life

still so much to do.

30 July 2013 / life, pictures, ronni, to do

Holy cow, I have so much to get done. Now, I’m taking a break so I can make a to-do list and maybe wrap my head around all the stuff that’s going on. I also need to get my Life Planner in here so I can write everything down in it!

Here’s the stuff that’s been going on and I will someday maybe write blog entries about:

01. Cut my hours at Rainbow down to 15 a week, working from home. It was just too much for me otherwise.
02. Working at VSA a couple days a week for a project.
03. Went to the zoo with Aidan and Adam.
04. Went to Six Flags Great America with Aidan, Adam, and some friends I’ve known online for years.
05. Went to the ER with severe kidney-stone like pain which turned out to be something else completely (although they have not ruled out the possibility that a kidney stone may have occurred right before I got there).
06. Been dealing with a sick cat; Helena’s not been using the litter box very well for months and we took her to the vet, where she was diagnosed with a major UTI. Had to take her again yesterday for follow up because she doesn’t seem to be better. 🙁
07. Finally joined up with Young Living as an independent distributor. Which means OILS OILS OILS OILS OILS! Any of you interested in ordering therapeutic-grade essential oils, contact me!
08. Worked with Adam to redo our bookshelves after a shelf of books collapsed on me.
09. Got head shots done.

Here’s what needs to happen this week:

01. At least one day at VSA, probably more.
02. Moksha August newsletter.
03. Moksha fall teacher training newsletter.
04. Moksha Sukhava Bodhe newsletter.
05. Prep for Musecon, b/c I am teaching a yoga class there.
06. Loyola program sheets.
07. Eat the rainier cherries.

Here is what needs to happen in the (near) future:

01. Laundry
02. CLEAN MY ROOM
03. Blog posts about the rest of my June Disney trip.
04. Upload Six Flags pix to flickr and facebook.
05. Re-establish yoga practice.
06. Genius bar to figure out why my iPhone’s battery is draining like a mofo.
07. Completely unpack from my June Disney trip.

I’d like to do these things before Aidan leaves for Ohio but will probably run out of time before I can:

01. Go to the beach.
02. Go to Morton Arboretum.
03. Go to LEGOLAND DISCOVERY CENTER.

Here is what I’d LIKE to happen sometime this year:

01. Make and order a photo book of my June Disney trip.
02. Start saving money again.
03. Visit at least one friend in another part of the country.
04. Start acting classes.
05. Have ONE day where I don’t find rogue cat turds somewhere in the apartment.

And finally, here is how I’d like to relax sometime in the next six months:

01. Have a Harry Potter movie marathon.
02. Have a Twilight movie marathon.
03. Go to King Spa and soak in the hot tubs.
04. In fact, have a spa day in general, where I get a massage, pedicure, facial, and have to wear a robe and there are rose petals and glasses of pink champagne waiting for me.

So yeah, that’s what’s been up over here. Hopefully I’ll have time to write a more in depth entry soon. Till next time….

Comments Off on still so much to do.

so much.

4 July 2013 / authors, life, living in chicago, pictures, ronni

Happy July 4th, you crazy cats! It’s been a while since I’ve last posted, but I hope to have time to post more often soon. Aidan is currently playing with a whoopee cushion. You can imagine how that’s going.

Since I last wrote, I’ve been sick (we think norovirus), I’ve been working a lot (I’m talking 12-14 hour days), meeting a lot of authors, and trying to maintain my sanity in the midst of all the craziness. My cat, Helena, has decided to hell with the litter box and has pooped in the following places: the bathroom (behind and in front of the toilet), a bag of potatoes, the rug in the living room, the kitchen floor, Adam’s hat, and Aidan’s clothes. I told Adam to get her to the vet ASAP while I am out of the house tomorrow because she could be seriously sick even though otherwise she’s acting totally normal. I think he wants ME to take her but I won’t have time for weeks and she may need help now. I don’t want to wait too long. We lost Lucy because I waited too long.

