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Twelve Days Left! (Pictures)

13 December 2009 / christmas, pictures

I can’t believe it. Only 12 days until Christmas. Where did the time go? The days go so quickly anymore. Aidan will be here in six days!! So exciting! It’ll be his first Christmas in Chicago! I really hope it won’t be too cold to take him to Chriskindlmarket, Navy Pier, and stuff like that. But we’ll have fun watching holiday programs and baking cookies, so no matter what, we’re going to have a good time. Santa specifically requested chocolate chip cookies, so we have to make sure some are waiting for him Christmas Eve. (Plus I want to eat some, too!)

To Do List Revisited:
~~01. Task I’d rather not discuss online.~~ – DONE AND DONE! And it wasn’t nearly as bad as I was dreading!
02. Make doctor appointment.
03. Go to doctor (this ties in with #2).
04. Order “baby” honey ham (unfortunately, not Honey Baked–the store is too far away–but there is a Honey Bear Ham place right around the corner that has super Yelp reviews, so I’m going to go with them!). – Oh yes. I went to Honey Bear Ham, and the guy gave me a sample. HEAVEN. I pick it up December 24.
05. Clean Aidan’s room. (It’s mostly done, but I need to do a bit of rearranging and such. His room turns into a storage room when he’s gone, and I like to make it look like a bedroom when he’s here.)
06. Plan Christmas menu. (Ham is already handled.)
~~07. Plan Hanukkah menu? (Will ask Adam if he wants something special.)~~ – We went to Eleven City Diner.
~~08. Address and mail out holiday/Christmas~~ cards. – Most of them are done and mailed.
~~09. Finish Christmas~~ shopping.
~~10. Wrap presents (before~~ December 19) – Some are wrapped. Some are not. You know how it goes.
~~11. Mail packages (before~~ December 15) – Yeah. That. Shipping costs = WALLET DRAINER. Part of the reason is that I’d rather go to the UPS store a block away than to the U.S. Post Office. You know the UPS store jacks up the U.S. Mail prices for convenience, but the post offices here… blah.

New Things To Do:

12. Buy groceries for Aidan’s visit and for Christmas.
13. Read A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Charles Dickens.
~~14. Project~~ for a few friends of mine. – Sorta started.
15. Book Aidan’s return flight to OH. I hate doing this because I have to pay a ton of money to send him away. Worst chore ever.

I still have to get gifts for Chris & Matty and my stepfather Greg. Then I need to mail those items, and my mom’s gift as well. I’ll do that Tuesday. Tomorrow, I will go downtown and finish my shopping once and for all. Michigan Avenue, here I come!

Adam needs to buy stuff for EVERYONE in his family. He’d better hurry. These twelve days are going to speed by, and stuff still needs to ship!

TWELVE DAYS!!

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

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Holiday Rambling (Pictures)

8 December 2009 / christmas, life, pictures

Seriously, how is it that I’m at home all day doing stuff, but the days STILL don’t seem long enough to do everything I ~~want~~ need to do? In addition, days go so much quicker when you’re doing stuff at home rather than being in an office. I try not to sleep in too late–I have my alarm set for 10:30am, the absolute latest I am allowed to sleep. I usually get up before then and turn the alarm off.

Maybe it’s because it’s the holiday season, it just seems like there is so much to do. Well, at least I’ve put the tree up. Funny story, that. I’ve had a tree since 2006. I got it from the free table at Zaner-Bloser. It was probably an old tree then. Crooked and threadbare, but those of you who were around then, know how much I was struggling financially. My priorities were not about getting a super amazing Christmas tree, so I made my free one work.

The free tree in 2006. Totally crooked.

You can really see how bare it is here:

The free tree… and Aidan. This picture is from 2007. I can’t believe how different Aidan looks compared to then!

I put the tree up last week and just let it sit there bare. I was unhappy with it, but I figured that I’d work with it once the decorations were on it. I put the decorations on it and I was WAY MORE unhappy with it. I HATED it suddenly. I couldn’t get it to fake being straight anymore, you could see right through the thing, and then… and then… it started pitching forward. I would try to sit it up, but it began pitching forward more and more. Adam said it was fine, but I knew, in my gut, that it wasn’t. But I went back to playing Cafe World anyway. And then it happened.

