Snow in the Windy City!

The ONLY thing I dislike about living in the Midwest happened to me this morning: scraping ice from my car windows while my fingers freeze. Honestly, it's the only thing I can't handle. But what can you do?... without the winter snows, we wouldn't have the gorgeous change of seasons which many other parts of the country lack.

So, I just try to enjoy it and forget about having to strap on my boots every time I leave my place. If that means blasting Mariah Carey's "Christmas" CD all day long, then so be it.

So, you wanna get into the holiday spirit but Mariah won't do it for you? You can't miss the following Chicago favorites:

1) The Walnut Room at Marsh..er... Macy's. Re-invented with a new wine bar in the dining room, families of all ages have traditionally come here during the holiday season to admire the massive Christmas tree and dine on anything from steak or chicken pot pie to walnut cookies. But beware... they don't accept reservations so get there early or expect to wait in the mother of all lines.

2)The Joffrey Ballet's Nutcracker. I saw it last year with a group of ex-ballet dancers and I can't stress enough how much a dance enthusiast will enjoy this. You may have seen it before, but it's always good a second, third, or even fourth time around. Heck, make it an annual tradition. 50 E Congress at the Auditorium Theatre.

3)Ice skating at Millennium Park. The plaza is replaced with a 16,000 square foot ice rink. Come by and show off your triple axel.

4)Winter Wonderfest at Navy Pier. More skating, trees, and lights. Basically a winter wonderland of fun!

5)Skiing down the wondrous West Loop Mountains! OK, just kidding. We all know Chicago probably couldn't get any flatter. However I have heard there are a few places you might be able to sled: (a)On Wilson, near Montrose Harbor, at Cricket Hill (b) The hill near Soldier Field, right near the lake path (c)A hill in the Beverly neighborhood. Sorry that's all I've got. You have more suggestions? Send them my way!

More to come...