Honestly, this all started when Adam put in the cat door, which none of the cats seem keen on using without a massive amount of prompting. Our cats are divas.

Anyway, I’ve gotten to do some cool stuff even though I’ve been so busy. Like these:

I met Judy Blume!

And Weird Al
(I totally asked him what he used on his curls.
He said whatever’s in the hotel bathroom.)

I got to meet TONS of authors at the American Library Association (ALA 2013) conference, including….

Lois Lowry!!!

Along with Elizabeth Scott (!!!), Marie Lu, Ally Carter, Mike Mullin, and tons more. I saw Veronica Roth from a distance (Aidan: You wanted to go down here just to LOOK at her?), and I saw Tanya Lee Stone but didn’t want to interrupt her while she was chatting. I also chatted with Mari Mancusi a bit, and I got to see and hug Laurie Halse Anderson and Sarah Dessen. Guys, if anyone had told me that I’d be friends with Sarah Dessen and Laurie Halse Anderson, or get a hug from Elizabeth Scott, I’d have never believed it.

Being there, around all those authors and books and book lovers was so inspiring. 🙂

I’ve been bitten badly by the travel bug and I want to go ALL THE PLACES. I am more than halfway considering a solo trip to Disney World in September. I have until the end of July to decide to get the deal that’s being offered, but I’m like 65% there. I do worry I won’t have as much fun when I’m alone, but on the other hand, I want to experience the freedom of going alone at least once in my life. I also want to visit friends everywhere. All of that will probably have to wait until the fall or later, though. We’ll see.

Summer has been very cool here, to my disappointment. It makes me worry that winter will be hellishly cold. You all know how I hate the cold. I think I’m going to try to go to 2-3 warm places to get away. But on July 2, we had a high of 65F. What kinda crap is that? Today’s high is supposed to be 80F, which is way more reasonable, but I still need to sit in the sun to feel any bit of warmth. *sigh*

That’s all for now. Funny, when I write it out, it doesn’t SEEM like I’ve been all that busy, but believe me, I have. Happy to have today to do nothing!

Till next time….

3 Comments

life got away from me.

2 June 2013 / friends, life, living in chicago, pictures, shopping, yoga teacher training

So much to post about! Tomorrow, I leave for Disney World 2013 part 2. 🙂 It came up so fast because I’ve been so busy with work, work, work. Most days, I seriously work all day, then I go home and work 3-4 hours in the evening, and some weekends too. Long days but decent money. So this trip is going to be awesome!

A lot has been going on, too. Adam and I went with his family to Iowa for a weekend. It was great. Beautiful weather, great shopping, and good girl time for girls with my sister-in-law and her friend. Lola is getting so big and she’s still as adorable as ever. 🙂

It was nice to catch up with family and friends and get out of Chicago for a weekend. And the Des Moines farmer’s market? HOLY CRAP. The thing spans multiple blocks and streets… they only had asparagus for produce really, but there was so much other great stuff, like jewelry and clothing and mini donuts and wine. Especially blackberry wine. Mmmmm.

Adam and I went to see Marina and The Diamonds at the Riviera. It was a sold out show. I had to work that day, and the concert was general admission, so I knew we’d be in a long, long line. Except we totally didn’t because Adam ran into an old friend who was part of the local crew, and he got us to the front of the line. That didn’t make the people who’d spent the night there very happy–but they needn’t have worried. Adam and I were so not into being in the mob on the floor–we went straight to the balcony and grabbed seats!

It was a fantastic show. Charli XCX opened for her and I hadn’t realized that I’d already heard and liked a few of her songs.

But Marina. OH MY GOD Marina. She is a queen. She is a goddess. She puts on a great show, and she looks like she’s having a blast doing it. Love her. So much.

My yoga group had its official closing circle May 24. It was really nice. We did our thesis presentations, talked about the program and how we were going to use the new knowledge.