THE CHRISTMAS TREE FELL OVER

Fortunately, I only lost three ornaments, and none of them were ones I were particularly attached to, but I am a little bit sad about the Harry Potter one. My Disneyland 2009 one and the golden banana ornaments were OK, and that’s all that mattered. Adam and I went out that night and I got a new tree from Target. Pre-lit, six feet, good times. Here she is:

A tree that’s straight and full! I love it! So do the cats. They keep lying under it. I wonder what they’ll do when/if I put presents under it?

I also got one of those Holiday Sugar Cookie kits. It’s by Krusteaz, and it has cookie mix (enough for 5 and a half dozen… I’ll be making the half batch TYVM), cookie cutters, sprinkles, icing mix, and food coloring. Not bad for $7.50, I say. I had a hard time finding a kit. Lots to make gingerbread houses, but not to make cookies. My mom had gotten one years ago; I guess they were more abundant then. I thought I was going to have to resort to those Pillsbury cookies with the designs already in the cookie! The box is SUPER heavy! I’m going to make them with Aidan when he gets here. YAY!

The holiday stuff is coming along. Christmas shopping is just about done, the annual newsletter is done and sent (it’s a PDF so if you’re interested, comment with your email address and if I know you, I’ll send you a copy), my Rebecca doll is in her Hanukkah dress, and the lights are in the window. Here is what else I need to do within the next week:

01. Task I’d rather not discuss online.
02. Make doctor appointment.
03. Go to doctor (this ties in with #2).
04. Order “baby” honey ham (unfortunately, not Honey Baked–the store is too far away–but there is a Honey Bear Ham place right around the corner that has super Yelp reviews, so I’m going to go with them!).
05. Clean Aidan’s room. (It’s mostly done, but I need to do a bit of rearranging and such. His room turns into a storage room when he’s gone, and I like to make it look like a bedroom when he’s here.)
06. Plan Christmas menu.
07. Plan Hanukkah menu? (Will ask Adam if he wants something special.)
08. Address and mail out holiday/Christmas cards.
09. Finish Christmas shopping.
10. Wrap presents (before December 19)
11. Mail packages (before December 15)

Saturday, we took a trip to Naperville. YAY Naperville! We did some shopping and ate dinner and went to MEIJER which is always a treat for me because I freaking love that store. Adam looked and looked and looked for a decent pair of boots. I didn’t realize guys had it so hard when it came to buying winter boots, because women’s stores are exploding with the things. He found a pair at Meijer. MEIJER. See why I love that store? They have everything!

After Naperville, we went to The Book Cellar to see a bunch of Debs talk about writing and being authors and stuff like that. Such a good time. You know me, the author fangirl, right? Saundra Mitchell, Aprilynne Pike, Cynthea Liu, Lara Zielin, Darcy Vance, and Kristina Springer were there. It was fun to finally meet these people who’s LJs/Facebooks/Tweets I’d been reading for months and years. And most of them recognized ME. We also had dinner with Tara O’Shea (who incidentally knows Seanan McGuire) and Amy Vincent. That was loads and loads of fun.

Being around authors always makes me think hard about writing. When it comes down to it, I choke. A LOT. I remember what it was like when I was writing ONLY YOURS. I got so much joy out of writing that book. I mean, it was just… every moment I wasn’t writing–I was ACHING to be writing. I didn’t choke back then, I just wrote. I’m trying to figure out how to get back there. In the meantime, I do the force myself to write at least 100 words if I do open the manuscript. 100 words is not a lot, and usually I end up doing ten times that once I get going. I love books, I love reading. I love that world. I want to be a part of it in someway. I know that’s where I belong. Even if I end up a copy editor for YA novels (OH PLEASE GOD THAT WOULD BE SO AWESOME), I would still be in that world.

Is it weird to be nearly 35 and still finding oneself?

I can’t believe it’s already after 1am. *sigh* Remember what I said about the days going too fast? Apparently the nights do as well. ‘Til next time.

P.S. I miss Lucy. A lot.

P.S.S. Does anyone remember this song?
Snowflakes falling all over town, slipping, sliding, everybody rushin’ ‘round. There’s an icy chill in the air, telling us that winter’s really here. Oh! I’m so glad that winter is here. Grab your sled and let out a happy cheer because it’s snowing, blowing, all through the day. Winter winds will surely blow all your cares away.

