conversations with self...

my new obsession

2012-01-17T12:13:00.000-06:00

on saturday, the bf and i joined a few of his friends at a great little place called bottle and bottega. i had actually bought my mom a gift certificate to use here the next time she and my dad make a trip to chicago, so i was very excited to try it out. the concept of bottle and bottega is to provide a fun, non-threatening atmosphere for people to try out their painting skills. you can register for a public event (which is what we did), but they also offer private parties. it's byob, so you bring your bottle and they provide the space, paint, canvasses, etc. as well as an instructor to walk you through the process of recreating whatever work of art has been chosen for that day. painters of all levels are welcome and it's great for beginners.

so we showed up with our bottles, donned our aprons and settled in for an evening of painting and drinking. i admit, i was a little nervous at first. i have never considered myself artistic in the least, so the idea of me recreating a painting done by a real artist seemed on par with hell freezing over. but, i was willing to give it a shot and figured between the bf and i, we would at least have two lovely paintings resembling what we would see on the walls of the local elementary school.

for three hours, we filled our glasses and painted along with our instructor's direction while we chatted and listened to fun music. here is how my painting progressed:

the sketch.....

painting the background....

there were a lot more steps between step 2 and this, but here is my finished painting....

i have to admit, i was very pleasantly surprised with how my painting turned out. having never picked up a paintbrush before - except for maybe paint by number projects when i was a kid - i didn't really expect much so i was pleased with my results. it was really fun and i left b&b wanting to paint more.

yesterday i was at michael's looking for a few things and happened to wander down the paint aisle. you know where this is going. i came home with a table top easel, a beginner set of acrylics and brushes, 2 canvasses and a painter's pallet. i'm dying to set up and try my hand at another painting. i have a ton to learn but i think i may have found a hobby that i'm really going to enjoy, regardless of whether my skill level every improves. so in keeping with my theme for 2012, i am going to enjoy painting and am looking forward to taking my mom to b&b this spring/summer!

enjoy.

2012-01-10T17:41:00.001-06:00

it's taken me a while but i've decided on my word for 2012 - enjoy. so often i think to myself, "if i can just get through this week" or "next month will be better", etc. i feel like i tend to wish away my days, - working to meet a deadline at work, hoping to get through a difficult meeting, looking forward to the next payday - and fail to enjoy each day as it happens, even if nothing major or particularly joyful occurs.

i remember when i was a kid thinking my parents were crazy when they used to comment about how quickly time goes by. i just wanted to be older, have more freedom and be an adult. now that i'm an adult, i'm already looking back and wondering where the last several years have gone and pondering how time will most likely seem to speed up as i get older. of course, with age comes responsibility and all of the things that make our days slip by unnoticed because we're so busy, stressed and worn out. i guess i can only speak for myself, but i know i'm guilty of that, anyway.

so 2012 is my year to enjoy. i want to be sure to enjoy things about each day - snuggling with my kitty, spending time with friends and the bf, pausing to be proud of myself when a project at work goes well, appreciating this great city i live in, etc. here's to a year of enjoyment!

one little word - 2011 in review

2012-01-02T17:22:00.000-06:00

last year about this time i posted about choosing one word to focus on as my theme for the upcoming year. the word for 2011 was commit, as in "commit to getting healthy, commit to furthering my career path, commit to trying new things and commit to strengthening important relationships, etc." so how did my year of committing work out? let's see....

i do feel that i did better with my overall health (though i can't seem to lose any weight!). i eat pretty healthy in general and feel i've done a better job over the past 12 months than any other year in working out consistently. i completed my first 5k last spring and have been working out 3-6 times a week. the bf ended up getting a membership to the indoor tennis center, so i've been fortunate to have the option to play tennis 1-2 times a week even though the lovely chicago weather doesn't typically allow for outside play after september.

i think i've also been able to strengthen some of the relationships in my life. i already had a great group of friends and very close ties with my family, but i think the one relationship that really grew was the one with the bf. not to get sappy or cheesy, but we're in a great place and i've been really happy with him this past year.

as for the career path, well.... that's an area that i would still like to focus on for 2012. i'm sure there are things i could/should be doing to improve my skills and expertise, so i need to put a little more attention toward that this year.

trying new things.... hmmm.... i did travel to a new country (spain), did the 5k (yes, i mentioned it already but it was new for me!), and have tried to experiment with new foods and healthy recipes. i got a facial for the first time (what a treat!) and learned how to be a responsible pet owner. none of the new things are earth shattering, but they were new to me.

all in all, i'd say 2011 was a pretty good year and i'm looking forward to 2012. i'm still deciding what my word will be, but i'll post it soon!

willy the what?

2011-12-08T16:17:00.000-06:00

i spent a little time online today looking for christmas gifts (yes, i know christmas is looming and most of you have already finished your shopping. shutup.) and found a variety of things, as you tend to do on the internet. looking through a random selection of kids books on amazon, i ran across this and had to do a double take....

that's right, this is the big story of a little sperm. apparently it's gotten great reviews and is a really sweet story. whatever. i just sat here and laughed hysterically at the cover for about 5 minutes once i realized that it wasn't a whale or some sea creature, it was in fact a sperm. my maturity level is obviously less than the age of those this book is intended for, but i thought i would share and give you a giggle today.

happy shopping!

thankful thursday

2011-12-01T16:08:00.003-06:00

i know i probably should have posted this last week on thanksgiving, but quite honestly i was just so busy visiting family, eating good food and enjoying the spirit of the holiday that i couldn't be bothered to log on here and make a list of things for which i'm thankful. however, a week later here i am contemplating my life and how i really should be more appreciative of the things and people in it. i've heard so many stories lately that have made me realize the things i complain about - occassional problems finding a parking space on my street, my commute, various work-related issues, not being able to go to london for christmas for the first time in 4 years, having to spend money on dental work, etc. - really aren't that big of a deal in the grand scheme. i choose to live in chicago therefore i basically choose to live with parking problems and ridiculous commutes. i may not always be happy at work but at the end of the day i know i've contributed something positive toward helping people affected by a terrible health issue. i'll have to see my niece and nephew open presents via skype this year but i'll get to see my sis and fam in the spring and will probably go to london next summer. in turn i get to spend christmas with my parents, bf, and other family. though it's a big hit to the bank account, i can manage to pay for dental work so that i can have pretty, healthy teeth. a lot of people can barely afford food, much less porcelain veneers.

recently i've heard the following stories:

- woman, in her mid 30s with a husband and young child, diagnosed with breast cancer that metastasized after several rounds of chemo and radiation. her prognosis is not good.

- friend who changed jobs 6 months ago and is now being layed off at the end of december

- another friend who has been with her company for 10 years and her position is being eliminated, again by the end of december. corporate america is awesome at the holidays, isn't it?

- acquaintance of a friend who has worked at her company for 30+ years, has had to take a 33% pay cut and now will most likely have little to no retirement because of the company's financial status. to top it off, her dad passed away a few days ago. wonder how much the executives at her large, fortune 500 company are going to have to forfeit in this mess? i'm guessing it'll be a drop in the bucket compared to her situation.

- woman who lost her husband to alzheimer's disease the week of thanksgiving after several years of acting as his primary caregiver and watching his health and memory painfully deteriorate

- friend of a friend who lost his 23 year old brother to an undetected heart condition that caused a sudden, fatal heart attack. his funeral was the day after thanksgiving. luckily his dad's bone marrow transplant a few days prior was successful so he was able to grieve with his family over the loss of his son before returning to the hospital for further cancer treatment.

unfortunately, i could continue with other heartbreaking stories but i'm really not writing this to bring anyone down. i'm writing this to call attention to the things we take for granted; the things we cherish and love sometimes without realizing it until they are gone. good health, enough money to pay the bills, family, supportive friends, employment.... all of these are factors of my life that i take for granted more than i care to admit. so today i'm celebrating thanksgiving and taking a moment to be thankful for every person in my life who i care for, for a crazy cat that makes me laugh every day, for a great bf, for the food i'm able to put on the table, the wine i'm able to drink (duh, of course i'm thankful for wine!), and for self, who - even though she can be an annoying cow - keeps me in check and reminds me to appreciate all that i have.

wonder woman's got nothing on me

2011-11-29T09:47:00.000-06:00

the other day, i was perusing online and ran across one of those little formulas for figuring out your super hero name. i've always said if i could have a super power it would be the ability to turn water into wine, so i was interested to see how this would turn out. the game called for you to take the color of your shirt and the object sitting to your right and put those two words together. once i thought about it i could see how this would form names in the same vein as many well-know super heroes such as green lantern, black cat, silver surfer, red skull, green arrow, black canary, black orchid, blue beetle, red ghost, and yellow claw. granted, i didn't expect mine to turn out very cool since the odds of me having a ghost, arrow, skull or claw to my immediate right were slim.

so, here's how it went. look down at shirt, register color red (i was watching IU basketball, after all, and had to be wearing a hoosier shirt!). look to immediate right and see glass of wine (of course). put it together and my super hero name is (most appropriately): red wine. that's right, i've always wanted a super power to turn water into wine and now i find out my super hero name is, in fact, red wine. i'm not sure what supernatural event would have to occur to activate my dormant powers, but i'd say if it ever happens i'll be the hit of every party i attend for the rest of my life.

yup.

2011-11-22T08:09:00.002-06:00

hee hee

2011-11-19T16:20:00.000-06:00

my dad, talking to my niece: "i see you're wearing a watch. can you tell me what time it is?

my niece, age 5: "it looks like it's time for mummy to have a glass of wine!"

brilliant child.

weekend getaway

2011-11-15T17:42:00.000-06:00

since i got back from spain in august (i know, poor me, right?), life has been crazy. fall is the busiest season for me at work for many reasons - walk events, health fairs, workplace giving kickoffs, etc. - and often requires me to work a lot of weekends, extremely early mornings and sometimes evenings. in addition to work, it's just seemed busy this fall with trying to make time to see family, visit friends and stay caught up on the daily grind like cleaning, errands, and all of those other necessary things. the bf and i had been talking about going somewhere for a weekend just to get away, so when we saw that groupon had a deal for two nights at the lake lawn resort in wisconsin, we decided to get it and make a weekend of it.

last friday after lunch and an hour of indoor tennis we got on the road and made the short 2-hour drive up to lake delavan. our room was huge - a loft with a king bed and two bunks upstairs (way more space than we needed!) and a great little balcony with two rocking chairs. we had a great view of lake delavan, too.

that night we got dressed up and went to dinner at the resort's upscale restaurant. after a delicious seafood dinner, we headed to the more low-key pub at the resort for a few after dinner drinks. the lookout proved to be very entertaining as it was karaoke night and there were some serious singers hitting the stage. we had a great time singing along and, let's be honest - making fun of some of the crazy singers and songs.

saturday morning was sunny and clear and we were happy to find that it was unseasonably warm outside. when we arrived on friday night it was pretty cold and we started thinking we were crazy for going to wisconsin in november! the bf went on a coffee mission while i was getting ready and came back with a large cup of joe for me. bless his heart. we went for a walk around the grounds of the resort and along the lake before leaving to check out the nearby towns of delavan and geneva. our walk was really pretty and i can imagine how the resort is in the summer with the boat docks out and people everywhere. it was nice being there in the off-season though, very peaceful and serene.

we drove through delavan and as our server at dinner the night before had warned us, there wasn't much there. so we headed to geneva, a little town right on lake geneva that is a favorite summer spot for chicagoans. the town center is a really cute little area with a lot of local shops, the obligatory starbucks, a few watering holes, art galleries and restaurants. after walking around for a bit we popped into "hogs and kisses", a fun little bar and restaurant that seemed to be a local favorite. my crab cakes even arrived on a pig-shaped plate!

after lunch we walked around a little more, stopped for coffee and then headed back to the resort to relax before dinner. while the bf visited the fitness room and indoor pool, i took a nap. deciding we wanted to experience more of the local flavor, we set out to find a place to have dinner later that evening. we didn't make it far before stumbling upon waterfront pub and eatery just down the road from the resort. waterfront had a band that night and after dinner we relocated to the pub side to enjoy some live music.

after several songs and a couple more drinks, we headed back to lake lawn resort, hoping to hear another round of karaoke at the lookout. unfortunately there was no karaoke and the band that was playing was pretty bad so we called it a fairly early night.

sunday we checked out around 11 and made a stop at the outlet mall in pleasant prairie on our way home. after a couple of hours of shopping we finally finished our journey back to chicago. we both took off on monday, as well, so we had an extra day to relax and enjoy the long weekend. all in all, we had a great time and i really needed a stress-free weekend away, though i was happy to get back home to my cute kitty.

happy friday

2011-11-11T09:48:00.000-06:00

this morning i am sitting on the couch, sipping coffee with my kitty on my lap while i catch up on last night's tv shows. later i'm going with the bf to play tennis at the indoor tennis center and then we're off to wisconsin until sunday. i'm also off on monday and am really happy to have a four-day weekend. it will be nice to get away, even if it is wisconsin in november! i just wish i could take this little girl with me....

home for the holidays

2011-11-09T16:53:00.000-06:00

normally this would be the time of year that i'd be posting with excitement and announcing that i had purchased my ticket to london for christmas. the last few years i have spent two weeks over the christmas festivities with my sister and her family in jolly old england. unfortunately due to financial circumstances this year, i am not going to be able to make my annual trip. (insert huge sigh of disappointment)

upon learning that i was most likely not going to be able to visit this year, my niece and nephew jumped on skype and offered me the sweetest solutions. the conversation went like this:

evan (age 3): "tia, no christmas?!" (with big shrug and sad face)
me: "no, evs, i'm sorry but this year i don't think i'm going to be able to make it."
evan: "oh tia..." (big sigh of disappointment and he vanishes from the screen)
cue amelia:
amelia (age 5 going on 37): (with very serious face) "tell me tia, is it the expense?"
me: (trying not to laugh at her sounding like my personal financial advisor) "yes, actually. it's very expensive to buy plane tickets"
amelia: (with a sigh of relief as if i had told her to solve a simple problem like closing the door or turning off the tv) "tia, i have LOADS of money. and i will give it all to you!"
me: (trying not to start sobbing) "that's so sweet but i just don't know if you have enough and i don't want to take all of your money"
cue evan running back into the room:
evan: "tia!" (shoving his piggy bank into the picture)
amelia: "now you have money from BOTH of us. you can come now, right tia? i mean, it's tradition!"

and so it went until my sister had to finally tell them that while it was very nice to offer me their money it just wouldn't be enough. we finally came to terms with the fact that i'll be getting up in the middle of the night with nana and boppy in indiana and we'll be opening christmas presents via skype this year.

i'm going to feel odd not heading to o'hare and jumping on a plane this december. it's going to be strange to wake up on christmas morning and not see those little faces so eager to burst into the living room and see if santa brought them presents in the night. i won't be wearing paper crowns, fighting my sister's tree to get the lights on, doing last-minute shopping, or spending christmas eve eating chinese and drinking mulled wine while wrapping gifts and watching "love actually". but i will get to spend christmas with my parents this year, which will be nice. and i'll be in town for my friend jill's birthday on the 27th, which i always miss. i'll get to bring the bf home and introduce him to the rest of the fam he hasn't yet met. i won't have to worry about jet lag or flight delays. it'll still be a nice holiday, even if i'm not in london. and i know my sis and fam are coming to visit in early april, so that helps. we'll be able to celebrate my niece's birthday in chicago this year - something i've never been able to do with her before!

so all in all, the holidays will be great, just different. hopefully i'll be able to resume the tradition next year!

bless his cotton socks

2011-11-01T15:22:00.000-05:00

about a year ago i was in the first few months of a relationship and had started to notice some of the bf's quirks that amused/annoyed/baffled me and wrote about them here. fast forward to now and the relationship is still great, but he still manages to do things that completely confuse me. here is a prime example:

that, my friends, is what my toothpaste looked like when i opened my cabinet the other day. i've started using sensodyne since my recent dental debacles, leaving the crest for the bf when he feels the need to brush his teeth at my place. it seriously looks like he wadded it up and threw it back onto the shelf. why would one need to crumple up the toothpaste like this?! we all know that squeezing it from the bottom flattens it out nicely and pushes the paste to the top. all i can say - bless his cottons. i'll never understand these things but at least he amuses me.

surprise!