Then we all went out for sushi! First we posed for pictures:

ariel and amy

genevieve, me, reshma

graham and his fiancee angie

Then I ate this!!

namasake don

And this!

passion fruit torte

Yummy yummy yummy!!!! 😀

I got a couple of really cool things in the mail. One was this really cool iPad cover. My original cover is red, but I really wanted a pink one. So I got the Snugg iPad 2 Case, which I LOVE. Oh my God. It’s so compact and professional looking, but still fun. It’s got the smart cover thing, so I can close it and know it’s going to switch off… yeah, I’m really happy with it. 🙂

I also got a really awesome tee shirt from Dress United, which is a place you can get custom tees made. I went with a design of Ganesha, the remover of obstacles, and this is what I ended up with:

The back looks like this:

I really like the shirt. I wish I’d gotten a bigger size because the cut does run small (I believe this is a size M.) Clothes shopping is a challenge for me because sizes are NOT consistent across the board. I almost always have to try on, because sizes aren’t even consistent within the same stores sometimes! So, I can wear an XS tee shirt in one place and a L from somewhere else… I tend to go with an M because that’s usually pretty safe, but in this case, I needed to size up. I still like the shirt, though. The design really pops and the colors are vivid and bright! If you’re looking to get a custom-designed tee shirt, You can get one for 30% off and free shipping if you use this link and the coupon code BLOG30OFF4U.

The lilacs have finally bloomed in my neighborhood, but they’re already going away. Why do I wait all spring for them only for them to wither away not even a week later? So sad. I’m lucky I got photos, though!

I make it a point to take huge sniffs of the lilac bushes in my neighborhood whenever I can because I love them so much. Now, I’d LOVE to think that once the lilacs are out that the weather is finally broken, but nope. It didn’t even get past 55F today. And it was rainy and cold. COME ON. It’s JUNE already.

Thank God I’m going to Orlando tomorrow, where the forecasted high is 86F. SO looking forward to the heat. It’s kinda messed up that it’s June and I still have to go to Florida to warm up…..

Anyway. I’m just about all packed. Which is kind of a miracle considering I usually start packing the night before for these things. Aidan is playing the new Kirby game I got him, and my mom is in the kitchen washing glasses for some reason. She’s all packed and so is Aidan, except for things like electronics, which are currently charging, medications that need to be taken in the morning, and toiletries which will be used in the morning. But tomorrow this time, we’ll all be in Orlando chilling. So excited! 🙂 I don’t know how we’re all managing to act so calm….

Anyway, that’s all for now. Till next time! 🙂

I received free products from Dress United and Snugg in exchange for my honest and unbiased reviews.

4 Comments

busy.

8 May 2013 / life, pictures, ronni

lately.

I started my new job last week, but so much went down even before that happened!

About a week and a half ago, Adam got his own car. A Prius. Which is good because I’ve decided that I’m going to drive to work rather than deal with taking two trains or a bus and a train. So now, we each have our own cars and he can go as he pleases during the day, and I don’t have to wake up at Oh God O’Clock in the morning to take public transportation!

The Prius takes some getting used to. It goes completely quiet at red lights, and there are all sorts of computery things on the dashboard and console. You turn it on by pushing a button. The first time we drove it off the lot, we were sitting there like “Uh, I forgot how to turn it on and make it go!” Ha. Adam’s an expert at it now. I think.

In celebration of that, I got my car detailed and also washed for the first time since 2006. I didn’t recognize her when I picked her up. Now she’s all clean on the inside. The outside is filthy again, which is why I rarely bother to wash it. The birds seem to think my car is the best toilet on the street.

We had a houseguest but didn’t get to spend a lot of time with him because we all had so much going on. K was in town for C2E2, a media convention run by the same folks who run ComicCon. Adam had tours and concerts to go to. And I’d planned a girl’s day with Missy, had some Moksha stuff to do, and I was doing some onsite freelance work for VSA.

The weather is slowly but surely breaking. There are leaves and flowers on the trees, and flowers actually growing in the ground. Now, I love flowers in the ground, but you can TOTALLY tell when they’ve just been put there as opposed to them growing on their own. I know that flowers are flowers no matter where they are. I just happen to prefer them wild and growing in the ground!

