be spending my time while there working on a a catalog for the old agency... i might be able to have time to see some folks.. if you want to hang.. let me know.. or.. holla at a brotha... :)

u know my digits.. if you don't.. well.. i probably don't want to see you anyway.. :) haha.. jk..

peace.
love.
d

why hello all

2007-10-08T21:15:00.000-05:00

so.. update on teddy (my dad)..

he is doing very well. he goes back to work on the 29th.. speedy recovery teddy...

we've been out to hang out with him pretty much at least once a week..

not much else too new... just school work for dan and work work work work for mary..

if anyone wants to read a 9 page paper on Garamond the typeface, let me know.. haha.. i'm sure i don't have any friends that are that nerdy..

ok, i'm out..
d

dad

2007-09-14T16:27:00.000-05:00

so my dad had a quadruple (sp?) bypass today... he is in the ICU now, they tell us the surgery went well...

thx to all our friends that have prayed and we ask your continued prayer for healing...

i'll keep updated on here as we go...

dan

something new

2007-09-05T23:09:00.000-05:00

i really envy andy... is it so wrong for me to want to envy a man that can write a great blog so often? i really am quite deficient in my blog writing abilities... along with my lack of proteins that allow me to write the but once a month it seems...

anywho.. andy, you truly are my hero.. have i ever told you? that you're my hero?

so, i'll give an update school has started.. crazy busy with that.. taking 18 (i think) hours of classes and teaching a class as well.. oh, and taking another class at another college for the fun of it.. just incase my 2 hours of sleep was too much.. haha...

and i'm not the busy one out of the chicago elliott fam.. mary has been working her already small heiner off.. she's doing great things over at the shop and they are loving her more and more every day.. i also envy her...

so it looks like God is telling me i have a problem with envy.. haha.. we'll see if we can fix that..

the weather in chicago has been pretty crazy as of late.. beautiful 70's one day, balmy upper 90's the next (i know, that's not too balmy is it).. we had a tree across the street break in two, and it was a huge friggin tree.. must've been 100 yrs old.. friggin huge... covered the whole street.. see pic attached.. luckily mary had the car at work, no where near any trees...

this is a nice long post, so i'll keep it going.. i'll start my 10 reasons why chicago is amazing and why you should consider it for your next place to visit/relocate...

10. our hotdogs don't come with coleslaw..

9. we have all 4 seasons.. even if winter is the longest (cold builds character.. when you're old you can tell stories about walking to school in the snow.. not walking to school in the nice crisp 50 degree january day)

8. heavy coats look so cool

7. 2016 olympics baby

6. ever had pizza so thick you have to eat it with a crane? you will in chicago

5. goose island

4. you can never get lost.. the streets are a grid.. and the streets have a special lane for bicycles

3. illinois kicks all of it's neighboring states butts.. seriously.. who can compete? iowa? ha...

2. mike ditka and michael jordan.. come on...

1. the elliotts? and did i mention mike ditka?

ok.. i'm out.. do you like the pink type? i had to, i used arial and it only deserves silly colors such as pink...

love to all.....

d&m

1 yr anni

2007-08-01T16:45:00.000-05:00

well, it has been 1 year since we moved back to illinois.. (please, when reading along in your head, do not pronounce the "s" in illinois, it just hurts thinking that you may say it that way.. it burns..)

so any whoooo...

not too much to update.. i have about 3 weeks before school starts back up. i think.. hopefully i won't show up a week early, or late..

and i just remembered i never did the top 10 for illinois.. i'll get on that andy.. u deserve it after making a wonderful top 10 for nc...

well, i better go.

for giggles, here is a pic of mary, tracey and i the day before our wedding.. tracey's bday was 2 days before the wedding so we were giving here a bday kiss.. :) look how young we were, and how skinny i was.. :)

the trip

2007-07-23T15:29:00.000-05:00

here are some pix.. we went almost 2000 miles in 3 days.. 12 hours a day.. over 600 miles a day.. we had a great time and saw some great landscapes across the north-mid-west united states..

road trip

2007-07-18T12:21:00.000-05:00

well, my buddy chuck and i are off for mt rushmore.. there and back in 4 days.. yes, our behinds will probably hurt when we get back (actually, by tomorrow night i'm sure they'll be tender)

pray for us while we're out having a good time on the motorcycles.. they can be dangerous

love to all
rd

sand typography

2007-07-15T13:35:00.000-05:00

enough said..

rd

in the city

2007-07-10T13:49:00.000-05:00

woo.. summer in the city... love it... here are a few more pix.. sorry some are sideways..

