pictures

Blasts From The Past (Many Pictures & Extreme Narcissism)

19 July 2010 / dork, pictures, ronni

A few weeks ago, I hooked my computer up to the scanner/printer/copier/fax machine/coffee maker/deep fryer/hot tub to scan some pictures. It’s one of those new(ish) Kodak ones that you put the really cheap ink in. Adam’s not happy with the printer, but who really is happy with their printer? I am VERY happy with the scanner, though. The easiest scanning I’ve ever done. No need to install bulky software. Just plop the picture in, push the button, and voila! So easy!

So, I went on a scanning spree. It’s time for me to thoroughly embarrass myself. Funny colors, creases, thumbs, and all. You will get the full enchilada of what happens when one digs out the big guns. Enjoy!

Little Cleveland Browns fan me. February 1977. I was two here. Had been for a couple months.

I was two here, and it was Easter. Obvi. 1977.

I was three here, and it was another Easter! Those curls were done with the magic of sponge rollers. You know you’re jealous. 1978.

I had just turned nine here. December 1983. Merry Christmas!

Me and my sister rocking out at my Aunt Lue’s house.

This was the first of many Baby Skates dolls I got. The legs kept snapping off for some reason.

Check out the retro Rainbow Brite doll my cousin Terri is holding behind me. I had just turned 10 here. Yeah, I was still playing with dolls. I STILL play with dolls. What?

Sixth grade graduation. June 1987. Mr. Trask, on the left, was the most awesome principal EVER. In my book, ONLY YOURS, I made him one of the teachers. Since OY didn’t sell, I plan to recycle him. It’s my way of remembering the best principal ever. First of all, he liked Mickey Mouse and wore Mickey Mouse ties (he’s wearing one in this picture!) and a Mickey Mouse watch. And he’d arrange for us to get out of class to eat popcorn, drink pop, and watch Mary Poppins. Or Laurel & Hardy. Do schools still do that sort of thing? Anyway, Mrs. Arnold, the assistant principal, is the one handing me something. She was the strict one, but she wasn’t mean. Her daughter, Jennifer, played violin and was SUPER talented at it. I am telling you all of this because, well, I need to somehow distract you all from the crazy dress I’m wearing.

SEVENTH AND EIGHTH GRADE PICTURES WILL NOT BE SHOWN HERE. EVER.
Just saying….

Here I am in ninth grade honors biology, working on my science project. I still remember my hypothesis: If a fruit juice is fermenting, then it is giving off heat. I won third place. I also remember breaking a mercury thermometer. Go me. Like my double watches? I was STYLIN’.

Sweet sixteen and never been kissed. I was too obsessed with Joey McIntyre to worry much about real boys. My earrings are Lifesavers, though. Rock on.

Remember how I was too obsessed with celebrity boys to care much about real boys? Yeah, this is another example. Hmm, Homecoming or Mario Lopez? The choice was easy. I brought him a Homecoming flower that I’d spritzed with my Love’s Baby Soft Rain Scent perfume. He said it smelled good. October 1992.

My senior picture.

YAY! Graduation from John Adams High School. Class of 1993!

I lived in the Stadium Scholarship Dorm, but it would have been more accurately named the Stadium Work-Study Dorm. For a reduced cost (and a GPA of 2.8 or higher), the residents took up a lot of the work that would have normally gone to pay staff. For example, students worked cafeteria shifts, janitorial shifts, planned social events, and so on. After one or two cafeteria shifts, I was lucky enough to get clued in regarding an office shift. Here I am, on duty!

This was during college. Not sure if this was freshman or sophomore year–I started on an off-quarter, so the years kind of overlapped for a while there. Still, the point of this picture is to show you how into Mickey Mouse I was. There’s Mickey Mouse all over that room! I wish I still had that vest. It’s pretty sweet.

YEA! I am out of the dorms and living in Harrison House Apartments (which is completely something else these days). This is autumn 1995.

This was right after I was baptized and confirmed as a Catholic through RCIA. April 1996. I was a devout Catholic for about six months before backsliding. Oops. I no longer practice, but I think some aspects of the faith are beautiful.

Another desk job at my place of residence. I picked up some shifts at the Harrison House front desk. It was… interesting. Strangely enough, the graveyard shift was the most interesting. I was still very Catholic then. See the Eucharist necklace I’m wearing?

July 4, 1996. I’m really into the spirit! Ha!

Me on the balcony at Crystal’s Castle hotel in Pompano Beach, Florida, December 1996. Going to Southern Florida the week before Christmas was surreal. To be outside in the warm, sunny weather, playing on the beach and whatnot. Then going inside a mall and seeing Santa and candy canes and Christmas trees. People decorated their palm trees with strings of lights. It was very cool.

