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Where Did Spring Go?

31 March 2012 / friends, happy, life, pictures, yoga teacher training

Seriously? SERIOUSLY? This is not cute or funny. At all. I miss those super warm days. The days when everyone was CONFIDENT that they could put away their sweaters because there was no way the weather hadn’t broken yet. I mean, the trees were flowering and budding!

They wouldn’t do that unless they knew something we didn’t right?

Bwah! I know Chicago weather. It likes to hold on to the cold as long as it possibly can. The weather never truly breaks here until mid-June. Until then, we can expect temperatures to dip into the 30s just as easily as they can climb to the 80s. Not that we’ll be seeing any 80s temps anytime soon. That one week was a lucky break!

And I’m so HAPPY when it’s warm out. See?

So is Helena. She gets to sit in the window and smell the smells and people watch and dog watch.

Oh, those were the days.

Oh well. I had a good week anyway. Saturday, I got to go see a great s00j (and other talented musicians) concert:

I got tons of hugs. I love hugs. LOVE them. And I made new friends! Three of them! I love making new friends. I wish I’d taken more photos of them. Just so I could have some proof. Hee hee. They all live far away, though. 🙁 Thank goodness for s00j shows to bring us all together.

Sunday, got to attend a wonderful Music & Magick workshop, and Monday, we spent the day with s00j and Ryan, just hanging out, eating delicious brunch at Bleeding Heart again (oh yeah!), and heading to a smoke shop where Adam and Ryan purchased pipe tobacco and assorted pipe accessories. s00j posed for a picture in the decommissioned phone box while everyone else made their purchases.

I absolutely LOVE it when they come stay with us. They bring a wonderful energy and magick to the place, and they’re so much fun. Monday night, even though there was no Internet, there was still Fruit Ninja, Twitter on our iPhones (where we went insane), sausage and cactus pizza, and music. We had a great time.

SO yea, this Internet stuff. s00j had an 8pm Skype visit, and I was on call for a client. Our Internet went down at exactly 7:55pm and stayed down until about 5 or 6 the next morning. Adam (bless his heart) drove my laptop to a Starbucks parking lot and downloaded all the files for me so I could work on them. I was up ’til 3am working (and guess who had yoga teacher training the next day!). The next morning, the net was back up, so I was able to upload the files to the client in time. s00j was able to do Skype through the app on her iPhone. But I mean, Comcast has been inconsistent like this for a few months now. It’s getting frustrating, especially when YOUR INCOME KIND OF DEPENDS ON RELIABLE INTERNET ACCESS. Sure, there are coffee shops, but what’s the point of paying for it at home if it’s not going to work all the time? Comcast needs to get it together, especially for how much they charge.

Anyway.

I had a great yoga teacher training class on Tuesday. I’d had so little sleep, but it didn’t feel like it. The day went so fast and everything was so interesting! We talked a lot about the Gunas and studied Warrior I and Chair in-depth. Chair is going to be SO MUCH BETTER for me from now on! 🙂 I’m learning SO MUCH and my teacher said for me to start practice teaching on people. So, locals! Free yoga lessons from me, if you have enough patience to deal with me as I practice and get better. 🙂

AND I got an A+ on my Sun Salutation A quiz. Can I get a whut whut! 😀

I’m going to take it easy today. For one thing, it’s cold outside. It’s supposed to get a bit warmer (if you call 56F warm at the end of March–and seriously, how it is the end of March??), but I don’t have anywhere to go except yoga this afternoon. Also, I went out to dinner with my friend Jen last night, and she wasn’t feeling well. She made every precaution to protect me from germs, but you just never know. So today = resting, studying, basics yoga class, and reading. This girl has no time to get sick. Allergies, however, have moved in and set up house.

Next week, I have a lot to look forward to. Two days at VSA, a visit from Adam’s family, yoga teacher training, and Aidan!!! YAY!!! So much to be thankful for. 🙂

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Moments

15 January 2012 / friends, happy, life, living in chicago, pictures, positivity

This past week was sooo awesome. I can’t pinpoint any one thing that made it so good. Just many, many lovely moments that added up to an incredible and fabulous time.

laughter · hugs · conversation · food · friends
love · love · love · love · love

Things like noticing my hair is now armpit length.
For someone whose hair wouldn’t go past the nape of her neck for many years,
this is a big deal.

