Holiday Hours

Despite my best efforts this morning I was on time to work. In fact, I was two whole minutes early. Since there is only one other person in my department here besides myself and she was running late I spent the first hour at work on facebook and reading my blogs.

Around nine-thirty I decided I should probably do some work. So, I went to get some water. By the time I returned to my desk I had thought up the introduction to this blog and didn't want to forget it. It is now nine-forty and I don't have anything else to say on this topic. Maybe I'll get some work done.

Better check if my co-workers here first.

Update:
Upon meandering down to her office I discovered that she was here. We went to get hot chocolate.

Update:
I have a pretty good list going for Wedding venues.

Please Vote!

Pass it on.

The Good, The Bad, and the WTF

The Good
Judge orders a halt on the enforcement of DADT. Immediately.

The Bad
The Administration plans to appeal. His Rudeness, has this to say about it, and I pretty much agree. (I'm really tempted to Huffington Post this section and leave it there but...I won't.) So, there is the argument that if gay and lesbian soldiers come out then the GOP takes the house and commits their usually douchebagery the soldiers will then be discharged, so really Obama's justice department is protecting the soldiers by appealing the ruling and forcing Congress to repeal the act. Are we conceding or just trying to piss off the base as much as possible?

WTF
Log cabin republicans.

Six Months in the City

It's official (on Monday)! The live-in and I have been in The City for six months! I've decided to commemorate this with, what else, a list! So without further ado or exclamation points I give you:

My Favorite things about Chicago

NO CAR
I hate driving. Paying for parking and gas would only increase said hatred. Public transportation is my dream car!! Only $86/month.

Lincoln Park
Since the arrival of Albus I have been spending even more time at the Park and along the Lakefront. It is the best way to start and end a day: the live-in, our neurotic puppy, and grass underfoot.

Summer
I can't believe it is over. My favorite day of the summer was the 4th of July. Heat, friends, food, drink, hula hoops. That's pretty much my motto.

Winter
Technically I haven't lived in Chicago during winter. But I have commuted during winter, so I know what's coming and I couldn't be more excited. What with the cold and the wind it is like being bitch slapped by God everyday. Cold and refreshing.

Architecture
Best architecture in the United States. My personal favorite is Buckingham fountain. I love the grandeur, it's so French.

Fion
Our neighborhood bar! You can't call somewhere home until they know you at your favorite watering hole. I have had three homes in my life: Naperville (Two Brothers), Eureka (The OP), and Chicago (Fion).

mmm...Food
Hot Doug's. Gaztro Wagon. Chilam Bilam. Smoke Daddy. Sugar Bliss. Flub a Dub Chubs. Green City Market. The Counter. Xoco. Wrigley Field Fries. The Red Rooster. La Creperie. Sunda. India House. E Leaven...It's no mystery I like to eat.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell...Don't Get Me Started and other political musings

The Tea Party
How to make tea: steep for five minutes, then discard; or, if you are able, compost. Unfortunately, you can't compost the shit the Tea Party is coming out with. So they can have their five minutes and come November, let's discard them. Everyone is all atwitter about them changing the GOP, but I have to agree with Ed Shultz on this issue and believe they will go away. It will go one of two ways in November either: a) they get eaten by Democrats (they don't get in) or b) they get eaten by their own (once they get to the Senate they are going to have to play by the GOP's rules because that's where the money is). Hopefully, it goes the way of the former rather than the latter, because the idea of a Republican majority is repugnant. However, the fact that this reactionary movement is getting national attention and winning primaries still worries me. Fear mongering, implicative rhetoric, and bigotry are ill disguised within the party's platform of Fiscal Responsibility, Constitutionally Limited Government and Free Markets. Sarah Palin is on constant tirade about "taking back the Country." Really? Who has it now? Christine O'Donnell bandies about the phrase "We the people" in her rallies, oh- I'm sorry, I'll just go back to France.  Actually, the whole concept of Christine O'Donnell really mystifies me. If she wasn't running to become a United States Senator, I might feel sorry for her. There are a lot of stories about witch craft, snubbing Fox News (tee hee), anti-masturbation, crazy, crazy, etc surrounding her right now; but what has stuck with me was her statement that President Obama is not in step with the majority of the people. Wait...didn't he get elected President? Well, Christine, we didn't all go bat shit crazy.
Don't get mad - get Glad (ForceFlex®)!