summer time

2007-07-10T11:05:00.000-05:00

well, mary and i have had quite a summer so far... we started it off with our 6 year anniversary, which we spent in the obx with my family... it was wild, we had i think 24 peopleincluding kids (7 kids under the age of 7)

we were able to spend some time with my family and our friends the furry's.. a ton of body boarding, card playing and plenty of eating..

on july 3rd, mary and i went downtown to the taste of chicago and enjoyed some of chicago's great food... sweet baby ray's bbq sauce had their own stand, it was GREAT!! i love me some sweet baby rays.. after spending enough money for more than enough food, we went down and saw a movie to pass time before the fireworks. we spent the last few hours at navy pier eating more and watching the fire works. we had a great time doing the "city thing" to celebrate the independence of our country.

been awhile (is that 2 words?, a while)

2007-05-23T21:52:00.000-05:00

so it's been a, bit... since last time i've posted.. busy with school and all i guess will be my excuse... school went well this semester, it's good to be done for a bit, but at the same time i'm excited for next semester to start.. i get to teach incoming freshmen graphic design all by my lonesome.. should be fun, and a great experience..

this pic has really nothing to do with anything.. i just like it.. i took it from the blue line stop near our place.. no digital inhancing either, this is just how good i am.. haha.. jk..

so, all my nc friends, i'll prob be seeing you in june, i'll be working for a week and a half for rivers agency in chapel hill, so i'll be around.. let me know if you wanna hang..

cool.. i'm out

love hugs and kisses
d

lost phone

2007-03-16T17:28:00.000-05:00

hey everyone.. if anyone has tried to call me in the last week, i haven't gotten a message or missed call notification because my phone is lost.. i ordered a new one online today, so hopefully i'll get it tomorrow or monday..

this raises another issue... i don't have any of your numbers anymore... so please, if you think i had, or should have had, or your number, email me or message me with your digits and i'll add them to my new phone once i get it...

thanks and hope to talk to you all on my new phone soon...

dan

let's try this one

2007-03-11T14:05:00.000-05:00

frustrated

2007-03-10T00:15:00.000-06:00

this dang thing won't let me post a wicked-cool image... dag nabbit... i'll try again later...

love hugs and especially kisses
dan

ok, seriously

2007-01-02T20:08:00.000-06:00

this is getting quite ridiculous.. 2 times now, TWO, TWICE... i have tried to go snowboarding and the weather is tooooo warm... i mean, i'm back in the midwest aren't i? i'm not in the south, january should NOT be 50 degrees... that's it, i'm moving back to the south.. haha, jk... i still love the north/midwest... just frustrating when you want to go snowboarding and can't... TWICE dangit

ok, well.. enough ranting for now...

to my southern friends, see you in a few days.. cheerio

Merry Christmas

2006-12-25T08:31:00.000-06:00

to all and to all a good night...

May the good news of great joy for all people be with you today...

Jesus loves you

JAN 6-9

2006-12-17T18:13:00.000-06:00

for all who live in the capital city of NC (or neighboring cities, ie. morrisville, cary, wake forest, chapel hill, durham), mary and i will be in town... we're coming just for a visit... no business, just pleasure...

on another matter, 1st semester of grad school is down and 3 to go... then i'll be a master.. haha

in other news, the church we have been attending (www.thenewcom.com) has been absolutely wonderful.. pastor peter has a true gift of speaking Gods word and it has been wonderful to hear convicting and inspiring messages at the same time.. God is good...

ok, i'm out..

love to everyone who reads this... and those who don't :)

you know you're a chicagoan

2006-12-13T18:31:00.001-06:00

If your local Dairy Queen is closed from September through May, you live in Chicago

If someone in a Home Depot store offers you assistance and they don't work there, you live in Chicago

If you've worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you live in Chicago.

If you've had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number, you live in Chicago

If "Vacation" means going anywhere south of I - 80 for the weekend, you live in Chicago.

If you measure distance in hours, you live in Chicago .

If you have switched from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day and back again, you live in Chicago

If you can drive 75 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching, you live in Chicago.

If you carry jumpers in your car and your wife knows how to use them, you live in Chicago

If you design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit, you live in Chicago

If the speed limit on the highway is 55 mph -- you're going 80 and everybody is passing you, you live in Chicago

If driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow, you live in Chicago

If you know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction, you live in Chicago.

If you have more miles on your snow blower than your car, you live in Chicago

If you find 10 degrees "a little chilly", you live in Chicago

If you actually understand these jokes, and forward them to all your friends & others, you live in Chicago

wooo SNOW!!!

