Taco 'Bout Awesome

Taco 'Bout Awesome #210

Gouache on Bristol Paper

NOT A PRINT OR REPRODUCTION

2.5" x 3.5" (6.35 cm x 8.89 cm)

© copyright Mike Kraus

To purchase, please visit: https://www.etsy.com/listing/250377324/taco-bout-awesome-210-artist-trading

10% OFF with coupon code JOINTHEFUN

These artist trading cards or ACEO (Art Card Editions and Originals) are frameable, collectible, enjoyable and can be given as a special gift for a birthday, wedding, new baby, anniversary, thank you or other occasion.  They are one-of-a-kind original works of art, NOT A PRINT OR REPRODUCTION. It is signed on the back and lends itself to framing in a standard trading card frame.

For more information or custom order, please visit:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/MikeKrausArt

Taco 'Bout Awesome

 Taco 'Bout Awesome #207

Gouache on Watercolor Paper

NOT A PRINT OR REPRODUCTION

2.5" x 3.5" (6.35 cm x 8.89 cm) 

© copyright Mike Kraus

To purchase, please visit: www.etsy.com/listing/209759699/taco-bout-awesome-207-artist-trading

10% OFF with coupon code JOINTHEFUN

This artist trading card or ACEO (Art Card Editions and Originals) is frameable, collectible, enjoyable and can be given as a special gift for a birthday, wedding, new baby, anniversary, thank you or other occasion.  It is a one-of-a-kind original work of art, NOT A PRINT OR REPRODUCTION. It is signed on the back and lends itself to framing in a standard trading card frame or book.

For more information or custom order, please visit:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/MikeKrausArt 

A Few Obvious Signs of Summer

Megan and Katherine at Goldie's. I believe this was Katherine's first weekend off since I've known her...

Megan: Okay guys, now it's your turn for a picture... No... That's no good

Megan: No, not that one either...

Megan: Mike, stop it!

Mike: I'm getting bored...

Megan: Come on, let's get a good one.

Mike: That's it, I'm snorting my beer...

Memorial Day brats

Megan and I went to Margie's with a couple friends after dinner. For those of you who don't know, it's where the Beatle's get ice cream when they are in town. And, they have a little Ringo figurine to prove it (along with everything else)...

I was mesmerized by the watermelon cake when we decided to hang out in Dominick's. But, then I saw the hamburger cake and it blew my mind.

Another sign of why my work is awesome. Taco parties, panini potlucks, the mysterious "Random Acts of Kindness" committee, and now they are giving me chocolate bars. Oh, and a paycheck too...

When September Ends

This is "Fur-Pig." Not really, but I forget his real name. It's Katherine's cat and that's the name I remembered of the many she gave me. I watched this guy for a few days. He's still alive, which is the key to cat watching!


A painting on sale at the White Elephant, which is a part of my work. There was a matching football one. Just in case you didn't know, my birthday is coming up...


Date night with the Megan. Here we are at Uncle Julio's Hacienda to be followed up by Hamlet 2. Hamlet 2 was pretty good (if you like bad movies, which I do). I mean, it's like Tray Parker and Matt Stone (South Park guys) movies. So, if you liked Cannibal: The Musical or Basketball, you'll probably like Hamlet 2. It was worth it to see "Rock Me Sexy Jesus."


So, the food at the Hacienda is decent. But SWEET JESUS it got expensive. I swear the prices have doubled since the last time I was here a year or so ago. They are lucky it was date night or I would have gone to Chipotle instead.


Megan and I went to Glenn's Diner for the first time and it happened to be their third anniversary. Here's the owner giving the big speech. Basically he said, "50% of restaurants close within the first year. 80% (or something like that) of those that survive close the 2nd year. But, if you can make it to three years, you have a great chance at a long life in the restaurant business. And we got there despite the economic downturn, the "L" station closing, and Montrose caving in (They are directly in the middle of the block of Montrose Avenue that collapsed last winter). Congrats guys!


Here's Megan celebrating with her complimentary solo styrofoam cup of wine


This isn't your standard "diner" food. I would say they are mostly diner inspired. I mean, Golden Nugget doesn't serve a wide variety of fresh seafood and all. This is a Bleu Cheese Burger that is served on toasted bread. It was really good.


Megan, always trying to be healthy, got the "Homage To Vegetables Salad" or something like that.

Well, since I have recently turned into a local food critic, I might as well tell you about a couple other movies I've seen this past week:

The Last Temptation of Christ by Martin Scorsese was alright. It's the most human I've ever seen Willem Dafoe look. The story was pretty interesting. Instead of being based on the gospels, it was pulled from a book by Nikos Kazantzakis and did a good job at portraying Jesus as a human. By that I mean that he makes mistakes too and has to make tough decisions. You really feel for this radical hippie fighting the man (or Romans more like it). It's a Scorsese movie, so he does have to be a bit heavy-handed at time, but it's worth it.

