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By funsherpa, May 11, 2010 9:04 am

Funsherpa is on a mission to discover what Chicagoans love.  We are going beyond the tour books and yelp reviews and are asking YOU, Chicago.  Funsherpa kicked off our series of surveys in honor of the Chicago Craft Brewery Convention with our beer survey.  The contenders were Allagash, Dogfish Head, Goose Island, Half Acre, Metropolitan, SKA Brewing, Three Floyds, and Two Brothers.  We are excited to announce that Three Floyds Brewery took the prize as Chicago’s favorite craft beer, with Chicago’s own Goose Island Brewing in a close second.

Who Are The Three Floyds

Three Floyds Rules in Neighboring Chicago

Brothers Nick and Simon and father Mike Floyd founded Three Floyds Brewing Company in 1996 in a small warehouse in Hammond, Indiana.  To give you an idea of their humble beginnings, their first brewery housed a used 5 barrel kettle, attached to a wok burner, with swiss cheese tanks turned into beer fermentation vessels.  But this simple brew house was all the Floyd’s boys needed to turn their dream into a reality.  They set out to brew beer that distinguished itself from other craft brews, with a motto of “it’s not normal”.  Three Floyds grew in popularity and eventually moved to Munster, Indiana which today is still the home of the brewery and their brew pub.

It’s Not Normal

With names like Alpha King, Gumball Head and Apocalypse Cow, and bottles featuring labels with trippy artwork, you can tell that Three Floyds Brewing is not your average brewery.  But it’s more than their unique branding that has given Three Floyds their cult-following – it’s their absolutely amazing tasting beer.  One of the Funsherpa team’s favorite brews is Gumball Head, named after a little known comic book cat.  Gumball Head was created to be a summer time wheat ale, but due to the great demand, it is now available all year round.  This wheat beer has a refreshing hoppy aroma, with hints of grapefruit, lemon, marmalade, and peach.  Three Floyds says “these flavors combined with low bitterness make Gumball Head a refreshing American Wheat Beer that doesn’t suck”.  Now if that doesn’t sell you, we don’t know what does.

I’ve Got a Golden Ticket

While Three Floyds doesn’t have a chocolate river or freaky little Oompa Loompas, their golden ticket is equally coveted.  Three Floyds Dark Lord Day is an annual

Dark Lord planning its takeover of the beer world

“Fantasy Beer Drinking Event” that happens on the last Saturday of April.  Selling out every year, Dark Lord Day gives beer enthusiasts from around the world a chance to sample craft beers, including Three Floyds own Dark Lord.  The Dark Lord Russian Style Imperial Stout is brewed with Chicago’s own Intelligentsia coffee, mixed with Mexican vanilla, and Indian sugar.  These intense flavors and the 13% alcohol content make Dark Lord Chicago’s most sought after beer.  To get your chance to try the Dark Lord you must buy a golden ticket, usually open for sale in early March, which entitles you to buy four bottles of the brew.  But don’t drink up just yet, the Dark Lord gets better with age, and most beer enthusiasts just now opened their 2009 bottle.

What You Crave

While we at Funsherpa definitely recommend taking a trip over to Munster for a brewery tour or a bite at the Brew Pub, you can find Three Floyds right here in Chicago too.  Try the Map Room or Sheffield’s Beer Garden.

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By funsherpa, May 7, 2010 8:00 am

Balancing Life with Stacey

Don’t forget to give Mom a huge hug this weekend as Mother’s Day is on Sunday!  Before you scrounge around for some last minute gifts for Mom, check out our final feature in our Mother’s Day series.  Funsherpa sits down with Stacey Hoffer Weckstein, the Chief Mom Officer of the Mom Renewal Project to share some of her fun spots in Chicago and her secrets in balancing a hectic Mom life.  Stacey has built an amazing community to recharge the body, mind, & spirit – so you can live your best life as a woman, mom & partner, so when you have a chance, check out The Mom Renewal Project.