I started my new job and I like it. The morning commute is pretty good (15–20 minutes usually), but coming home takes twice as long as getting there. This seems to be a Chicago thing; my friend Jen says the same thing happens to her. It’s kind of annoying but I play my music and make sure I use the bathroom before I get in the car. If the red lights weren’t so… stupidly timed, things would flow much better. It’s easy to lose patience and get frustrated when I’m sitting at a red light and the light on the very next block is green, but by the time MY light turns green, the light on the next block turns red. Not *is* red, it *turns* red. This also backs up the traffic at the green light I’m sitting at, because all of those people can’t move because their light is red. I don’t know who designed the traffic light systems in Chicago but they need to be slapped.

I’m driving just about every day now, though. When I first moved here, I didn’t like driving here at ALL but I’m getting used to it. Though I still don’t want to drive downtown.

Hmm, what else?

Oh right! I got certified! 🙂 I know you all remember last year, when I was kind of freaking out about starting teacher training. And then I started and got overwhelmed and fell in love and hated it also and had all sorts of roller coaster emotions and situations come up. But I got through and I got certified and wow, it feels awesome that I did something like that. I’ve made some amazing friends, got to study with amazing teachers, and I learned a LOT about myself, about yoga, and the world.

What an incredible journey.

So of course, the week that I got certified is the week I got offered a job at an educational publishing development house. Now, anyone who’s known me for any amount of time knows that I’ve been editing/copy editing/proofreading for years now. I’ve had the pleasure of editing fiction, coupons, billboards, tee-shirts, letters, direct mail… you name it, I’ve probably proofread it or a variation thereof. But, as far as editing goes, my first love was/is always educational publishing. And this job–it really came out of nowhere. And I’m glad to be there. It’s a good team. It’s just funny how I finish up my teacher training and get offered a job in another field I love instead. I see you, universe!

I wore this on my first day:

What do you think? I’ve decided that I’m obsessed with that style of dress and would love to get more…if they go back on sale, like this one was.

Here are the other things I’ve been up to:

· I tried hot yoga for the first time last Wednesday. I sweat so much that my clothes were still soaked the next morning. Jen told me that I’m supposed to ring out the clothes before I throw then in the laundry basket or whatever. Now I know. I don’t know how I feel about hot yoga. It was 95F in the room. I felt like my heart was going to burst out of my chest, it was pounding so hard. The instructor said that was normal. Other people said it’s not. I didn’t feel like the heat made me stretchier, but I may have been expecting too much in that area. Maybe I’ll like it better if sweat isn’t dripping in my eyes, which means I need to get a headband or something. Or if it’s winter. We’ll see. I don’t know if I’ll go back before then. Which is fine. Winter can take its time coming back. Actually, I’m not completely convinced this year’s winter is gone yet.

· I resigned from the workshop management position at Moksha. Figured that with working full time, still doing freelance, still doing work-study for Moksha (gotta get my free classes!), plus you know, having a family and all, that something needed to give! It was going to be too much. But I still have workshops to work until the end of June, unless I can get subs.

· Worked two workshops and they weren’t bad. Mia’s tantric restorative was really amazing and then Reshma and I went to King Spa after. There, we ran into Jen! It was such a good time. I got a body scrub and got to enjoy my favorite Ochre room. Mmm, Ochre room. And Saturday night, I worked a kirtan. That ended up actually being a lot of fun, and kirtans are kind of labor intensive. But it worked out well, and I had a good time and got to spend time with fun people.

· The good thing about being so busy now is that I’ve not had much time to play Facebook games. I’ve been wanting to quit them for a while, so maybe I finally can.

· Rereading DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth. Because you know, they’re filming that movie here in Chicago and Theo James is in it and although it’s unlikely I’ll run into him (he keeps coming within 1/2 mile of my apartment for various things, though), I still plan to see the movie and support him because he’s one of my favorites. Plus, I remember enjoying the book on the first go-round. I think I rated it 5-stars on Goodreads. Next on deck is TILT by Ellen Hopkins.