2011-08-31T09:50:00.001-05:00

the past month has been a whirlwind. getting ready for vacation, spending nearly two weeks in beautiful espana (separate vacation blog with pics to come), then back to the grind and trying to catch up on work, grocery shopping, cleaning, catching up with the bf and friends, etc. it's been crazy town around here.

knowing my dad's birthday was coming up less than two weeks after i got back from vacation, i assumed i wouldn't really want to travel out of town again that soon and was just planning to send a card and make a happy birthday phone call. however, early last week as i was addressing the card and affixing the stamp, i thought to self, "maybe i could just drive down for the weekend..." surprisingly self agreed (she doesn't usually) and added, "well, we are off work friday afternoon and could be down there by dinner time." i texted my mom and told her i was thinking of coming down to surprise my dad on his birthday and she said that would be great. the bf also happened to have friday off and wanted to come along and just like that, the plan was made.

luckily for me, my two dear friends work for an airline and happened to have extra buddy passes, so the bf and i were able to fly to and from SDF instead of making the 5 hour drive each way. that was such a nice change to the trip and really, really made it more enjoyable. thanks a&g!

my dad had no idea we were coming, though he finally figured it out when they had to park at the airport and come in to wait for us since our flight was running just a little behind schedule. but up until that point, he had no clue. it was so fun to surprise him and then go out for a nice dinner in louisville with my parents. we had some great food at the makers mark lounge and then some post-dinner drinks at ri-ra, which was a favorite watering hole of mine when i lived in charlotte so i had to check out the new one in the ville! saturday some of my parents' crazy (in a good way) friends met up with us and we all went to a local art fair. that night we grilled out and had lots of cocktails out on the porch. sunday we got to hang out with my parents more and finally left for the airport around 4pm. i think we helped make my dad's birthday a great time!

jim and lyn at ri-ra: (the pic is a little grainy because it was dark in the pub)

snaggletooth

2011-07-27T09:09:00.000-05:00

on saturday i was innocently eating a popcorn chip, which adam described in delicious detail here, when i felt an unusually hard crunch against my teeth. i immediately spit out what was in my mouth (gross, i know) to find that half of a porcelain veneer had broken off of one of my top teeth. luckily, half of the veneer stayed in tact and was protecting my tooth from being sensitive to heat or cold, so i made it through the weekend being very careful not to chew or bite down on the right side of my mouth.

on monday i called around to six different dentist offices attempting to get in with someone asap. luckily for me, i was able to get in tuesday morning as a new patient with dr. lee, who is my new favorite person. i spent 3 1/2 hours with dr. lee and staff and walked out of there with a brand new shiny veneer, a process i had assumed would take 1-2 weeks from start to finish. given the fact that i'm leaving the country next week, i was very, very relieved to have the veneer replaced in a single day.

finding out the price, however, was not a happy moment for me. i was given an estimate as soon as we decided on a course of treatment and found out that my lovely dental insurance does not cover any amount toward cosmetic procedures. awesome. dr. lee's office manager was great, though, going through payment options with me and helping me find a workable solution. so, without further ado, here is what a $1000 tooth looks like:

planes, trains and automobiles

2011-07-25T15:59:00.000-05:00

i've been planning a vacation to the spanish coast since february. there are 8 adults and 3 kids going, so the planning has been pretty extensive trying to coordinate dates, flights, other transportation, accommodations, side trip to madrid, etc. after a lot of research and money, we're booked and ready to go. aside from a few final details that we need to confirm, we are spain-bound in 10 days!

getting to the house where we're staying just outside of torrevieja is going to be an adventure. fly to philly from chicago, 3 1/2 hour layover. 8 hour flight to madrid, 3 hour wait for train. 3 hour train ride to alicante. get to alicante airport to meet up with my sister and her family, travel by bus and then taxi or just by private shuttle (we're still in the process of planning that part) to the house. all in all, we're looking at over 24 hours of traveling by the time we arrive from the US to our destination in spain. whew! i need a glass of sangria just thinking about it!

but it will be well worth it. i'm so excited to be traveling with adam, gary, and our good friend melissa. the four of us could have fun in a paper bag, so i'm sure we'll have a great time. i'm a little sad that the bf can't go, but it works out well for me because he'll be here in chicago to watch my kitty. i'm going to owe him some good souvenirs for this one.

we will be 1/3 mile from punta prima beach, which looks a little something like this....

the house we are renting also has a rooftop terrace with a hot tub (not sure we'll be using that a whole lot since it gets pretty hot in spain in august, but who knows!), a private tiled garden area, a shared pool and enough space for all of us to have beds, which is actually a more difficult thing to find than you'd imagine. as of now there is zero rain in the forecast for the time we're there so i can definitely foresee a lot of beach and pool time. good thing i just stocked up on sunscreen yesterday!

i'm really looking forward to some yummy sangria, tapas and paella, as well as some home-cooked meals prepared by those in our group who actually like to cook (adam, paul - hint, hint). we are also taking tennis racquets, so hopefully we can get in a few tennis games during the trip. i'm sure there will be lots of euchre games in the evenings as well as some nights out on the town. a day trip to alicante is most likely in the cards and the US crew will finish our trip with a quick whirlwind tour of madrid.

the driving force behind all of this was discussion with my sister and her hubby about this summer and my plans to visit them when i was in london with them for christmas. we figured since i have to travel quite a long distance anyway, why not just make it a new destination? that way they can have a vacation and i can see them while still visiting a new place and getting in some beach time. add in some additional friends, sunshine and ocean and voila! vacation is born. in addition to hanging out with friends and seeing my sister and brother-in-law, i'm super excited to spend time with these two little mokeys:

i just want to enjoy the trip, come back feeling relaxed and refreshed and ready for any new adventures that may come my way (as long as they don't cost me any money)!

hurry up and wait

2011-07-20T08:46:00.001-05:00

have you ever thought about how much of our lives we spend waiting? wait for the bus, train, cab. wait for the light to change. wait in traffic. wait in lines everywhere. wait for a table at a restaurant and then wait for your food and the check. wait for other people to arrive at a meet-up point. wait to see the doctor and dentist. wait for your diagnosis of a clean bill of health or life-changing news. wait for the stick to show + or -. wait to give birth. wait for your car while it's being repaired. wait to hear back from a job interview (or 4). wait for your laundry. wait for feedback on a project or report. wait on hold for the cable company. wait for the coffee to brew. wait for commercials to finish to get back to your show. wait to get out of the parking garage. wait for a package to be delivered. wait for the store to sell alcohol at a designated time on sunday.

i could go on and on and on, but the point is - we spend a ridiculous amount of time waiting for things. of course, certain things like giving birth give you a 9 month wait to get ready for the new baby and waiting for your laundry or the coffee isn't a big deal because you can just keep yourself busy with other things in the meantime. we're used to waiting for appointments and in traffic, though those things grate on the nerves.

i've been wondering lately how i can reduce and/or maximize the time i spend waiting. should i take up a hobby to kill the time? or will i just have to wait in line at michael's and then wait in traffic to get home to start said hobby? i usually keep myself entertained waiting at the doctor's office or auto shop by reading or playing games on my phone, but what about the other types of waiting - the ones that take days, weeks, sometimes months and drive you close to crazy? for example - the job search. you interview, then wait. they call for a second interview, you wait for that day to come, interview, then wait. they call for a third interview, you wait for that day, interview, then wait. that process can be excruciating! same thing, though with much more serious implications, as you wait for a diagnosis from your doctor. go to first appointment, find out something is off. get scheduled for tests, wait for date of testing, get tests, wait. receive call with test results, need additional tests and specialist, make those appointments, wait for appointments, go to appointments, wait for results. get results, which hopefully are good, but may find out you need additional appointments, ongoing health checks, etc. waiting to find out how your diagnosis will progress over the course of time is a particularly evil form of waiting and never fully leaves the back of your mind.

so again, i ask - how do you minimize/maximize waiting?? i can do things to temporarily take my mind off of certain things, try a different route to work with - hopefully - less traffic, occupy myself with books, tv, phone calls, tennis, etc. during waiting time, but i want to know how i can clear my mind and not let the waiting for the big things get to me. any suggestions? i'd love to hear them. and yes, a lobotomy is out of the question.

driving miss crazy

2011-07-18T22:45:00.000-05:00

the other day i was feeling frustrated and stressed out (that seems to be a theme with me lately for various reasons, but that's a whole other post) and was trying to figure out what to do to alleviate some of my anxiety. i started thinking about how i used to jump in the car and go for a drive when i needed to take my mind off things. i would get in the car, put on music that i could sing along to at the top of my lungs, and take a scenic drive. after 20, 30, sometimes 60 minutes i'd always feel much calmer and reasonable about things. i would almost always return home feeling relieved, less stressed and in a much better mood.

as you may have guessed, however, living in chicago is not conducive to scenic drives for stress-relief purposes. quite the opposite, actually. even the thought of driving around this city when i'm not on my way to a specific place makes my blood pressure rise. the idea of putting myself in the car and wasting ridiculously expensive gas in an attempt to de-stress only makes me more stressed. and intentionally sitting in traffic, yelling obscenities at idiot drivers, and wanting to bang my head on the steering wheel certainly isn't relaxing; it's more of a nightmare.

lucky for me, the nice thing about living in a city like chicago is that there is a lot to do and see within walking distance. now i find myself taking strolls around the neighborhood, popping into local shops, stumbling upon farmers markets or live music and enjoying these distractions when i need to stop thinking about stressful things. i guess my stress has gone green!

three day weekend

2011-07-05T09:06:00.000-05:00

originally, i had planned to drive to indiana to meet this little guy for the first time over july 4 weekend:

being the first addition to the H family, little G is already quite popular among our friends and we are dying to see him in person. however, being very, very new (only 2 weeks old) and still getting used to being out in the loud world, trying to let his tired parents get a few minutes of sleep in here and there, and working out the difference between night and day, little G decided he will be accepting visitors at a later date. another post to come after i get to meet him!

so, left with the option to still drive down to indiana to a friend's family's lake house (which would have been a blast), or save money and stay here in chicago (i'm saving for a trip to spain in august), i opted to go easy on the bank account and stay home. three whole days stretched ahead of me with NO plans. amazing. i love my busy weekends that consist of going out, dinners, drinks, errands, tennis, etc., but sometimes when a particularly busy weekend is coming up i feel exhausted before it even gets started. so the idea of having zero plans was extremely appealing for the long weekend.

it ended up being a pretty perfect three day stretch. drinks with friends after work on friday, watching wimbledon finals saturday and sunday morning, followed by tennis both days, over to friends' places both nights to grill out, night caps out at the neighborhood watering holes, monday ending the weekend with a day of errands, more tennis and a stroll around the neighborhood to see the fireworks and enjoy the last bit of time off work. i got to see good friends, eat good food, spend a lot of time with the bf, play a LOT of tennis (which always makes me happy!), enjoy the gorgeous weather and just relax and let all of those things that have been stressing me out lately to be put out of mind. now if only next weekend was a three day weekend, too....

today i will....

2011-06-22T13:52:00.000-05:00

i know wednesday is called hump day because it marks the middle of the week and gets us over the "hump" and moving in the direction of the weekend. for some reason, today seems full of humps that are just knocking me backward instead of helping me move forward. so, to combat the hump day blahs, i thought i'd make a list of things that i want to accomplish or do today. here we go...

- go for a run
- pick up my newly strung tennis racquet
- laundry
- sign up for live mocha spanish class
- distract myself from the waiting game
- don't let my boss get to me
- schedule a massage
- avoid margie's delicious ice cream

that should do the trick!

words of a father

2011-06-13T12:58:00.001-05:00

june 13 is a bittersweet day for my family, as it is the birthday of my little sister, amber, who lost her battle with cancer at the painfully young age of 7. my other sister wrote a lovely post over at noble savage and as i sat pondering what or if i should write anything today, i got an email from my dad. he sent it to a few family members and the subject was "amber's 30th birthday." i thought it was so nice and heartfelt that i wanted to re-post it here. thanks, dad.

"Today would have been Amber’s 30^th birthday. I hope you all will join me in celebrating! She can’t be here physically with us, but I know her spirit is with us always. I often wonder what she would look like and what she would be like at 30. We would have to have a homemade cake from Lyn, and it would probably say something about being “over the hill”!

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, no matter how many years, I’ll never get over you! Hair of gold, smile full of sunshine, always ready with a joke, making sure you knew that she loved everyone. I try very hard to remember the good times we had, but somehow I miss you more, and I get all sad. I can only try to be a better dad, with your smiles and hugs forever locked in my heart, I want to share that love you taught us all to be glad for every day we have.

There is no promise for tomorrow, please celebrate each and every moment with the ones you love the most. You see, this is the legacy that Amber left us, love one another, like this is your last day! The best present we can give her, is our vow to live our lives with that in mind. I’m a silly old man that doesn’t write well, but I love you all, and hope each day is good for you. Remember though that the days that bring you the most pain, can make you become the best you can be. But only if you let your heart not be broken, but full of love for all. Amber, always on my mind. Amber, always in my heart. Amber, in my very soul!"

conversations with cabbies

2011-06-12T12:50:00.000-05:00

i recently went to key west with the bf for a few days and was thoroughly impressed by the cab drivers there. every single cab ride we took (and there were quite a few since we didn't rent a car) came with a driver willing to chat about the weather, local hangouts, and general information about key west. living in chicago and being used to cabbies who spend their time talking on their cell phones or pretending to know where they're going when they really don't, it was a refreshing change from the norm. some interesting things we learned/discussed:

- hurricanes don't often actually hit the island due to the shallow ocean water that surrounds it
- big pine is the home of the key deer - a species of deer that only lives and breeds in this one area. because key deer are endangered, if you hit one with your car (even, as our cabbie said, if it is trying to commit suicide) you get a hefty fine. key deer love to eat flowers so big pine is the only area of the keys where you will find no flowers.
- one of the preferred modes of transport on key west is the scooter. tourists come to key west, rent scooters and assume they can drive them properly. on a given day, there are at least 5 scooter-related accidents that come through the emergency room at the local hospital that require the driver to be hospitalized.
- daddy bones is the best bbq in key west and happened to be located right next door to our hotel. it came recommended by a cab driver and it did not disappoint.
- locals tend to avoid the crazy, tourist infested duval street but will make an exception to frequent the green parrot, a bar a block or so off the main drag. the green parrot has live music and no cover but still attracts well-known bands. we enjoyed the al castiglia band on the recommendation of a cab driver during our visit to the parrot.
- there are four naval bases on key west, one of which is a training facility where you may be shot on sight if you step foot on the property. yikes.
- natives of key west are referred to as "conchs", being that key west is known as the conch republic. we never met a single person who was actually from key west.
- even though key west technically has a policy of no boozing on the streets, as long as you take your drink in a plastic cup, no one is going to say anything or make you pour it out. bars will give you plastic cups to pour your drink in if you want to take it to-go. amazing.
- hit up happy hour. tons of places do happy hour specials that are great deals on food and drinks.
- police seemed to be a rare sight, something we thought odd when we were on duval, given the mardi gras-like atmosphere. when we asked a cabbie about this he said not to be fooled - many cops in key west walk around in plain clothes. good to know.

i'm sure there were other facts and lessons but i can't recall everything now. i just thought it was a nice touch that the cab drivers were so friendly and willing to give local recommendations, random information and insight about key west. next time i go i'll be sure to learn more. :)

oh what a night

2011-03-04T11:58:00.000-06:00

day 4: post a picture of your favorite night

i know the quality of this pic is terrible (it's actually a picture of a picture because i had no way to scan it) but i had to post it anyway. this is a picture of our first group road trip to new orleans for mardi gras. what a ridiculously fun night!

day 3: a picture of the cast from your favorite show

2011-03-03T20:54:00.000-06:00

modern family

do yourself a favor and watch. if you don't snort or choke on your own spit because you're laughing so much, there's something wrong with you.

two for one

2011-03-02T23:36:00.000-06:00

my friend adam is doing a variation of the nablopomo theme for this month. instead of doing a word a day, he is doing a picture a day that fits a daily theme. i really like the idea of incorporating more pictures on my blog, so i'm going to attempt to do this for march, as well. given that i'm already a day late, i'm doing two posts in one today. yes, i know that's cheating but the format he's using only accounts for 30 days and since there are 31 in march, i figure i've got a bit of wiggle room.

yesterday's theme was: Day 01 - A picture of yourself with ten facts

1) i love wine. and i do mean love.
2) my favorite color is blue
3) my secret shame is watching old re-runs of beverly hills 90210 while lying on the couch and drinking coffee on weekend mornings
4) i firmly believe a woman can never have too many pairs of black shoes or cute bags
5) my favorite sport to play is tennis
6) i sing in the shower and in my car
7) i'm highly allergic to dogs
8) i have very long arms (my arm span is 2 inches longer than my height; they should be equal)
9) i can wiggle my ears
10) i hate cheesecake

and now, today's theme: Day 2: A picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest.

though my sister and i went through our stages of not talking or hanging out as much due to friends, school, different interests, etc., i'm always amazed at how close we are and how we seem to keep growing closer, even with her living on a different continent. she has been, and will continue to be, a great friend and inspiration to me.

that's not my name!

2011-02-17T10:53:00.000-06:00

i officially became a cat owner on january 30 when i drove to indy and picked up a cat who needed a new home due to medical issues of her current owner. (big thanks to adam for making the drive with me!) she got settled in almost immediately, exploring my apartment, finding her food and litter with no problem, and settling herself on the couch like a princess. she was never shy or scared or skittish and is very playful and friendly. she loves to come in my room in the morning (if she's not already asleep at the foot of my bed) and snuggle with me. eventually she gets a little annoyed if i don't get up and pats me with her paw until i get up and give her some food. it's really sweet.

she's not an angel all the time, though. we've battled over her jumping on the coffee table and scratching at the edges of my living room rug. she also is very curious about anything in a plastic cup and has a tendency to stick her nose in them and eventually knock them over if i leave one out in her reach. around 10pm she turns into a tasmanian devil, running around the place like she's possessed and i hear her periodically during the night batting toys (among other things, i'm sure!) around and darting through the apartment. i'm sure as soon as i leave for work she wanders around and jumps on every surface that is supposed to be off limits to her.

with that said, she's a great cat and it's so nice to come home to her. even if i'm in a bad mood because of traffic or work or whatever, walking in and having her meet me at the door always makes me smile. i scoop her up and walk her around the apartment and she just purrs and licks my nose. it's probably one of my favorite times of the day.

the one issue that we've had is figuring out a name for her. two weeks in and i was still just calling her kitty or kiki (my version of kitty-kitty, i guess). the name her previous owners gave her was lucy, but i wanted to change it - mostly because adam and gary have a new kitty called lucy but also because i feel like giving her a name will make her feel more like she's mine. i've tested out lots of names on her, but nothing seemed to fit. i debated just calling her kiki, but i like that as more of a nickname. i know some people take time to name their children after giving birth, but this is getting ridiculous. how hard can it be to name a cat?!

and then, yesterday morning after feeding her, i called her a name that just seemed to click. and i've been calling her that since and it really fits her. so, without further ado, my kitty, Stella:

lunch is served

2011-02-09T14:37:00.000-06:00

i had a couple of yummy and low-point lunches this week, so i thought i'd share....

southwestern chicken salad (4 points)
salad mix
3 oz. tyson prepared grilled chicken strips (2 pts)
1/3 c. black beans (1 pt)
diced tomato
1/3 c. salsa (0 pts, check label to make sure)
2 T light sour cream (1 pt)
fresh cilantro to taste
lime

the salsa and sour cream mixed together subs for regular dressing and you can make it a lower point value by using less or using fat free. i used a pretty mild salsa and will definitely use a spicier one next time, just to give it a kick. i mixed the tomato, black beans, cilantro and a squeeze of lime together and then topped the salad with the mixture, chicken and "dressing". easy, filling and tasty. corn would be a good addition if you can afford the extra points.

black bean burger wrap (6 points)
1 flat out brand light whole grain wrap (2 pts)
1 wedge laughing cow swiss cheese (1pt)
1 pickle, diced
chopped tomato
1 spicy black bean burger (3 pts)
ketchup and mustard

cook and chop black bean patty into chunks. spread cheese on wrap, mix ketchup and mustard together and spread over cheese, top with burger pieces. add pickle and tomato chunks, wrap and enjoy. this recipe originally came from hungry girl's "200 Under 200" recipe book and i just figured out the point value for WW. you can use a tortilla instead of the flat out wraps, but i love these wraps when i'm missing my carbs and want an option that's going to taste good and not cost me a lot of points.

here kitty, kitty

2011-01-28T16:56:00.000-06:00

i've been thinking seriously for quite a while now about getting a cat. a couple of weeks ago i was ready to go to the shelter and adopt one but things came up and i ran out of time. i was thinking about doing it this week but decided i should wait until the weekend when i would have time to spend with the new kitty without having to leave it alone all day while i was at work.

i was on the phone with adam earlier, talking about different adoption shelters, what sorts of things i'd need for a cat, when i could go today or tomorrow, when an email came through from my friend rachel. the email explained that her co-worker's sister had to find a new home for her cat because her husband is going to be undergoing cancer treatment and is not supposed to be around pet dander or hair. because of this they need to find a home for their 7 month old cat. i heard the reason, saw pictures of the kitty and it was a done deal. i will be driving down to cincinnati the weekend of february 12 to pick her up and bring her to chicago! i'm soooo excited! here are the only pics i have so far....

