- Matt (my brother) surprised me with a red velvet cupcake from his downtown meat market as a welcome home present. YUMMY!
- PORTILLO's with my dad!!!
- Cereal at midnight with Anne and Sam at mi casa (I swear they were laughing just a second earlier)
- Going downtown with my mom to see 500 Days of Summer.
- Visits with Q (grandma. goin strong at 94). I jokingly asked her to buy a keg for me and she said yes. She sure is the prettiest little thing I have ever seen.
- Long Beach for the 4th of July
- Walks in my mother's beautiful garden. And of course I made Lenny model.
- BBQ Chicken pizza night at my house.
- Baking!
- Coffee with Claire.
- Taking the train downtown with Sam and going to the Planetarium (COSMIC COLLISIONS!) and eating Gyros for dinner from Artist's Cafe.
- A much needed haircut. 8 inches go bye bye.
- Watching fireworks on the 3rd from my cousin's apartment across from Soldier Field.
Idecided to get nostalgic while I was home, so I looked through my yearbooks from my k-8 Catholic grade school. It's funny how there are 365 days in a year, and yet when digging through the past, most of the days just blur into generalities, leaving only a few distinct memories. I was thumbing through my 6th grade yearbook (2000-2001) and immediately I was hit with one of those ole distinct memories I haven't thought about for ages. However, this happening has affected me, I'd say, for a good chunk of my life. And what, you may ask, was this happening about? Well, my eyebrows. Those little buggers have caused me so much trouble through the years. I guess my bangs cover them now, so that's good, but back in the day I'd toil over them and end up making them too thin or too far apart. But I think my stupid preoccupation with eyebrows stemmed from this memory...
Mrs. Doyle's* classroom was arranged with desks aligned in neat rows. About 6 desks back and 5 across. I sat in the corner - the desk closest to the door. Billy* sat next to me and Michael* (my crush and "boyfriend" at the time. though you can't really have a boyfriend in 6th grade) sat behind me. It was the end of November and, being typical Chicago weather, it was pretty dreary outside. Once a month my friend's mom would come in as the Art Volunteer and teach the students about an artist. This week she was talking about Frida Kahlo. After the presentation, Billy turned to me and said, "You have a unibrow just like her. Ewwww!" I of course turned bright red and was really embarrassed and upset by what he said. It's one thing to say that all, but he had to say it in front of my semi boyfriend. I remember I wanted to cry or bolt for the door. Or do both. But then a voice from behind me said, "Leave her alone. Billy, you're just being mean. I think you have nice eyebrows." Michael - my knight in shining armor! Needless to say, I am excitedly awaiting Michael's proposal because clearly he's husband material. Just kidding. But actually I'm dead serious.
...So that day after school I went straight to my mom's makeup bag. And I got out those shiny tweezers. And I sat in front of my mirror in my bedroom and went to town on those suckers. BIG MISTAKE! An eleven year old should not be trusted with tweezers. I ended up taking a huge chunk out of my eyebrow. YIKES. My mom had to take me to a place to get them fixed (as much as they could be).
...Two weeks later my mom and I went downtown Chicago with my aunts and all my girl cousins to see "A Christmas Carol". Afterward we went to Water Tower Place to do some Christmas shopping. My Aunt Barb asked me what had happened to my eyebrow. I remember being really ashamed and embarrassed and I didn't want to tell her that I did it to myself. So I made up a stupid, non-believable story about how I'd been running outside and slipped on the ice and landed in some gravel and how the rocks cut my eyebrow and the hair came off. I think she could tell I was both lying and uncomfortable so she just said "Oh" and dropped the subject.
Anyway, I'd like to apologize to my eyebrows. Though I am not very fond of you, you didn't deserve the massacre you experienced that one gloomy, unforgettable, November afternoon. If anything, I should have taken my anger out on Billy and punched him in the stomach. Just kidding.
And mothers (or future mothers) be sure to tell your boys to never make fun of girls. Or anyone for that matter. It's amazing how one comment can set forth a chain of events. And mothers, be sure to tell your daughters to NEVER tweeze their eyebrows at a young age. If they are really unhappy with them, just take them to a professional.
Here's a picture of me (bottom center) with my friends at a tap recital a few months before the incident. Oh come on Billy - Frida Kahlo, really??? You JERK! Hahaha I actually think Billy is a nice kid. I was friends with him in school and I guess at the time he was just immature and trying to be funny. Oh well. Life goes on.
