music

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

/ 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!

Macy's State Street Windows

Aidan and Santa

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:

Family Pix

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 & Me

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 …….

Me & Julie
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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Books, Music, and Stuff

/ books, music

I finally got around to reading Breaking Dawn, and I have to say that I didn’t hate it like I expected to. I guess that because I’d read all the spoilers and stuff beforehand–I wasn’t shocked or surprised at what came. I can certainly understand why people who were way more into the story got upset, but I guess, because I wasn’t quite as vested, that I was able to enjoy it more. I liked it.

I’ve been listening to NKOTB’s new album The Block. The first time through, I wasn’t sure. I’m now on my third time through. I keep going back and listening to Single because I just simply love that song. But there are some other good ones on there too. I’m excited for them and their reunion!

I should be going to bed. This will be my last night for these night owl shenanigans for a LONG time. Monday morning will DEFINITELY be involving Red Bull and Argo Tea. Good night/morning for now.

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

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Tag!

/ meme, music

saintscribble tagged me.

List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they’re not any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now, shaping your spring. Post these instructions in your LJ along with your 7 songs. Then tag 7 other people to see what they’re listening to.

1. Out of This – Autamata
2. Will I – Rent Movie Soundtrack
3. Contact – Rent Broadway Soundtrack
4. Into Dust – Mazzy Star
5. Dice – Finley Quaye
6. Tree Hugger – Kimya Dawson
7. Click, Click, Click – New Kids On The Block

I never tag other people. Whoever wants to do it…go for it. 🙂

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Progress

/ chicago-bound 2008, music

I’ve been working hard on the sorting, packing, and purging. I’m excited to say that it looks as though there is an end in sight! My goal is to be almost completely done by next Thursday, so I can take it easy the next few days. I still have to sort and pack:

– electronic/computer stuff
– the rest of my CDs
– the rest of my office stuff
– important papers
– NOW stuff
– kitchen
– nightstand stuff

The kitchen is the biggest job out of all of that. Oh shoot, there is a box under the futon I need to deal with too, but that gets lumped in with electronic/computer stuff.

This starting early and getting things handled is very nice. So much less stress. When I open a closet and see that almost everything is packed, I get all happy inside. 🙂

Today, I was sorting cassette tapes. I am going to throw away most of my old mix tapes because I have the songs on my computer now and can just make playlists on my iPod or whatever. But I found a couple of songs I’d forgotten about. One I just did a search for on iTunes and FOUND, with the + symbol which means there is no DRM stuff to deal with. 😀 YAY. I guess I never realized how popular the song Calliope House is. I like the Cowboy Jig version. I also found all of my cassette singles and albums. Some I decided to part with just because I already have the CDs or something like that. But I have a LOT of one-hit wonder singles which is just awesome. Or singles with remixes!! If I am not mistaken, Adam knows how to set up a tape player to a computer so that I can record music from the tapes and make mp3s out of them. YAY.

Okay, I’m just babbling because I’m hungry and excited that I found that song and that progress is being made. 😀

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Random Stream of Consciousness Kinda Sorta

/ food, music, reflection, Uncategorized, weekend

Friday night, I craved Buffalo Wild Wings (aka b-dubs) so much that I went out, at 9:30pm, to get some.

I ordered the 12 mild wings and a side of buffalo chips. Friday night, I ate 6 wings and some of the chips. Yesterday I ate 4 wings and the rest of the chips, and marveled that I had 4 wings left. Apparently, I was given extra, which was fine because I had waited AGES for my food to be ready.

Today, about three hours ago, I ate the last four, along with some Crispy Crowns (insert registered trademark symbol here).

(On a random sidenote, did you know that Tater Tots is a registered trademark? I just found out about that late last year.)

I am craving more mild buffalo wings from b-dubs RIGHT NOW. It may be because the smell from heating up the earlier leftovers is lingering and tempting. Or it may be because I haven’t eaten a whole lot this weekend and they sound really good right now. Or, they’re just so freakin’ good that I can’t help craving them.

Do you know how hard it is not to head out RIGHT NOW?

Mmm, wings.

I didn’t go to the grocery store. I climbed into bed with a book instead. I plan to go tomorrow after work. MUST HAVE BACON.

I wonder if I should buy a bottle of the b-dubs mild sauce to have on hand. Then I can make my own dang wings.

I have to go to the library, too. I have a bunch of things due, and I have some reserves to pick up. Tomorrow is the last day for one of the reserves. So. grocery store, library. Right, then.

I post at the Wisebread forums quite a bit, especially recently, and someone suggested a Web site where one can get free meditation and relaxation music. Go here to check it out. Some of the music is really great. I love that New Age stuff.

The other night, just for shits & giggles, I went to eBay to see if they had the following things:
– a Holly Hobbie oven
– Dolly Pops

They had them both. When I saw the Holly Hobbie oven, I got choked up. You see, they had high demand toys in the 1970s too. And Holly Hobbie ovens were it. I wanted one so badly, but my mother could never find one for me. I think I’ll save the picture of it to my hard drive and look at it from time to time. Obviously, I don’t need a Holly Hobbie oven now, but to see one that I could actually own if I was willing to drop $65 or so is kind of nice.

They had the Dolly Pops fashion show toy I had when I was younger. Dolly Pops were like paper dolls, only plastic. I can’t even describe them except to say they kicked ass. I looked at the pictures of the “outfits” and giggled at the roller skating outfit; I totally had that.

Tonight, I see the Baby Skates doll I used to have. I had one of each–the black one and the white one. Yes, I was a spoiled little girl. The thing is, they weren’t put together well, and the leg always broke off. But she was still an awesome doll, and perfect for me, as I was really into roller skating back then (and I’d gotten roller skates that Christmas, too). I am also looking at some old Barbies. I have most of my old ones, but I lost my Tropical Miko, and there is the Barbie and the Rockers Diva doll I always wanted but never got. (I kind of have a thing for redhead dolls.)

Diva is expensive. I have a feeling she was hard to find then, and she is not that easy to find now.

Oh God. How tempting, to buy the toys I never had. Or toys I had but no longer do. But then that’d be more stuff to pack and move and then pack away in a box. OK, I would play with both of them, I know I would. But still. *trying to behave*

(I just got hit with an incredible urge to play Barbies.)

Speaking of nostalgia and vintage toys…. I want to see if anyone remembers this game. It was one of those games similar to Perfection or Superfection (which no one remembers! It was white, and you had to put pieces together before you could put them on the board!). You had to put a bunch of numbers in order before the thing popped and put them all over the place. The game board was black, the pegs with the numbers on them were green. I can see the game clearly in my mind, but I can’t remember the name of it. Anyone have any ideas?

And does anyone remember when Mr. Mouth had a big yellow face, not that green froggy face?

This is what I hear right now. The upstairs television BLARING. >.< People stomping around in the halls and uptairs. Doors slamming. ARGH. Annoying. Ah, TV just turned down. GOOD. But now there is a random baseline coming from somewhere, but I'm hoping it's quiet in my room. Sundays are so bittersweet. On the one hand, it's still a weekend day, but the evening m eans that Monday is here that much sooner. And twelve hours from now, I'm going to be cranky because it'll only be 9am but it will seem like I've been there for 7 hours. *sigh* C’est la vie.

Signing off, craving b-dubs more than ever now. Maybe I’ll get some for dinner tomorrow. Sike. Not after buying groceries!

Night.

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