It popped into my head when Adam and I were driving around Naperville. I learned it in fourth grade for the Christmas program. Back then, they still called it a Christmas program. Oh, the olden days. Anyway, a quick Google search showed me that many people seemed to have learned that song when they were in fourth grade. I can still hear Mr. Zarlino teaching it to us during choir practice….

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

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It’s Just Life & It’s Good! (Pictures, Long)

30 November 2009 / christmas, friends, happy, life, pictures

Oh, hi y’all. As you know, I haven’t updated in a while, so I apologize in advance for the longevity of this post. I’ve been around, as those of you who are on my Facebook know, but typically it’s been a busy few months, what with four quarter at Schawk (can’t believe another one has passed), family visiting, friends visiting, and just… life, really.

Which is great, by the way. So much to be thankful for these days.

Earlier this month, Aidan came to visit for several days. It was awesome! He’s so mature and smart. And he’s turning out to be quite the bookworm. Hmm, wonder where he could have possibly gotten that? Seriously, one day, he read five books. Impressive! Anyway, when he was here, I took a day off from work to spend time with him. He loved that. I took him downtown to look at the Macy’s store windows, and he got to see Santa Claus!

Poor thing was totally tongue tied when Santa hugged him, but it was such a sweet scene. I had to keep blinking back tears. Santa was an absolute sweetheart to Aidan. Aidan also wrote and sent a letter to Santa that day, and he was beside himself when we peeked into the news studio (a couple of them have their windows uncovered and passersby can watch live broadcasts) and someone inside waved at him. The most random thing happened to me that day, too. We were looking at the windows and interacting or whatever, and a stranger came up to me, told me I was a good mom, and gave me a hug!

Later that week, Adam’s family came to town to visit. They loved spending time with Aidan and he loved spending time with them:

Aidan went home that Sunday, and I was sad to see him go. He is always excited to fly alone, so the good-byes aren’t terrible (for him).

That Monday, I scarfed down a cheeseburger from Portillo’s and saw the burger again a few hours later. I woke up Tuesday morning feeling sort of OK, so I headed out to work, only to end up exhausted and weak from the commute. I ended up leaving a few hours early. I wasn’t feeling good at all. Wednesday morning, I woke up feeling sort of OK, so I decided to brave it again even though my brain/body was telling me not to. I was 100% worn out when I got to work. I must have looked like hell. My manager eventually came and suggested that I go home. I left work at one, and was in bed by two. Thursday morning, I woke up very hungry, ate a big breakfast, and was back to normal by Thursday afternoon.

The next weekend, I got to hang out with Ricky Luna. For those of you who have known me for some time, you’ll know that I’ve been a fan of this former Mouseketeer for several years now. We had an awesome time together. He, his manager and family, and Adam and I just hung out, doing the touristy thing. Navy Pier (mmm churros), Pizzeria Due, parade, and then we came back here and hung out for hours. It was one of the best days ever.

Ricky just recently dropped an album that is super amazing. If you love electronica, you’ll love his music. The album’s called Electro Bomba, and I seriously cannot stop moving when I listen to it. I can’t even describe it, except to call it Electro Bomba, but it has a lot of what I like in good dance music. You can download a free 45-minute mix here, and you can buy the album here on iTunes. If you want to only get selected tracks, I recommend My Fitted Hat (Raw Mix) and Eyes Wide Shut and Smile (Sonrisa). Arms In The Air is also pretty damn awesome, as is the title track. Seriously, trying to choose a favorite on this album is like trying to pick a favorite child. I can’t do it. I don’t say that about a lot of music. So, download the free mix. What have you got to lose?

After all that excitement, last Monday, Adam took me to the American Girl store, where he had me pick out my birthday present. Yes, it was about a month too early, but he knew I’d want to pick her out myself, and neither of us wanted to deal with the store as the Christmas holiday draws closer. And when your husband is Adam Selzer and he asks you if you want to go to American Girl Place, you say yes!

Anyway, I came home with …….

Julie!

