Day Off

And it is really quite off today, as I have to spend most of it waiting for the RCN cable people to get here to make my AMC work on the TV that tivos (so it will be able to tivo Mad Men).

It will also be a day of cleaning (which is mostly done, please ignore the dishes) and of catching up on the Tivo and some Netflix and some reading.

Last night I saw my friend Azar's production of Top Girls (she directed), and it was pretty flippin sweet. She had some good kiddos working in it, a great lead actress, and wonderfully simple and inventive stage pictures considering she did the show in a classroom where she had to remove the entire set and lighting each day. Go Azar!

Ooooooh, forgot the major looking forward to tonight: Rick Bayless (THE Top Chef Master)'s fine dining Mexican Restaurant Topolobampo. I am sure I will have lots to write about later.

Oh, and we got a scale. In order to keep better tabs on the weight which is out of my optimum range and needs to get back into it, but I was thrilled to discover that I have lost about 6 pounds from when I was the heaviest. I kind of figured that from how clothes were fitting, but I still need to slim down a bit more for my healthiness.

Scavenger Hunts Are AWESOME!!!

Seriously. It was way fun and way a lot of walking at a very fast pace to figure things out. Total fun, but we were kind of not as organized or as committed as we needed to be to start out. We didn't do all three sections because we just weren't going to have enough time (without a car) to travel down to the south side and back and get any clue answers. So we did some bonus questions.

Then we headed to Navy Pier for some hot dogs and free pop, wine, and beer. There we saw the correct answers (we did very well), and then we waited for the results. The top 10 teams were going to have one member compete in a trivia contest, but we were pretty sure there was no way we were in the top ten teams (it just seemed so unlikely out of like 40 teams). But we were 8th!! Which meant we won a poster and our teammate was on the block for some better prizes. And by our teammate I mean me. I got one answer correct, and we placed fourth (just outside of the big fancy prizes-which were not terribly big or terribly fancy). But seriously, how tremendous is that?!

Anyway, scavenger hunts are way fun!!

Fabric Shaver Extrodinaire

I bought one on amazon. It seemed kind of expensive thinking of the little handheld wheezy battery operated one that my mom used to have, but this one was able to plug into the wall which I thought made it worth it if you factored in buying batteries a couple of times.

And then it came in the mail and was ENORMOUS, twice as big as my hand as opposed to small enough to fit inside the palm of it (a fabric shaver is a little devices with screened blades and a bit of a vacuum that shaves the pills of of sweaters and other fabrics, extending their lives and making them look much nicer). It also has some major suction and is clearly a great cutter! The one I recall from my youth barely cut things, but this puppy is a whiz. It took me 5 minutes to breathe new life into two very pilly cheap ass cardigans (well one cheap ass and one nice), and I haven't even introduced it to my cashmere sweater yet! I am in heaven.

Next to arrive from amazon a scale and a thing that will help remove cat hair from couches, carpet, fabric and upholstered furniture!

Also, I think that I am going to need to buy a nice compact, unbreakable, good quality, easy digital camera. Because I think Sam and I are on the verge of major wedding planning, and I am going to get hard core about wedding blogging. Miss Creant at your service.

Oh, also should get it to document and blog tomorrow's big day. We are doing a scavenger hunt based on the Daniel Burnham Plan for Chicago through WBEZ here in Chicago (home of This American Life and Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me the NPR News Quiz). It should be totally fun even if it rains all over our parade like it is supposed to.

Doctors are not the most fun

Well maybe doctors are but doctors appointments are not. I went for the lady exam which is mostly uncomfortable, and then we decided to tack on the flu shot since I was there already. Awesome. A shot and prodded lady bits.

Dinner Party

I sort of cobbled one out of nothing this afternoon. For tomorrow.