2006-12-01T08:33:00.000-06:00

ok folks... i've been busy with school and the likes, but today i must post... whew... SNOW!!! i remember it now.. how fun it is... throwing snowballs at.. trees :) driving in it.. walking in it.. looking at it.. there, for me, is no negative aspect of snow... and to show you what i mean, here are a few pix... enjoy..

oh, and one other thing i find rather amusing... i was watching the news this morning and looking for the "closers".. not thinking my school was going to be shut down, but i was just curious... i saw one school that said, "SCHOOL NOT CANCELLED, BUSES NOT RUNNING" so really... get your butts to school... haha.. i remember, and i'm not poking fun, raleigh... for all you raleigh, cary, wake forest readers out there... you guys would have the next WEEK off.. :)

wish you were here!
dan

sorry for the delay

2006-10-03T00:05:00.000-05:00

wow!!!! school is crazy! very hard, but fun and a great experience...

so, i STILL have not finished my top 10... but, i have taken some RAD pix of the city... here are a few...

mary and i are good, mary is working a ton and really enjoying her job. mary's sister got hitched this last weekend, so we saw a bunch of family, even a few we haven't seen for a long time, so that was fun.. rosie got to play out in the country and run around free with a large german shepard... it's so funny to see those two chasing around the yard... one bite and rosie is gone, luckily, mossy (the german shepard) is a VERY well trained dog... luckily rosie is not in heat anymore so that is good too...

let's see here, i don't think there is much else to say, i'm tired and still have work to do tonight but i thought it had been tooooo long since i posted on here... so... here you go...

oh... and thx to everyone that text'd me on "national speak like a pirate day" that was awesome... you brought a smile to my face... YAR!!!!

this is the view walking from one class to the next on wednesday night...

waiting for a bus, the city still moves

view from my school... my building is the one on the left... doesn't the sears tower almost look fake back there, i probably could have faked a building in there and it would've looked better, but this is real... promise

well... bummer

2006-08-28T16:20:00.000-05:00

i was SOOO excited to start school today! and then... i got an email saying class will not start until wed.. the new prof is stuck in germany until next week.. so, that class won't even take place until NEXT wed since next monday is labor day...

anyway... it's another day of me sitting at home trying to get rosie not to bark at every little noise... augh!

otherwise, things are going great here.. mary just went to her parents place this weekend for a bridal shower for her sister... getting married sometime in sept i believe...

tomorrow, mary has the day off, so we are going to go over to uic together and walk around the campus and just check the whole thing out.. find where all my classes are going to be taking place.. finding other things on campus like, oh.. pepsi machines, where to get donuts and maybe the library :) haha..

it's raining here today, but it has cooled off outside because of it, so i'm loving it, dark, gloomy and cold is the way i like it...

peace i'm out
d

another post? yes sir're bobber

2006-08-20T21:27:00.000-05:00

my apologies for the recent blog slump... i've been soooo busy doing chores around the house... i can't wait for school to start... one more week... i start on the 28th... woooooo

so today mary and i went downtown and to navy pier and watched the annual (give me some dumb and dumber love, that's a tough one) air and water show... FREE! woohoo, Adam: we were totally thinking of you, we were like, man, i bet adam would love to be up there doing that stuff...

so the coolest part that we saw were the blue angels... those things are soooo loud and fast, it's ridiculous, the pix don't do it much justice, but these things were flying so low to the ground it was crazy... they'd come out of no where and then all of a sudden, you'd hear this loud thunder and a blue streak through the sky... it was soo cool... we walked around a bit, and i got turned around and walked west, looking for the lake (ooops!) but we caught a bus and got back on track...

so we found this totally wicked (give me some mr deeds love) church called the new community... it's a multi-cultural/ethnic church comprised of a bunch of people around our age of all different cultures.. seriously, the oldest people we've seen are like 50, and they were visiting their son... the sermons have been ridiculously awesome and totally practical.. we've only met a few people there so far, but hope to get plugged in somewhere... they call small groups, connection groups...

i got the whole car tax thing figured out... well, actually i thought i had it figured out after a TON of math and digging up old paper work.. got to the secretary of state and the lady said, oh, you didn't need to do all this, just fill out when you bought the car and when you brought it back into the state... you don't need all these numbers... well... i didn't have to pay any taxes and i got to brush up on some basic math... and spend some quality alone time while waiting in lines.. haha

ok, so last bit of news... we got new cell phones, i might have already texted a few people my new number, but i haven't got around to sending one to everybody... so if you haven't gotten a call or text from either mary or myself, give us a holler and we'll hook you up with our new numbers...