Oh, how I miss that flat tummy. And those pants were probably a size 0 or 2. *sigh* June 1998.

Virginia Beach, September 1999.

OK, so that’s a bunch of pictures of me from the 20th century. I also plan to do a major Aidan Blast From the Past, because I found some really adorable photos of him that I’d love to share. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my post. I’d love to see some of YOUR blasts from the past!! 😀

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Summertime Happiness (Whoa Pictures!)

11 July 2010 / happy, life, pictures

I can’t believe it’s already been nearly a month since I’ve last updated! Like seriously, where did June go? And Independence Day has already passed. Slow down a bit, summer! I am not in a hurry for you to go away!

When I last left off, Eli and Melissa were still in town. I snapped this last picture of us before they took off:

There was much hanging out and playing….

Then the next weekend was DucKon! Aidan had a great time. He fit right in, talking Star Wars and watching the Tesla Coils. His favorite thing, though, was the balloon art.

During DucKon, we stayed at the hotel so Adam could stay as late as he wanted at the Filk. Aidan and I were up pretty late, and thank goodness because the fire alarm went off at around 2am! Aidan was amazingly efficient. He grabbed both of our stuffed toys, his balloon animal and his shoes. I grabbed my purse, the hotel key, and my hoodie. We went outside. Never found out the cause of that alarm. The one that went off at 8am was more scary, because this time we actually saw smoke. (Someone had burnt their breakfast.) Again, Aidan woke up and gathered everything very efficiently and we waited outside for the all-clear.

The days are speeding by in a blur of video games, sunshine, yoga, trips to the library (Aidan read 25 books and earned a tee-shirt), grilled foods, friends, and trips to the playground. On the day of the iPhone 4 release, we three stood in line for six hours to get the new phone. Apple provided us with Smart Water, lemonade, burgers, fries, and frosty desserts. Other companies passed out carrier bags and Red Bull. The people working in the store, though they must have been exhausted, were friendly and good-natured. Aidan was so good that I bought him a toy from The Disney Store. He also got to meet Mr. Reese’s (and get free candy!):

Another time, I decided I was having a good hair day and wanted to document it:

Helena was looking extra pretty another day:

July 4th consisted of food, friends, fireworks, and red, white, and blue Jell-O cake made by Yours Truly. Sure do wish I’d gotten a picture of that cake before we tore into it!

Chris and Aidan, and Amy and Me

Some new dollies made their way into my home and my heart:

I got to meet and hang out with the beautiful Mylin, who is an independent artist based in Los Angeles. She came to Chicago for a visit and spent the afternoon with me yesterday. I’d admired her since she was a teenager, dancing and singing on the All-New Mickey Mouse Club:

We also stopped at the Oak Street Beach. Why do I live here and never go to the beach? It’s so pretty!

Adam’s still working for the Census. I’m proofreading for Loyola, hanging out with Aidan, and still playing too many games, although I have cut back a lot of the Facebook games. Now I play more word games which actually do help me think a lot about my writing. Aidan plays a lot of games. He also does a really good impression of the 11th Doctor on Doctor Who. We watch The Eleventh Hour constantly. I think it’s one of my favorite episodes of new Who. (I haven’t watched very much old Who.)

The iPhone 4 is pretty cool. Not sure it if was worth waiting SIX hours for, but I’m glad I have it because my other one was making me mad. Crashing all the time, turning itself on and off whenever it wanted. Blah. Adam restored/unlocked it and sold it for nearly the cost of my new phone, so I essentially upgraded for $40. 🙂

I think that’s all for now. Life’s good. I am very grateful. ‘Til next time!

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Adjusting (Pictures)

12 June 2010 / aidan, books, life, living in chicago, pictures, ronni, writing

Aidan’s finally here!!!

Thank goodness. It seemed to take forever for June 8 to get here! Even he said, when he got off the plane “I can finally see you!” I really hate living so far away from him. I know it’s not even that far, but that doesn’t make it suck any less. 🙁

I am trying to figure out how to readjust my schedule to keep fitting yoga and writing in, plus taking care of him, and getting enough rest. Not to mention staying on top of eating reasonably well. It’s been a challenge this week because Adam’s brother and sister-in-law are visiting, and we’ve been spending time with them. I kinda put all that life stuff on hold because how often do I get to see Eli & Melissa, you know? So I’ve been eating not as well as normal, and I haven’t been to yoga since last Thursday. Let’s not even talk about writing, shall we?