Young At Heart is a British documentary about old people in the US singing rock and roll songs. Got it? Basically it's a guy who interviews grandparents who sing songs by the Clash and such, which is the funny and sweet part. Then there's the sad part about its members dying. That leads to coping and performing at places as varied as concert halls to a prison. Ever seen a prisoner cry? It's here. Also, I'm not a Coldplay fan at all. Not a bit. But the guys rendition "Fix You" was incredible in the way that Johnny Cash could make any terrible song powerful. Highly suggested.

xoxo,

Mike

See If You Notice A Theme

Here's Megan very happy with her Turtle Blizzard from Dairy Queen. If we didn't go to Dairy Queen "right now, summer would be ruined."


Here's the heart attack the DQ had waiting for me. As some of you may know, this is their "healthy choice" on the menu...



Oh sweet Irazu. I never had their Pepito Sandwich before, but I had to get it when it was listed as "Chicago's Favorite." I agree, it's a Midwestern Costa Rican delight.


So, as many of you have heard by now, my job is great. It's nothing but bubble gum and lollipops. There was a Sox game last week, a kickball game next week, and this week was model building. Here are a few pictures of the model our department submitted for a hospital competition. For those who don't know, Children's Memorial Hospital is constructing a $1 Billion hospital in downtown Chicago that will look like this. But, it will be constructed out of something a bit more stable than construction paper and double sided tape.








As "new guy," I was designated to work on the helipad and placing proper logos for the helicopter and ambulance.




Can you see the resemblance?


Here's a mock up of what the new Hospital's rooms are going to look like. All rooms will be private. The couch pull out into a bed for parents staying overnight. There's a private bathroom. Two TVs (one for the kid and the other for the parents). And they will have all sorts of artwork and other things. The patient rooms are so nice that I'd live in one should the hospital decide to rent a few out as apartments to employees.


Here's me, Jacob Dykema, and Megan outside of the L & L on Clark near Belmont. He was in town for a conference and we also spent some time over at My Thai and Exchequer the next day. Thanks for coming down, Jacob!


I got my first paycheck from Children's today and decided to make this fine purchase. Megan and I headed over to R.J. Grunts in Lincoln Park. This is the "Gruntburger" which is a hunk of meat slathered in bleu cheese and sauteed onions. MMMmmmm...


Such a delicate lady. So, the theme is food and work with Jacob thrown in for good measure.

Thanks for playing!

xoxo,
Mike

Lollapalooza starts this weekend. Are you going to be here?

A BBQ from a couple weeks ago at Brent, Angela, and Evan's place.


Noah and Evan


An over-the-shoulder shot of Andrew pondering the glory that is hot dogs


Rosie putting mustard on her dog while Mike looks like a prophet


It started to rain a bit, so everyone hid under the pine tree.


Always with a solution, Brent broke out the HUGE umbrella and it took three people to finally get it fully open.


The natural umbrella


Evan looking like a good Michigan man.


This is the reason why it took so long to post these. I lost another camera recently. Actually, I lost Megan's camera recently. For some reason, it just stopped functioning in camera mode. I wasn't very impressed with this Olympus. The pictures were kinda poor and blurry. It's battery monitor would say it's full right up until it was dead. The flash was weird. Oh, and it broke for no reason...


Here's the new camera. I'm back to Kodak. The last Kodak camera I had should have broke and it didn't for another couple years. So, here's to a new love...

When Your Mission In Life Has Been Fulfilled

You know the routine by now. Here's the ol' Wednesday BBQ crew: SME, Amanda, Karli, Brent, and the lovely Angela...


Desperado


Megan and I headed up to Sawyer, Michigan to a friend's summer home for a cocktail party on Saturday. This is his place. It's for sale. If you are interested in the house, check out the website at: http://13927minnich.rubloff.com/


Waiting for the cocktail party to start, Megan and I headed to St. Joseph's (St. Joe's), Michigan for some food and pick up some party supplies. Here's a view of the lake and "Whirlpool Appliance Field" from downtown.


Ahhhh, Michigan beaches...






Megan hiding from me and the sun...


Us


OH MY GOD!!! IT'S KITT FROM KNIGHT RIDER!!! We found this in the parking lot of a restaurant and I spotted the trademark lights in the grill as soon as it came into view. For more info on my childhood hero, visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knight_Rider


Here's where to go for a good burger between Chicago, Illinois and Muskegon, Michigan. Visit: http://www.redamaks.com/


Megan loves burgers


"ARG.... Why the hell is that garbage truck so noisy this morning? Why won't it go away. Why is it getting louder? Why is it next to my apartment?" I look out the window to see they are re-roofing my apartment at 8am...


The photo doesn't do this justice. This load was precariously loaded onto the palette and was spinning like crazy. I was waiting for it to fall and kill a roofer or to be dropped through the roof crushing everything in my bedroom. Luckily, the earth survived...

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Thanks for your encouragement and support!

Mike Kraus