Spending the week with my dear friend s00j (aka SJ Tucker, aka Pure Awesomeness on a Stick).

BRUNCHING HARD. One amazing culinary experience after the other. I had a donut that was so good that I wanted to dance and speak in tongues. I got it at Bleeding Heart. (I’ve talked about this place before). The donut was called Punk Rock Princess. It was a donut with lemon and hibiscus filling and strawberry glaze.

Y’ALL.
THERE ARE NO WORDS TO DESCRIBE
HOW GOOD THIS DONUT WAS.

So many people have come in and out of my life over the years. Some of them have a light so bright, and they have energy so clear and good, that they energize you when they’re around. That’s how s00j and Ryan are. And the four of us together? Watch out now!

Adam, Ryan, me, s00j

· Actually enjoying the first very snowy and cold snap of this winter.

· Spending two days in a row with Jen!

· Losing count of the number of hugs I got and gave.

· Meeting Ryan and feeling like I’ve reunited with a dear old friend.

· Discovering a new TV show. Dear Downton Abbey, why did I wait so long to start watching you? And why are you so brilliant?

· Laughing so hard I was CRYING at some points. Oh, YouTube. Why must you be filled with the awesomeness that is Dr. Tran?

· Finding (and buying) some really yummy new incense.

· Getting my copy of LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR.

· Kick ass yoga class with Amber Cook.

I confess.
I was nervous for 2012 to start.
VERY nervous.
Now that it’s here, it’s been amazing,
and I am so excited for what’s next!

Life is so very good. 🙂

Linking up with:

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Christmas Prep Take Two!

15 December 2011 / christmas, friends, life, living in chicago, pictures, to do

ten days!!!

Who’s excited? Who’s with me? Woohoo, Christmas time is here!

I’m DONE with my Christmas shopping. I’m DONE mailing out packages. And I’m almost done with Christmas cards. It feels so great to knock stuff off that to do list, doesn’t it?

I’m not done yet, though. I still need to do the following:

· Christmas newsletter
· finish wrapping presents
· clean the apartment (of course)
· shop for foods

I’ve been having a pretty decent week. The tiredness finally started to leave me Tuesday morning (just in time for yoga with Mia Park!) but that didn’t stop me from venturing out on Monday to visit and have lunch with former co-workers.

on my way

After lunch, I headed to State Street to do some Christmas shopping and Christmas fangirling. I went to Macy’s (I know that hardcore Chicagoans refuse to acknowledge this store as anything but Marshall Field’s, but I’m afraid that’s before my time–it’s always been Macy’s to me) because I had to see the windows and also the big tree in the Walnut Room. They put one up every year.

beautiful tree

Macy’s. WOW. That store really dresses up for Christmas. I love it. I went to Bloomingdale’s a while back and they have one little Christmas section. Macy’s is all Christmas all the time and it’s beautiful.

just a tiny fraction of the decorations in that store

store windows

I spent yesterday working on Christmas cards, and today I wrapped presents, packaged them up, and made the trek to the post office. The APC was down, so the line was super long. My postal clerk was a sweetheart, though. An hour at home, then I ventured out again to shop with my friend Missy. I controlled myself. Sort of. In all fairness, the stuff I did buy was for other people (stocking stuffers) except for the soap I got from Anthropologie, and the cupcake from Magnolia Bakery because HELLO, it’s National Cupcake Day and how would I look, not buying a cupcake on National Cupcake Day when they are RIGHT THERE? Huh? So yeah. I had to do that. And I DIDN’T let Missy talk me into the beautiful pink sweater that was on sale because I have enough clothing.

I did talk HER into this pic with me, though:

Then I talked her into this photo because she’s pretty and she’s a ginger.

I know I do my fair share of complaining about Chicago (their newest stunt is giving people parking tickets randomly just because they can–oh wait THAT’S NOT NEW), but I love this city at Christmas. Downtown is gorgeous with all the lights and decorations, and this year it’s warm enough to be out and about and enjoy it all. I loved walking down State Street with Missy and seeing the decorations and the windows and listening to the bell ringers, and then sitting and chatting by the big tree in Daley Plaza.

the tree at Daley Plaza and Chriskindlmarket.
It’s definitely not their most robust,
but it’s there and it’s lovely.