I need to just QUIT those games on Facebook. Or at least limit myself to a few. It’s out of hand again, how much time I spend playing. I know it’s an avoidance technique. If I’m playing, I don’t have to think about the “sagging middle” in my WIP. And maybe, just maybe a breakthrough will happen while I am virtually farming!

Right, even I don’t believe that anymore.

Anyway, even though I haven’t been doing yoga and writing, I have been doing other cool things. Tuesday, I got Aidan from the airport, and I learned that if someone is mean to a member of my family, the claws come out! No one was mean to Aidan, but someone was to Adam and I reacted in a way that I never expected. It was weird and a little bit unsettling. But nice to know that I won’t take any crap from people when it comes to members of my family.

Wednesday, Eli & Melissa arrived and we had dinner with them. Thursday, we went to the Art Institute of Chicago. I’d never been to an art museum ever. Well, the National Vietnam Vets Museum may count, but that’s such a specialized part of art that I can only think of it as the NVVM. AIC was completely different and amazing and overwhelming. You know how you see prints of paintings? Most of them never did much for me. We have a bunch of them in the apartment and to me, they’re just pretty or neat pictures hanging around. But seeing a painting in real life is so much better! There was some Van Gogh and a lot of Monet, but the one that blew me away was Saint Francis by Peter Paul Rubens. The way he painted it… the flesh tones looked so real and lifelike and vibrant, like Saint Francis was going to just walk off the panel and come stand next to me. In addition to that, the Thorne Miniature Rooms were incredible, as was all the South Asian art, which I didn’t feel I got to spend nearly enough time looking at. We even checked out the Matisse exhibit, and got to see some pretty famous paintings, like American Gothic. I can’t wait to go back to the Art Institute of Chicago. There is so much I am eager to explore there. The cool thing is that we can take out museum passes from the library (that are good for a week!), and the museum is open free Thursday nights. I get the feeling I’ll be there a lot.

Aidan LOVED the museum. As he’s very artistic, Adam and I thought he’d get a lot out of it–well, as much as a seven-year-old can get, I suppose. He loved seeing the Van Gogh, and he was totally fascinated by the Picture of Dorian Gray, but he really enjoyed giggling at all the naked baby Jesus paintings and sculptures. He did love the Thorne Miniature Rooms, though.

After that fun, we ate some lunch and then headed over to Millennium Park. Aidan enjoyed playing at Cloud Gate, as usual:

On Monday, before Aidan got here, I hung out with Shannon, a former co-worker, and her family. They took me to the top of ~~Sears~~ Willis Tower, and I went out on the glass ledge. Oh yes. Check me out:

In between all this, I am reading a book called THE BLUE GIRL by Charles de Lint, and I adore the main character. She’s just such a cool girl. This is the first Charles de Lint book I’ve ever read, but apparently, he’s written a lot set in the particular world of this book. I love when authors do that. When they have a world they work in for all of their books. Cause when you read the new ones, you see old characters and friends. Sarah Dessen does it, and so does Deb Caletti, and even Adam does. I tend to write in the same worlds too, or I try to, anyway.

Anyway, it’s already almost 2am. I don’t have to be up very early tomorrow (but someone little with curly hair might wake me up early. If not him, then the neighbor’s hot water heater [which bangs every time he takes a shower and happens to be located right above our bed–another thing the landlord won’t fix] will). We’re hitting Navy Pier, which should be fun on a Saturday in June. :O All I know is this: I AM GETTING A CHURRO. Oh yes.

So, with that, I am off. ‘Til next time!

I love summer!

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Happy Ronni is Happy! (Multimedia)

7 June 2010 / body and soul, geekalicious, happy, life, living in chicago, music, pictures, videos, yoga

It has been a few weeks of friends old and new, family, pampering, love, delicious anticipation, and spiritual fulfillment. 🙂 Let’s see. My last update was May 23rd. Since then, Adam and I have decorated the back porch. He stained the wood, we got some flowers and hanging plants, and new chairs.

Butterflies like my new flowers, too.

It’s such a nice place to sit and read when it’s warm out. Helps that we got some new neighbors who are cool and friendly. The yippy dog from next door moved to California, so it’s been pretty quiet around these parts. That will change Tuesday, when AIDAN gets here!!!

He gets into town Tuesday morning. Tomorrow will be a busy day of trying to meet up with (more) old friends, a doctor’s appointment, and the finishing touches on Aidan’s room. It should go fast. Then, Wednesday, Eli & Melissa get into town, so we’ll all get to spend time together. I’m excited to see them! I haven’t seen them since January 2009, and they’ve never met Aidan. I’d better get my cameras all charged up!