Julie is the 1974 doll, which is special to me because that’s the year I was born. So it was cool to get a doll for my birthday who represents my birth year. And she’s so pretty. Why did I wait so long to get her? I’m in LOVE with that doll! I think she is going to be the one doll I actually keep in her time period. She’ll be my 70s girl.

Last Wednesday was my last day at Schawk 2009. I made it through this fourth quarter with no printed errors (Go Ronni!). It’s kind of weird knowing I don’t have to go to work tomorrow–all I have scheduled is a 2:30 massage at the Cortiva Institute. Starting tomorrow, I’ll be a homemaker, something I’ve never been! I mean, I stayed home with Aidan when he was a newborn, but this will be different. For one thing, I’m not sure where my next job will come from, or when. But Adam’s working full time now, so it’s going to be my job to keep the house, which he’s been doing all this time. I’m excited about it.

I figured that I need to make a schedule, though. Else I’ll end up playing FarmVille, Cafe World, and The Sims all day. So, here are things I MUST do every day:

1. exercise for at least 45 minutes (conveniently, the Electro Bomba free mix is 45 minutes)
2. write for at least an hour
3. some sort of special project (with Christmas coming up, this will be easy)

I’m actually going to write stuff down in my planner and hold myself accountable. It’s important.

Thanksgiving was awesome. Jeff and Deborah came over and we ate GOOD food. Four different kinds of dressing/stuffing, cheddar mashed potatoes, corn, pumpkin peanut butter soup, macaroni & cheese, and of course, a nice, juicy turkey. We played Super Mario Bros. for Wii (awesome game), and hung out and had a good time. Friday, I stayed in. Had to avoid those crowds, but Adam and I went out on Saturday. Dropped off laundry, and I just about finished Aidan’s Christmas. I’d like to get him something EPIC though. We’ll see. I haven’t begun to shop for most people. Will wait until December 1st. Same to put up my tree and decorations.

I’m looking forward to having December off from work. Just me recovering, and getting things done around the house. It’s going to be nice. And it’s my favorite season! It’s going to be more awesome because Aidan will be here in Chicago! YAY!!!

With that, I’m off. The ZzzzZZzzzZs are catching up with me. Til next time!

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

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O Hai! I Can Has Update? (Pictures)

30 October 2009 / books, halloween, life, pictures

What does one call a bunch of pimps? A Daddy of Pimps? A Gaggle of Pimps? At any rate, there were some at work today. And Balloon Boy’s family (in many forms) was there. Some red-headed stepchildren, a vampire, and other assorted creatures showed up today. It must be Halloween!

Every time I decide to sit down and do an update, my mind goes blank. Totally blank. So that’s part of the reason I haven’t been writing much. But the other reason is that life is going by in a blur these days. I’ve been working 45-55 hours a week, then I come home and fry my brain with FarmVille and Cafe World before climbing into bed, ready to start it all over the next day.

I have been managing to do some reading, though. I finished IF I STAY by Gayle Forman (library), GRACELING by Kristin Cashore (library), and THE VAN ALEN LEGACY by Melissa De La Cruz (purchase). I am kinda jonesing for more new books, but I’m also trying to save money.

I’m missing little Aidan like crazy. I’ll see him again in 13 days, though. Then he’ll be here for Christmas! Seriously, I didn’t think it would be hard to shop for a soon-to-be-seven-year-old, but when I asked him what he wanted for Christmas, he said “999 stuffed animals.” HUH? Like that’s going to happen! So I talked with Chris and I think I have some ideas for him and I’m sure I’ll come up with more stuff once I start holiday shopping.

In the meantime, my little boy was a werewolf for Beggar’s Night!

OH YEAH you know you’re jealous of that display of PURE AWESOME.

This year, the holiday shopping will be drastically pared back, though. I really need to save money and I’ve already bought enough stuff that I probably shouldn’t have. Not to mention eating out. So, I’m going back into frugal mode and I’m OK with it. It’s a challenge, but years ago I learned about the “I don’t need it” technique and it’s been working. For example, I was hell-bent on ordering some wings and tater tots from D’Ags tonight for dinner. Until I actually got online and started the actual order and realized that 10 wings, a side of tots, and some bread would cost me more than $20 PLUS tip. Um yeah, no.

