life

Finally, An Update! (Pictures, Long)

21 August 2008 / friends, horoscope, life, living in chicago, pictures, ronni, shopping, to do

I’ve been chastised about not updating, so here I am. The thing is that I simply didn’t (and still don’t, really) have much to talk about. Sometimes it’s just like that.

I’ve been highly enjoying the Olympics. In fact, now my body clock is WAY messed up because I stay up late watching them and then just don’t make it to bed after. I’m back to being a total night owl. Sleeping all day and staying up all night. I only get to bed at about 3:30 or 4:00 am because I force myself. I’d easily stay up all night if I could.

However, I am anticipating starting my assignment next week (actually, as this week winds down, I’m kind of losing hope of starting until after Labor Day which wouldn’t be good for my wallet AT ALL), and I NEED to get my body back to “normal” hours. Frankly, I believe MY normal hours are like this, because it’s too easy for me to slip back into this pattern of staying up all night and sleeping all day. I wonder if I moved to the other side of the world, would I be on a “normal” schedule, then?

So, the biggest news?

I got new glasses!

Wanna see? Of course you do.

Cool, huh? I decided to go for a more bold look than I’ve had the past few years. I like them. Adam LOVES them. ♥

The cats have been great. Helena is an EATING MACHINE, and they’ve gone through an entire HUGE bag of Kit & Kaboodle. That used to last Crookshanks quite a while (and a bag of food that big would last Little Lucy months!), but now with Helena here (who is incidentally, wailing for more food at this moment!), I get the feeling our cat food expenses will go up drastically. I hope she doesn’t get fat! The only annoying thing about her is that she is very loud, and unfortunately, she’s usually loud around 6am. She does that terror-running and she wails, especially if the food bowl is empty. She’s very sweet, though, and she often curls up beside me on the couch when I’m on the laptop or reading or watching TV. She used to try calling me to bed, but I think she’s given up on that. SHE is a night owl too, but she’s also a very early riser, and she’s a cat, so she gets to sleep and take naps all day. Lucky girl. I do like mirroring her life, but I need to make money, dang it.

This is one of the pictures from our wedding weekend. Kelly took this one. I haven’t been able to take one this great of Helena yet:

Here are some more of the professional wedding pictures taken by Kelly. [LINK]

My friend Libby said she likes when I detail my grocery purchases on my blog, so this is what I got ~~today~~ yesterday:

1 carton of Edy’s chocolate ice cream · $2.50
1 bag of Lay’s potato chips · $2.50
1 bag of Malt-O-Meal Tootie Fruities (generic Froot Loops) · $1.89

I also went grocery shopping Monday, but I don’t know the prices. I know I did get two containers of lunch meat (one ham, one turkey), some Lay’s potato chips (yes, I had to get more b/c I’m clumsy and well, let’s just not talk about it), Tropicana Twister, Dean’s french onion dip (I hate onions, but I like the flavor, and I love certain French onion dips), and that’s all I can think of for now. At Target, Adam got granola bars. I’m not used to having people eat the foods I eat. I’m used to buying granola bars and having them stay until I’m ready for them; but Adam likes granola bars and he likes Trix, too. Eek. Anyway, I made him buy granola bars at Target, and we found these dark chocolate cherry ones. MMMMM! I’m pretty sure they’ll be discontinued soon, as this happens often when I find something I love to eat. *sigh* I haven’t been able to find Granola Dipps in the grocery for weeks now.

I went to the library last week and I’ve already read all but two of the books I’d taken out. Eep. The guy behind the counter recognized me. He said that I come in every week and check out sixty books. I have to go again soon, actually. I got to read Lisa McMann’s WAKE (awesome book) and Sophie Kinsella’s REMEMBER ME (which I also enjoyed). I’ve also been poring over Disney World travel guides. Not much longer ’til we’re there!

This is my daily forecast for August 20 and 21:

You feel very centered, calm and in perfect harmony with yourself Your inner communication is flowing quite smoothly, regardless of what’s going on around you. Your life has reached a point of balance and equilibrium and you’re feeling the satisfying effects of getting all those disparate elements to work together. Your creativity is also quite high, which you should certainly take advantage of. If you already have a creative project underway, get to it! If not, give yourself some time to dream and let images and feelings come to you; then go get started bringing them to tangible form. If you tell others of your ideas, you’re likely to notice you receive lots of positive feedback. If you’re an artist by career, you might even have some pieces accepted by a gallery or a film invited for a festival screening. Now is a good time to blend your artistic abilities with your confidence and people skills; get out there and tout your work, because others are in prime mood to appreciate whatever you show them.