"i don't run unless someone is chasing me"

2011-01-27T21:56:00.000-06:00

that was the motto i've lived by regarding running just for the sake of running. that's not to say i don't run when needed, like while playing tennis, chasing my niece and nephew, trying to flag the only taxi in sight at 3am, etc. but just to go out for a run and enjoy it has not been my strong suite. well, i'm hoping to change that. last year some friends and i talked about registering for a 5K together and i actually started training for it, only to be told by my cardiologist that i had to curb my exercise (even yoga!) until after i had a procedure done and we got my heart issues under control.

here i am a year later and my friend gary just informed me that he signed up for the race again. so, i bit the bullet and registered for it tonight. hopefully having the race looming ahead and knowing i have to do it on a certain date will motivate me to get moving and start running. i really have no excuse, as i am trying to get healthier, will be joining the local park district workout facility for the duration of these cold winter months, and the 5K literally goes right down my street and past my apartment. i admit, i'm nervous and for those of you who actually like to run and do 5Ks like it's a walk in the park, i'm sure that sounds silly, but like i said - i've never been a runner so it's going to be a learning process. wish me luck!

restaurant review - my kitchen

2011-01-26T20:58:00.000-06:00

so far i've managed to make the roasted root veggies and chicken pesto that i listed at the beginning of the week on my blog. the veggies were great!

roasted root veg
1 butternut squash (cubed)
1 sweet onion, cut into chunks
1 red pepper, cut into chunks
2 carrots, sliced thickly
1/8 c. olive oil
1 T thyme
2 T rosemary
1 T balsamic vinegar
salt

heat oven to 475. mix olive oil, balsamic and herbs together, pour over veggies and stir til coated. transfer to a roasting dish and roast 30-45 minutes, stirring every 15, until veggies are tender. easy and yummy!

i made the pesto last night and had it tonight with spaghetti squash, chicken and sundried tomatoes. fantastic! here's a pic, though it doesn't look as good in the photo as it looked (and tasted!) in reality:

the whole bowl was only 6 points and with the wine it was a grand total of 9 on WW. here's the recipe:

pesto sauce
2 T pine nuts
2 cups fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 T olive oil
2 cloves fresh garlic, peeled
1/2 tsp salt

place pine nuts in a small skillet and toast over medium heat, about 3 minutes. transfer to plate to cool. in a blender/food processor combine nuts, basil, broth, cheese, oil, garlic and salt. process until smooth and thick. yields about 1/4 cup per serving.

enjoy!

weekly specials

2011-01-24T11:52:00.000-06:00

in the spirit of continuing to try new recipes, i'll be making the following this week....

spaghetti squash with chicken, sundried tomatoes and homemade pesto

baked chicken with sauteed spinach and roasted garlic cauliflower and tomatoes

roasted root vegetables with rosemary and thyme

seared tuna with mango salsa (vegetable to be determined, perhaps roasted asparagus)

wish me luck!

bag of potatoes and other assorted items

2011-01-20T08:59:00.000-06:00

today was my weigh day for weight watchers and i'm happy to say that since i started the program on january 3, i've lost 5.5 pounds. it may not sound like a lot but i'm happy with the results so far! i've lost roughly the weight of a small bag (6 or so) potatoes! next time i go to the store i'm going to pick one of those suckers up and remind myself that if i stick to this, it could be a much bigger bag i lose over the next few weeks.

in other news, i got a raise yesterday! when i texted the bf to tell him, his response was "did hell freeze over?" hee hee. this is the first time in the two years at my current job that we've had a raise due to budget cuts and the economy. i'm so excited. it's not a ton of money but every little bit helps!

i was also given a blackberry by my boss. while i'm so glad i won't have to use my personal phone, which i do a LOT, anymore for work, there's something about being readily available at all times that makes me a little uncomfortable. but, now i can lower my phone plan minutes and save some money! yay!

my friend gary just had sinus surgery and is doing well. i hope he feels better soon! get well gary!

adam and i are going to see "black swan" later today. i've really been wanting to see it but everyone is warning me to prepare myself for the psychotic nature of the film. maybe i'll post a review here with my thoughts.

i need a new book to read. i plowed through 3 books over christmas and new year's and now i'm stumped on what to read next. i just started re-reading "the book thief", which i love, but i'd rather be reading something new. i have a couple of long, heavy reads on the list but i'm looking for something lighter right now. if anyone has suggestions, let me know.

i just found out on monday that my good friends jill and nick are having a baby boy in june!! i'm so, so excited for them! they're going to be great parents and we're already starting to plan the baby shower. congrats to jill and nick!

i think that's about it for today. i'm actually having a pretty good week. i hope you are, too. :)

my obsession with ted

2011-01-17T16:36:00.000-06:00

first off, i know i'm posting twice in one day. i hope the earth doesn't implode because of this catastrophic and scientifically unexplainable event. moving on.

i'm obsessed with ted. no, i'm not cheating on the bf or stalking some celebrity. i'm talking about ted.com, "a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with two annual conferences -- the TED Conference in Long Beach and Palm Springs each spring, and the TEDGlobal conference in Oxford UK each summer -- TED includes the award-winning TEDTalks video site, the Open Translation Project and Open TV Project, the inspiring TED Fellows and TEDx programs, and the annual TED Prize."

this site is one of the best things i've stumbled upon in a while and i'm sure it's well known to those of you out there who are more internet-savvy than i. ted.com gives you access to talks, interviews and lectures on a variety of topics from some of the top speakers and experts around the world.

i was getting ready to clean my messy apartment today and was struggling to find music i felt like listening to on my ipod/iphone. sometimes i turn on the tv just to have background noise, but i didn't want to have daytime tv in all its glory blaring in the apartment, either. i've been meaning to check out ted so i thought this would be a good time to do so. i'm hooked.

while cleaning, i listened to talks on nurturing creativity (presented by author elizabeth gilbert), why there are too few women in the workforce (presented by facebook coo sheryl sandberg), the influence of architecture on music (david byrne, musician), why the world needs wiki leaks (interview with wikileaks founder julian assange), and global power shifts (joseph nye, former assistant secretary of defense), just to name a few. these are great because they're relatively short, about 20 minutes, and you don't really have to be sitting, glued to the computer to absorb what the speaker is presenting. it's great to listen to while doing other tasks, especially mindless cleaning. subjects range from art to politics to science to entertainment and everything in between. it's sort of like audio cliff's notes for current affairs.

check it out. you won't be disappointed.

souper sunday

2011-01-17T13:29:00.000-06:00

i've never made soup before. well, i've made various chilis and taco soup, etc. but i've never made the kind of soup where you have to puree veggies and make it into a liquid consistency. i did this for the first time last night. i'd like to try to start making soups on the weekend to then refrigerate or freeze and have on hand for the upcoming days. for this one i used a WW recipe for creamy thai carrot soup and went to work boiling, simmering and blending (thank you mom and dad for my new ninja blender/food processor!). i actually enjoyed the process and though i didn't have any of the soup last night, i was looking forward to it today for lunch. i have to say, i'm not as fond of it as i had hoped. while it looks tasty:

it just didn't have the flavor i was hoping for. the recipe calls for a pound of carrots, chicken broth, onions, garlic, salt, tofu (to make it creamy without using cream), curry paste and ginger root. oddly enough, all i had to buy for this was tofu so it seemed like a great choice! i tasted it after i had pureed it and found it to be a little bland, so i added some garlic salt and fresh cilantro, then re-blended. letting it sit overnight definitely helped some of the other flavors come through. it does have a little heat to it because of the curry paste and garnishing it with fresh mint gives it a coolness that is really nice. however, if i make it again i'll add more broth (it came out the consistency of baby food) and spice it up a little more. overall it's not bad and it would be fine to have a cup of it with the rest of your meal, but on it's own it's not the most satisfying dish in terms of flavor. it is very filling, though, which is probably why it's only 2 points for a serving on weight watchers! if i were grading this soup i'd give it a C and hopefully if i make it again i can bring that up to a B!

foray into food

2011-01-08T13:29:00.000-06:00

those of you who know me well know that i am not very kitchen-capable. more often than not, when i tell friends and/or family that i'm planning to cook a meal (aside from my staple turkey burger tacos or stir fry which i've mastered), i'm met with laughter, disbelief or the occasional offer to bring over take out when my attempt fails miserably. the truth is, i can cook, i just haven't ever really bothered to try many new recipes and i've never exactly enjoyed spending the majority of my evenings after work in the kitchen, sweating over a stove.

i'll admit, i did start cooking a little more frequently when the bf started coming over for meals. on my own, i could eat a bowl of cereal, some pita chips and hummus, drink a glass of wine and call that dinner. i was happy with that but given the fact that he can eat more in one sitting than anyone i've ever known and also thinks my cooking is great (he subsists on frozen pizza and stouffer's dinners and has never even used the stove in the apartment he's lived in since july, if that tells you anything), i started cooking actual meals for us a couple times a week and started to ~~enjoy~~ stop hating the task of cooking quite so much.

now that i've started weight watchers, i've been sort of forced to start cooking more, pay closer attention to ingredients, and try new recipes and ideas. i'm actually finding that i'm liking this new adventure into making meals that are not only healthy, but taste great and fit right in with the WW program. so, i'll probably be posting a little bit about my cooking adventures here, not to pat myself on the back for not completely ruining some perfectly good food, but to highlight meals i've enjoyed that could help give healthy ideas to others.

two of my favorites from this week....

buffalo chicken salad
4 oz. chicken tenders
1 T BW3 wing sauce
1 T light sour cream
1 wedge laughing cow blue cheese
cherry tomatoes
red onion
spinach

yes, i made my own low cal, low fat, low point dressing with sour cream and laughing cow blue cheese!

and last night's dinner:

chicken parmesan
chicken parm prepared via WW recipe and i added some roasted spaghetti squash to supplement for the missing pasta. add a salad and a glass of red wine and voila! yummy, healthy dinner!

yes, that's real mozzarella cheese and normal red wine. i'm learning that with just a few moderations and closer attention to portions and ingredients i can still have all of the things i love!

one little word

2011-01-05T11:44:00.000-06:00

i was reading teresabug's blog and saw her post about choosing a word for 2011. her word for this year is less, meaning that she is going to "focus on living with less, buying less, eating less, worrying less, trying to be someone that I am not less, trying to please other less and perfecting less so that I have time to focus on the important things in my life."

i really like the idea of finding a word that will help shape my motivation and goals for the year. the interesting thing was, as soon as i thought about choosing a word for myself for the year, the word itself popped into my head immediately. my word for 2011 is commit. this year i will commit to getting healthy, commit to furthering my career path, commit to trying new things and commit to strengthening important relationships in my life. by choosing the word commit, i feel that i am also committing to holding myself accountable for all of the things i want to accomplish this year.

what's your word for 2011?

new year's resolutions

2011-01-03T08:03:00.000-06:00

well, it's that time of year again. time to clean out the cupboards, pitch all of the junk food, get going on healthy eating and working out. i've decided to join weight watchers (again) in order to help me with this. i did WW a couple of years ago and had really good results; unfortunately, i fell off the proverbial wagon and re-gained all of the weight i'd lost plus some, so i figure it's time to give it another go. in addition to eating better i'm also pledging to work out more (aren't we all??). i'm joining an indoor sports center that will give me access to indoor tennis courts during these frigid winter months in chicago, my great boyfriend got me yoga sessions at my favorite studio for christmas, and i'm going to utilize the workout center at my office (for which i've had a key for 2 years but have never stepped foot inside) to get in some cardio a couple days a week. i'm really determined this time to stick with it, so i'm probably going to be updating here now and then on my progress, just to keep me accountable.

happy new year to you all and good luck with your own resolutions!

he wants to talk about what?!

2010-12-26T11:24:00.000-06:00

the other day over lunch, my sister and i attempted to get caught up on a recent episode of "desperate housewives" while the kids were glued to cartoons in the other room. they had finished their lunches and were absorbed in whatever was happening on cbeebies, so we took the chance to put an episode on the computer and enjoy it while we ate. not far into the show, my niece came sneaking in the room, wanting to be with the girls and watch mummy's tv, not cartoons. giving in to her sweet desire to hang out with us, we let her stay and she climbed into my lap.

not 2 minutes later a certain scene came on during which one of the male characters is arguing with his wife and says "why don't you ever talk about my penis?!" in indignation and frustration. as soon as the words were out of his mouth, it was like slow motion - i looked over at my sister who was already looking wide-eyed at me and my niece piped up and said, "well, why would he want to talk about his penis?!" as if it were the most asinine thing in the world.

thank god she was sitting on my lap and not facing me because i started laughing so hard, i wouldn't have wanted her to see my reaction. it wasn't normal, amused chuckling, it was that silent, heaving laughter that makes your whole body shake, especially when you're trying not to do it. credit to my sister for smothering her own giggles and answering rather calmly and nonchalantly, "i don't know. that's pretty silly, isn't it?" my niece agreed and started giggling. at that point neither my sister nor i could contain ourselves and erupted with cackles, tears welling in our eyes.

needless to say, the show was turned off and my niece returned to more child-friendly programming, but it sure made for a good laugh.

the truth about christmas

2010-12-23T05:38:00.000-06:00

after multiple years of visiting my sister and fam in the london area, i've finally worked out why they keep inviting me back each christmas. last night as i stepped back and surveyed the dining room table loaded with presents i had just spend the better part of two hours wrapping, i realized i've been recruited each year to fly over and act as bartender/sweatshop present wrapper. they don't even pay me! i have to work in terrible conditions - big table upon which to wrap, unlimited paper and supplies, constantly filled wine glass with music playing in the background. if i'm very good and don't ask for bandages for my bleeding papercuts, they may throw me a scrap of chocolate or a bailey's and coffee. sometimes my sister or brother-in-law actually pops in to check my progress and has a word or two with me, usually cracking the proverbial whip to ensure i'm not slacking off. my parents are even in on the deal, sending loads of unwrapped gifts over here, knowing i'll do all the wrapping for them. jeez.

and the bartending! man, oh man. the nerve of them to think i'll just swoop in, fight through my jetlag and produce perfect cocktails on demand. i tell you, being supplied with cases of wine, ingredients for cosmos and other drinks, bubbly and beer is just terrible. terrible and inhumane, i tell you. i mean, who can be expected to drink night after night while enjoying delicious dinner after delicious dinner, all prepared for me? really, they should look into better treatment of their guests. i mean, they only keep the kids from jumping on me until about 9am - don't they know i sleep til 10? ugh. i really must complain to management about these conditions.

until then, i'll put on my elf hat, mix a drink and wrap away. maybe next year they'll look into getting me an assistant.

you say tomato....

2010-12-21T14:16:00.000-06:00

the other day, my niece was pulling things out of her school bag, showing me the cards she had received from classmates, the christmas art projects she had made and the treats and small gifts she had been given by her teachers. as she produced various things from the bag she announced to me what each item was.

her: "and this is a santa card i made with cotton and paper"

me: "oooh, lovely! well done!"

her: "and these are cards from sam, nancy and olivia"

me: "very nice of your friends to give you holiday cards!"

her: "and this is a reindeer notebook. and a rubber."

me: "oh, how nice - wait, what?!"

her: "i said it's a rubber. anyway, here's another--"

me: "hold on. one second. what is that last one again?"

her: (sighing with exasperation and annoyance) "IT. IS. A. RUBBER."

me: "i'm going to need to see this."

and she proceeded to toss me the item in question. a rubber, indeed. apparently here in england a rubber is what the kids call rubber erasers. dirty, dirty tia get your mind out of the gutter!

say it like it is

2010-12-17T04:12:00.000-06:00

over dinner wednesday night, my first evening here in the UK with my sister and her family....

me: so i heard all about my niece's new boyfriend after she got home from school today

my sister: she's four. there's no way he could be her boyfriend.

me: well, she said he was. not sure what that means to a four-year-old exactly.

my brother-in-law: well, aren't you glad you managed to get a boyfriend before your four-year-old niece? that would have been embarrassing.

me: yeah.... thanks for that. more wine please.

quiet contemplation

2010-11-23T10:49:00.000-06:00

i woke up unusually early this morning, before the alarm even went off. it was still dark in my room and i layed there for a while, listening. aside from the whir of the ceiling fan and the intermittent rush of the train passing in the distance, it was quiet. no honking horns, no television, no construction noise from the project going on 6 days a week next door, not even any stomping from the heavy footfalls of my upstairs neighbor.

as i lay there enjoying the quiet, i started thinking about my life and the things i'm thankful for. it is, after all, thanksgiving week, and it seems appropriate to reflect on things like this right now. so here's my short list, in no particular order....

- wonderful friends and family
- my upcoming trip to london for christmas
- the fact that i am gainfully employed
- my latest round of cardio testing that showed my heart is returning to normal functioning
- being happy in a relationship with a great guy
- living in a city with many things to do and see
- opportunities i have to travel
- my sister's visit to the states in early december

i hope you all have many things you are thankful for this holiday season!

dream a little dream

2010-11-18T15:29:00.000-06:00

everyone who knows me well knows that i have ridculous dreams. i'm talking dreams so weird, detailed and long that i often wake up feeling like i've gotten no sleep at all. sometimes bits of the previous night's dream will come back to me throughout the day, allowing me to piece together the crazy events of my sleep, as has been the case today.

last night i was having a lovely dream about being on vacation in costa rica, staying in a little hut on the beach (i'm sure it somehow had a/c and a full bar) and doing things like body-surfing in the ocean and hiking through the jungle. ok, stop laughing - you know it was a dream if i was doing those things and not lying on the beach, half drunk with a cocktail and trashy novel in hand.

in the midst of my vacation paradise dream, my dream-self decided it was time to go and transported us into a very large lobby, with three huge buildings surrounding us and sharing the lobby space. i had to go up an escalator to get on an elevator that was supposed to take me to somewhere important. i got on the elevator and pressed the button, only to find that the doors opened and revealed that i was actually standing on a rotating disc that kept going in circles. the disc was large and people kept jumping on and off but for some reason i seemed to be glued to the floor. i couldn't get the "elevator" to close and couldn't find the door panel with the buttons on it anymore. i just kept going in circles and no one would help me. i looked down and realized i had no shoes on and couldn't see where i had dropped them. everyone else jumping on and off the platform was wearing shoes but everyone ignored me when i asked if they could help me find mine. finally my friend G appeared and said one sentence to me, "just jump off for god's sake!" and then promptly disappeared again. i still couldn't do it and couldn't find my shoes and so i stood there, spinning, until my alarm buzzed and saved my dream-self from simultaneous nervous breakdown and severe motion sickness.

as i always do after these vivid dreams, i think about them off and on throughout the day, wondering what - if anything - is the meaning of the things i dream about. i can pretty easily interpret the costa rica segment - i want another beach vacation. that's pretty easy. but the other part.... not so much, though the shoeless thing wasn't much of a surprise. finding myself shoeless and in a panic in my dreams has been a pretty common theme over the past couple of years. i did a little researching and apparently when you find yourself barefoot in your dreams it means one of two things - a) you are carefree and free-spiritied and you're not bothered by being barefoot because you're probably getting ready to run through a field where the grass feels like cotton and there are puppies playing and birds singing or some crap OR b) you are barefoot and panicking because you can't find your shoes and no one will help you, thus illustrating that you are questioning and doubting the very platform of your life (i.e. living situation, job, relationships, looming decisions/deadlines, etc). i'm pretty sure i fall into category B. awesome.

so here my shoeless reminder has reared its ugly head again, not that i'm surprised. being relatively happy with most of what's happening in my life right now, of course i have to have something that i'm doubting or unhappy about, right?! i know exactly what it is and why it's manifesting itself in my dreams in the form of my barefooted panic, so i'm working to change it. i won't go into details about it now, but those of you who know me will probably have a pretty good idea of what in my life i'm looking to change at the moment. wish me luck and may you always have the good fortune to be wearing fabulous shoes in your dreams!