Don't Ask, Don't Tell
This policy is archaic and people's civil liberties are being delayed because WHAMP, WHAMP -ELECTION TIME IS COMING!!! They were talking about the Senate's failure to overturn this policy all morning on Stephanie Miller (girlie crush #1). This is progressive talk radio - Hal Sparks and Margaret Cho were features today - and yet quite a few callers had things to say like "Gay America should know that this is a nation founded on Christian values" or "...showering with gay men is an issue" blah, blah, blah. I'm breathing deeply and sticking to the facts on this one. Fact # one through a babillion: you should know there is separation of Church and State here in America (including but not limited to "Gay America" and "Straight America"). Another fact, being gay is just like being straight (oh no she didn't!), sometimes it's about sex but mostly it is about relationships. Gawd forbid we humanize the people committing their lives to uphold our Country's values. The idea of a Soldier living in a foreign, possibly hostile country and not being able to openly talk about the person they love most gives me pancreatic angst... the Government should pay for my health care (socialist).

Democrats
Maybe we are all busy shaking our heads in horror at the antics to the Right of us, but it is time to move. Apathy has always been a problem with Dems; blame what you will - our bookish tendencies, bone quaking hilarity, or stunning good looks - but we can't afford apathy this November. We came in to vote in record numbers in 08 riding on hope. In the nearly two years since that hope has diminished, but it is not lost. We may not get all of our legislation through, but we cannot go backwards. If we keep working towards a better future, I'm confident that we'll get there.
See you at the polls.

Dressed to feel my best.

A little behind my fellow bloggers (mystery Bisters and FabAb - sorry about that, I'm sick... as in "been home from work for two days" not "touched in the head"...), and BFFs I will now give my much anticipated answer to Real Simple's question of "what outfit makes you feel your best?" Devotees will remember that I recently gushed on a certain outfit christened "the weekend dress", but don't worry I won't take the easy way out and re-post. Nor will I write about the outfit that is currently, in my weakened state, making me feel my best: Joe's undershirt, cut off gap sweats, and a pair of Joe's socks.

Currently, my favorite outfit to wear out is a long black cotton dress that I bought from Target a few summers ago promptly after seeing a picture of Angelina Jolie wearing a similar one. At the time Target was the only place I could find one, now they are all over the place...God I'm soooo fashion forward. Anyway this dress is all the right kinds of comfortably and sexy. Nice flowy cotton with the necessity of a bra that hikes the ladies into their element. Paired with some nice dangling green stone earrings (also inspired my Miss Jolie) or my gold sequin head band (which is quickly becoming another adult safety blanket...) I just feel so damn elegant...but casually so, like a princess flipping the bird off her sailboat to no one in particular as she mans the helm. Ahhhhhhh...maybe I am touched in the head.

Grocery Shopping

The Grocery Store is a terrifying place. There is only one thing, and one thing only, that consistently gets me through my weekly grocery shopping trip. The Holy Grail of anxious organization: The List. I love lists. No, I am a maniac about lists. Nay. I may be dependent upon lists, much like a vital organ. Whenever I feel overwhelmed about something, I make a list to soothe myself. God forbid I ever face a problem I cannot reduce to list form. But I digress.

The reason that grocery stores terrify me isn't because I am culinarily inept, it is because there is so much damn stuff in there. Wall to wall, floor to ceiling, end caps, freezers, refrigerators, produce carts, random cardboard displays...so much stuff. I am a good cook. I'm so good I make up my own recipes, but grocery stores just...overwhelm me. Sans list I'm the girl that goes in and buys 3 lbs of lemons and a box of off brand cereal. In short, I need a plan or, to make me sound less (or more?) lame, a weapon. Enter sublimation of chronic list mania. Here is a real live example of one of my grocery lists:

