Well, another year has come and gone…along with my desire to move. Here’s a couple of shots of today’s haul and breakdown:

2 Glutino products for MUM
can of Twinings loose tea
box of PB Thins (crackers)
restauant-size packages of HUGE sheets of spinach wraps and roasted red pepper wraps
8 salmon and shrimp sushi pieces
lots of Orbit gum for FIrstBorn
Lucy’s Brownie Crisp (very yummy!)
package of Campari tomatoes
a few cellopphane packs of bell peppers
case of Portobello mushrooms
3 or 4 packs of flour tortillas (Chicago company)

coffee…this is actually the best coffee I have ever tasted.  Had a bag from last year that I stored until last week, thinking I must have been mistaken…I was not.  This is a strong, Cuban blend that is not acrid at all.  It is so good that I will actually be paying for coffee from now on.  Company is out of Chicago (founder lives in Glen Ellyn!) and sell to Mariano’s, Costco and Sam’s Club.  (Apparently the Mariano people were out in droves because I heard the same refrain from lots of the smaller Exhibiters – – oh, the Mariano people were here earlier!).  If you can’t make out the info on the label, email me and I’ll send you the contact info from the card.

Here is a shot of some produce just waiting to be picked up…so many boxes, so little time…
With thousands of feet of Exhibitors giving away free food, why would anyone willingly pay for Coke and pretzels (especially since Coke always has a huge display)?

Tabasco Jalapeño ice cream…very nice! Too bad it has pineapple in it, Rachel!  Oh, and coconut.  the double-whammy.

And speaking of ice cream, it’s nice to live (even temporarily) in a place where taste samples are scooped into large cups!  Don’t mind if I do!

Okay, why is the line for hot dogs always around the block. I mean, ignore the tenderloins, the various steaks, lamb and seafood for something you can grab in any city in the nation? Just do not get it. One Exhibitor tried to explain it by saying that the other stands only give sample sizes while the hot dog folks hand out whole dogs, so an Exhibitor on a limited lunch hour goes there…I pointed out that this means the hot dog purveyors are spending lots of money giving away free product to fellow Exhibitors, not the Attendees. dun make a lotta sense to me…

And lastly, if the wine, spirits and moonshine aren’t enough for you, the folks at Anheuser-Busch had a whole beer garden set up to help slack your thirst (this shot was taken as I was leaving – you can imagine how crowded it was earlier).

Sorry for the complete lack of posts, but the annual National Restaurant Show runs this weekend through tomorrow.  I’ll post a few pix.  It’s unbelievable how much food people can shovel in their pieholes – without unhinging their jaws.

even more unbelievable is that the longest lines are always for hot dogs…

‘Nuf Said.

Play Google Feud, the game where you attempt to guess how Google will auto-complete sentences in various categories…fyi, i totally suck.

Once again it’s PITA’s birthday…didn’t that come around only a year ago?  She wanted cupcakes – chocolate – and Jewel made this awesome sauce platter of cupcakes (the frosting was some bitter chocolate buttercream).  DH provided flowers, sushi dinner and cash; I provided a Starbucks gift card and showed her the cool moccasin ankle boots I ordered from CentsofStyle earlier today.

1.  Many papers limit inserts, depending on proximity to the city.

2.  IMO, papers like The Chicago Tribune don’t give a rat’s ass about coupon inserts – don’t get ’em, well, you’re not buying the paper for coupons, are you?  Just try complaining to the “customer service” schlubs in whatever country is currently cheapest.

3.  Out of ten papers purchased today, seven were missing a Smart Source.  Raise your hand if you’ve ever gotten a paper with 15 Kohls ads.  How come I’ve never gotten 15 red plum?

4.  The one week you get shorted and say “Oh, the heck with it” will be the week the missing insert is a $10 money maker.  bet on it…