F: What are some of the things you’ve learned from other Mom bloggers?  What have you taught other Mom bloggers?

S: Mom bloggers have taught me the power of a virtual community and beauty of blog karma. Women all across the globe are creating lasting bonds via blogs, Twitter, and Facebook. Knowing I have an online community that supports me and will listen to me when I need to share my voice is a gift that the mom blogging community has given to me.

What have I taught other Mom Bloggers? I hope I have encouraged them to take more ME time more often. I hope my social media influence gives mom bloggers (and all moms) permission to reconnect with their authentic selves so they can live their best lives as women, moms, and partners.

F: How do you balance being a mom, writing a blog, living your life, and enjoying what you do?

S: How do I balance it all? In one word, it would be passion. My passion drives me and fuels me. I have passion for being my children’s mom, for blogging, for offering life coaching programs and services, for being a social media strategist, and for spending time outdoors. I focus on my passions and all of the other things fall into place. My house is not spotless, my mail sometimes piles up, and sometimes it takes over 24 hours before I can respond to email messages. This is not because I’m lazy – it’s because I’m prioritizing my life and practicing the art of life balance.

F: You also started a coaching business while being a mom.  What were some of the challenges involved with that and how did you deal with it?

S: I think the number one challenge in starting a business is time. Life is busy. I work full-time, have two young boys, and have to take care of regular home routines. As a “mompreneur”, life coach, and social media strategist, I find my time early in the morning and once my boys are asleep. Once a week I have a mom’s night off and sometimes I also use that time to move my business forward.

Another challenge is the lack of quiet time. As a social media mom, my life is rather noisy. It is filled with some wonderful noise like children laughing and meaning conversations online, but my day-to-day routine is pretty over-stimulating. To be able to focus on my coaching business and on my natural inner wisdom, I take at least 5-10 minutes of quite time each day to help me recharge. This daily stillness gives me the opportunity to listen to my personal wisdom – without this time in my life, I don’t think I would have discovered so many different aspects of my business.

F: What do your kids think about you writing a blog?  Do they play any editorial roles?

S: My children are too young to understand what the words blog means, but they do know I love my computer. My six year old son’s definition of passion is “something you love”. So he thinks my passion is blogging just like his passion is playing Wii. As my favorite author SARK says, when my boys are older, I hope they understand the value of “gifting the world with your words and stories and creating the time and energy to actually do it”.

F: Can you share some Chicago activities that you enjoy doing with your kids?

S: My family loves Chicago, especially all of the natural spaces around the city. If it is above 40 degrees, you can find my family outside at the beach, the Chicago Botanic Garden, walking around Grant Park and Millennium Park’s gardens, biking along Lake Michigan at Northwestern University, or bird watching at Montrose Point. My three year old son’s favorite place in Chicago is the Butterfly Haven at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum where we can hang out in a greenhouse with over 1000 butterflies.

F: Any special message you’d like to share with other Moms this upcoming Mother’s Day?

S: Chicagoland Moms – On this Mother’s Day, I send you the gift of reclaiming, rejuvenating, and re-balancing your life. I give you permission to reconnect with your authentic self, to practice self-care, and to remember who you are above and beyond your role as a mom.

I want to remind you that moms who are physically tired, emotionally drained, mentally unfulfilled, and spiritually disconnected to their natural inner wisdom cannot fully be present in their own lives or in their children lives. So, I invite you to recharge – body, mind, and spirit – so you can live your best life as a woman, mom, and partner. I invite you to put yourself back onto your priority list because you and your children deserve it!

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By funsherpa, May 5, 2010 8:00 am

Where's the peanut butter?

This week funsherpa ventures out into suburbia to discover Mom’s who’ve traded in lake shore jogs for lawns and garage space.  Melissa, our featured mom of the day, talks to us about her transition out of the metropolis and ability to enjoy Lake County’s unique forest preserves.  When not parenting and enjoying the great outdoors, Melissa writes Peanut Butter in My Hair, a blog that highlights her family, struggles with parenthood, and tips for the everyday parent.