Meat/Protein

Pork tenderloin

Ham deli meat

Steak

Vegetable/Fruit

Lettuce

Cucumber

Mushrooms

Carrots

Dried apricots

Tomato

Navel oranges

Apples- McIntosh

Bananas

Green beans
Staples

Whole wheat flour

Barley

Olive oil

Balsamic

Peanut butter

Ingredients

Asiago cheese

Ricotta cheese

Whole wheat wraps

Blue cheese

Whole milk yogurt 

That's right, nerds, it's broken down into categories. Try it sometime, and you may just think I'm a genius. Because with this little baby all my cares disappear; because I have focus I can wander, not aimlessly, but at my leisure. Free at last to casually browse the foreign products aisle and gourmet jellies. True I still over buy citrus and forget household items like soap and toilet paper, but that is because items on this list correspond to a preformed dinner menu and who ever heard of soap soufflé? I can't be trifled with things like bread. "So what if I forget something?" I cackle, clutching my list to my breast, "I once abandoned a cart full of goods down one of these very aisles to run home to use the bathroom; and it was still here upon my return! MUHAHAHAHA!" OK, so I've never openly cackled in the grocery store but the bathroom story is true...I mean, THAT'S how close the grocery store is to my apartment. So, really it isn't a tragedy if I forget something - just a failure. In short, much like wars and  French dance clubs, grocery shopping is not to be entered into under the age of 18 or without a plan.

Read Abbigail's musings on Grocery Shopping HERE!!! NOT TO BE MISSED!!!

The LOWDOWN on the SHOWDOWN

Tomorrow,10 am EST, unto you a blog feature will be born.

Starting tomorrow and every week after that Jayme, here after named The Topic Master, will administer to Abbigail and myself a topic. We will then simultaneously post a blog on said topic. All you have to do is read my blog, then hers or visa versa. And leave comments. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY!

See you tomorrow when I will discourse on: Grocery Shopping.

Cardigans, Bangs, and 'The Weekend Dress'

These are a few of my adult safety blankets.

Cardigans
Cardigans are the cross eyed shelter puppies of my shopping experience. I just can't say no. Their buttons twinkling, giving me snugly arms, and there is something in the way they slouch on their hangers that I know we will love each other forever and ever. And we do, we do because any time I feel a little meh about going out or, indeed, going to work I pull on a trusty cardigan and remember it will be ok.

Bangs
The first thing I do in the morning is brush my hair. I then look in the mirror to determine what kind of day I'm going to have. If my bangs are winged out 8 ways to Sunday, it's pretty much going to be like every other day. BUT - if they are lying straight, smooth and are cradling my forehead like it's a precious babe, well then, THEN I'm going to have an awesome day.

'The Weekend Dress'
You know what gets me pumped up about a weekend? 48 hours of free time? NUUHH-OOOOO!! No, no, no. It's wearing The Weekend Dress! The Weekend Dress is gray cotton skinny strap dress from J.Crew and is so comfortable I want to wear it everyday. And I totally did when I first got it, but have now decided to designate it to a weekend uniform. The Weekend Dress shops with me, cooks and cleans with me, naps with me, and occasionally takes me out for a drink afterward. Incidentally, The Weekend Dress goes great with cardigans.

I hit a hole in one...it's pretty much down hill from here

There is hardly anyone in the office today and the humidity has made my bangs do something that might be described as adorable on an 8 year old, but makes me look like I don't own a brush. So! How about a post?

This week has been strange! No house projects! No impending trips to the suburbs or elsewhere! Monday night found the two of us in Wrigleyville (generally a BARF statement) having a beer at a bar with a fantastic beer list when a movie that could be described as both "Brazilian" and "Adult" was broadcast for the entire bar. It was a unique situation.

I would like to mention that I did, in fact, hit a hole in one this past Saturday, thus solidifying my seat in the house of awesome. I've been riding on that feeling all week.

I started my morning, as I start so many mornings, with coffee and the latest antics of one Miss Meghan McBlogger. And her post inspired me to create my own of list of my interests beyond the obvious of travelling, spending time with friends and family, scrabble, etc.

-Cooking. I know this is a standard one, but I feel like I get to list it because I think I love it that much more than normal people. I'm also starting to get obsessed with entertaining. I like to refer to myself as Disciple of Martha. A Martha Steward, if you will.

-Eating frozen yogurt. I've created my own "find frozen yogurt app" by always having "frozen yogurt" typed into the search bar on maps.