It really does mirror how I feel. I’m head over heels butt crazy about Adam. Did I mention that he sometimes brings me breakfast in bed? And he makes good meals, and he is so nice to cuddle. ♥ I guess I’ll stop before I get all sappy and make you all go EW GROSS!

Instead, I’ll make my to-do list.

TO DO
thank you cards
upload and order wedding pictures
send wedding pictures to my mom
mail Ivy’s & Rosa’s stuff

Well, the list seemed LOT bigger in my head. I’m sure I’m forgetting stuff. Speaking of Ivy, she sent me cookies again. Adam ordered me to keep him away from them or else he’ll eat them all. THEY ARE YUMMY! I love Ivy’s cookies. Everyone I know likes them, too. I also just finished editing her latest project, and I stayed up until 4am because the book got SO GOOD that I had to see what happened. I’m having a hard time breaking my reading up into healthy chunks. I keep on devouring them in one gulp. Eeep.

I guess I had a lot more to say than I thought. Huh. Funny how that works. Anyway, I am going to try to get to bed a LITTLE bit earlier than normal. Let’s see if I can pull it off.

‘Til next time!

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

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A Potluck Entry

9 August 2008 / books, living in chicago, shopping, Uncategorized, work

I don’t know about you, but the opening ceremonies blew me away last night. China does not play around when it comes to pyrotechnics. I LOVE watching the Parade of Nations. Yes, it takes hours, but I enjoy watching the outfits and the different faces and the different people. Amazing. At first, I was grumbling because there were many times that Bush didn’t seem to even TRY to be looking interested, but when I saw other world leaders SLEEPING, I stopped being so critical. At least W stayed awake, even if he was checking his watch. Sigh.

In a little over a week, I start a temp assignment at Ambrosi, an advertising firm. I am very excited about this assignment. Not only does it pay really well, but I get to look at some really cool stuff. I’m nervous, of course, but I’m also excited. Plus, the train stop is right across the street from the building, and there is an Argo Tea downstairs! One of the best things about having the chance to temp this summer is the fact that I am getting so much experience in different fields. When Ambrosi is completed, I can say I have agency experience (I actually do have a little bit with Trisect and S2) as well as educational publishing experience. Not to mention the flexibility that comes from being able to state my availability. It’s been quite a blessing.

I love when I’m lying in bed, and I feel a little thump next to me, then tiny footsteps walking across my legs and back. I know that means Helena is settling in for the night, or at least a few minutes.

I recently decided that I wanted to get used to wearing contacts again because I do not want to bother with glasses (other than sunglasses) when I am in Disney World. So, while I was out yesterday, I stopped at an America’s Best eye clinic to see about getting an exam. I hadn’t been examined in two years, and I knew that my glasses were not as effective as they used to be. My vision did deteriorate a bit, but it’s still not too bad. Anyway, now I have new contacts coming in, and soon, I’m going to go get new glasses. YAY. Let me tell you, it’s weird wearing contacts again–not having my glasses on and being able to see clearly all the way to the back of the apartment. I pick up my boxes of contacts in a few days, but he gave me a trial pair to wear home.

I love it when I’m sitting on our new loveseat, typing away on my laptop, and Crookshanks comes and curls up right next to me. Yes, he usually plops his big butt right where I need to move the mouse, but it’s still very sweet.

I finally got to read Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr. I thought the book was beautifully written. I got to meet Melissa in April of this year at an author signing in La Grange, IL. It’s so easy to see that this woman LOVES writing and creating stories, that love definitely comes through in her writing. I really enjoyed this book. I did have a hard time with all the faery names–trying to work out pronunciations in my head and such (and she thankfully has a guide on her site), but that didn’t make the book any less good.