"mom and dad found you in a dumpster"

2010-11-13T16:36:00.000-06:00

the quote above is one of many charming things i used to torment my younger sister with when we were kids and i tried to convince her that she was adopted. not very nice of me, eh? however, if you look at some of our behaviors, likes, dislikes and overall preferences, it is in fact me who would be the one to stand out as not quite meshing with the family traits. for instance....

- bourbon. i hate, hate, hate whiskey and/or bourbon. hate it. i cannot stress enough how much i hate it other than to say i feel like i'm going to vomit just typing about it now. my family, on the other hand, LOVES it. bourbon and diet coke is the preferred cocktail for my parents and sister and i'd venture to say even the drink of choice for my british brother-in-law.

- red meat and pork. i haven't eaten either of these since 1995 when i decided to give them up as a new year's resolution just to see if i could do it. it was surprisingly easy and now the thought of either (yes, i KNOW pork is "the other white meat") makes my stomach turn. the only exception i might, might ever make is to have a really good - and i'm talking it better be phenomenal - steak, but even then i'd rather have great seafood than to risk what ingesting red meat might do to my stomach after all this time. i do eat chicken and fish, though if i think too much about chicken i could probably talk myself out of that one, too. parents and sis, on the other hand, are carnivores. give em a thick, juicy filet or a burger specially grilled by my dad with all the fixins and they are in heaven.

- salt and butter. two more things i don't really bother with but are instrumental for any meal with my parents. maybe not so much my sister on this one, but she has adopted the english ways after several years in london and puts butter (or "spread" as they like to call it) on sandwiches. ick. i use butter and salt when i'm cooking if need be, but i very, very rarely add either to my food once it is prepared. i don't even butter my bread, toast or biscuits.

- coke, soda, pop, etc. - no, i don't drink whatever name most people call these carbonated beverages. literally one day i just stopped drinking cokes and it stuck. i found that i really don't care for the syrupy taste of brown beverages (beer so does not count here, people), no matter if they are diet or regular, and just quit them cold turkey. you have to understand that in my family it was common to get up and drink a coke at breakfast or help yourself to a soda when you got home from school. my parents didn't worry or berate us for preferring soda over other various drinks and never forced nasty sunny d or kool-aid on us like most of our friends' parents did. by no means does that mean they didn't care about our nutrition, they just chose not to fight that battle. we were both active, in good shape and not eating a ton of junk food so sodas weren't exactly a death sentence. i'll have the occasional sprite now and then, usually as a hangover remedy, or i'll put a little splash of diet coke with my captain morgan if i happen to be in a rum mood, but other than that i shy away from sodas. you'll still find 12-packs of various diet sodas in my parents' kitchen my sister enjoys her diet cokes here and there, but for me i'd rather drink coffee or water.

- cheesecake - this one is huge. this is the one that causes my parents to simultaneosly look at me across the table with wide eyes, shake their heads and murmur, "how exactly is it that you ARE our child?" cheesecake is apparently a weakness for many, many dessert lovers; i however cannot eat it. i just can't. theoretically i should like it because the ingredients are primarily things i enjoy - cream cheese, sugar, graham cracker crust - but it's just too much for me. it actually makes me almost gag to eat it. weird, i know. and certainly not anything like the preferences of my parents and sister, who love cheesecake.

but i am related to them! i promise! now where is that birth certificate??.....

cheerio!

2010-11-12T09:43:00.000-06:00

it's my favorite time of year again - the time when i get to book my flight to spend the holidays in london with my sister, brother-in-law and my niece and nephew, aka the noble family. i just finished booking a 16 day trip and will be jetting across the ocean overnight on 12/14, arriving in london the next day. yay!!!! i'm so excited to go and spend another christmas with my far-away family. i'm lucky that i get to see them twice a year due to the generous bank of days off i get through my job but every trip goes by too fast and every visit is too short. but, we make do with lots of phone calls, emails, and webcams in the meantime and just keep planning for the next visit.

here are the little monkeys i'll be seeing in a few short weeks.....

and here's one of the whole family....

woo hoo!

we put the FUN in dysfunctional

2010-11-10T13:37:00.002-06:00

i wrote yesterday about my impromptu dinner with my dad at a great seafood place in my neighborhood. what i didn't mention was that i thought it would be funny to torture my mom by sending her a pic of the delicious crab cake i was having as an appetizer, knowing all too well how much my mom loves crab cakes and was probably at home having cheerios for dinner. so, i sent her this.....

to which she responded with.....

in case you can't see it very well, it's a picture of a dead bug, specifically a nasty little creature i like to call a spicket because they look to me like a cross between a spider and a cricket. i hate, hate, hate these things. i'm shuddering right now just thinking about it. gross. but, i do have to hand it to her - i won't be sending pictures of yummy food to her anymore for fear of getting something like this back!

dinner date

2010-11-09T22:02:00.000-06:00

my dad was driving through chicago tonight after being in wisconsin on business and decided to stop for dinner and stay over at my place. i love impromptu visits from my dad when he ends up here for meetings, whether it ends up being dinner, drinks or just a quick cup of coffee. tonight we went to glenn's diner for dinner and had great seafood and wine, all while sitting outside in the unseasonably warm november weather. we talked about family, work, holiday plans and lots of other things and had a good time catching up. having stopped in wisconsin at a cheese store, dad showed up with yummy cheese curds and wine, which we had before dinner and finished up the wine afterward.

tomorrow he'll head home and i'll head into work but it's always such a treat to spend some unexpected one-on-one time with my dad. i hope he makes it back up to the windy city soon and maybe next time he'll bring my mom! ;)

monday funday

2010-11-08T13:38:00.002-06:00

ok, so apparently i took the whole "wordless weekend" thing to the extreme and totally forgot to even post pictures saturday and sunday which makes me an official nablopomo failure. but, i'm going to try to keep it up the rest of the month, just for fun. with that, i digress...

there's one particular monday from my college days that still stands out in my mind. that morning i was on my way to class when i got a call from my dear friend adam encouraging me to take the day off and hang out with him. after approximately 3 seconds of arm-twisting, i agreed and monday funday was born. we also recruited our friend rachel to skip out for the day and the three of us had a great time.

fast forward to this morning. i was standing groggily in the shower thinking about how insanely busy my work schedule has been lately and how tired i was from the fun weekend i had in bloomington and how i just quite honestly did not want to go to work today. as i rinsed the conditioner out of my hair and turned off the water, self quietly piped up in the back of my head....

"why don't you just take today off? you could really use a mental health day...."

like it had all those years ago on a monday morning, it took about 3 seconds for me to decide that i could indeed call off today. i have plenty of days to take and i didn't have anything scheduled with clients. wrapping my towel around myself, i ran into my room and grabbed my phone, knowing the text i was about to send would seal the deal. i sent a text to adam, who happened to be off work today, and asked if we could have a monday funday. his enthusiastic response was all it took for me to call my boss and leave a message that i would not be in today as planned.

so today is monday funday in progress. adam and i have run errands (very exciting as the recent target embargo has been lifted - that's a whole other story), had a yummy lunch and are now about to begin a crafty project that will make all of our wine-drinking over the last several months pay off. (more on that to come assuming the finished product is blog-worthy) tonight we are going to make dinner and watch the first and only season of the show "jack and bobby", which aired a few years ago but never got renewed for additional seasons. adam and i loved this show and were very sad to see it go. thankfully, netflix has picked it up and with the help of adam's new apple tv, we will be able to stream every episode on his nice, big flat screen telly while drinking red wine. ahhhhh.

it also happens to be an unseasonably warm and sunny day here in chicago, so we enjoyed a nice walk earlier, which was just an added bonus. it's going to be hard to go back to work tomorrow!

i'm goin' back to indiana

2010-11-05T20:05:00.000-05:00

i'm leaving tonight as soon as the bf gets off work to head down to my old stomping grounds - bloomington, indiana, affectionately dubbed "bloomington-o-fun" over the years by my friends and me. we, along with a group of chicagoans (and one fort wayne resident - holla, gretchen!) are going down for the weekend to see our friends who still live there and reminisce about the good ol' days of college. we will be out tailgating at 10 am tomorrow and then watching IU take on Iowa, hoping by some miracle that the hoosiers can pull out a W. we'll grill and play corn hole, drink and laugh, eat and play cards and just enjoy all being together again where the majority of us met and became lifelong friends. we'll complain about the silly college students and roll our eyes at some of the things they do because god forbid we ever did anything ridiculous back in our days at IU. we did this same trip about this time last year and had a blast and i expect this time to be no different.

goooo hoosiers!!!

"your hair looks stupid"

2010-11-04T23:10:00.000-05:00

that is a direct quote from my four-year-old niece regarding my hair when we did our most recent webcam. to be fair, my hair did look really bad. i had worked out the night before and even though i showered before i went to bed, i couldn't be bothered to wash my hair and dry it that night, so i left it dirty. what she saw was a mop of hair ridged from my ponytail holder, bangs slicked back with bobby pins, dark roots and more grey hairs than i care to admit creating quite a "stupid" look, in the words of someone under the age of 5. she's not a mean child at all, but boy is she honest.

having to cancel my hair appointment that should have occurred in august due to schedule and money issues, i waited until last month to call to reschedule. i know better than to do this because the stylist i have been going to faithfully for the past 6 years has quite the clientele base and appointments are hard to come by if you don't schedule weeks in advance. so i was scheduled for my next appointment on december 3 when i got the unheard of call today - someone had canceled and summer had an opening tonight at 6:30. this is the first time being on her waitlist has ever paid off! my niece's words floating through my mind, i quickly decided i'd rather eat ramen the rest of the month than turn down this unexpected gift and confirmed that my roots and i would be there at 6:30.

a small fortune later, my hair looks fabulous and i feel great. it's amazing what some highlights can do.

namaste

2010-11-03T20:46:00.001-05:00

i love yoga. i really love it. i'm not bendy and pretzel-ish and i have to put a hand towel over the front of my mat to do downward facing dog to keep my sweaty palms from sliding and flying out from under me, causing me to face plant in a very non-zen way, but i love it. there's something about focusing all of your energy on your own being and blocking out everything else that restores your focus, your balance and your insight. some people think yoga is too new-agey and they roll their eyes at the idea of chanting and tapping into energy sources in your own body through various poses and technique. but, let me tell you - as someone who doesn't take a lot of stock in religious ideas, symbolism, that "everything happens for a reason" crap that the majority of the population seems to subscribe to, i am one who believes in yoga. it builds strength, patience, balance and forces you to draw on your own inner strength to push yourself to your own limits.

at the end of the class i'm always so happy that i decided to go to yoga that day and i really feel like i've treated myself. i walk out of the studio feeling great and looking forward to doing it again. unfortunately, i have not been good about doing yoga on a regular basis. rather, i go sporadically and cannot seem to get my crap together to even do it once a week for mutliple weeks in a row. aside from tennis, yoga is the only activity/sport/workout that i truly enjoy doing and since the weather has begun to turn cold and darkness falls much earlier now, i am forced to rule out playing tennis 2-3 times a week like i did over the summer. so i should treat myself to yoga once or twice a week. it costs money to take yoga classes but i probably spend the same amount it would cost me to go to yoga 4-8 times a month on silly things i don't even want.

so, i'm going to make the effort to start yoga once a week and if i can make it more often, great. i've tried running, personal training, gym memberships, etc and none of that has held my interest and made me look forward to those things like yoga does. wish me luck! maybe by this time next year i'll be a pretzel!

rock the vote

2010-11-02T10:28:00.000-05:00

today is election day. i have been reading up on the candidates running for various offices in order to make an informed decision that will hopefully enable the best candidate for the job to be elected. however, living in illinois and specifically in chicago, i often feel that the election process is just choosing the lesser of many evils. our state is known for being extremely corrupt, politicians doing favors and taking kick backs from businesses, and running one of the worst deficits in the country. we are also the proud home of ~~idiot~~ former governor rod blagojevich which has put our state government in the spotlight as a cautionary tale to the rest of the country. awesome.

so with that said, i'm going to head to the polls today and hope that my vote helps someone who is dedicated to addressing the issues that are important to me succeed. now get out there and VOTE!

relationship 101

2010-11-01T08:00:00.001-05:00

i've been dating a great guy for the past 5 months. we get along really well, have a great time together and have been open and honest since day 1, which has made for a surprisingly easy relationship thus far. i love spending time with him, i really do. but.... there are a few things you don't realize you've signed up for until you've been in the relationship long enough to really get to know those adorable "quirks" that the other person has. i'm sure i have my fair share of endearing habits that the boyfriend could rattle off if he were asked to list a few so i don't feel that bad in sharing some of his with you, dear readers. i'm sure i'm not the only one out there that laments on certain behaviors or wants to beat her head against the wall when these fun little quirks happen over and over and over and over......

so here are some of my favorites, the things that make me shake my head and poke fun at him, knowing all the while i'll grin and bear it because at the end of the day he makes me laugh and makes me happy, no matter how annoyed i get.

the shower curtain. i cannot comprehend why he cannot pull the shower curtain closed the way it is supposed to be. i've shown him 100 times what it should look like after a shower is taken and yet he doesn't see the difference in pulling it closed neatly, with the curtain hanging outside the tub and the liner inside, and leaving the curtain gaping open on one end with the material bunched up half in the tub and half out of it. apparently that looks exactly the same.

the hair. men are hairy creatures. i knew this but never fully understood the implications of that until one started spending a lot of time at my apartment, shedding on things. it's sort of like having a pet. in fact, i fondly refer to him as chia pet or wildebeast and we often joke that it would do no good for him to shave his arms and legs because his hair grows back immediately. still, i didn't realize i signed up for the same lint brush duties when i started dating a guy as i would have if i had gotten a cat.

the beer smell. what is it about guys the day after drinking beer that makes them smell as if stale beer is oozing out their pores?? it's like they douse themselves in beer and just marinate in it all night. gross. sometimes i want to air him out before getting near him especially if he's hungover.

the garbage disposal. no, i'm not talking about that nifty addition that many sinks have; i'm talking about my boyfriend's ability to eat like he's not only in a race for his life but also like he's eating for a family of four. i have never seen anyone eat the sheer volume of food he can consume in one sitting and do it at break-neck speed. sometimes when we eat dinner i just sit and stare and see how long it takes him to come up for air.

the dancing. oh, did i get a good peek at the boyfriend's dancing skills this weekend. granted, we were out for halloween and had been drinking quite a bit and his dancing was pretty much confined to moves he was doing from the comfort of his barstool, but still - i think i know exactly what he looks like when he dances at wedding receptions. sprinkler anyone? how about a double fist pump? don't forget to add in a clap or two. and all of this to an n'sync song. i'm so proud.

the selective hearing. this is something that i think just comes naturally with the y chromosome. there have been so many times i've repeated a story, brought up a specific topic we had discussed or started a conversation about a subject we talked about previously, only to have him stare at me in confusion as if i was speaking swahili or had just grown a second head. zero recollection of the topic or subject matter and how the discussion went the first time. i'm pretty sure he listens to about 1/3 of what i say, even though he would argue to the death about this rather than admit i'm on to him.

the fork. by far, this is my favorite oddity about him. he owns one fork. ONE. how is that even possible? he is 32 years old and has one fork. no matter how many times i say it or think about it, it just makes me shake my head. needless to say, we don't eat dinner at his place.

i'm sure as things go on i'll find out more fun facts about him but until then, i'm thinking a nice set of utensils and a hearing aid are at the top of the list for potential christmas gifts.

try again. fail again. fail better.

2010-10-31T16:00:00.001-05:00

the subject line quotes the wise words of samuel beckett, a man who apparently experienced the art of failure in his days. it's a great way to sum up my experience with NaBloPoMo (national blog posting month) in the past. i've tried a few times to do the 30 posts in 30 days but have failed miserably at it. so this year, i'm going to try to fail better or perhaps even succeed. we shall see....

wwjd? he'd take public trans, that's what.