‘Til next time! 🙂

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No Bueno

6 December 2011 / christmas, friends, life, pictures, sick, to do, universe are you listening?, wtf

I’m not doing so well today. I am worn down, exhausted, and have zero motivation to do a dang thing. Mercury is in retrograde and OH WOW is it showing.

1. Web browsers are acting weird. Google Chrome is acting weird with my WordPress dashboard, so I have to use Firefox to add posts. I also need Firefox to work on the newsletter for Moksha because Namaste Light does not play nicely with Chrome these days. However, Firefox is SLOW once it gets going and it really lags on my system. Plus, it doesn’t always play nice with LiveJournal. So now I get to bounce back and forth until one of them gets their act together.

2. Monthly newsletter went out and there were some hiccups AGAIN. I asked them if they wanted me to step down and she said no, that I’m doing a great job, and it was just one of those things. I’m doing a good enough job on everything else that they’re still going to trust me with January 2012. So, I will DO DAMN BETTER. I promise.

3. I ran MacKeeper to get rid of duplicate files, but it decided that many different original files were the same, so it tried to delete all those as well. I caught them, but now it’s a disorganized mess. Fortunately, I have backups of most of the organized folders, so I can just overwrite the messed up ones.

4. My iPod crashed. It crashed and deleted all of my music and playlists. I manually sync because I don’t have the same things on my iPod that I do on my computer. Saturday evening, a Tori Amos song kept erring out, and I think that’s what did it. iPod corrupted. Hours of hard work, selecting and sequencing those playlists by hand… gone. *sigh* The Christmas 2011 mix was the best mix I’d ever made, too. And the yoga practice mix? That was freaking hard to put together and now I have to do it again. But first, I have to get the thing to mount. And also to stop crashing and locking the library. Time to restore all systems, I suppose.

5. Computer battery needs to be serviced. Which likely means replaced. Which means bye bye $130.

On top of Mercury’s retrograde screwing with all my technology (and giving me an inexplicable urge to buy an iPad when I don’t need one at all), I’ve just been feeling like a poop log lately. Worn down, nauseated, and just generally tired. And my ear is hurting again. I have so much I need to do and no motivation to do it. This weekend, I was hit with a double whammy headache, one of them being a migraine that was extremely painful. Little appetite, just not feeling myself. I don’t like it. Oh, and the tip of my tongue has been burning the past few days. Feels like I burnt it with food or bit it a million times, but instead of getting better and going away, it’s getting worse.

I NEED TO GET BETTER!

Just to give you an idea of how worn out I’ve been:

1. I turned down a trip to Target. Adam knows that if I say “no” to a Target run then something’s seriously wrong.

2. I haven’t watched one Christmas program/DVD/movie. Not even A CHRISTMAS STORY. I adore A CHRISTMAS STORY. What is happening?

3. The apartment’s not completely decorated for Christmas. Honestly, Adam and I put the tree up Friday, I decorated it, then I was done. I haven’t made any effort to do anything else since. THIS IS NOT LIKE ME.

To add insult to injury? My new(ish) awesome glasses? They have a chip in the lens. I dropped a plate the other day and thought it had avoided the glasses, but I guess not. So it’s back to the ugly cheap frames for me until I can get them repaired or either get a new pair. I mean, I can *somewhat* ignore the chip, but I don’t know if other people can. Suck.

I have so much to do (in no particular order, it just all needs to be done on or before December 15):

01. Christmas newsletter
02. Christmas cards
03. reestablish iPod
04. finish decorating apartment
05. major litter box cleaning
06. organize closet and clothing
07. wrap presents
08. clean living room (this may as well be a permanent on the list)
09. plan Christmas menu
10. make Christmas food shopping list
11. return library books
12. finish Christmas shopping
13. buy cat food
14. laundry
15. two newsletters for Moksha
16. use Body Shop Groupon
17. send packages

Yea, whatever is bugging me needs to GET TO STEPPIN’. I ain’t got time for this mess.

As much as I love iProcrastinate, I didn’t like that it didn’t give me reminders of when things were due. So I decided to use Producteev. It has a reminder function. Except… it doesn’t seem to be working. I should add that to the list of things screwed up by Mercury’s retrograde. *sigh* Or maybe the software just sucks.