-Naming future pets. Someday Beaujolais the Fresian, Rooster the Labradoodle, and myself will romp in the surf while enjoying a glorious sunset...someday. Stratocatter and Gatsby the kitties may be closer to reality than you think...

-Making lists...like this one.

-Converting my inner monologue to French. It is the only way I have to practice, ok.

-Finding people who look like Harry Potter characters...the ones in my head, not the ones in the movie.

-Fantasizing about gilded rooster products, and looking for them on etsy. No, gilded rooster, is not a brand. I just love a rooster tricked out in gold. I have one camping out on my fridge. AND I am going to put a golden rooster silhouette ON MY WEDDING INVITES. Shabby chic en francais. You'll think it is a good idea once you try my oyster/bloodymary shooters.

-Planning my wedding - see above.

-Naming my future brewery. I like naming things in general. Once during a trip Up North there were a great deal of ladybugs that went by the wayside (in the lake) and I spent the better part of a day rescuing and naming each and everyone.

-Crafting. The Holy Art of M.Stewart. As of late (late, late because I have crafted in a painfully long time) stamp carving and gliding things in glitter. Martha Stewart glitter. I have the collection. Sometimes I pull it out just to be dazzled by it.

-Singing Andrew Bird songs, "ain't that a shame" by Fats Domino, and Les Miserables.

-Practicing my Beyonce moves.

-Bathing with the window open.

-Sultry heat and blistering cold. Makes me feel...alive.

-Critizing almost everything. With Joe of course.

-Clean and well designed public restrooms.

wrap.

We've reclaimed the dining room.

....al...most....there....

TA-DONE!!

Baby's first party!

By Popular, and Somewhat Hostile, Demand:

More Apt Photos!!! Follow the link because it is too frustrating trying to post a ton of pictures on blogger!!

http://picasaweb.google.com/rosanneirene/Apt1603?feat=directlink

Enjoy!!

in case you needed another reason to think i am crazy

Now I told myself that I wasn't going to post anything until after I finished the Bayleigh tribute, but it has been in draft form since 5/20 and is still no where near to being finished. So I am going to address some other business whilst I stumble through the stages of grief.

A)Meghan McBlogger and her highly amusing and wonderfully off color blog have infiltrated my life like no written piece of work has since Harry Potter. If you know me but at all, you KNOW that this is a very, very bold statement. You can find her @ http://www.2birds1blog.com/ (please note that "off color" is an understatement, don't say I didn't warn you!). Most of my lunch breaks I can be found right here at this very desk eating my lunch and laughing, OUT LOUD, at her daily post. Sometimes when that is not enough, I back track to earlier posts. When I am not reading the blog I have been working on listing the reasons Meghan McBlogger and I would either be or not be friends (don't worry, it's coming!). Not weird enough? Ok. Confession. So when I am in the middle of reading Harry Potter (which I almost always am, WHOLE other issue) my inner monologue runs in J.K. Rowling's narrative style, English accent and all. So due to this recent obsession I now have a Meghan McBlogger commentary running amok in my head. I catch myself exclaiming-to myself- things like "uhhh Blokay!" and "Welp!" and even as I am re-reading through this crazy person confession I see the influence is coming through. The italicizing, the use of the phrase "bold statement"-I am creeping myself out. BUT I am still going to post my running list of reasons we could be friends/and reasons we probably would not be.

Reasons Meghan McBlogger and I would be friends- a working list:
(please note that I visited this blog to do some fact checking and just continued to read...I am now at home finishing this)

1) Moules Frites

2) AbFab

3) Crafting
4) Nickelback hatred

The list is actually longer, but I will have to add to it as it comes back to me. Right now I am battling a gnarly migraine. OK! On to reasons we may not get along so well. This isn't so much a list as two working theories. They are as follows:

1) Knowing myself, and knowing a wee bit of Ms. McBlogger, an endless battle of banter and clever one liners could break out. This would definitely be obnoxious, not just to those around, but-most importantly- to ourselves. There is also the second, and nearly as alarming, possibility that we would totally geek out about crafting. Have you ever been in a group of people when two people share a geeky interest and talk about it endlessly? Maybe runners?