I also FINALLY read Rainbow Party and while I can understand why some people were like “whut” over it, I think the book handled the matter in a very responsible and well-written way. Other books I recently read include Meg Cabot’s Airhead and April Henry’s Shock Point, which is actually a re-read because I enjoyed it so much the first time around.

My allergies haven’t been that nice to me. I have a hard time sleeping because of all the gunk in my throat, or the itchiness. This was probably not the smartest time to try wearing contacts again, seeing as my eyes get itchy and tired too. I’m constantly sniffling and clearing my throat these days.

And here is something interesting I’ve found out. Some groceries at Target are a lot cheaper than the grocery store, even my beloved Strack & Van Til! What a nice, pleasant surprise. Although this particular Target is SCARILY crowded, and yesterday, I remembered WHY I hate driving in Chicago. Seriously, UPS trucks and random SUVs that park and take up whole lanes REALLY irritate me. I usually end up behind those idiots and I can’t get around them because everyone behind me sees that I’m stuck and they just jut on out, thus keeping ME from getting around those losers. I also hate that it takes 25 minutes to go four miles because of all the stupid traffic lights. This city is NOT driver friendly at all. Especially not to people with Ohio license plates.

I didn’t get a lot of normal groceries yesterday, just snacks/junk mostly. And cereal. Edy’s Dibs were on sale, two for $5. Trix was $2. Doritos were two for $5. I also got us some treats. Reese’s miniatures and Pop Tarts. Yeah, not the most healthy of foods, but I wanted them. Ha.

Anyway, I want to go relax a bit before Adam gets back from the farmer’s market. ‘Til next time!

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

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Wedding Weekend 2008! (Long, Pictures)

28 July 2008 / adam, family, friends, ivy, life, living in chicago, pictures, reflection, ronni, wedding, yay

The Wedding Weekend officially started Friday morning, when I got up to get my hair done at Eshe Day Spa & Salon. Here’s my new hairstyle!

Ivy got into town Friday afternoon. Here we are, being cute.

Saturday night, Aidan, Ivy, and I met Kelly and Garth at their hotel, then we all went up to Jen K’s place to eat and hang out. Here we are, waiting at the bus stop. The #65 bus takes FOREVER to show up, so we had to find ways to amuse ourselves.

After dinner at a great cafe (where I had a waffle with strawberries and whipped cream and bacon!), we headed back to Jen’s to hang out. It was a bachelorette party, of sorts, but not really. Aidan wore a tiara, though.

Woke up early Sunday morning. It was my wedding day! 🙂 So of course, I had to play “Happy Wedding Day” by The Andrews Sisters and Bing Crosby. I think it set the tone for an awesome day. Adam had gotten donuts, and I took a nice, long bath. Kelly and Garth showed up while Aidan was in the bath, and then Chris showed up with the beautiful bouquet that he’d made for me, and daisies for the girls and moms and grandmas. Pretty soon, the Weird Chicago bus showed up! And off we went.

Adam and me on the Weird Chicago bus. We’re going to get married!

When we showed up, it was like the paparazzi. It was a bit crazy! All the camera snapping at me. I loved every moment of it!

We all walked to the beach for the ceremony. There were people looking surprised sitting on benches, and one random biker said “Congratulations or whatever.” HA.

The beach was very pretty. There was a Song of Solomon verse on the block we jumped from. Dragonflies swarmed all around, and waves lapped the shore. The sand was hot, but I quickly got used to it.

Newlyweds!

After the ceremony and lots of pictures, a bunch of us hopped back on the Weird Chicago bus and headed to Eleven City Diner to get some eats. Good times ensued. A vase flew off the bus and scared some people standing on the street. We simply yelled “Ooompa!” or whatever it is that Greek people yell in celebration. 🙂 (Hmm, I kind of have the urge to watch My Big Fat Greek Wedding right now!) Aidan wasn’t too happy with all the noise. He was tired and trying to sleep.

Poor little guy. He had been up late the night before and had gotten up a lot earlier than normal, he was afraid of the dragonflies, and the sand was hot on his feet. Oh well, he cheered up once we got to the diner. The food at Eleven City was amazing as always (I had corned beef on rye and a pickle, mmm!), and after that, we came home and hung out a bit with friends and family before Adam and I took off for downtown. We rode in a horse drawn carriage along Lake Shore Drive, and checked into the Allerton for the night. ♥

I’m very happy. 🙂

As more and more pictures trickle in, I will make posts featuring some of my favorites. In addition, you can go here to see some of the pictures Jen H. took, or here to see pictures from my camera and other people who have shared their pix with me so far. 🙂

YAY Adam just came home with My Big Fat Greek Wedding. We’re gonna totally watch it! Woohoo!