2010-07-22T17:41:00.000-05:00

note: this post has the potential to offend those of you who are strongly religious or park in other people's neighborhoods when you go to church. you've been warned.

part of what attracted me to the apartment i have been residing in since april was the ease of parking on my street and the surrounding side streets. sure, i've come home late and had to park a block down or around the corner (gasp!) from my apartment from time to time, but 99% of the time i come home from work and park right by my building. so imagine my frustration when i came home monday evening after a trip to the grocery store with 5 heavy bags and realized that there was NOWHERE to park on my block, the blocks north and south of me or the surrounding side streets. i circled and circled thinking i had accidentally driven into the twilight zone or some weird bermuda triangle where there is no parking. and then i realized that the church on the corner was having some sort of praise jesus prayer session or something because people were streaming in and out, pulling up to drop people off in front and double parking in the area around the church. i saw people actually driving backward down the street looking for parking. bizarre and unnecessary, but whatever. the more i circled, the more people i saw who had come from other neighborhoods and places and had taken up MY parking on MY street. ok, so i don't own the street or a specific parking space, but i didn't like the thought of having to park 6 blocks away and heave groceries and work bags down the street while these people infringed on what i feel is my right as a resident in this neighborhood. luckily, someone must have ditched out early and i stalked them to their car so i could take their space around the corner from my building. grumbling and annoyed i yanked my bags out of the car and headed inside.

tuesday. came home from work after a terrible day at the office and after sitting in the parking lot that is the kennedy expressway to find the same situation. wtf? this was going on AGAIN?! it's not like it was vacay bible school or something, either. you could hear some serious "Praise JESUS!" and "Amen brother!!" and "THIS IS THE WILL OF THE LA-ORD!" going on. whatever. again, parking was a nightmare and again, i had to drive around and stalk someone for their spot. ugh.

wednesday. surely to allah this jesus-fest was over, right? nope. got home again last night after stopping to buy a couple bottles of wine only to find the same parking cluster fuck. yeah, that's right. it's really the only way i can adequately describe it, so pardon my language. i drove around and around and around and finally i screamed. a long, piercing, angry scream. and like moses with the red sea, i turned the corner and the cars had parted and opened a space for me. i hadn't seen it there on my previous 20 laps but there it was in all it's empty glory. so i snagged it.

thursday. i worked from home this morning and then left around 10:30 to catch the train downtown for a meeting. i walked out of my building and was very surprised by the amount of cars parked on the street. normally when i leave later in the morning the street has tons of open space, sometimes to the point that i start to panic and think i forgot to move my car for street cleaning or something. not today. today every single space on my street and the surrounding ones was jam packed. and then i realized. the bible thumping that was going on the last three evenings wasn't just a night time event, it was ALL DAY, ALL EVENING. holy christ on a stick. something in me snapped. i don't know why, but seeing all of those cars lining the streets and then seeing a mother with her 2 little kids and mounds of groceries and shopping bags come straggling down the street to their house from where they parked blocks away with the kids crying and the mother looking haggard and sweaty, i just wanted to march up to that church and demand to see the man in charge. yes, i know jesus himself was not going to materialize - i mean the pastor/reverend/whatever who was preaching up a storm inide. and i wanted to say, "what would jesus do? tell me please. because i think he would take the train that drops off just around the corner or maybe the bus that drops off a couple of blocks away or perhaps a taxi that could pull up right in front. minimally he'd at least carpool with other people! jesus would not want your people taking up all of the space in MY hood and imposing on the residents here. he would tell your parishoners that parking is limited and they should only drive and park in OUR spaces for 8-12 hours each day if absolutely necessary. or maybe you should use the big church bus that has "JESUS SAVES" plastered all over it to go pick people up! that, my friend, is what jesus would do."

of course, they'd probably just think i was possessed or something and try to save me, but at least i'd get to vent. it may seem silly to some but those who live here know what a commodity free street parking is here and i don't like anyone, not even those doing it in the name of the G-O-D, taking that away from me.

luckily, as i was walking back home from the train today i noticed people hauling boxes of stuff out of the church and packing cars. and i finally saw a promotional poster for the event that stated today was the last day. i wanted to do a dance or break into a cheer. i didn't, of course - it was just too hot and humid for that. and just as i was thinking about how nice it will be to go back to easy breezy parking, i noticed the big orange signs tacked up everywhere announcing street cleaning and the corresponding parking restrictions for next week. now i really know what jesus would do - compel the city of chicago to punish me and my rants with street cleaning and give me parking nightmares for another week. well played, big J, well played.

tee hee hee

2010-07-12T07:51:00.002-05:00

spell check can't fix stupid

2010-05-26T15:59:00.000-05:00

i had spent a lot of time one afternoon working on a proposal for a meeting the following day with a large corporate partner. i had read and re-read the proposal, spell-checked and proofed. finally i was happy with it, i printed 4 copies and headed home from work. for some reason, later that night i thought i should read through the summary page one more time and it's a good thing i did. this is an excerpt:

...Provide complimentary printing services, pubic relations expertise and other valuable business-related support. In addition.....

if you didn't catch it, read it again.

that's right. PUBIC relations. thank god i caught it and was able to re-print before my meeting the next day. i'm sure the executives i was meeting with would have been super impressed that i was asking them for their pubic relations expertise. word to the wise - spell check only goes so far.

wacky wednesday

2010-05-12T09:50:00.000-05:00

as i was driving to work this morning, i got stopped at a light. as i sat waiting for it to turn green, i looked to my right and saw this:

i couldn't resist taking a picture of this mess that is a library. so, let's have a little fun, shall we? please comment and list any/all of the things you find wrong with this picture. let me get you started: disembodied head in the window with no apparent reason for being there. ok, go!

swiss army who?

2010-04-27T22:28:00.000-05:00

it's no secret that the swiss army knife has been known for decades as the ultimate pocket tool. it can basically mcgyver you out of any situation where you may need to cut, slice, unscrew, file or tweeze your way to freedom. since 1897 the swiss army knife has become well-known in more than 100 countries for precision, quality, functionality and versatility and is held as the premier all-in-one multi-tool, second to none.

however, seeing as how i must have misplaced my swiss army knife back in the early 80s, i have turned many times to an alternate and - dare i say it? - possibly more useful jack-of-all-trades. most of you know this helper well and probably have one residing in your home at this very moment. if you're like me, you may have 3, even 4 of these handy little things at a moment's reach. without further ado....

the wine key.

in addition to the obvious super power of neatly opening a bottle of wine, the wine key is also useful for:
- acting as a screw driver (i did indeed remove a towel bar and toilet paper holder from my bathroom wall with a wine key just the other day)
- prying open bottles and aluminum can tabs
- punching holes in plastic seals
- slicing through packing tape on sealed boxes
- scratching off lottery tickets
- scraping gum off one's shoe
- popping balloons
- slicing cheese (only recommended if blade has not been used for other uses on this list, i.e. scraping gum off shoes, etc.)
- prying staples out of paper
- resetting digital watch (tip of the corkscrew works amazingly well for this)
- curling ribbon on gifts
- peeling fruit (see stipulation above with slicing cheese)
- cleaning under nails (gross, but could be necessary in certain situations)
- as a weapon

i'm sure there are many more uses, but my point is this - who needs a swiss army knife when you have a wine key?! so, to the wine key - i salute you and your many uses. you have become my favorite household item (as if you weren't already). i'm sure it's just a matter of time before susan komen snaps you up for a breast cancer promotion. (that was for gary)

tip for the single guy - how to alienate women and go home alone

2010-04-12T10:10:00.000-05:00

i was out on saturday night for my good friend's bachelorette party. after a lot of time spent at a local jazz club, we headed on to another bar, one that stays open til the wee hours of the morning and is a popular place for ending the night. i was sitting at a table just taking in the scene and having a quiet moment when a guy staggered over and started talking to me. this is how it went:

dude: you don't look like you're having fun.

me: i am. this is me having fun.

dude: oh, come on. come to the bar with me and let me buy you a drink.

me (never one to turn down free alcohol): ok, fine.

at the bar after ordering and telling him my name, which by the way he thought was "ariel" but i didn't bother to correct him:

dude: so, you're like a LOT older than me, aren't you?

me (choking on my drink): wow. here's some advice - don't say that to a girl. EVER. thanks for the drink!

i walked back to the table shaking my head. ok, i know i am no longer in my 20s but it wasn't like this guy was that much younger, probably 27 or 28. he was definitely old enough to know that if you're hitting on a girl at a bar, you probably don't want to tell her that she looks as old as your mom. just sayin.

new digs

2010-04-05T15:27:00.000-05:00

i spent my weekend moving into a new apartment. i have gone from years of living with great roommates to living all on my own....finally. (shedding a tear) i'm so excited to have my own place but i feel like i'm living in the middle of a national disaster area at the moment. so, here are some pics of my new place before my stuff and i moved in. more to come after all is put away, organized and decorated!

archway looking from living room to front door

living room

dining room

kitchen (with brand new tile, granite counter tops and appliances! who would have thought i'd get so excited about those things??)

bathroom (also all new)

and of course, the first items to be unpacked. cheers!

morning meme

2010-03-31T09:26:00.000-05:00

ok, so as usual, i've been slacking on the blog front. i've had a lot of stuff going on lately - planning bachelorette parties, work, volunteering, and getting ready for the big move into a new apartment. however, i was reading some blogs over my morning coffee and ran across this one at teresa's site and thought it would be fun...

Do you have any pets? no. i'm debating on whether or not to get a cat after i move. not sure my allergies will vote for that one.

What is the last book you read? i'm reading "are you there vodka, it's me chelsea" by chelsea handler right now. hilarious.

What's your favorite sport? tennis!

Do you enjoy sleeping late? i LOVE sleeping late, though it doesn't seem to happen as much as it used to
What's the weather like right now? being end of march in chicago and totally unpredictable, it was in the 40s earlier this week and is supposed to be up to 72 today! yay!!

Do you like your eggs scrambled or sunny side up?   sunny side

Is your room messy? right now it's full of boxes but typically it is fairly messy, though i like the rest of my place to be in order

What do you like better: apples or oranges? i prefer bananas

Are you a good guesser? depends what i'm guessing

Can you read other people's expressions? yeah, i'm pretty good with that... i think!

Do you have a job? yes

What time did you wake up this morning? 8:15 - gotta love work from home days!

What did you eat for breakfast this morning? just coffee so far, probably will have a bagel thin and a banana eventually

What do you plan on doing tomorrow? work, then was supposed to go see larry bell tap the first season's keg of oberon but the event is sold out - boo! i'll probably just be frantically finishing up packing for the move on friday with a few glasses of wine.

What's your favorite day of the week and why? saturday because i don't have to work and i still have all day sunday to look forward to

Do you have any nicknames? yes.... dan, dre, andreas, stinky (no, i do not smell), swan, tia (my favorite one that my niece calls me!)

What's your least favorite color? peach. no one looks good in peach.

Would you ever go skydiving? hell yes! i'd love to go this summer

What toothpaste do you use? i'm using colgate right now because it was on sale but i'm much more of a crest girl

Do you enjoy challenges? most of the time

What's the worst injury you have had? i broke my arm in third grade right at the beginning of summer. it sucked to have to wrap my cast in plastic wrap and hold it over my head while trying to go down a slip n' slide

What's the last movie you saw? "up in the air" really good

What is your dream vacation? spending an entire summer traveling around italy and greece. ahhhhh.....

What is your favorite animal? cat

Do you need to do laundry? yes. i feel like i ALWAYS need to do laundry

What color are your bed sheets? cream

How do you like your coffee? depends - iced coffee i like with some splenda and non-fat milk, regular hot coffee with splenda and fat free hazelnut or vanilla creamer, but if we're talking fancy coffee i prefer a skinny caramel latte from starbucks. oh and i can't forget coffee with bailey's as my favorite after dinner coffee (or sometimes breakfast if i'm on vacation!)

Do you watch cartoons?   only "family guy" occasionally

Name three things in the world you dislike: homophobia, sexism, racism

Would you ever have plastic surgery? i say no now, but check back with me in 15-20 years
Name 10 things I'd like to accomplish within the next year:

1. job change

2. get fit

3. pay off another credit card

4. start grad school

5. start knitting again

6. pick up golfing

7. take a trip all by myself, even if it's just a long weekend

8. finish "the corrections" (that one is for gary)

9. blog more

10. take an art class

My Favorites:

Restaurant:   too many to choose from! butterfly for affordable sushi, giordano's for deep dish pizza, sultan's market for the best falafel ever, mrs. murphy's for irish-american fare, bluewater grill, joe's stone crab for seafood i can't afford

Season: fall

Type of weather: warm during the day, cool at night

Emotion: excitement

Color: blue

Candy: peanut m&m's

Fruit:   strawberries and bananas

Veggie: spinach

Dessert: hands down - green and black's organic chococlate ice cream. yum!!

Type of cake: yellow with chocolate frosting

Magazine: In Style

TV Show:  Lost and Modern Family

Holiday: Thanksgiving

Flower: no idea. whatever is on sale at trader joe's

little green dress

2010-02-03T15:58:00.000-06:00

i've been having some trouble getting motivated to get fit and healthier in 2010. normally, this is the one time of year i feel excited and eager to start eating better and get to the gym. granted, that motivation never seems to last too long, but at least i'm typically off to a good start in the new year.

so i've been slothing along, not eating horribly, but certainly not working out and not really caring all that much. today, however, reality walked up and bitch-slapped me in a most jolting manner. the thing is, i have 3 weddings this spring and fall. the september wedding is on a gorgeous resort in mexico and i just booked my flight the other night. thinking of the beach and swimming in the ocean should have been motivation, right? no, not really. the other two weddings are in may. the first is taking place on the lovely island of corolla, on the outer banks of north carolina. again - beach, sun, swimming, etc. = motivation, right? nah. and then there's the other wedding over memorial day weekend at a spa/resort here in the midwest. great venue, but no beach, no swim wear needed, no scorching sun, so the least motivating, right? wrong. for this particular wedding i am a bridesmaid. and today i got the link to the picture of the dress i will be wearing. behold:

i apologize for the crappy photo quality, but the website wouldn't let me save the image, so i had to take a picture of it with my phone. regardless, you get the idea. and don't get me wrong - i love the dress, i really do. i just don't know that i love the idea of me in that dress. right now i'm more inclined to feel comfortable in something of this style:

that's right - a flowy caftan variety garment that covers all the wobbly bits and requires no spanx. ugly, i know.

and so that's my new motivation - operation bridesmaid dress. i think i may print out a picture of that dress and hang it on my fridge as a reminder (the bridesmaid dress, not the caftan). or maybe i can have my roommates padlock the fridge.... or perhaps i can hire jillian michaels (of "biggest loser" fame) to come live with me for the next 3 months and whip me into shape....

any ideas or suggestions for fun workouts or motivational tips are welcome. :)

fighting the good fight....and losing

2009-12-01T10:08:00.000-06:00

well, i sucked spectacularly at nablopomo. but i'm ok with that because at least it reminded me that i do indeed still have a blog and have things that i like to write about now and then. so while i managed to fail the challenge of writing 30 posts in 30 days, i hope to write on a more regular basis.

therefore, in keeping with the theme of this blog (fights i've lost), here are a few examples of recent challenges:

me v. the outlet mall: winner - outlet mall. how could i resist 50% off at banana republic??

me v. the boss: winner - boss. there is no point in arguing with someone who is more concerned about you having your outlook calendar up to date than what you are actually doing in your job. i basically just forfeited this one for the sake of my own sanity.

me v. the fudge: winner - fudge. this was no contest. having been sent back to chicago with a pound of my mom's delicious homemade fudge, i have been powerless to resist.

me v. the traffic: winner - traffic. it took 6 hours to get to indianapolis on wednesday night (usually a 3 hour drive). thank god jill was at the end of the journey with wine!

me v. the tree lights: winner - me, barely. after an hour of painstaking light-arranging on my parents' christmas tree, the bottom layer of lights went out. i almost threw the tree out the front door. luckily, after jiggling them a few times they came back on. i hope that's not a fire hazard.... mom and dad - keep a close eye on that!

me v. the cw: winner - the cw. (this one i blame fully on my roommate) the cw is the network that shows shows like "gossip girl", "90210", "melrose place", etc. i have gotten sucked in to 2 shows on this channel but have vowed not to get started on any more!

me v. the happy hour: winner - duh. do i even have to answer this one?

me v. the allergies: winner - allergies. i cannot seem to breathe like a normal human for even one day.

me v. the birds: winner - birds. no matter where i park, they find my car and turn it into target practice.

me v. the parking: winner - me. i do pretty much rock at wedging my car into the tiniest spaces.

me v. the christmas shopping: winner - right now the unfinished shopping is winning, but i'm pretty sure i'm going to end up being victorious and having it done by the end of the week.

me v. the work: winner - work. speaking of, i better get back to it!

"it wasn't pretty but you did it. and now you'll do it again."

2009-11-18T08:29:00.000-06:00

yesterday i went for my first training session with a personal trainer. i've never been one to spend money on something like this in the past, but i've gotten to the point where i feel like i really need someone to help me figure out a good workout that will give me results, so i decided to take the plunge a buy a few sessions to get me on track.

so, i got there yesterday and walked up to the counter to tell the person working that i was there for a training session with kevin. and of course, kevin happens to be the most gorgeous trainer they have on staff. doh. i really should have asked for a less attractive trainer so i could have more comfortably discussed my weight (ouch), my eating and drinking habits (waaaay too much alcohol), and the dreaded BMI (anyone want to talk obesity?!). but, i was honest, figuring a) i'm not there because kevin and i met on match.com and are trying to date, b) if i'm not honest, he can't put together an appropriate plan for me and c) he's going to see me sweat, groan and possibly cry in the coming weeks, so i don't think being honest up front is the worst experience he's going to have with me.

all in all it went well, though it was more of an assessment than a regular training session so that he could measure my endurance levels, balance & flexibility, etc. officially, my training starts on saturday at 2pm. pray for me.

p.s. - the title of this blog is a quote from dear kevin after seeing me do a particularly heinous series of drills. bless his heart.

monday meme

2009-11-16T10:46:00.002-06:00

(note: this was supposed to post on monday - hence the title - but it failed to work somehow, so i am back dating it and will post another blog today)

1.What is your current obsession ?

Researching MBA programs, stressing out about my first personal trainer session (eeek) and making plans for my annual Christmas visit to London!

2. What are you wearing today?

Black pants, green fitted sweater, black heels (the higher the better!)

3. What’s for dinner?

Greek food! I'm going out in Greektown for a friend's birthday. Opa!

4. What’s the last thing you bought?

Beer and a turkey burger at the bar last night; before that - personal training sessions. Those things don't really go together, do they??

5. What are you listening to right now?

Ryan Adams via my co-worker's Pandora streaming on her computer. I love sitting next to Kim!

6. What do you think about the person who tagged you?

No tag, this was self-inflicted. But, I did see it on Gary's blog and I think he is quite fabulous.

7. If you could have a house, totally paid for, fully furnished, anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be?

London.

8. What are your must-have pieces for summer?

comfy skirts, capris, flip flops

9. If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?

Italy

10. Which language do you want to learn?

Espanol

11. What’s your favorite quote?

"Expect nothing and you will rarely be disappointed" is sort of my mantra, but I also love this one from Albert Einstein: "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
You said it, Al!

12. Who do you want to meet right now?

Peyton Manning so I can give him a big kiss for beating the Patriots last night!

13. What is your favorite color?

Blue.

14. What is your favorite piece of clothing in your own closet?

Black fleece pullover

15. What is your dream job?

To be the head of a corporate foundation

16. What's your favorite magazine?

In Style

17. If you had $100 now, what would you spend it on?

Probably a mani/pedi and a massage

18. What do you consider a fashion faux pas?

Being able to see people's cracks when they bend over. Some of us are just not meant to wear super low-cut jeans! Also, white socks with black shoes.

19. Who according to you is the most over-rated style icon?

Jessica Biel. Ick.

20. What kind of haircut do you prefer?

Longer than shoulder length with layers

21. What are you going to do after this?

Leaving to meet my friend for lunch - yay!