So now I’m on the hunt for another To Do program. I might have to break down and PAY FOR ONE. *gulp* I mean, what’s the point of having a productivity program if all it does it make me panic because it doesn’t tell me when stuff’s coming up, just when it’s due RIGHT NOW?

In spite of all this bleh, I had a good time Saturday night. I hung out with a bunch of former coworkers from Schawk. It was so good to see them all again. One can be glad to escape the craziness of the workplace, but the people will always tug at me.

Brad, JT, Hayley, me, Tyrone, Duane

I’m a homebody. I don’t go out a lot. It’s nice to get out sometimes, though. Although I think Saturday night might have done me in. Maybe I’m still recovering from that.

Also, did I mention that my birthday is in 14 days? No? Well, now you know.

Anyway, I’m off for now. Time for more resting so I can get better once and for all. I WILL get better. Hear that, Universe? I WILL get better within the next 12 hours.

Please send me lots of good vibes for many various things, OK? 🙂

Till next time….

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Autumn and Ohio (Lots of Pictures!)

26 September 2011 / family, friends, life, ohio, pictures, recap, vacation

Happy Autumn!

Now that it’s here, there is no good reason to keep fighting it, right? Getting out of Chicago and to Ohio to visit friends and family really helped me remember what I love about autumn. First of all, the colors. The glorious colors! We were in Ohio for six days and every day I watched the trees get more and more brilliant. Then, harvests and pumpkins and apple cider and all sorts of neat things. So, yay for autumn. Just wish winter didn’t have to happen after. But not gonna dwell on that. Instead I’m going to dwell on the fun trip to Ohio I had this past week!

I got to eat yummy Mexican food and drink a delicious margarita, I got to feed a giraffe, see a camel up close, and ride a horse. I met a friend who I’d been emailing with for years, and I saw Andy, one of my best friends. Chris and Matt brought up Aidan and we all went to Amish country, where I bought lots of pies, cookies, and cheese. My camera was on hand, and of course I got loads of photos.

We hit the Amish country in the middle of the state. First place we stopped was Hershberger, where there was lots of good desserts and breads, and animals (including a HUGE Clydesdale) to pet. Then we went to the cheese barn, and then to Berlin. Adam and I agreed that the more authentic Amish/Mennonite places were better because they weren’t mired in touristy gimmicks. Just yummy food.

I got to ride a horse for the first time ever. My friend Amy (who I’ve known for years but only through email) arranged for us to get together at the stables. There, she saddled up Jessy and let me and Adam take turns riding her. By the end of the ride, I was going a pretty good job of getting Jessy to walk and go in the direction I wanted her to go in. We also go to ride Pablo bareback. That was neat, too.

We got to eat good food, have good laughs, and have good times. The Mexican restaurant, El Camino, was delicious. I had an enchilada and a tostada, and a yummy raspberry margarita. Delicious!

Most of my extended family is in Cleveland. I don’t get to see them often, so a lot of us used this trip to reconnect. It was good. Some of these people I hadn’t seen since 1996. I hadn’t seen all of them for many years. That’s a long time. It was nice to see them again.

So many new experiences. I got to feed a giraffe! Do you have any idea how much I love giraffes? They’re so graceful and beautiful. They’re definitely in my top five of animals. Getting so close to one was amazing. Also, I never knew how gorgeous camels were until I saw them close up. Petting zoos are cool, especially when they have animals like emus and llamas and zebras.

Another really cool thing. I am an Ohio State alumna, but I had very little OSU clothing. I’ve been slowly, slowly building up a collection of tee-shirts, but I really wanted a hoodie. They’re expensive, though! Well, we went to Marcs to get snacks and groceries (and my BBQ Fritos and Snyder of Berlin chips that are not sold in IL) and they had OSU gear. CHEAP OSU gear. So, I got three sweatshirts and two tee-shirts for a grand total of $40.00. I’m wearing one of the shirts in a few photos above. I really, really, really wish we had a Marcs in Chicago. I’d go all the time. I love that place.

Anyway, I had a great time. What a wonderful way to start off autumn 2011. It’s just gonna get better! 🙂

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