However, Sallyacious is bringing a salad, so there is that. I am going to buy the bread. The dessert I want to make is super easy to make, I just need to make sure I do it early in the morning, so it has plenty of time to chill (it is a French Silk Pie). I am making pasta with peas and pancetta again, but this time no parm. I am going to make more of it this time, but it was also super easy, so that will take me 45 minutes.

Now I just need to think of some veggie something that will be a main dish for Sara Jo who doesn't eat meat. I think I just may make some grilled veggies with Parmesan cheese. That would be tasty, and I can maybe hit the green city market to find some.

Actually all laid out there it seems easier. Sam and I have already sort of cleaned things up, so the house should easily be ready.

Oh Emmy's

Following a live blog of it as I watch it live, but live sucks because of the commercial breaks, but perhaps I ought to make a root beer float. That would make everything better.

I have a big stack of books to read over the next few weeks. I am halfway through Jennifer Wiener's Best Friends Forever and Twilight: Breaking Dawn. Breaking Dawn is still pretty bad as I feel they mostly all have been, shoddily written, shoddily plotted and it takes an eternity for anything to happen plotwise-an eternity where the lead characters a pretty insufferable and deliberating about doing something that never ends up being a surprise even if they whine a lot in advance.

Right after those I have The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder by the lady who wrote the Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. And Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

weekend

Sam and I are so exciting We made a very quick (well actually I made) a pasta with pancetta, parmesan, and peas. It was delicious and salty and crispy and pea-y. And then we climbed into bed to watch some HGTV, and I ate a root beer float and Sam fell sound asleep. He is asleep next to me right now.

I think I may join him, or at least read some stuff. And then join him.

Gay Fish Y'all

Kanye, Kanye, Kanye sweetie pie.  Please learn to respect those around you.  You are not the boss of everything, and sometimes life disappoints you and you just have to get over it and move on without crapping in someone's pool over it.

 

Also, Washington State, please get over your damn self and do not cloak the signees for the hate initiative that wants to get on the ballot.  If you feel so strongly for something that you would sign a petition like that, you do so with the assumption and knowledge that it will be a matter of public record (that is the point of the f'ing petition, to show public support).  If later that turns out to be embarassing to you, maybe you did the wrong f'ing thing! 

 

That is all.

Whirlwind trip basically over

Sam and I are sitting on the el at Midway and waiting for it to take us to the red line and then all the way home. Because we did it, trip went great and super smooth.

Now all that is left of my weekend is to go to the U2 CONCERT!!! Which will be my second time seeing them (my first time seeing them in 8+ years) and be super fun.

I am already tired from lots of weird sleep over the last few days, so I will be even more exhausted after tonight and tomorrow I have a show! But Wednesday is very easy on the planning, a brunch with Sallyacious and our friend Jamie and then sleeping. Lots of sleeping, I fortell it now.

TBT----WHAT?!!

Awww, my favorite nighttime Seattle radio show is kind of sort of not quite cancelled. Now it is just a podcast which I guess since I like it as a podcast and listened to it live on the radio once in Seattle for like 20 minutes. So I guess technically it is mostly the same for me. And they won't have to do radio show type things on the podcast like take breaks that never go anywhere. But this was strangely devastating. Like I almost cried.

Westward Ho!

Tonight we go to Spokane on the planes through Denver. It should be very easy and fine. However on the way back, there are possible thunderstorms and if I miss U2 for some lightening I will be pissed (because yes on the same day that we fly home we are to go to a U2 concert that very night!).

Busiest Day Off Ever!

Seriously, it was just going to be my date day with Sallyacious and like make dinner and still get to sleep in. But oh no, I couldn't stop at that.

First things first, I am getting a mani-pedi at 9:30am at a nearby salon with a grand opening and a GREAT discount (get a pedi and get a free mani) which will be great for the wedding I am attending this weekend (also nice for my peace of mind).

Then I will have about half and hour to speed walk my way to Charnley-Persky House to get in line for a free tour. It is an early collaboration of Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd-Wright and free on Wednesdays if you are one of the 15 people who get in line on time.