My friend Claudia Gray flew off to Rome for the summer last week, but the Friday before she left, she came over for dinner. Adam grilled steaks and veggies, made homemade mashed potatoes (honestly, are there any other kind?), and corn on the cob. For dessert, we had shortcake cups, fresh blueberries and strawberries, French vanilla ice cream, and whipped cream. We ate VERY WELL. We also talked muchly about yoga, and watched Doctor Who. While she was here, apparently Critical Mass took a turn to my neighborhood. I have never seen so many people riding bikes before in my life. They just kept coming and coming and coming, and yelling “HAPPY FRIDAY.” Some had on weird hats. Some rode funny-looking bikes. It was mind-blowing. You can see the video here. You’ll hear me yelling and see Claudia’s lavender nails make a few cameos. 🙂

It was a great evening!

Earlier that day, Adam and I went downtown to meet Angelo, one of my best friends, who was in town for the weekend. We had lunch at Chipotle, the first time I’d eaten there in years:

Angelo & Me

Saturday the 29th, I went to the Moksha Yoga in Logan Square to support my friend/teacher trainee Cassandra who was doing a video review. It was a free class and an easy train ride, so why not, right? It was great. Then after that, Adam and I went to Margie’s Candies where I had my favorite Swiss Miss sundae. This sundae is so good. I’m sure you remember me going on about it in the past, right? You two scoops of ice cream, whatever flavors you want (I always get chocolate and vanilla), whipped cream, nuts (which I pass on), a wafer cookie, and a cherry, and warm chocolate-marshmallow sauce. HEAVEN! The first picture is my ice cream pre-sauced. The second…well, you know. Yum.

Last week was a spectacularly good week, with the exception of me forgetting about my emusic.com downloads and losing $6.50 for the month. I was annoyed at first, but chalked it up to a lesson learned. DON’T FORGET TO DOWNLOAD MY 12 SONGS FOR THE MONTH. Actually, last month it was 22 because I’d gotten the 10 free ones, but I think I’d gotten a few at least. Still. Oh well. Let it go. Om.

Besides THAT little hiccup, I had a good week. Wednesday, I got a pedicure and a massage, went to meet some other creative folks, and had a fun evening. Thursday was a yoga class with Cassandra that was the perfect length. Just as I was starting to get very tired, it was time for Savasana–Corpse Pose. There are some poses I am not a fan of (ahem, most standing poses except Wide Leg Stretch–Prasarita Padottanasana and Intense Forward Stretch–Uttananasa), but I do them because I am getting stronger physically and mentally. My favorites are sitting or lying down poses that twist and stretch me (I like to kick, stretch, and KICK!). Backbends, and Shoulderstand–Sarvangasana, make me all kinds of happy, too. I guess I could say yoga makes me happy, even when I am in the middle of a Triangle-Side Angle-Warrior II sequence and my arms are SCREAMING at me. I plan to take a class with master teacher Seane Corn this summer. How amazing will that be?

Anyway, Thursday night, had a delicious dinner of hickory-smoked tilapia and creamy parmesan risotto. My mouth is STILL watering thinking about it. So OK, the really good risotto might be $3 a box, but it’s still cheaper than eating out, and it’s good for us, right? (But now, I’m obsessed with grain. I got some couscous and other grains at the store today. Can’t wait to NOM!)

Friday, Adam and I went to the library. I love the library. I’ve already read some of my books. :O Speaking of that, I finished reading my 100th new book of 2010 today!! *golf claps* I wonder if I can get to 200 before the year is out? That would be a personal best. Friday evening, I went to the Life Force Arts Center to see my friend, my favorite gypsy, the amazingly talented musician and performer S.J. Tucker (aka s00j). She was so awesome! She is so tiny but her presence is so big, and her voice. It’s like angels. I could listen to her sing all day. It’s just so flawless and beautiful. To top it all off, I got to bask in many, many, many s00j hugs. They *should* hold me over until November, because I am definitely going to see her perform with her band Tricky Pixie at Windy Con. It just has to be done. The decision’s been made, there’s nothing I can do. If you heard their album Mythcreants (which, OMG you can hear in its entirety on that nifty little link there… and holy bananas and chicken, there are several FREE downloads there. I recommend Daughter of the Glade.), you’d understand why I am so adamant about attending to see them live. Adam and I had to miss OVFF last year which we are still sad about (because everyone we love was there: Tony & Vixy, Seanan McQuire, and s00j!). But we’ll get to see Talis Kimberly at DucKon in a few weeks, so I guess it all evens out in the end.

