I'm blogging again!

It's been a long time since I have blogged. But, I think this is the best time to start since I'm
a. engaged which makes me extra reflective
b. moving to new york in a few months which makes me extra reflective
c. it's the new year and that makes me extra reflective

so hear are my present tendencies; my present adventures:

my birthday was yesterday! this is me doing some of my favorite things:

1. get up and notice that the sun is shining just for me
   
2. make a delicious tofu scramble with fresh asparagus, tomatoes and peppers
3. have a dance party in sunshine yellow pants
4. change pants and head to my massage (courtesy of my fiance), which is a dream come true
   
5. have lunch at aladdin's eatery (rolled dawali pita and hummus)
   
6. walk over to world market (if you join their explorer club they give you $10 on your birthday) and buy dark chocolate, stationary, a sympathy card and a bag of little candles.
7. walk over to borders to pick up "letters to a young artist" by anna deavere smith.
   
8. contemplate whether i can rightfully consider myself "young" anymore, while waiting for them to look for it. they don't have it
   
9. decide i could still consider myself young
10. drive over to anthropologie. (if you get an anthro card (not a credit card) they give you 15% off on your entire order in your birthday month, and a necklace with a little birthday candle on it.)
    
11. smell all of their candles. (it comes down to almond biscotti and white chocolate mousse)
12. buy the white chocolate mousse candle.
13. drive home.
14. sing some songs (i'm trying to find a good pop ballad)
15. go to community group where we talk about dreams (we're reading Genesis 37 and "go go go Joseph" keeps looping in my head)
    
16. celebrate my birthday with my community group and two vegan cupcakes from Fritz! (I didn't even know they had vegan cupcakes... trouble)
17. drive back home
18. find a perfect parking spot!
19. skype with faraway fiance, while burning my new delicious candle
20. fall asleep looking at his handsome face...
    

26 is gonna be awesome!

Frozen Lemonade

It is freezing today, literally!  There is ice everywhere and here I am grumbling about it.  Stepping carefully from my apartment to my car, grumbling.  Tip-toeing from my car to the bank, grumbling, even further to a voice lesson... etc.  'If I fall, I'm gonna sue everyone!'  I continue on like this stiffly looking down at the ground, balancing my weight on the balls of my feet, glancing up occasionally.   On my way to Green Grocer Chicago, I glance up and see a man in a black suit and long black coat with a brief case in his hand taking a running start to slide across the long patches of ice.  He does this repeatedly, and I laugh out loud and think, 'when life gives you lemons'...

How have you made the best out of bad situation?  I really want to know!  Please share in the comment section!

some things about me...

some days i go without combing my hair.

when people flip me off while driving, i like to counter with the peace sign.

i wear make-up just about every day, mostly to remind me that everyday is a special occasion.

i am passionately against using shampoo. (well, at least not on hair).

2 out of 3 of my house plants have died a slow and painful death.

i am not ashamed of my love for real simple magazine and other magazines that stay-at-home moms enjoy. 

i like to pray in my closet

investing in laser hair removal is in my 5 year plan.

i start Christmas shopping in september.

after i get out of the shower i wrap myself in a towel and hug myself for a bit.

i am obsessively early for appointments.

i will eat avocado on anything.

i'm actually ok with the recession.  (i'll blog on that later.)

i enjoy [talking to, hanging out with] little old men. 

i unplug everything if i'm leaving for more than 12 hours.

a whirlwind of change.

breathe....

i don't do well with change.  

but it's coming and this time i am holding onto the moment.  this very moment as i'm sitting in my bed in my very own apartment in chicago, in logan square.  i am happy, well rested and trying not to think about the coming months.

i decided to move to new york next fall.   so to start saving for that i need to get a roommate and a new place.  and though i know that this will be a good thing.  i'm already starting to mourn my solitude.  i really enjoy living alone, but it's impossible to save money when i am paying rent and utilities on my own.  

i am making a promise to be positive about this.  i love chicago, so i am committing to enjoy this year in this city and the people in it.  enjoying the time with my new roommate, and even the crazy kids that drive me insane.  see, i'm smiling. 

by the way, i can still change my mind about this.  just so you know. 

i prefer fall to autumn and soup to salad

it just makes more sense, leaves fall... and soup is warm.

this is the first year that i have appreciated the feeling i get during this season. being a lover of summer, it's always difficult for me to say farewell to the frivolity of longer, hotter days. but this year i almost welcome this transitional season. it's here now, making itself quite comfortable, settling in. it feels like the role of this fall is to act as a soothing segue into a more focused segment of the year... or of my life.

in chicago, it's pretty rare that we even experience fall temperatures, we simply go from hot to cold, quickly, without warning. this year the leaves slowly wilt and the temperature ebbs in time with them. i'm a seasonal eater so i'm pullin' out the pots and pans and gettin' warm and fuzzy in my tiny little kitchen. here is my recipe for broccoli soup.

cut red potatoes into squares and boil in water. in a skillet, saute an onion in olive oil.
add broccoli to the skillet. add softened potatoes to the pot and cover the
vegetables with vegetable broth. allow the vegetables to become tender and
then puree. add basil, salt and pepper to taste. serve with a little avacado
on ciabatta and you have a gorgeously green meal!

you can make the soup with out potatoes, i just added them...cuz.... well.... i'm a sucker for a red potato.

gratefulness

ahem, ahem

in an effort to keep from complaining about today i am going to list the things that i'm grateful for:

• katie shields, who is probably the only person that reads this. (thanks little lady katie)
  
• the really nice lady at the laundromat who watched Selena with me and folded with me.  even though it was her job to be washing people's clothes, it was still nice to pretend that we were spending quality time together. 
• christopher robin, who makes me feel like i am precious.
• adam who helped us when we needed gas.
• the woman at my church who just agreed to accompany me on my demo for free.
• that woman's husband who agreed to record it for free.
• real simple's september issue (thanks little lady katie)
• that little fake rose sitting in a wine glass on my shelf :). 
• all the little babies that are coming into the lives of my friends.
• avocado & fake cheese.

that's all... what are you thankful for?????? comment please!

violence is bubbling inside me...

i walk into barnes & nobles to buy a magazine.  i look over and see martha stewart "weddings"  and i want to punch it.  i don't know where this urge comes from. i walk down the aisle of books.  sports, fiction... i catch a glimpse of the section called "love and sex".  the covers of these books show couples in naked embraces, i don't really want to punch these books.  i kinda just wanna give them the finger.