· Making final plans for Disney World. Only 26 days away! We’re all getting sooooo excited! I’m debating whether or not to use a car service or stick with my original plan of using Magical Express. My friend Missy is dead set against me using a limo, in light of recent events in San Francisco. A town car just seems too…too. I’m not a fan of big ass SUVs, even if it is an Escalade, and I am DEFINITELY not getting a van! But the pros are that if I use a car service, we get a grocery stop and we don’t have to leave Animal Kingdom so early on the 7th. So… I need to decide which kind of car I’d want. The SUV is the most practical, to be honest, because none of us are light travelers and the extra room would be nice…but it’s an SUV and they’re ICKY. Aidan would truly get a kick out of the limo; I’m pretty sure he’s never been in one. It would be convenient and fun. BUT… Magical Express is so cool, too!

I’ll probably go with the car service.

Anyway, that’s enough for now. I need to start getting ready for bed. I have to be… NORMAL and stuff. Sleeping at night and being up in the day. What is this madness? I still struggle in the mornings, but tea helps.

OK, till next time.

6 Comments

Well, It’s Been A Week

24 April 2013 / life, living in chicago, pictures, ronni, yoga, yoga teacher training

It’s been a long time since I’ve updated. I’m sorry. I’ve been busy or unmotivated or a combination of both. And I’ve been sick. Since April 5. Coughing all night, not sleeping well because of the coughing. Sneezing, sniffling. Stuffy head. It’s the cold that keeps on hanging on. Or, I’d be ready to update and something completely messed up would happen and I’d feel like it wasn’t appropriate for me to blog about how everyone complimented me on my awesome yoga pants over the weekend when more serious things were happening in the world.

And I did wear a lot of cute yoga pants the weekend of April 12–14. I was working and attending workshops led by Ashley Turner, who is an urban priestess and amazing. And she has beautiful blue eyes and can lead a hell of an asana practice. My butt was sufficiently kicked. And something stirred in me…the thought of being a priestess is very appealing to me. But it would take a lot of work and time…and I’m just finishing yoga teacher training, so I am not sure if I’m ready to delve into another yearlong journey of self-discovery just yet.

We all know how last week went. I don’t even think I need to go over it, but I will anyway, because it was something else.

April 15. I paid my taxes, and let out a happy sigh of relief that that was over for another year, then heard about what happened at the Boston Marathon. And all of the stuff attached to it, culminating in the showdown of sorts on Friday, April 19. I was scared for Boston but couldn’t help but think of those people who live that way every single day.

Flooding. We’ve been having way too much rain in Chicago lately, and there was some bad flooding. Adam and I were lucky enough not be affected by the floods, sink holes, and geysers, but a lot of people weren’t so fortunate. And the rain just won’t let up, and now, at writing time (11:58pm), snow is forecasted as well. 🙁

I don’t mean to make this about me, but I’m going to make it about me for a bit. My friends all over the country are posting their photos of them out in the sun, their blossoming trees, and wearing sundresses. Today? I was in a winter coat and boots. It’s been “spring” for over a month now but you really wouldn’t know it. It’s just as grey and bleak outside as ever… we did have the window open on Sunday to air the place out a bit. It was still cold (for me) but a lot of people took advantage of the low 60F temps to play outside and wear shorts and things. 60F for me is still coat, sweater, and jeans weather.

Explosion in Texas. Yeah. I can’t even imagine–going to work like any other day, and never coming home. It’s like… OK. In Chicago, on our highways, there are these signs they display the number of traffic deaths so far this year. I think, as of today, the number is 287. Those signs creep me the hell out. People going off to one journey or another and never coming home. Adam said that I shouldn’t get so freaked out about it because millions of people drive on our highways. But seeing those signs, with those numbers… I wish they wouldn’t do it. Because every time I’m driving on that freeway, I wonder if I’m going to add to that statistic.