F: Your blog has a very cool title – ‘Peanut Butter in my Hair’.  Can you tell us how you came up with the title and what does it mean?

M: Well kids ARE really sticky. My daughter was born with lots of hair and when we feed her everything, I mean everything ended up in her hair! Peanut Butter was the hardest to get out, and one day it was in my hair too. My husband joked that Peanut Butter in my Hair sounded like a name of a blog. I was currently writing at a different title and wasn’t feeling it and I liked the name, it stuck.

F: You’ve left the city for suburbia.  What keeps you busy out in the suburbs aside from raising your kids?

M: Driving everywhere! Only sort of kidding. We are very involved in our local MOMs club and the school. So we have a weekly playdate and there are classes and school of course. I actually try to be not so busy. We truly enjoy the local  forest preserves and playgrounds but I am busiest just going about the day to day. Volunteering for my sons school (I chaired their fun day silent auction) and I organize the playgroups for our MOMS club. For myself? Well I try to avoid housework so I sew and craft and blog (of course). I enjoy running and would love to one day run the Chicago Marathon. I also make sure to get at least one, night out a month with other moms. Usually I drive back to the city to see the moms that I don’t get to see everyday anymore.

F: When you first moved out to suburbia, what shocked you most about the move?  Have you gotten used to it?

M: Driving! I knew I would be driving more, I was really not prepared for how much time we spend in the car. We could go a week in the city never getting in our car. For me to go a week without a car i would have to never leave my house. I have gotten used to it most days. I have learned the area a little better, though not having a grid system still really throws me off.  There are still days though, especially in the winter when everyone is all bundled up where I think, hmmm, maybe we’ll stay home today just so I don’t have to drive.

F: Are you still able to enjoy the great outdoors with your kids around?  Do they share your interest in the outdoors?

M: YES! My kids LOVE being outside. Especially my son. We are so lucky to have a fenced in backyard where they can play and most days they spend a lot of time out there. We live in Lake County and they have some of the best forest preserves in the state. I have visited a lot of parks and forests, my husband and I traveled all over the state before kids camping and hiking and so I feel like I know a good park when I see it, and they have the best. We frequently take the kids on hikes or my husband takes them fishing.

F: If you could take your kids anywhere, where would you take them? Why?

M: Probably to the Shedd Aquarium or one of the Zoos. My kids love animals and the Shedd is one of my son’s favorite places in the world. I love that no matter when we go we never do or see the same things and every trip is a different experience.

F: What are some of the cool toys kids play around with these days?  Do you find the technology/social media bug creeping down to their lives?

M: My children are only 2 and 5 so I don’t really see the social media bug creeping into their lives yet. My son does love the computer and playing games on it but we really limit how much he uses it and what sites he can go to. They have a whole lifetime to play video games and surf the web but he will only be 5 once we don’t want him to grow up so fast! My kids are really into old school toys the love blocks and Legos and anything messy (playdoh, paint, markers). I think some of the coolest new toys are the educational ones, although I am completely overwhelmed by them! We have two learning lap tops (one Thomas and one Pink) that they can learn and practice numbers, spelling, math…there are 30 different games on it and it’s been a toy that has grown with my son. He has had it since he turned 2 and still plays with it.

F: We understand that you don’t enjoy doing house work.  What short cuts or tips can you share with other Moms to get the house work done?

M: Divide and conquer! I refuse to do it all myself. For one I don’t enjoy it and for 2 why should I? I am not the only one making the mess so I make everyone pitch in.  My kids help in age appropriate ways, cleaning up their toys, picking up their clothes, clearing the table. I also try to make things into a game for me and the kids. I will set a timer for 15 minutes and I will clean what I can in these 15minutes and tomorrow I will tackle another room for 15minutes.

F: What have some of your best experiences on Mother’s Day been?  What would make your perfect Mother’s Day holiday?