enjoy a few pix from the windy city
the car and trailor (sp?) is a sculpture infront of the museum of contemporary art

off with her head

2006-08-14T16:45:00.000-05:00

i cut rosie's head off and put it in a comforter to suprise mary... not really... she was sleeping like this and woke up when i came over to take a pic... what a crazy dog...

anyway... things are going pretty good... i'm all registered for classes and have my new student ID... mary is at work and i'm being a good housewife (laundry, dishes, pick up around the house)

i haven't forgot the top ten, i'm just trying to get a bunch of cool pics to post at once...

peace out
d

image testing

2006-08-10T15:29:00.000-05:00

let's see if this works.. this is mary and me infront of our new place with our landlords dogs

it's official

2006-08-10T15:16:00.000-05:00

we both passed our written exam for our illinois drivers license... whew! we were a bit nervous. i even passed the motorcycle test again, so i can still get my harley :)

now we have the struggle of registering our car... for those of you who have moved from another state and have had to register a car, i feel your pain.. again... not only did we pay tax on the car when we bought it, we had to pay tax on it when we moved to raleigh, and now.. yep, having to pay 7% tax on the cars value WHEN WE BOUGHT IT! does that seem right? we paid about 19 or so for the car 4 years ago, the car isn't even worth 10 anymore and we have to pay on the 19... oh man, i get so dang frustrated... why can't they make moving more simple, it's not like i'm moving to another country, just from state to state... augh!

well, i still haven't figured out how to put pix in here, so the top 10 will have to start without images... (once i figure out how to show images, i'll add them)

10) have you seen the skyline? screw the hills and mountains, give me cement and iron!

9) mass transit that actually takes you places other than the mall, and you don't have to walk 5 miles to get to the nearest stop

8) it's called pop, not soda

7-1 still to come...

anyone know how to do pix on these things?

top 10

2006-08-05T09:39:00.000-05:00

well, i need to give andy much deserved credit... he has already FINISHED his top ten for Carolina. i feel as if i should post it here instead of being hidden in the comments links...

here it is, and i will start my list soon... promise!

____

#10) No matter how "Great" you think your lakes are... They're no Ocean!
#9) You left your golf clubs in the Falls Lake
#8) - We invented Humidity!
#7) - We keep our trains on the ground were they belong... Oh, and there not crowded either!
#6) In Chicago, It's called a "heatwave". In Raleigh, it's called a Tuesday.
#5) Free and ample parking!
#4) Everyone knows Hockey is a southern sport.
#3) Chapel Hill is the biggest mission field on the planet!
#2) Becky's Cookies, Crystal's Chicken Enchiladas, Carrie's sghetti salad, and anything Jackie makes
#1) We Love YA'LL!

_____

thank you andy... we love you all too!

WHEW... almost unpacked

2006-08-03T13:01:00.000-05:00

wow, unpacking just may suck MORE than packing... especially in this chicago heat... it's been 100 degrees, plus humidity.. they're saying it feels like 110... 6 people died this week from heat related causes...

we're loving it.. i'm sipping on root beer at a local pub that has free wireless internet... mary is helping a friend do flowers for a wedding...

gotta run

loaded up on something

2006-07-29T21:42:00.000-05:00

well, it seems as though we are loaded up and ready to go... thank you all for helping and praying for this process... we will miss all our friends (family) in nc...

we leave tomorrow right after church... one last hurrah!

i need to figure out how to post pics on here.. anyone know how?

getting close

2006-07-25T13:33:00.000-05:00

wow,

it's tuesday... everyday we have left in NC is packed full of excitement... and non-excitement(packing) i've packed big and small boxes today, some probably too big..

on top of having to pack, rosie is KILLING me... she barks at everything because nothing is normal anymore... boxes here, stuff moved over there... all of this keeps her very uneasy, so even when the AC kicks on, she barks... augh... silly doggie....

thank you andy for the start of your top 10... i quite enjoyed it.

7 days to the move

2006-07-23T17:25:00.000-05:00

Well Friends, it is officially 7 days until Mary and i start driving to our new home in the windy city. we have had a great time in north carolina and look very much forward to visiting in the hopefully near future.

We are starting this blog to keep everyone posted on our ventures in chicago and our lives there in the big city. we will hopefully figure out how to post pix and will be able to keep everyone up-to-date visually as well.

i'm also going to start a top-10 list on why everyone needs to come visit us, but that will be later, hopefully in collaberation with images. :)

see you all soon
dan and mare