Here are a couple of photos of s00j:

And here’s me, basking in some s00j love:

Saturday was… wow, I can’t remember. Just relaxing inside, I think. Oh, and I managed to eat an entire pint of organic strawberries in one day. How awesome is that? I mean, they’re good for me, right? *innocent look* Speaking of being good to my body, I haven’t had McDonald’s since May 8th, and I haven’t had pop since April 4th. The McDonald’s fast MIGHT get broken on Tuesday, though. Every time I go to the airport to get Aidan, I crave the stuff. We’ll see if I can resist!

OK. This entry has gone on long enough. ‘Til next time! 🙂

P.S. Just found out they played a Deathly Hallows trailer on MTV tonight. Seeing as we don’t have cable, I had no clue. But I saw it on YouTube. Very excited about this movie! OK, good night/morning. 🙂

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Happy Things in List Form (Pictures)

23 May 2010 / happy, life, pictures, positivity

· Doctor Who was pretty darn sweet this week. Excited about next week’s episode! These two-parters are fun, but they’re also not. I’m so impatient. I’m also eager for the series five soundtrack to be available. I’ve been loving the music.

· Only 16 days til Aidan is here! I have a lot of prep to do. I can’t wait to have him here!!! 🙂

· I had a pretty good week, despite some bouts of random crankiness. I had a photo shoot, I got to hang out with Jen H., I went to a tequila dinner, and a kirtan. Yoga classes were great, and I got many, many hugs.

· Hugs are awesome. The other day, I asked Adam if he’d be able to believe that growing up, my family was not touchy-feeley. He was pretty surprised, because my mommy is huggy now. I don’t remember being hugged a lot. My mom kissed me before bed every night, but the only time I remember hugging anyone was when my mother forced me to hug my sister if we were fighting (kiss and make up!). I didn’t start getting hugged a BUNCH until I got much older, and really didn’t happen until I started going to college and going to church. Church people hug a lot. But they aren’t the only ones. Yogis and yoginis hug a lot, too. And I’m thinking that Chicagoans like to hug in general. Authors, too.

· Helena has been super affectionate. She’s not a lap kitty, but she sat on my lap for two hours the other night. Mostly, she’ll lie on my legs and purr, purr, purr. When I come out of the bedroom in the morning, she runs up to me to greet me! And I read in an email from Catster that when cats give you long blinks, it’s like they’re blowing kisses. Guess who gets loads of long blinks from Helena? Oh, and she says “what’s up” to me a lot, too. I could go on.

· I’m helping a friend plan a Disney World trip. I can’t go this year, but I can live vicariously through her. She knows who she is. 🙂

· Hair Rules. Love this stuff. I’m finding a lot of products that work wonderfully with my hair. My curls are pretty tight (my hair is actually longer than it’s been in a while), but they’re defined. This product helps define the curls even more.

· Adam made a simple dinner the other night of spaghetti noodles, parmesan cheese, and snow peas. OMG SO YUMMY. There are a few vegetables I cannot stand, broccoli and cauliflower being among them. But y’all. I will eat the crap out of some snow peas, spinach, and bean sprouts. Can’t get enough of them.

· Adam and I had been getting turkey in the packages for a long time. The other day, we actually went to the deli. I’D FORGOTTEN HOW GOOD TURKEY FROM THE DELI IS. So much better than the pre-packaged stuff! If you thought I couldn’t get enough of turkey sandwiches before, it’s even worse now. Not as bad as my spaghetti thing, but it’s the one thing I crave when I am in triangle pose in yoga class.

· I got to spend time with lots of people this week.

· Weather is warm! Yay!

· No one believes it when I tell them I’m 35. They all think I’m in college or in my early 20s. This RULES, people.

· I’ve been finding specially-made yoga clothing on the cheap. My studio has a $20 rack and the merch changes on it quite a bit. I take advantage, because those tops with the built in bras? And the moisture wicking stuff? A GODSEND for me. The stuff made by Zobha is so comfortable. I love it. But it’s typically very expensive. $58 for a tank, for example. Let the record show that I have never paid $58 for any piece of yoga clothing. I get it all on the cheap. Yoga pants at aeropostale have been on clearance for $12.99 for a while, and I’ve been stocking up.

· I’ve been finding great music! And and and… I won a $50 gift card to iTunes! Plus, emusic.com gave me ten free songs this month just because. That site is where I find some obscure and cool stuff. It’s great for new age and meditation stuff. Electronica, too. World fusion. Oh yes. Music. 🙂

· Lilacs are growing like crazy all over the neighborhood!! They smell so good. I love lilacs.

· More Pictures!

Me with my friends Meiya and Shika at the Tequila Dinner. Good drinks, better food. Lots of laughs and fun. It was a good night.

Photo Shoot!

There is a lot to be happy about, even when I just feel like being cranky. Heehee. Night!

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