There has been so much death and it gets me thinking all deep and dark when I’m up late and can’t sleep. Yesterday morning, Adam found out one of his classmates passed away. I didn’t know her very well, but we were friendly. We met up in San Francisco and had brunch back in 2007. She had such a kind heart. And now she’s gone and she was our peer and it’s just now really hitting me. I know that at some point in your life, your friends leave you, but I didn’t expect it to start happening while I’m in my 30s.

RIP pretty girl. 🙁

And then there is the beginning of life. On Friday, my cousin Mazayron had a baby girl. She’s beautiful and has a really cool name: Kimber. And my Facebook feed is clogged with photos of adorable babies in all stages of chubbiness and newness.

And I’m sitting here complaining about the effing weather.

Friday, I paid off my Disney World trip for June! Yea, my bank account is SUFFICIENTLY lighter now. Last week was an expensive week with that and with taxes. But it’ll be worth it. My mom is soooooo super excited and it’s adorable.

Also on Friday, I drove out to Naperville to meet Sarah Dessen again. You guys have no idea how much I adore this author and her books and how amazing she is with a crowd. I look up to her so much.

My favorite author @sdessen and me!!!! #sarahdessen #lilrongal

I first started reading her books either in 2004 or 2005. I used to start my day by her daily blog posts. I never thought I’d get to meet her, and now I’ve been blessed enough to meet her three times.

One of my favorite actors is in town filming a movie, and it’s kind of driving me mad that he’s so close yet so far away. I have no idea how to go about tracking down a movie star and frankly, I’m too lazy to do so anyway, so I just hope that I run into him and his co-stars when I’m walking down the street or something. I have until July to make this happen.

Not that I’ll have time for movie star stalking anyway. Because I was offered a job with Rainbow Educational Concepts and I accepted. I’d been freelancing for them on and off for a few years now, and they realized they needed help in their Chicago office. It’s a “term of project” job, for a year, we’ll decide where to go after that. It’s basically a yearlong temp job, which I’m perfectly fine with. It’s educational publishing–you guys know how much I love that. I’m just a bit weirded out about going into an office again, and working 9–5 and being up like normal people. I’m going to be drinking a lot of tea to get back acclimated to normal days again. It should be cool, though. Reverse commute, I can wear jeans in the office, and they’re pretty cool about all the time off I need in the next couple of months. I start May 1.

This Was My Saturday Afternoon #homework #yogateachertraining #yoga

Saturday, I turned in the rest of my work for yoga teacher training. A paper on Urdhva Dhanurasana (was supposed to be 3–5 pages, mine ended up being 9), my thesis, book reviews, study questions, and private lesson write ups. I attended a backbending thesis workshop at the end of May, and here I am doing a kick ass Urdhva Dhanurasana:

Now that all my yoga teacher training work is DONE, FINITE, COMPLETED, I can commence my Twilight movie marathon. Don’t hate. It’s some mindless fun to celebrate all the work I’ve done over the past year.

The last two Tuesdays, an actor from the show I love, Golden Boy, has been live tweeting with fans during the show. It’s so cool because she tries to interact with everyone who tweets to her. I’ve been having a lot of fun with that. She seems to be having fun, too. And yesterday, I was an extra in a video for a web series. It was probably the easiest video shoot I’ll ever be on in my life. I had fun!

Tomorrow and Thursday, I’ll be working at VSA, and Friday evening I have a dinner at Daren’s loft. Saturday is Girl Time For Girls, which means manis and pedis with my friend Missy, and Sunday evening, I have some stuff to do at Moksha. So… I plan to use Monday and Tuesday of next week to just… enjoy. Relax, maybe get a massage or something to psyche myself up for being a part of the 9-5 crowd again.

So, the past several days has been up and down for me. But, I keep trucking.

In the meantime, I need to get to bed. I’m already going to be hitting the coffee machine once I get there, but maybe just for cocoa. (Although I’ve been craving fancy coffee drinks lately–WTF has Starbucks done to me?)

Till next time….

1 Comment