22. What are your favorite movies?

Love Actually, Sex & the City, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

23. What are three cosmetic/makeup/perfume products that you can't live without?

Aquage shine spray, C.O. Bigelow lip gloss, OPI nail polish

24. What inspires you ?

People who have gone through loss, illness and other issues and still keep a positive attitude and keep living their lives

25. Give us three styling tips that always work for you?

Baby oil on your body right after you turn off the shower, before you dry off - keeps skin soft all day; hair powder is genius on days when you're running late and don't have time to wash your hair; seche vite top coat over your self done nail polish will make your nails look like you've had a professional manicure or pedicure

26. What do you do when you “have nothing to wear” (even though your closet’s packed)?

Borrow from my roommate!

27. Coffee or tea?

Coffee

28. What do you do when you are feeling low or terribly depressed?

Call friends to get together and drink wine; take a long bath; go to yoga

29. What is the meaning of your name?

I had to google this. Apparently it can mean brave and/or courageous. Who knew?!

30. Which other blogs do you love visiting?

The links listed on my blog plus other random finds that I see on other people's blogs

31. Favorite Dessert/Sweet?

Chocolate Chip Cookies

32. Favorite Season?

Fall.

33. If I come to your house now, what would you cook for me?

Hahahaha! Trust me, you wouldn't want me to do that. We would order sushi.

34. What is the right way to avoid people who purposefully hurt you?

Tell them directly that you won't put up with their actions anymore.

35. How do you calm yourself down when you are agitated or angry?

Music, venting to friends/family

36.Who is the modern ideal girl: The one who knows how to shop, dress and enjoy, or the one who is simple but manages the house, kids and herself well?

My sister.

good intentions pave the road to the bar

2009-11-12T15:18:00.000-06:00

yesterday morning i had a conversation with self about getting in shape. i'm always complaining about wishing i could lose a little weight or wanting to get back into those smaller pants, but i have been very bad about actually making a strong and continued effort to do these things. so, yesterday morning i packed my gym bag and vowed to stop at the gym i've been wanting to check out on my way home from work. i even kept myself psyched about it all day, up to the time i was getting off the elevator and walking toward the exit. and then it happened. a few of my co-workers were leaving ahead of me and asked if i wanted to go for a drink to celebrate our colleague's birthday. and so i did. and then i went to dinner with them at a mexican restaurant which boasts to be home to "the killer margarita" so you can just imagine how the night ended up.

maybe tonight i will sleep in my workout clothes and see if that helps....

it's 11/11, make a wish!

2009-11-11T08:38:00.000-06:00

many of you have heard people say that when the clock strikes 11:11, you get to make a wish. (well, unless you're like me and think you should make four wishes, one for each number 1 and for better odds that at least one of the four will come true) so today, in honor of the date 11/11, i'm going to make one big wish, but i haven't quite decided what that is yet.

what are you wishing for today?

the plus one conundrum

2009-11-10T22:23:00.000-06:00

me: so did you see the email about the wedding in september?

self: yup. mexico! maybe we can lose some weight and get ourselves a little spray tan by then, eh?

me: yes, we'll do that. and get a great dress for the wedding and maybe stay a couple of extra days for fun!

self: and have you thought about what else comes with this fabulous time?

me: margaritas?

self: yes. and?

me: beach wedding?

self: yes....

me: sun and food and music and an all-around good time? and celebrating with our friend S? and maybe some really good guacamole? ooh! and maybe we can go back to fajita republic and --

self: yeah, yeah, all of that. think! you're not thinking clearly.

me: what?! what are you talking about? money issues? because we have plenty of time to save up and the place is ALL INCLUSIVE! fabulous!

self: (big sigh and even bigger eyeroll) two words - plus. one.

me: ohhhhhhhh..... that......

self: yes, THAT.

me: well, we go to weddings and stuff all the time without a plus one. no big deal.

self: we go to weddings where we have large groups of close friends or family who are also attending. no need to have a plus one at those things, in fact we usually prefer it that way so we don't have to babysit a date and make sure he's having fun. this is different.

me: i cannot believe i'm going to say this, but you might be right.

self: holy crap. put it on the calendar! you admitted i was right!

me: oh, calm down. ok, let's think about this. destination wedding where a few people i know will be invited, but may or may not attend. bride and groom will be crazy busy the whole time. i'm good at talking to people and having fun even if i don't really know the group, but for a whole weekend it would be great to have someone there with us who we know...

self: no kidding. it gets pretty boring hanging out with just you.

me: shhhhhh. ok, so what do we do?

self: we have no choice. the plus one challenge is on like donkey kong. surely to god even you can find someone in the course of the next 10 months.

me: gee, thanks for the vote of confidence. sometimes i think you root for us to fail.

self: (feigning shock) i would never do such a thing.

me: right....

self: i'll be your personal cheerleader for this one. just do not accept any help from our friend ann. bless her heart, she tries - well, sorta. mostly she likes to try to embarrass us and hook us up with the ickiest guys in the bar. remember that one guy who started petting your hair?! eeeek!!!

me: yeah, that was pretty disturbing. gross. ok, so no help from ann unless she's going to actually help and not make a mockery of this.

self: agreed. and anyone is fair game, so help from friends, roommates - ok, again with the exception of tim - work colleagues, etc. whoever has single, decent, available guys they can at least introduce us to must be drafted.

me: ok, i guess we'll see how it goes.

self: we'll do great! just wait and see!

me: wow. that was actually supportive. amazing.

self: well, i figure if we don't succeed, there's always the option to rent an escort.

me: and just when i thought i had you in my corner....

self: let the games begin.

weekends don't count, right??

2009-11-09T19:07:00.001-06:00

ok, ok, so i'm not doing as well as i had hoped with nablopomo. i realize i started a day late and am now a couple of days short on the blogging. still, i'm proud of myself for attempting to post a blog each day. since i was absent from the blogging world the last two days, i figured i'd give you a recap of what was keeping me away from my computer....

saturday:
had a fantastic day in bloomington with friends and parents. the weather was perfect for a day of tailgating, football, drinking, and cornhole. i finally got to see jill & nick's new home and we had a great time reminiscing about the old college days. after a solid 12+ hours of drinking we finally called it a night, but not until adam and i defeated everyone and reigned as the supreme euchre champs of the weekend.

sunday:
after breakfast and showers, we headed out of bloomington and decided to stop at the brown county winery along the way. we did a little wine tasting and purchased a few bottles then hit the road again. after a while we stopped for lunch at bw3 and i got to see the first half of the colts game. we headed on to chicago after that and i spent last night hanging out with my roommates.

and on a few unrelated notes....

i HATE the kay jeweler commercials. i saw the first christmas one of the season just now and i threw up in my mouth a little. ick.

someone clipped my bumper on my way home tonight so i'll be taking my car for a wash to see if the paint rubs off. if not, i'll be calling this chick and her insurance company. fun times.

i'm an idiot and when i had to re-set the time on my coffee maker yesterday, i accidentally set it for pm instead of am. imagine my disappointment when i got up this morning expecting hot coffee and found instead that i had 12 hours to wait for it to brew. doh!

i was extremely impressed with myself when i found that i could sing pretty much every word to john michael montgomery's song "sold (grundy county auction)" when it came on xm radio on our way to bloomington on friday.

sometimes i have really good hair. today is not one of those days.

cooking 101

2009-11-06T13:51:00.001-06:00

it's been a joke in my family for a while that a few of us women-folk don't cook all that well, or at least manage to have a lot of minor disasters in the kitchen when we try to prepare food. some of us have issues making desserts, some have problems with main dishes. i have problems with boiling water. that's right - if it requires boiling water, i might end up a) throwing it away, b) calling the fire department or c) consulting a physician. with that said, i give you my top three recipes of boiling disasters:

1. No-bake cookies (attention should be paid to the word "no-bake")

- measure appropriate amount of water for boiling and pour into pot on stove top

- turn on stove to boil water, go to measure out other ingredients

- turn around to check status of water and see flames shooting out of burner

- scream and panic for 15-30 seconds (the shorter time, the better)

- put oven mitt on hand and bravely turn off stove top

- run away into living room and watch to see what happens

- celebrate not burning down the house when the flames go out by going to the store to buy bakery cookies and wine

2. Hard-boiled eggs

- put pot of water and eggs on stove top

- turn burner on high in order to boil water

- go into living room to wait until water boils to start timer

- check email, talk on phone and get caught up in an old beverly hills 90210 episode on tv

- go into kitchen later to get something to drink

- glance at stove and shout a string of curse words

- run to stove and turn off burner

- look in pot, see no water

- dump eggs into sink and observe brownish-black color of shells

- throw away and go out for breakfast

3. Pasta/Rice

- put pot of water on stove

- turn burner on high to bring water to a boil

- wander aimlessly around kitchen deciding what to put in pasta

- finally decide to make rice instead, get out rice and see only 2 cups of water are needed

- check status of water on stove top

- see boiling water and think it would be a waste to throw it out, put new water on to boil and have to wait

- take pot to sink

- using a one-cup measuring cup, scoop one cup of boiling water out of pot, pour into a separate container

- dip cup in water again and pour water into separate container, held by innocent left hand

- miss cup completely and douse left hand with scalding water

- run around kitchen screaming

- run back to sink and rinse hand with cool water, cursing self for being a moron

- continue to attend to hand by putting cool compresses on it throughout the evening

- order pizza

- tape ice pack to scalded hand, take a tylenol pm and go to bed

allergic reactions

2009-11-05T09:34:00.003-06:00

i've been fighting allergies and asthma my whole life. i've been on countless medications, tried allergy injections, endured wheezing, sneezing and swollen eyes in order to hang out in a place where my allergies were aggravated, and have shown up at the emergency room so short of breath i could barely carry my keys because the extra weight was almost too much to bear more times than i care to remember. my allergies and the asthma attacks they trigger have kept me from attending parties, staying overnight at friends' houses, going to work functions at someone's home, and dating guys who have pets to which i am allergic. i've missed days of school and work, have had to book hotel rooms when visiting friends i would normally stay with except for the fact that they have pets, and have had to be very careful when booking vacation rentals to make sure i'm not staying in a "pet-friendly" room that may have had a dog in it before i arrived. my friends tease me that i need to live in a bubble, which, to some degree, i've felt in reality now and then. it's not fun to be the person who is left out or who has to sit in a hard wooden chair in a room without carpet while everyone else is in the living room, lounging on sofas and carpeted areas that hold dander. even then, there's a good chance i'll be miserable and will have to leave early. it's frustrating and annoying with the worst part being that this is something that will never change for me.

so why am i going into ridiculous detail about how miserable my allergies and asthma have made me over the years? because people don't get it. people who do not have severe allergies and/or asthma and have never seen a friend or loved one in the midst of an asthma attack so bad that their doctor actually says that person has NO BREATH SOUNDS (yes, this was what my doctor told me once), they don't get it. that's not to say that people don't try to be sympathetic. i hear things all the time like, "isn't there medication for that?" "can't you take a shot?" "yeah, i get a stuffy nose, too, when i'm around animals" "we'll only stay for a little while and you can tell me when you need to leave", etc. but i still don't think everyone truly understands and that's ok. at least they try to be nice about it. the people who really piss me off are those who dismiss allergies as not real, something that we make up because we don't like animals, or that we're being overly dramatic. i'm really sick of hearing from these people who can let their pet lay on their face and not have any sort of physical reaction tell me that i'm lying about the severity of my allergies.

this is the preface for what i'm about to say. i do not want to sit next to your pet on an airplane. does that mean i hate your pet or animals in general? no, of course not. if given the choice of sitting next to an animal that may urinate, poop, or yap for the duration of a flight, i would guess most people would choose to sit elsewhere just as a matter of their own comfort. i know most people would also choose not to sit next to a small child if given the option, but at least a child can have a diaper change and has a parent who can talk rationally to him or her in an effort to keep them calm and entertained. not that i'm comparing children to animals, but a lot of people seem to see them in the same category in travel situations.

still, the reason i don't want your pet next to me on a flight is not because of the potential noise or smell, it's because i'm allergic to it. i don't care if it is in a carrier and has to stay there for the entire length of the flight, per FAA regulations. your dog makes me physically ill and there is nothing i can do about it. sure, there's a chance that if the dog stays in the carrier under the seat, the likelihood of my allergies being affected is lower, but that doesn't mean i should have to take that risk. just because you want your pooch to go on vacation with you does not mean those of us with allergies should suffer. now that the airline industry is jumping on board with the option for cabin pets (and let's be honest, the revenue they can generate for allowing people to turn their pets into carry-on luggage), those of us with allergies are going to have to deal with more issues than the non-allergic passenger.

i looked at several airline websites before writing this, in hopes that i would find a clear policy as to their stance on how passenger allergy issues are addressed when there are pets on a flight. i could not find that information on any of the sites i checked. there's plenty of information about the type of carrier you can have, that the animals have to be "harmless, inoffensive and odorless" - right, good luck trying to get your pet to control its "odors" - how to get through security with a carry-on pet, etc. there was NO mention of how passengers with allergies should go about securing a seat away from someone traveling with a pet. there were no guidelines as to how to deal with a seating issue if the person next to you sits down with their pup in tow. there was nothing to state who gets preferential treatment - the person or the animal. i'm sure the crew members are given a more extensive outline of how to deal with these situations, but as a passenger i would like to know ahead of time so that i don't create a scene when i have to ask that the person next to me be re-seated because their dog could give me an asthma attack. i don't want to have to see the annoyed eye-rolls or the frustrated glares that i will most likely get when i have to come clean and admit that i have a legitimate health problem that could very easily be exacerbated by the animal flying near me. i think these policies need to be published and those traveling with pets should have to reveiw them before flying so that there are no surprises when i politely ask the flight attendant to re-seat fluffy and her human to somewhere besides my row. the sad truth is, i would most likely be the one who would be asked to move. sorry, but i'm not giving up my window seat because i'm next to someone with a pet and i have no qualms about making that known. if it's an upgrade to first class, however, we can talk.

there is one exception that i am absolutely happy to make - service animals. those traveling with service animals clearly need their assistance and i would never make a big deal over that. in that case, i would be glad to have the crew re-seat me. as one with a medical condition, i have to travel with medications; some people have to travel with service animals. it's just the way it goes.

i'm not an animal hater. in fact, if i could get a dog, i'd love to have one. but i can't and being around one in a confined space such as an airplane will do nothing but put my health at risk. reading about the changes that a certain airline has made recently to not only allow pets but use this as a marketing tool led me to a plethora of comments about the issue. some people sided with those of us who have allergies, stating:

"Sorry to hear that [airline name omitted] has no regard for those with allergies. There is no way for someone to escape allergens inside a small cabin. To add to that, if there is any severe reaction they would have a real difficulty on their hands. I am greatly disappointed"

"That is totally unfair to people who are allergice to cats, dogs, etc. If you wind up sitting next to the person with the pet then you can have a horrible allergic reaction while you are up in the air. Then what is [the airline] going to do? They should rethink this idea of allowing pets in the cabin with the passengers."

"How sad that airlines are so money hungry. There is no way that they considered people with allergies. Make no mistake, all allergy medicines will not be salvation to a person having an attack. I've been there. The airlines won't realize the error of their ways until either a person has a catastrophic attack and become hospitalized or God-forbid, dies from the pet allergy. Then, a lawsuit will be in order. Make no beans about, I've got just one time to experience a bad attack, and I won't hestitate to visit my lawyer! Can we say lawsuit?"

and then there are the ones who would rather travel with their pets in the cabin of the plane than stop to consider what that might do to the comfort and health of others:

"Anyone who is severely allergic to pets should always have their medications with them. The NIH says that Allergens are carried on clothes, among other things. So just sitting next to a pet owner on a plane or going to a restaurant can cause an allergy sufferer to have problems. If you know you are very allergic, take precautions. Bring your medicine, wear a mask. Most of us have our medical issues to deal with and be glad yours aren't worse."

hmmm.... am i glad that i have allergies instead of cancer? of course. will wearing a mask or taking medicine help me? nope. is being severely allergic to the point where i could have an asthma attack in an airlplane where there would not be the appropriate medical treatment not a bad enough medical condition for you? no? thanks for being so understanding. asshole.

"The air in most all aircraft is cyled out with clean outside air about every two minutes, so you who complain about allergies need to stop complaining about something that most likely won't even bother you."

i'm guessing the person who posted this little gem of knowledge is a physician and expert on allergies and asthma. thanks for clearing that up for all of us. moron.

"I think this is better than people that insit on flying with annoying litle children. As afar as people with allergies are concerned, don;'t that have medication for those things?"

first of all, you should really spell check before you post a comment like that because you already sound stupid enough by what you're saying. secondly, children are PEOPLE and while it can sometimes be frustrating to be on a flight with a crying child, think of how frustrated the parents are while they are trying to calm the child down and avoid the evil stares from those around them. and last i checked, children do not actually pose a health threat. thirdly, there are medications for allergies?!! really?!! wow!! that must mean there's a magic pill that cures allergies that none of my doctors have known about for the last 30 years. amazing that you seem to know it all. fucking idiot.

i could go on and on, but this diatribe has already gotten out of control and my soapbox is starting to bow under the weight of this argument. so let me just leave you with this - be nice to people with allergies. it is not a fake medical condition and can cause truly severe health issues in many cases. we are just as frustrated by our allergies as those around us are by us having to make a big deal of them. and if you must fly with your pet, please be respectful if someone sitting near you asks to be moved or requests you be re-seated. it's not personal, it's just the allergies talking.

weirdo wednesday

2009-11-04T22:41:00.003-06:00

i've had an exhausting couple of days, so i'm going totally cheat on my blog post today. (doesn't bode well when i'm taking shortcuts on day 3, which should really be day 4, does it?) so until i can come back tomorrow rested and refreshed and ready to write (i have mad alliteration skills, by the way), here are some snippets of weird news that made me go hmmmm.....

you know you hate your job if you do what this guy did:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091104/ap_on_fe_st/us_odd_work_excuse_stabbing

and you certainly should not have children if you think this is ok:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091104/ap_on_fe_st/us_odd_child_in_box

and you should probably try not to get arrested for drunk driving while dressed like this:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091104/ap_on_fe_st/us_odd_breathalyzer_halloween;_ylt=Ak5__aESReD8P2siNWQ4Xi7tiBIF;_ylu=X3oDMTJ1c29xbnZsBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkxMTA0L3VzX29kZF9icmVhdGhhbHl6ZXJfaGFsbG93ZWVuBGNwb3MDMQRwb3MDMgRzZWMDeW5fdG9wX3N0b3J5BHNsawNwb2xpY2VicmVhdGg

it's comforting to know that as often as i do dumb things or act before i think, i've never been as big an idiot as these morons.

back tomorrow with something insightful and thought-provoking. i promise.

give me the books boys and free my soul

2009-11-03T18:18:00.003-06:00

i had a very bad day today. a VERY bad day. granted, it could have been much worse. no one that i love was in an accident, died or got diagnosed with cancer. but i still had a bad day and though i'm not physically affected, my emotions and tension level were through the roof by about noon today. needing some time without a ringing phone, email or project deadlines looming, i went to a nearby bookstore for some much needed solace.

walking into the store i immediately felt a slight sense of relief. i wandered through each area, trying to forget for a little while the issues that had been causing me so much tension and frustration all morning. i wound through the shelves, running my fingers along the spines of books that held stories of people's lives, of mysteries and thrillers, of tragic love stories and historical accounts of days gone by. i thumbed through art and architecture books letting the colors, lines and shapes soak into my mind. i imagined what it would be like to visit every place in the travel section and learn every language for which there was a study guide. i looked at the cheery kids books, thinking of how my niece and nephew would tear through them (somewhat literally) if they were there. i looked wistfully at holiday stories new and old, reminding myself that in a few short weeks i would be with my sister and her family in london where my stressors couldn't reach me unless i let them.

after a good part of an hour had flown by, i selected a book to purchase, ordered a cup of coffee and took a little extra time to sit quietly in the cafe and relax. i reflected on my mood after an hour among the books and realized that while i was still frustrated and stressed, i was much better. for me there is something truly calming about wandering through a bookstore, looking at the titles and holding the books in my hands. the weight of the books help center me somehow and yet the stories inside hold a promise of forgetting, of immersing myself in a different world if only for a little while.

thank you, books, and i look forward to our next therapy session.