2) City Loyalty. Capital C, Capital L. This is what Liz Lemon would call a deal breaker. Now we all know Meg Mc hearts DC. I've also read about Boston and NYC and some Euro references. I have yet to stumble across a plug for Chicago, and this irks me because Chicago is the best city. Hold the phone. I have to do a quick fact check before I get too deep into this, read 2b1b, and find out that in fact Ms. McBlogger has been to Chicago and thinks that it is simply splendid...Eh, blerg. Fact checking did not go well. She went for the weather. So obvious. Deal breaker, and that's all I'm going to say.

Item B) SPEAKING OF CHICAGO. Did you know the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup? You did! Do you work on the corner of Michigan and Wacker? You don't?? HA HA, cause I do and it is awesome. I saw that beast with my own two eyes. Da duhduh dat duhduh DAT!!

C) My to do list for June has only one thing on it...well it has a lot of things but this is the only one amusing enough to share: Hang out by the harbor and make friends with boat owners. Accept all invitations to go boating.

I can't remember any of the other items on my agenda due to this heinous migraine so I'll end this post here.

(9.02.10,  You know I am re-reading the reasons Meg Mc and I might not be friends, and I may have been unfair - I'll just have to blame the migraine. What if she never has been to Chicago? What a jerk. AND if a banter battle breaks - what do I care? I'm having a good time, and it tends to chase all the squares away. So I guess I've learned not to blog whislt compromised...)

Eat, Sleep, Howl: The Bayleigh Anne Story, Part I

In memory of my sassy bitty dog.

Very little is known of the early years of Bayleigh. We do know she arrived in this world October 1995. Fact will tell us that Beagle puppies are one of the cutest known to man; as I imagine it Bayleigh was sure to have pushed that threshold of cuteness to unbearable with her pink nose, glorious gold and liver fur, burgeoning attitude, and penchant for luxury. This puppy - so pretty and so snotty- was meant to be a girl's dog. Alas, Bayleigh was gifted to two little boys from their uncle. Christened "Gizmo" (lord...), her brief stint in this particular household with the boys and their allegedly "unfriendly" father was the root of a lifelong struggle with bladder control, fear of men, fear of shadows and strange looking grass tufts, fear of window decals, disdain for most living things, and general lack of bravery. Though, as luck would have, Boy #1 was wicked allergic to the little "Gizmo," and she had to be returned to the aforementioned uncle. She lived for a short time with the uncle and his beagle, where her bladder problem remained unaddressed and her natural inclination for elevated, comfy sleeping spaces was indulged.



Meanwhile, not so far away a young girl was desperately plotting to get her parents to allow her to have a Beagle. You see she loved the book Where the Red Fern Grows, and had to have a hound dog. She decided a Beagle would best foot the bill, decided she would call said Beagle "Bailey Anne" (Bailey because both it and Beagle started with "B" and Anne for the beloved Red Bone Coon Hound, Little Ann, in Where the Red Fern Grows), determined that her future Beagle would only wear purple accessories, and every week poured over the pet classifieds with an ache in her heart. This ambitious and wily 11 year old pleaded her case to her parents in the form of a letter. As hilarious and adorable they may have found this, the letter did its job. Here is what happened: The girl's mother took the letter into her work to show it to her co-workers. You may have guessed that one of these co-workers, her boss to be precise, just so happened to be the aforementioned uncle. He tells the girl's mother that he has a "spare" Beagle, which he would gladly give to such a talented and tortured young soul. HA!



And so one day, about a week after valentine's day 1997, my sister's pick me up from school. Kristen has muddy paw prints all over her jeans and they are both grinning like mad. Not knowing what to do with myself I drop my things, blindside my 5th grade teacher with a hug and a shriek, and go to meet my dream come true.

The Best of April

Here is some of the best things we've done so far:



Bought a bathroom waste basket
While decorating the bathroom, I decided an elemental feature (beside green glass coordinates, thank you target) would be a copper trashcan. Not such a tall order. Or so I thought. The search for this trash can spanned no less than a month. Such a standard was set that we could not, WE WOULD NOT, settle. (In case you have never set unattainable standards for your bathroom waste basket, and therefore have never lived without one, believe you me, it is a huge inconvenience.) This all climaxed, as these stories often do, with an eBay purchase. So I now have a lovely vintage (dutch I'm told) copper bucket with lid to toss my trash in.