M: My best experience would be having my son! He was due on Mother’s day I ended up having him two days before, but it’s still a very special memory to me. A perfect holiday for me would be one where I got to sleep in and do nothing all day! I would like a nice brunch where my kids don’t make a mess and use their forks. I’m pretty low key, so as long as everyone is taking care of me that day, even if it’s just a construction paper card and little toddler hugs I’m good!

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By funsherpa, May 3, 2010 10:42 am

Cynthia talks to us about blogs, web design, and family

From living the life of a Chicago trader to becoming a full time Nap Warden, Cynthia talks to funsherpa about raising her kids, blogging, and running her web design business. If you’d like to know her secret of juggling so many activities, chores, and tasks, read on. Also, if you’ve seen our Mother’s Day gift guide, and still haven’t got a clue what to give Mom – Cynthia shares her perfect Mother’s Day when her husband and kids give her the day off. It’s a simple and thoughtful solution that will surely rejuvenate any Mom!

F: How did the title of your blog, Nap Warden, arise?

C: I started blogging while living in a high-rise with two tiny babies. I spent all my time trying to get them on the same nap schedule. Seemed all I did was police naps:/ Had I known it was going to follow me around for my blogging career, I might have given it more thought;)

F: What do your kids think about you writing a blog? Do they play any editorial roles?

C: My kiddos are really too young to understand what blogging is. They do look at the blogs Mommy is working on, and like the pictures. I’m not sure how I will handle that as they get older.

F: Aside from blogging, you also do web design – how do you balance blogging, designing, and being a parent?

C: I don’t sleep! Seriously, I take whatever time I can when I get a break to try to work. My biggest fear is that it takes away from time with my Husband. I try really hard to turn off the computer. It isn’t easy when I put so many demands on myself. It is a tight rope walk.

F: How would you describe your transition from a professional to a mother of two? Anything similar/different?

C: Similar, it’s hard work…and I had no idea what I was getting into. It has been a hard transition. It used to be when I met folks/walked into a room, they asked what I did. When I worked, I was a trader on the floor. That commanded respect, and folks were impressed.

As a mom, I believe since folks know what that is, they just say “oh” and move on to the next person. It’s really easy to not feel important any more. I wrestle with it a lot. I know this is the most important job I’ll ever do, but it’s really hard to keep your esteem up. I love staying home with my kiddos. I have really wrestled with no longer earning a big paycheck. That was the hardest transition of all

F: Any advice to new parents in Chicago to ensure their kids get to appreciate the city they live in?

C: Take them out every day, rain or shine, or snow. There is so much to do. We belong to a couple museums; we go to the zoo all the time. Check out the free days (all the museums have them) I think it’s a misconception that everything is too expensive in the city.

I take my kiddos to the zoo, parks and museums every week. It’s my favorite thing about raising them in the city.

F: What are your ‘go-to’ restaurants in Chicago? Which ones are the most kid friendly?

C: I’m not much of a restaurant person. If I take the kiddos out, I like Frances Deli on Clark. I also really like The Athenian Room on Webster.

F: What have some of your best experiences on Mother’s Day been? What would make your perfect Mother’s Day holiday?

C: Is it awful to admit that the best thing my Husband did with the kiddos for Mother’s Day was give me a day off? He took the kids to his mothers for the day and gave me an entire day to myself…It was heavenly:)

I’ve only had a handful of Mother’s Days as an actual Mom, but that ranks way up there;)

F: Any special message you’d like to share with other Moms this upcoming Mother’s Day?

C: We/I had a really tough time actually becoming a mother. I was so stressed that I had “missed the boat” on motherhood by waiting too long to have kiddos. I suppose I’d share a message with other women in that boat. It’s something that I wish I could go back and tell myself…”Relax, the more stressed out and whipped up you get yourself, the harder you make things on your body.”

It’s something my doctors told me all the time, and it completely never registered. Now that I’m on the other side, I really wish I could have calmed down through all that.