NaBloPoMo Me ASAP

2009-11-02T16:30:00.004-06:00

me: adam thinks we should do NaBloPoMo

self: do you HEAR the eyes rolling back in our head??

me: oh ye of little faith

self: sorry to burst your blogging bubble, but have you looked at the calendar? it's november 2. this month of crazy psychotic blogging began yesterday, a day when there was nothing but crickets from our blog

me: i know, i know. i just didn't think about it because, well....

self: say it. because you were at the bar drinking beer and doing shots in the middle of the day while watching football and you couldn't be bothered to think about anything else besides cocktails and the colts.

me: wow, self, have you been to rehab when i wasn't looking?

self: i'm just saying, we - and by we i mean you - don't have the best track record on following through, especially when there's no consequences for quitting and you are the only one to keep yourself motivated. don't drag me down with you and your procrastinating ways this time!

me: just for that we're doing it. so there. better get the creative juices flowing, self, because you've been disappointing in the witty writing category lately.

self: maybe if you'd drag yourself away from desperate housewives, glee, private practice, mad men and all of those other people you've been paying attention to, you would have heard me screaming with ideas.

me: ok, fine. less tv, more blogging. but you better come through for me. don't make us look like a collective idiot this month when people will actually be expecting posts daily.

self: you do a fine job of making us look like an idiot all on your own.

me: why do i keep you around?

self: because of my razor sharp wit and charming personality?

me: more like the meds don't work very well....

self: enough. it's time for blogging. good luck and godspeed.

me: ditto.

(note by author - i fully apologize for the potentially craptastic posts that may be headed your way throughout the month of november. please bear with me....er...us)

commander of contempt

2009-10-16T13:56:00.005-05:00

This ran in USA Today on Thursday, October 15: (particularly offensive points bolded by me)

NO GAYS IN MILITARY
As a retired Air Force pilot with combat experience during
the Persian Gulf War, let me provide your readers with a typical commander's
assessment of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy: We should have never had it in
the first place. Discrimination against those who desire to serve in the armed
forces is not only historic, it's also essential. Putting together an effective
fighting force is the responsibility of civilian and military commanders,
whether in the field, the Pentagon or the White House. National military police,
which I helped to craft, should enhance commanders' functions, not hamstring
them. I had enough problems with sleeping arrangements for women on my aircrew, let alone gay men. I should not have to worry about room assignments, who's bunking with whom, who is offended by the gay soldier or airman, or whether he's angry because no one will talk to him. I am a father to my daughter, not to men
in combat. These issues, and many others that social experiments create, stand
squarely in the way of developing an effective fighting force. America, the U.S.
armed forces to exist to protect you and your way of life, not to appease the
desires of those on the fringe of society.

Keith Hutcheson - Athens, Ga.
I truly hope that this is not, as Mr. Hutcheson states, the "typical commander's assessment" of gays in the military. I was going to write about how closed-minded, disrespectful, bigoted and disgusting I find Mr. Hutcheson, but I think my friend Adam covered this so well over at his blog that I am linking to his post here. I couldn't have said it better myself.

take me home, country roads

2009-10-09T09:07:00.004-05:00

i realized this morning as i was taking a shower that i was unconsciously humming a song. (i don't belt out songs in the shower for fear of scaring my roommates and making them think the sound of my singing is actually a small animal trapped somewhere in the vents of the apartment, screaming for help)

i stopped and realized that the song i had stuck in my head was "take me home, country roads" by john denver. it may sound strange to those of you reading this (if there is still anyone out there who checks my blog), but it is actually very appropriate for today, and this weekend in general. you see, today several of my family members - mom, dad, aunts, uncles and grandmother - left on a caravan to west virginia where my grandfather's ashes will be put to rest. originally hailing from west virginia, grandad is now returning to his true home, the home where he met my grandmother, fell in love and began the life that brought them so much happiness together. grandad may be gone, but he will live on in spirit in all of us. the country roads have indeed taken him home and we are all lucky to have been along for his journey.

Almost heaven, west virginia
Blue ridge mountains
Shenandoah river
Life is old there
Older than the trees
Younger than the mountains
Growin like a breeze

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West virginia, mountain momma
Take me home, country roads

All my memories gathered round her
Miners lady, stranger to blue water
Dark and dusty, painted on the sky
Misty taste of moonshine
Teardrops in my eye

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West virginia, mountain momma
Take me home, country roads

I hear her voice
In the mornin hour she calls me
The radio reminds me of my home far away
And drivin down the road I get a feelin
That I should have been home yesterday, yesterday

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West virginia, mountain momma
Take me home, country roads

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West virginia, mountain momma
Take me home, country roads
Take me home, now country roads
Take me home, now country roads

first confession

2009-06-15T18:02:00.003-05:00

for some reason, i got to thinking about the catholic sacrament of reconciliation (maybe that's a sign that i've done something bad and need to be asking forgiveness from someone) and my own experience with it. i started my education in catholic school where, as some of you may know, you go through certain ceremonies (a.k.a. sacraments) at an early age. a few months after going through the traumatic process of being born and forced into a loud, bright, strange world of oogling people, you are taken to a church where an old guy in a robe says lots of things you don't understand and then pours cold water on your head, causing you to scream and flail, which is only made more frustrating by the layers of white lacey communion gown shrouding your entire being. everyone smiles at you as you sit there trapped, scared, crying and you wonder what is wrong with all of these people watching the old guy try to drown you without even bothering to help. eventually everyone goes back to your parents' house for cake and you probably receive gifts, most of which have no practical application for you as they tend to be savings bonds and items for your future rather than a nice teething ring or baby einstein video. baptism - check.

usually somewhere in the realm of 1st - 3rd grade you are again presented with the sacraments. and here you thought being held against your will and doused with water was the worst of it. wrong. the next two events in your catholic upbringing are first reconciliation and first communion. now, i really have no complaints about the communion thing because i remember my own quite fondly. i got a rockin' white dress, very grown up dress shoes and lots of photo opps. all i had to do was show up looking fabulous, eat a piece of dried out bread, take a sip of wine and smile nicely for pictures. oh, and eat cake and open gifts at the after party. hello - not a bad way to spend a sunday!

but let's regress. before first communion, you complete your first confession, or reconciliation, as a way to purify your soul and learn how to ask for forgiveness from god. i'll be honest - the thought of going into a confessional and confiding everything i'd done wrong, regardless of whether i'd been caught doing it, freaked me out a little. not sure if the old guy in the robe would give me a penance, i was sort of convinced that i'd burn in hell, so i started to worry. the weeks leading up to my first confession were nerve-wracking and anxiety-filled. by the time the big day came i was thinking i might tell him my sins and, instead of telling me i could be forgiven - with the correct number of incantations of the "hail mary" and "our father", of course - he would shake his head behind the screen, press a button and a trap door would open under me and send me directly to satan himself.

we were herded in like sheep and directed to sit silently and pray while we waited for our turns. one-by-one we were called in and once you finished with your confession, you were sent straight to another area to kneel and conduct your penance. this left everyone waiting on pins and needles, straining to see what each classmate looked like when they came out. would there be tears? would some be sent straight to the prinicpal's office? would there be calls to parents to inform them of just how bad their children were? we were told that our sins were just between us and the priest, and of course jesus, god and everyone in heaven, but that no other living being would be told anything and no one would get in trouble. yeah, right. we knew better than to fold with that flimsy reassurance. still, we had the fear in us from weeks of preparation and the fire and brimstone of what god does to sinners who don't confess, so we were all there to come clean, like it or not.

my turn came and i walked to the confessional, my sweaty little hands fumbling with the door. i knelt and faced the screen, the lines and prayer i needed to say scrawled on a notecard, just in case i got stage fright and forgot. i began as i had been told to - "bless me father for i have sinned. this is my...(pause for effect and deep breath)...first confession." after that, poor father got an earful. i spouted off a laundry list of sins, some true, most not. you see, i was worried after comparing notes with my friends that maybe i didn't have enough sins so i started making things up. i didn't want god to be disappointed or think that i was hiding anything so it was no holds barred - forget the fact that lying to a priest, and in effect god, is probably a worse sin that hitting my sister or being sassy to my parents.

nevertheless, i wrapped it up and let out a gargantuan sigh, awaiting my fate. the priest went through his canned response and finished up with a prayer. i was holding my breath in anticipation and was finally given my sentence. for absolution and forgiveness i simply needed to say several sets of two prayers. i scrambled out of the confessional and joined a few of my classmates, already kneeling and softly chanting their given number of repetitions. we quickly compared our respecive punshments and decided to race to see who could get finished with each prayer, each time it was said, the fastest. it was certainly more interesting that way and we were going to be forgiven, no matter how quickly we finished up, right? i figured god would appreciate our speed since there were 20 of us filling his ear that day.

i don't know how many times i've actually been to confession since then. maybe a handful of times, if that. since i've been old enough to better understand reconciliation as a catholic sacrament, i've thought about that first confession with wry amusement. the hand wringing, the bad dreams, the list of alleged sins.... everything that went into preparing for a day when all i knew was that maybe i wasn't bad enough and saying x number of prayers would wipe my slate clean. i can only imagine what the priest felt, getting up that day, looking at his calendar and seeing that he had to hear the confessions of 20 little snots. i wonder if he made bets with the nuns about how many times he'd hear "i talked back to my parents" or "i hit my brother." i really hope that he took a big ol' chalice of that alter wine in with him and at least had a few cocktails while absolving the second grade class of our heinous sins.

memememememememememememe......

2009-05-07T21:30:00.003-05:00

was tagged for this by adam, so here it is. if you don't feel like reading, at least check the bottom of the post to see if you've been tagged. :)

1. What are your current obsessions? sangria, the possibility of learning spanish via rosetta stone, things to do when my sister and family are here next month

2. Which item from your wardrobe do you wear most often? grey hoodie and black running pants. comfort is key!

3. Last dream you had? oh dear... my dreams are crazy all the time, but last night's consisted of vampires floating in a pool of water where i was stuck on a little raft, but then i blew a whistle and i was transported to a hallway with a very tall man who walked me into a room full of my colleagues waiting for me to present, but i had forgotten my shoes and was worried about being barefoot, so i ran out to the parking lot only to find it was flooded and i had to make my way to the train station through the water but there was no train, only a bus full of people who didn't speak english and wouldn't give me any shoes but then i was trapped on the bus with them and we were in some city in the mountains so i jumped off the bus and started running.... i don't think i need to go on. this is how i dream ALL the time. it's exhausting.

4. Last thing you bought? a 6" subway sammie

5. What are you listening to? my roommate watching tonight's episode of survivor

6. If you were a god/goddess who would you be? probably eris, the goddess of discord and chaos

7. Favourite holiday spots? london, st. croix, napa

8. Reading right now? just finished "the namesake" and getting ready to start "roma". still trying to finish "the corrections" - going on 7 years now....

9. Four words to describe yourself sarcastic, easy-going, friendly, realistic

10. Guilty pleasure? back-to-back episodes of old school 90210 on the weekends

11. Who or what makes you laugh until you’re weak? my niece

12. Favourite spring thing to do? it's a tie - tennis and/or sitting outside on the deck with friends, cooking out and having drinks

13. When you die, what would you like people to say about you at your funeral? "damn, that woman made a killer cocktail"

14. Best thing you ate or drank lately? mexican fiesta with the roommates on cinco de mayo

15. When did you last go for a night out? in munich at the hofbrauhaus last weekend

16. Where is the next place you'd like to travel? Italy!

17. Care to share some wisdom? expect nothing and you will rarely be disappointed

18. Song you can’t get out of your head? beyonce - "single ladies"

19. Thing you are looking forward to? my sister and family coming to chicago in june!!!!! i cannot explain how excited i am for this!!!!!!

20. Which disease or condition would you most like to see eradicated? i'm torn between cancer and alzheimer's because both have brought a lot of sadness to my family

21. What is your most irrational fear? falling down and breaking my teeth. weird, i know.

22. what irritates you on a regular basis? people who can't drive!!!

23. What is the most important lesson you've learned from someone in your life? to treat everyone fairly and not judge others - from my ma-maw who displayed this every single day

Rules of the game. Respond and rework. Answer questions on your own blog. Replace one question. Add one question. Tag 6 people.

ready, set, meme! gretchen, lyn, amanda, rachel, colleen (i know that's only 5, but that's all i have to tag!)

2009-04-17T16:00:00.000-05:00

saw this meme over at the noble savage's blog and thought i'd take a stab at it myself...

15 years ago today I would have been:
· a junior in high school who had just gotten a rockin’ new (used) sports car
· prom dress shopping
· in the middle of tennis season playing #2 doubles
· wondering why high school guys are so ridiculously immature

10 years ago today I would have been:
· still at IU, still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up
· buying alcohol for all of my underage friends
· in a horrible relationship refusing to see how badly I was being treated
· working as a server and bartender at a chain restaurant where I ended up meeting some of my very best friends

5 years ago today I would have been:
· having major meltdowns working three jobs and trying to figure out how to make the idea of moving to chicago a reality
· talking to my friend adam daily about our big plans to relocate to the windy city
· helping a non-profit start a local chapter from scratch
· living with two roommates (aka my parents)

1 year ago today I would have been:
· getting excited for my upcoming trip to London and Amsterdam in may
· working in the middle of downtown Chicago on the magnificent mile
· still single and still pretty ok with that
· deciding to move into a new apartment with three roommies (not my parents)
· celebrating my niece’s 2nd birthday an ocean away

This year I am:
· in a new job with a lot more responsibility and creative freedom
· determined to make better financial decisions and make a plan to pay off my remaining debt
· refusing to feel bad for being single and will NOT resort to internet dating, no matter how easy the commercials make it seem
· looking forward to having my sis and family come visit and stay with me!!
· treasuring the moments of laughter and clarity with my grandfather who is suffering from Alzheimer’s
· joining the board of an organization with a mission very close to my heart
· traveling as much as my vacation time and bank account will allow

Today I:
· had lunch with a dear friend
· fought the battle of gym v. happy hour (happy hour won)
· sang at the top of my lungs while driving with my windows rolled down
· forced myself to work on several tedious projects that will pay off down the road
· drank 5 cups of coffee
· am still wondering why guys are so ridiculously immature

Next year I hope:
· to be in a healthier mode – more exercise, better diet, lower bmi
· to be planning my next oversees trip
· to be looking for my own apartment (unless we all agree to suffer another year in the construction zone of 4119!)
· to hold a higher position on the board
· to have moved up in my job

In five years I hope:
· to be in a much higher position in non-profit development or running a corporate foundation
· my sister and family have been convinced to move back to the states and live near me in chicago
· to have traveled to italy, spain, france and greece
· my parents are healthy and well (that goes for my whole family, actually)
· to be debt-free
· to be as close with my friends as I am now, even though many of them will be settling down, getting married and having kids

lol

2009-02-05T21:23:00.002-06:00

this made me chuckle...

"alone people don't like to hear about together people, ok? even if the alone people are alone by choice. it's sort of mean, it's sort of like bringing a six pack to an AA meeting. keep it to yourself." - callie torres, "grey's anatomy"

we've come for your daughter, chuck

2009-01-29T20:03:00.004-06:00

wow, i've been away from the blogging world a long time. the last couple of months have been crazy. i traveled to london and had a great time visiting my sister and her family, followed by returning to the states and giving notice at work, then jetting off to st. croix for a few days of beach and sun, then back home to begin my new job. whew! now that i've been back and have a whole week behind me in the new job and no trips out of the country coming up anytime soon, i figured i'd get back to the business of blogging. after all, i have very important, life-changing things to ponder about, the most recent being the beetlejuice theory.

my friend rachel and i have been joking for a while about this phenomenon but didn't really have a name for it until recently. let me first give some background for those who have not - gasp! - seen the movie beetlejuice. in beetlejuice, michael keeton plays this creepily entertaining dead guy who can be summoned by the living if they call his name three times. they say "beetlejuice, beetlejuice, beetlejuice!" and in he pops, causing all sorts of trouble and chaos until he is banished again. in the beginning he seems to be a good guy, but you quickly learn he only has his own interests in mind and he keeps coming around, regardless of the fact that he isn't wanted or needed.

so, back to the theory. it has come to the attention of both rachel and myself that there are certain exes in our lives that seem to crawl out of the woodwork and contact us at the most random times. weeks or months will pass with no word from them and then suddenly - poof! - we get a call, a text, an email, a facebook message, etc. as we compared notes, we started to realize that the exes seemed to turn back up within a day, maybe hours or sometimes even minutes, of their names being brought up in conversation. hence, the beetlejuice theory was born. much like the character the theory is named after, we don't really want to hear from these people. they've been banished to our past for a reason and yet they still come around. they seemed great at first, but showed their true colors at some point and now just pop back around for various reasons, all pertaining to their own interests, not ours. inevitably, they will disappear again once they realize we are not here to play along and be at their beck and call; still, they never seem to vanish completely.

i do have to make one important note - the beetlejuice theory only works when the person who reappears is beetlejuiced on accident, i.e. mentioned in random conversation, re-telling a story, etc. it does not work to sit and chant an ex's name in the hope that he will magically text you. the whole premise of the beetlejuice theory is inadvertently summoning someone who will annoy, frustrate, and wreak havoc in your current life for their own means.

my advice - tread lightly when you talk of exes past. they will come back to haunt you in some way, shape or form.

prop 8 - the musical

2008-12-04T15:45:00.000-06:00

i saw this over at tankboy today and couldn't resist posting it here. hilarious.