Unfortunately, my craving has not been satisfied, but I don’t really know where to get good wings in Chicago. I’m still learning my way around. Yeah that’s it.

Maybe I can figure out how to make some…?

Yeah, right. Snort. I’m still stressing about how we’re going to get this place clean for when Adam’s family visits in a few weeks. As it is, he and I have both been working our butts off. We’ve maybe seen each other an hour a day the past few days. By the time I get home, he’s gone. He’s gone right now, and I have to go to bed soon. We both work tomorrow, so I really won’t get to spend any time with him until Sunday. And then it’s right back to work on Monday. All hail fourth quarter. And October. I am so ready for October to be over. Thank goodness that will happen tomorrow. And Sunday is “fall back,” so YAY for an extra hour!

Let me think, is there anything else I can plop down before I crash. ‘Cause I’m fading fast. My circadian rhythm seems to have synced with those of normal people (you know, sleep at the night, awake in the day), and I don’t want to throw that off, at least not until the assignment ends. Then I can turn back into an “owl.”

And with that, I’m outta here. Sorry my first post in ages wasn’t more substantial, but my eyes are closing. ‘Til next time!

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Falling In (Pictures)

17 September 2009 / books, pictures, ronni

Who else can’t believe that the official start of autumn is in four days? Not me. I mean, it came so fast. Summer just flew by this year. It seemed like Aidan just got here, and then we were at Disney World. Now I am gearing up for the cooler weather and for 4th quarter at Schawk again. YAY Schawk. The only job I was ever sad to leave. I’m blessed to get to go back.

American Girl came out with eleventy-million new dolls earlier this month, and I want two of them. AND I still want Julie. Thank goodness the holiday season is coming up. I am torn. Do I ask for gift cards/certificates to bookstores or American Girl?

Speaking of books, the last Leven Thumps book comes out on the 29th! I first fell in love with this series back in 2007. I picked it up, not knowing at all what to expect. And was hooked. Obert Skye is a master at descriptions, and I often laugh out loud at the stuff in those books. I’ve been re-reading the others in preparation for LEVEN THUMPS AND THE RUINS OF ALDER.

In the meantime, I have five library books to tide me over until a.) I start up again at Schawk, and b.) Leven Thumps is in my happy little hands. They are:

LOVE YOU HATE YOU MISS YOU by Elizabeth Scott
PLAY ME by Laura Ruby
THE TEMPTRESS FOUR by Gaby Triana
FRAGILE ETERNITY by Melissa Marr
FAIREST by Gail Carson Levine

My goal is to read 100 new books in 2009. I’m just past 80 now. Here’s the list. Think I can do it?

Autumn is always hard for me. I like autumn. It means that beautiful blue sky and pretty leaves on the trees (although there isn’t much of that in Chicago, unfortunately), and nice temperatures. It means harvest and yummy veggies and apples. It means heartier foods like beef and noodles, or roasted chicken, or chili. It means cuddling in a Snuggie® and reading a good book. But it also means that winter is next and you know how much I HATE winter. OK, I actually like winter for four days. Once Christmas is over, winter should go away too. And I say that because I think Christmas decorations look prettier with snow on them.

I haven’t been up to much lately. Just reading a lot. Eating loads of tacos. Seriously. When Adam and I can’t think of anything for dinner, tacos win. They’re so easy and cheap and good. He prefers soft shells, but I like hard shells. Today I went shopping and came home with two sweaters, one shirt, one hoodie, a picture frame, a sleep mask, and loads of stuff for my hair. Did I mention I’m going natural? I know I tried it a couple of years ago, but this time I’ve gone four and a half months without putting new chemicals in my hair. My hair is looking crazy now, but I want more length before I do *the big chop* in a few months.

O hai!

And on that note, I’m outta here. I should have been in bed four hours ago. Oops.

‘Til next time!

P.S. I am listening to the Angels & Demons soundtrack because I LOVE Hans Zimmer… but dude. It’s kinda scary, and I haven’t even read the book or seen the movie! Still phenomenal, though.

P.S.S. My Photobooth’s flash is stupidly bright. Anyone have any tips on how to fix that?

P.S.S.S Google is my friend!

(Just hold down the SHIFT key, and the flash won’t go off!)

OK bye for real. Maybe.

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

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