Then we will walk around the corner and down the street for the museum of surgical science that has a cool exhibit on pictures of medical things like germs and stuff. I am not actually sure what the exhibit is, but it sounds super cool, and Sallyacious really wanted to see it.

Then at 4:30pm I have a NIA class several blocks south of where we were and west of my house. NIA is this crazy dancy, free style, kind of aerobic stretchy, movey sort of exercise class that I started taking Idaho but haven't taken since I moved here. I either found them too expensive or impossible to get to while working, rehearsing, etc. Anyway, this class is nearby and on my Wednesdays off, and something I really should do to get me moving more (because I kind of think my recent weight gain and a few other health things are due to stress which I fed with food and then that made me more sedentary etc, and if I just get moving it will help me climb out of this rut). I plan to go every Wednesday in September.

Finally, I will have to hit a grocery store on the way home from that to pick up some sour cream and tortillas for some enchiladas that I will make when I get home. They will be dinner, black bean enchiladas. Maybe I will try to bake them with peach slices on top? Only if I have some seriously kicky green chiles (although I could add some cayenne to the sauce) so the heat and the sweet can balance out.

Now I am just rambling on. I can stop that now.

The Future In-Laws Have Hit the Road

They took some of the delicious raspberry and blackberry scones I bought yesterday with them (they were from a bakery called "Taste of Heaven" that is totally not overselling itself with the name). They left behind them some money that we are to use to buy a bookshelf or two or three to replace my crappy Target bookshelf that is precariously in the window in the corner of the apartment.

There are two good options, but I think we might err on the side of these cool modern ones where you put the books in on their side and there seems to be a magical stack of floating books in the apartment.

We also had some lovely fun and conversation and my friend Chris met Sam's parents whom he greatly liked.

This has made me happy for most of the week

It is a clip from Wife Swap which is a terrible show, but this clip just cracks my shit up! Every time. I cannot handle it. It just slays me. Please watch, it is at least a little bit worth it.

Curtis and Joy

"Bacon is good for me."

Weekend with the In-Laws

Well the future in-laws. Sailing tomorrow (but BRIGHT and early) and then some Graham Elliot at night. Sunday I have rehearsal all day but apparently we are then hosting a dinner for them, crazy old lady next door, and my friend Chris who thinks it will be interesting.

Work is skipping out early today for some "team building" to take place at the bar downstairs, everyone please pray the boss does not call while I am there.

Day Done

Well, I got some pictures made, but I forgot to make blown up copies of the ones I have and like.

I did hang out with Sally.

I did finish unpacking (well kind of, there is some straightening/serious examination of this one little bag of random but the bag is put away-kind of-in the closet.

I did mostly clean up the house.

I did have a rehearsal that was very tiring. Sometimes working on original stuff is totally awesome, sometimes it is less awesome. Let's just say that my acting can try and fix a problem that would be better solved by editing, but editing in the first place would've made everything better.

And I didn't have to make dinner because Sam went out sailing with a friend who owns a fancy ridiculous boat.

So shelf rearranging will commence tomorrow in tandem with picture blowing up.

Not bad. Not too bad at all.

Day Off

It was wonderful to get to sleep in today. And now I have stuff to do later in the day, so I should be getting my stuff into gear. I shouldn't be lying in bed with a laptop across my thighs wasting time (although blogging is probably the least time wasty thing that I am doing).

To do today:

Put all the books on shelves away in a nice less crowdedy sort of way (while also removing the paper covers).

Unpack the last to little bits of things left from the move.

Clean up around the place.

Maybe send some pictures to Walgreens to change up some of the frames in the house.

Meet up with my friend Sally in Andersonville for some exploring and maybe some food.

Have rehearsal.

Oh I think I am supposed to make something that Sam can have for dinner too.

So far all I have done is sleep a lot, blog a little, tend to my facebook farm, and watch Revolutionary Road.