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

best christmas tree ever

2008-11-30T09:52:00.002-06:00

a good friend of my mom's turned up for a little get-together on friday with a lovely bag of goodies - yummy smelling candle, bottle of wine, and a homemade christmas tree. i think the picture speaks for itself....

thank you sir, may i have another?!

2008-11-26T10:09:00.003-06:00

so there we were - self and i at a thank you reception for a charity giving campaign at a major hospital. execs and hospital administrators lined the back wall in rows of chairs set up for the event. the hospital CEO stood on the dais at the front of the room, thanking everyone for their generosity and then announced he would be presenting oversized, cardboard checks to each of the three charity partners. he called the name of the first charity and i rose from my seat to walk to the front of the room to accept the check on behalf of my organization. and this is what happened....

self: don't trip, for god's sake. seriously do NOT trip.

me: totally ignoring you right now.

self: ok, we're almost there. firm handshake, then smile pretty for the camera

me: (reaching out to shake CEO's hand) i've done this a million times. don't talk to me.

self: ok, fine. just get in the group pic with the CEO and the other 2 execs and smile.

me: stop annoying me. i know how to hold a huge cardboard check and smile.

self: ok, ok. oh wait, picture lady wants you to move forward a litte. better hold that check at the side and the bottom.

me: ok, ok. i'm not going to drop the f'ing check. i'll just step forward.....

self: oh my god. you did not just do that.

me: yeah, pretty sure i did.

self: you realize that when you stepped forward, the CEO did too, and you grazed his....

me: yes! i know. i may have accidentally brushed him with my hand in an inappropriate place.

self: ha ha!!! you touched his penis!! how embarrassing!!!

me: it was an accident!!

self: wow. you get an $11,000 check and you cop a feel. nice. classy.

me: please shut up.

self: i just hope that look on your face got caught on camera! see if we get invited back next time!

me: walking back to chair now and pretending that did NOT happen.

self: live in denial. fine with me.

me: you're enjoying this too much.

self: you should have just tripped. would have been less embarrassing.

me: i hate you.

reason #128 why i love coming home for thanksgiving

2008-11-25T11:32:00.006-06:00

thanksgiving with parents

thanksgiving with self

no contest.

season of change

2008-11-12T14:23:00.003-06:00

the other day i was walking down the street, kicking my way through the piles of orange, red and gold littering the sidewalk. looking up at the trees, i realized they had shed most of their leaves and were starting to look rather bare, a sure sign that winter is just around the corner. as i thought about how quickly the summer had become fall and now fall was turning to winter, i began to wonder where that time had gone and how it had passed me by so fast. i thought surely it must have been because nothing of note had happened and i had just gone along with my normal routine in a daze, not really paying attention to particular events. immediately after that thought crossed my mind, i almost stopped in my tracks and laughed at how ridiculous it was that i could dismiss these past few months as anything but exciting.

the more i thought about the last few months, the more i realized that many things and people near and dear to me had changed. one friend became a new wife, my sister became a mother for the second time, my niece became a big sister, other friends became pet owners and car owners. some started new relationships, some ended old ones. new jobs, new apartments and new experiences were the norm. this autumn has been nothing short of - appropriately so - a time for turning over new leaves.

on a grand scale, we saw the election of the first african-american president, a man who is promising change and hope to a country starved for better government and leadership. i attended the rally fondly referred to by chicagoans as "obamapalooza" on election night and i still cannot find the appropriate words to describe the atmosphere among the hundreds of thousands gathered there in grant park that night. it was exciting, motivating, inspiring, and moving. people were cheering, crying, chanting and celebrating. saying i'm not sure that it will ever be possible again in my lifetime to feel that sense of camaraderie is probably a gross understatement.

as we all make changes in our lives and our new leaders strive to provoke change throughout our country, let's keep in mind that change is a good thing. with change comes hope - hope for a better life, a better future, a better understanding of each other and ourselves.

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." -Mahatma Gandhi

tickets?!! i LOVE tickets!!

2008-11-03T22:04:00.001-06:00

well, it's official. i am one of 65,000 lucky recipients of a ticket to attend the election celebration, dubbed in chicago as "obamapalooza", tomorrow night. wooo hooo!! yes, it will be a giant pain in the ass to get down there and back home, but this is history in the making and i'm going to be there!!!

don't forget to vote!!!

why my sister is awesome....

2008-11-02T19:51:00.003-06:00

she sent this little treasure back with my mom after her recent visit to the UK. she just thought i'd love it. she was right. thanks sis!

shore it up and get back to us

2008-09-29T10:49:00.003-05:00

as good as tina fey is at portraying sarah palin, let's hope there's no reason for her to continue in this role after election day. in the meantime, watch and laugh.... (and be disturbed that this isn't all that far off the mark!)

to view parts of the actual couric/palin interview, click here, here and don't forget here

killer cake

2008-08-16T11:57:00.002-05:00

should i ever get married, this may very well be my cake....

(thanks to jen for posting the link to cake wrecks where this little work of art was featured)

just one of those days

2008-08-11T21:11:00.003-05:00

have you ever had one of those days where you seem to have stumbled into some kind of dark hole and you just can't quite claw your way back to the top and so you end up wasting hours feeling dejected, sad, lonely, weepy, angry, frustrated, annoyed, and restless? please say yes or i'm going to have myself committed immediately. yes? ok, whew. because that's the day i'm having today. no reason for it at all, really - slept in later than normal for a monday and had the glorious option to work from home. i sat in my pjs for half the day, sipping coffee and dealing with work at my leisure. outside the weather was as close to perfect as it will ever get - low 80s, cool breeze, no humidity and not a cloud in the sky. i sat outside devouring a new book and my lunch in this fantastic weather - something most people aren't lucky enough to do mid-day on a monday.

still, from the time i woke up this morning, i've felt like there's been a damp, dark cloud hovering over me, raining down a mist of gloom. i've spontaneously burst into tears 4 times today, yelled at the top of my lungs (thank god i was in the confines of my apartment and not overheard) at the construction noise outside to "just fucking stop for one fucking minute!!!", lost my cool when i couldn't get the dvd player to work and threw my cell phone in frustration, ignored incoming calls because i didn't want to talk to anyone but then paced around the apartment like a lost puppy because i was lonely, and basically proceeded to throw the biggest, most obnoxious pity party you can imagine.

it was just one of those days when i started feeling sorry for myself for being alone and since then self and i have been chipping away at our self-esteem and any shred of hope we may have had for actually finding someone to put up with our neuroses. we now effectively believe that no one of the male species would ever find us even remotely attractive (as illustrated by heinous trip to the grocery store where all men were there with cute, skinny blonds - no joke) and we will die alone. i'm going to have to get one of those pets that are trained to call 911 or press some emergency button when i fall and break my hip or pass out from too much wine and hit my head, leaving me in a pool of blood and on the verge of death. but that plan probably wouldn't work either, as i have horrible allergies and most of the pets that are trainable for those purposes would send me into the throws of a life-threatening asthma attack. six of one, half dozen of the other, i suppose. *sigh*

and so this is how it has gone today - woe is me, woe is me, woe is me. ugh. i'm so sick of myself right now i could puke. i apologize for ranting here and please don't call the police or my roommates to come check that i haven't managed to finally OD on ice cream and sex & the city. sometimes it just helps to type away and pour all of the gloomy feelings into my blog. if you stopped reading after the first sentence, good for you. if you stayed for the whole diatribe, thank you. i'll be better tomorrow. i promise.

thou shall not steal.... except from me

2008-08-06T17:58:00.005-05:00

lovely place, isn't it? such a wonderful place is the toll plaza in queretaro, mexico that someone decided to charge their $5.75 toll to my debit card. that's right - some asshole lifted my debit card number from somewhere and used it throughout mexico. imagine my surprise to go to my online account and see that i have 5 charges in the amounts of $115, $5.75, $90, $60 and another for $5.75 (the lovely toll plaza in salamanca, mexico, apparently) pending approval. luckily, as they are all pending (except for the one that had actually been denied for some reason), the amounts will be credited back to my account by tomorrow, hopefully, and if any other charges go through i can simply appeal to my bank and get the funds back.

still, what a pain in the ass. now i have to wait 5-7 days for a new debit card, change any recurring payments i have set up to that card and basically keep a leary eye on my account for fear of being ripped off again.

it was only about 5 or 6 weeks ago that i had money stolen out of my wallet by catering staff at a work event and now someone has gotten my debit card number and had no qualms about turning my hard-earned dollars into pesos for him/herself.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE???

hmmm....

2008-07-30T08:18:00.004-05:00

on my kitchen table right now:

a bit contradictory, don't you think?

a must see

2008-07-23T09:44:00.002-05:00

i watched this flick with one of my roommies last night and it had us laughing and cackling the whole way through. if you haven't seen "death at a funeral" yet, go rent it . as the dear noble savage put it in her review of the film..."Hilarious indie British comedy, had me in stitches. Made The Noble Husband belly laugh and bay like a donkey"

you're welcome.

fish food

2008-07-22T11:37:00.002-05:00

i heard about this new rage in pedicures yesterday and had to force myself not to do any of the following:

1) throw up
2) put on socks
3) curl my toes in disgust for the remainder of the day
4) find someone who actually paid for this and smack them
5) contact the health department
6) immediately email everyone i know and gross them out, too
7) did i mention throwing up?

now you're curious, so here ya go....

tag! you're it!

2008-07-22T11:16:00.002-05:00

i was tagged by the noble savage for this meme. it's pretty fun. try it if you wish!

The rules are simple: one word answers to 40 questions.

Where is your cell phone? desk
Your significant other? imaginary
Your hair? ponytail
Your mother? smart
Your father? funny
Your favorite time of day? 5:00
Your dream last night? insane
Your favourite drink? coffee
Your dream goal? happiness
The room you’re in? cubicle
Your ex? ugh
Your fear? drowning
Where do you want to be in six years? successful
What are you not? argumentative
Your favourite meal? sushi
One of your wish list items? iphone
The last thing you did? emailed
Where you grew up? mayberry
What are you wearing? clothes
Your TV is? off
Your pets? none
Your computer? charging
Your life? satisfactory
Your mood? pensive
Missing someone? sis
Your car? parked
Something you’re not wearing? lotion
Favorite store? target
Your summer? fabulous
Your favourite colour? blue
When is the last time you laughed? today
When is the last time you cried? today
Your health? fine
Your children? none
Your future? bright
Your beliefs? liberal
Young or old? young
Your image? diplomatic
Your appearance? normal
Would you live your life over again knowing what you know? absolutely

meme's the word

2008-06-30T18:22:00.002-05:00

i was tagged by adam to do this meme, so here we go.....

what was i doing 10 years ago?

good question. i was probably drunk. just kidding. (sorta) ten years ago i was at IU, most likely taking a summer course or two and trying to figure out what i wanted to be when i grew up. here it is, 2008 and i'm still waiting for that epiphany to hit...

5 things on my to-do list today

1. upload flip cup and pride photos and send out to the masses
2. play tennis
3. hang up the pile of laundry in my room
4. balance my checkbook
5. eat something - anything - healthy

snacks i enjoy

unhealthy variety:
nobby's nuts
mexican corn dip
cold stone creamery coffee ice cream with fudge and oreos

healthier options:
strawberries with fat free cool whip
cherry tomatoes and hummus
grapes

places i have lived, in order

charlestown, indiana
bloomington, indiana
charlotte, north carolina
chicago, illinois

5 things i would do today if i were a billionaire

1. pay off all debt for myself, close friends and family
2. start my own non-profit foundation
3. buy a flat in london so i could go visit my sis whenever i want
4. buy 2 places in chicago - one for me and one for my guests
5. invest in funds for my parents' retirement, my own, and my nieces and nephews schooling

i tag rachel, amity and jenny for this thing!

2008-06-29T21:25:00.000-05:00

I saw this list of Entertainment Weekly’s ‘100 new classics’ over at Noble Savage who got it from What If No One’s Watching and thought it would be fun to give it a go. I’ve seen the ones bolded.

1. Pulp Fiction (1994)
2. The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-03)
3. Titanic (1997)
4. Blue Velvet (1986)
5. Toy Story (1995)
6. Saving Private Ryan (1998 )
7. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
8. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
9. Die Hard (1988 )
10. Moulin Rouge (2001)
11. This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
12. The Matrix (1999)
13. GoodFellas (1990)
14. Crumb (1995)
15. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
16. Boogie Nights (1997)
17. Jerry Maguire (1996)
18. Do the Right Thing (1989)
19. Casino Royale (2006)
20. The Lion King (1994)
21. Schindler’s List (1993)
22. Rushmore (1998 )
23. Memento (2001)
24. A Room With a View (1986)
25. Shrek (2001)
26. Hoop Dreams (1994)
27. Alien (1986)
28. Wings of Desire (1988 )
29. The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
30. When Harry Met Sally… (1989)
31. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
32. Fight Club (1999)
33. The Breakfast Club (1985)
34. Fargo (1996)
35. The Incredibles (2004)
36. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
37. Pretty Woman (1990)
38. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
39. The Sixth Sense (1999)
40. Speed (1994)
41. Dazed and Confused (1993)
42. Clueless (1995) 4
43. Gladiator (2000)
44. The Player (1992)
45. Rain Man (1988 )
46. Children of Men (2006)
47. Men in Black (1997)
48. Scarface (1983)
49. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
50. The Piano (1993)
51. There Will Be Blood (2007)
52. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad (1988 )
53. The Truman Show (1998 )
54. Fatal Attraction (1987)
55. Risky Business (1983)
56. The Lives of Others (2006)
57. There’s Something About Mary (1998)
58. Ghostbusters (1984)
59. L.A. Confidential (1997)
60. Scream (1996)
61. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
62. sex, lies and videotape (1989)
63. Big (1988)
64. No Country For Old Men (2007)
65. Dirty Dancing (1987)
66. Natural Born Killers (1994)
67. Donnie Brasco (1997)
68. Witness (1985)
69. All About My Mother (1999)
70. Broadcast News (1987)
71. Unforgiven (1992)
72. Thelma & Louise (1991)
73. Office Space (1999)
74. Drugstore Cowboy (1989)
75. Out of Africa (1985)
76. The Departed (2006)
77. Sid and Nancy (1986)
78. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
79. Waiting for Guffman (1996)
80. Michael Clayton (2007)
81. Moonstruck (1987)
82. Lost in Translation (2003)
83. Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987)
84. Sideways (2004)
85. The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2005)
86. Y Tu Mamá También (2002)
87. Swingers (1996)
88. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
89. Breaking the Waves (1996)
90. Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
91. Back to the Future (1985)
92. Menace II Society (1993)
93. Ed Wood (1994)
94. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
95. In the Mood for Love (2001)
96. Far From Heaven (2002)
97. Glory (1989)
98. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
99. The Blair Witch Project (1999)
100. South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut (1999)

not too shabby, but it looks like i have a big list of movies to get caught up on when i'm holed up in my apartment this winter!

25 is the new 80?

2008-06-06T14:39:00.002-05:00

i was standing at the pick-up counter at starbucks, minding my own business and waiting for my grande skinny latte when i overheard this conversation between two girls also waiting for their coffee…..

girl 1: “oh my god. there is NO way you are older than me. i think i’m the oldest person on our team.”

girl 2: “i don’t know about that…. i’m sure i’m older than you”

girl 1: “no way. i mean, i’m 23 and i don’t know anyone older”

girl 2: “yeah, i’m definitely older than you. believe me, i’m old.”

girl 1: “it’s not like you’re 25 or something! come on!”

at this point i turned and bitch slapped this girl. (ok, not really, but i wanted to)

girl 2: “no, i’m 24, but i’m turning 25 in october! Ugh!”

another bitch slap.

girl 1: “oh, that’s still MONTHS away! you definitely do not look 25, trust me. you look young!”

and yes, bitch slap #3.

girl 2: “thanks. oh my god. how much sugar are you putting in that?!”

(at this point both have gotten their iced coffees and are at behind me at the counter adding sugar and milk)

girl 1: giggling “oh i like to put a lot of sugar and a lot of milk. you know, so it doesn’t even taste like coffee!”

girl 2: “ooohhh. good idea!”

and off they went to drink their non-coffee tasting sugary milk drinks and lament about having one foot in the grave at the ripe old ages of 23 and 24. it’s a good thing that in my 30s i have the inner peace and strength to refrain from yelling at and/or inflicting violence upon idiot stick figures with no soul. i returned to my desk and decided not too long after to pack it in for the day and head home. after all, us senior citizens need our rest.

drink one for the kids!

2008-04-21T10:54:00.004-05:00

sitting outside at one of our favorite neighborhood establishments enjoying a late lunch yesterday, the roommate and i began to notice how many small children there were in the space around us. there were babies, toddlers and strollers galore. mothers-to-be waddled down the street in their cute pregger gear while dads pulled kids in little red wagons. it was like a scene out of a modern day norman rockwell painting. and so the roommate and i began to lament about our singleness in a sea of young families in the mini-suburb our cute northside neighborhood has become. not that we mind it, you see, because if i were coupled and starting a family and wanting to live in the city, i would definitely choose this area to live and raise my kids. that said, to see all of these young men and women, happily populating the planet with offspring and going about their family activities makes some of the dwindling single population feel somewhat dejected, broody and a little bitter.

and so, to live in harmony with the coupleds and the marrieds and the children, the roommate and i have decided we should take these scenarios and add alcohol. lots of alcohol. because summer in chicago seems so fleeting and wonderful, everyone likes to enjoy the outside patios at the bars and restaurants, which means there is an abnormal number of children at places you would normally consider to be for the over-21 crowd. from the months of april to september, you will enjoy your beer with a side of screaming child. or you may be sipping wine next to an angelic baby sleeping in his or her stroller. sometimes you'll have a friendly toddler sidle up to your table and watch you with interest as you gulp your bloody mary like it is magic tonic to a life threatening illness.

so i propose a drinking game to go with the invasion of the children at my local pubs. it's a simple format - everyone at your table drinks when there are children or pregnant people in the immediate vicinity. the rules are as follows:

each baby = 1 drink

set of twins = 2 drinks

each pregnant woman = 1 drink

screaming baby = 2 drinks

each toddler = 2 drinks

toddler picking nose, eating food off the ground or other disgusting behavior = 3 drinks

parents there with children and drinking = 1 drink for each parent enjoying an adult bevvy

each time someone at your table "oohs", "ahhs" or otherwise coos over any child, regardless of child's age = 1 drink

toddler running around, causing chaos, with no reprimand from parents = 1 shot

we may add more as the spring and summer go on, but for now i think this is a pretty good start and a sure-fire way to get you nice and drinky on a sunny afternoon out with friends. this is also proof that i can turn just about anything into a drinking game. and i'm not sure if that's actually a good thing or not, but it makes mini-suburbia much more fun.