‘Til next time!

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

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Up & Down (Pictures)

10 June 2008 / adam, family, ivy, mommyhood, pictures, sad, work

A week after I quit that job, I am now starting to feel the depression of not having full-time work. I know I did the right thing in leaving, but right now, that “You’re worthless, no one wants you on their staff unless they’re going to mistreat/underpay you, why can’t you just suck it up and deal with working in miserable conditions just like everyone else” voice is beating heavily into me.

This week started off so great, too.

Adam’s family, Aidan, and I went down to Millennium Park and to Cloud Gate, which never gets old for me. It was Aidan’s first time there, and he LOVED it. He’d been talking about seeing “the big bean” for ages now.

Aidan lifting the “bean”.

I realized that there were no pictures of me without a camera in front of my face, like this one:

So I had Adam take one of me:

Aidan got wet in the giant fountains. I mean SOAKING!

But he didn’t care much for the train ride home. He was scared to death to go underground (he thought it would be very dark) and the train was very loud. He cried at first.

Yesterday was a good day.

Today started off nicely, too. It was a beautiful day. Perfect temps, sunny, blue skies and fluffy clouds. My most favorite kind of day. I got to meet Adam’s business partner Troy, and I took pictures of the Weird Chicago guys down on the lake shore. Cassidy treated me to a manicure (hadn’t had one since prom) and a pedicure (hadn’t had one since 2006) and my toes look adorable:

We ate lunch at an adorable Italian place in Niles, IL. and acted silly when we were stuffed to the hilt.

After popping into Target where I found out the gift card Ivy gave me was $40, not $25 like I’d thought, the Selzer’s dropped Aidan and me off and are now heading back toward Georgia.

I’m letting the little disappointments get to me. I got a little carsick today on the way to Target. Didn’t puke, thank God. The new pillow I got reeks and I have to return it. I feel like I’m letting everyone down for various reasons, and I honestly feel like crawling into a hole for a while. Everything’s eating away at my heart and soul and I know it’s a matter of time before I break down (again). But I have my little guy here and he loves me no matter what, so I’m going to hang on to that.

The job hunting blogs keep bleating the same thing. “YOU WILL NOT FIND A JOB SCOURING THE JOB BOARDS AND THE WANT ADS. THE ONLY WAY TO GET JOBS IS THROUGH CONTACTS AND NETWORKING.” Well, that’s nice and all, IF YOU FREAKIN’ HAVE CONTACTS. Guess who pretty much has ZERO contacts in Chicago. The agencies have been somewhat helpful. There is one here that I’ve had really great luck with, one that I’ve had OK luck with, and one that I’ve had a bit of luck with. But none of the full-time stuff I was up for panned out. That’s about as far as having contacts goes for me. It just seems like that “dream job” is always going to be out of reach. I want to do what I’m good at and what I love, and I want to be compensated well (or at least paid a living wage for goodness sakes) and treated with respect while I do so. I don’t want to feel like I’m wasting away while someone gets rich off of me while I’m away from my adorable little boy. But that won’t happen as long as I seek work for others… but I’m too scared to try to do this on my own on the self-employment route. I feel trapped and stuck and scared. Like I’ve gone backwards instead of forward or even lateral, and that’s the way it’s always going to be for someone like me, whose talents are a dime a dozen in one of the most competitive fields out there.

And folks, that’s how I feel now. Sad and tired (haven’t had a lot of sleep the past several days) and like the world’s biggest failure except when it comes to Aidan. And sometimes, I have my doubts about that too.

Bye.

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

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Um… Wow

3 June 2008 / life, work

Just CATAPULTED myself back into the job search market. Long story, don’t want to go into it publically. Just know that Adam and everyone I talked to supports me 150%. And that means a lot to me.

Now I get to concentrate fully on the upcoming family visits this weekend! Aidan’s coming soon! 🙂

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

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