Weird Chicago Tour
For the purpose of acquiring tidbits about Chicago that can later be relayed with thinly veiled smugness to unsuspecting friends and family members, we took a night tour of Chicago. Topics covered included: tragedies, serial killers, the world's fair of 1893, gangsters and other criminals, ghosts and the buildings they haunt. As a rule I abhor large group tours, I find them invasive to the experience. However, this is definately the exception to the rule, and this is why. A) The groups are small- they have to be because you ride around on a converted short bus. B) They are under the cover of darkness. C) They show you and talk about things that are not right in front of you; I mean there is not sign post saying "Hey- here is the sight of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre! Did you know that SEVEN people were shot here execution style?" So I would recommend this to a friend, or to an enemy who doesn't care for morbidity. And rest assured you will never catch me on a segway.
*if you would like to hear more weird facts about Chicago just administer the password "I hear the Merchandise Mart is haunted" to Joe.


Cubs game
Baseball games, yet another activity I was previously not fan of (Man, I am a real dud!). Yet in this case I'm a full convert. It was a little chilly and the Cubs lost but we had a blast! I even drank budweiser (although if you can drink water you can drink budweiser-but I won't discourse on this just here)!
Prior to the ballgame I would claim that I was a Cubs fan because I didn't want to be mistakenly associated with the Sox (as if), but now I'm legit! Let's go Cubbies!!


Blinds make good neighbors
Up until last Saturday we did not have blinds in our living room and the "curtain" in our bed room was an obnoxiously color fleece blanket (I know). I would say the blinds were more for our neighbors than us, because lack of them certainly didn't stop me from dancing Risky Business style to Hall and Oates. So, neighbors, you may thank us by coming out of you apartments and being our friends!!

Here is what May looks like
-Open House Party! May 15th from 1pm on. If you're around stop in!
-Finally finishing the dining room table ensemble (The chairs are done and gorgeous (Thanks Dad!), table is almost there, and we still have to order the bench.)
-Workouts in the park
-Make friends
-Bike to work
-etc

On the Fly

I really like the pants I am wearing. They are comfy, soft, and flattering. I would have to say the one drawback is all the flinging flanging hardware dedicated to keeping them on. I mean after one button and three clasps one just forgets about the zipper...as I did this morning discovering this only after my bus ride to work (but thankfully before my meeting).

Painting Fools

I can hardly believe it but the live-in and I painted two rooms this weekend. We even got out to get some more furniture and the living room is looking quite snazzy. The dining room still has that blue tape up and my table legs are in limbo, but still...we are like those HGTV folks except without the annyoing need to use the words "whimsy" or "spa-inspired." So without further ado-the dramatic before and after.

BEFORE

AFTER!

I have 60 glasses

This is not a joke. I counted them.

So come one, come all...and come thirsty!

apt 16

Unless you haven't talked to me in the last month (which is entirely possible) you'll know that apt 16 is my new dwelling in the lovely Lincoln Park. It is pictured here prior to moving in.

So let me tell you a bit about my new digs. It is in an old apartment brown brick apartment building on the "third" floor (actually the 4th). Wood floors, crown molding, radiators. They updated the bathroom and put in new floors and refinished the old tub- so it is old but clean (phew). There it is to the right (in case you need help recognizing a bathroom).

The kitchen needs some work (why are radiators so hard to clean behind!), but I can't help but love it because it is a kitchen-the very thing I've always wanted. Happy sigh.

The live-in and I are still settling in, but we are jumping into our project list and are as giddy as a couple of kids. This week is painting, refinishing the dining room table, and getting Internet (and unpacking the rest of my clothes-yipe). Domestic bliss smells like paint and dryer sheets!!

On the Bandwagon

I am terrible at keeping in touch.

My friends are no better.

Luckily I have friends-with-blogs, so I am never out of touch. Enter devil of the digital age, facebook, and I pretty much know what is going on with everyone. So in the hopes that my friends and loved ones are just as interested in my life as I am in theirs: voila! my own blog. Perhaps I could just use the time I would writing entries and searching for templates to make phone calls-but this just covers so much more ground and I get to do all the talking.

I think I'm going to like this.