*Names have been changed. Which is kinda silly on my part since there is no way any of them read this. But whatever.
Shoes, I saw you in a Teen Vogue around December and I have been on a hunt for you ever since. Where can I buy you? I think you are pretty.
Ben Folds, I've had your song stuck in my head allllll day. And that's ok with me. (Dear boy in video, I like your glasses.)
Breakfast, you were mighty tasty. Blueberry bagel with cream cheese, kiwi, strawberries, cranberry raisin dunker, and french vanilla coffee - thank you for being delicious.
Last night in Madison for a week. Heading home sweet home...
Home cooked meals YAY!
Taking the train to downtown Chicago YAY!
Seeing "500 Days of Summer" for free YAY!
Family YAY!
Aunt's lakehouse in Indiana for the 4th of July YAY!
"I wish that you knew when I said two sugars, actually I meant three"
"Sitting on top of the world with your legs hanging free"
The two above were choreographed by Kate Jablonski who owns and directs "Beyond Words Dance". http://beyondwordsdancecompany.com/
"Coffee black and egg white"
Damn, she's good. But those slapping noises made me flinch. This one was choreographed by Temperance Robancho, but unfortunately I don't know what company she's with.
I always love reading a haiku. And in 4th grade Mrs. Broderick (possibly my favorite teacher of all time) had us write them. I am going to attempt to write at least one each week. So here it goes...
Haiku #1
sheepishly i look
as your fingers lined with dirt
graze my pale shoulder
Last Spring (2008) I went and saw The Diving Bell and the Butterfly at the Orpheum on State street with my friend Noah. I fell in LOVE with the movie. The story was so touching; the cinematography was beautiful. Not to mention the soundtrack is wizard! If you haven't seen this film, I highly suggest you do. Here's a brief description (thanks to imdb.com)... "Elle France editor Jean-Dominique Bauby, who, in 1995 at the age of 43, suffered a stroke that paralyzed his entire body, except his left eye. Using that eye to blink out his memoir, Bauby eloquently described the aspects of his interior world, from the psychological torment of being trapped inside his body to his imagined stories from lands he'd only visited in his mind."
My favorite quotes from the film are...
"Other than my eye, two things aren't paralyzed, my imagination and my memory."
- Jean Dominique Bauby
AND
"Turn off the lights. But not my Mary."
- his mistress
Here's the trailer...
And my favorite song on the soundtrack is "Don't Kiss Me Goodbye" by Ultra Orange and Emmanuelle.
(Here's a video playing the song showing random clips from the film)
Today I had a splendid day with Ray (Rachel)! It was filled with fattening food, laughs, ducks, and perspiration. Ahhh yes summmmmmer! We lazily sat at the terrace, chatted and watched a cute little girl (about 3) wearing a dress and bonnet run wild. Her dad was pretty chill (to say the least) and when she almost fell in the lake to pet the ducks all he said was, "don't get your dress wet." He had a bunch of tattoos and seemed pretty bad a$$. They were the perfect odd couple. Watching them walk away hand in hand was adorable. Wish I'd taken a picture, but that may have been too creepy. AND it was attack of the ducks. This one dog thought he was all tough. He jumped in the lake and started going after them birds. He thought he really had them. He was hunting down like 3, and then the tables quickly turned. The ducks must have quacked "HELP!" because all of a sudden there was a pack of them and they were chasing the dog. I took a video of it, however I wasn't quite able to capture the full happening. But, man oh man was it funny! "DUCKS FLY TOGETHER!" (just not in this video)
Der Rathskeller is, in my opinion, one of the coolest places on campus. Their chicken tenders and french fries are always a favorite of mine. I have discovered that my dipping necessities is a little out of control. For three tenders and fries I must have the options of BBQ sauce, ketchup, ranch, and honey. And yes, I use all 4. Girl gotta do what a girl gotta do. Took the following picture of Rachel sitting in the Der Ratherskeller chomping away at the AMAZING ice cream. I think it was called "Celebration". And believe you me, it WAS a celebration. It was vanilla ice cream with brownie chunks and some other deliciousness mixed in there. Can YOU spot Rachel? (She's the hot girl in the dark shirt under the arch to the left)
Then we relaxed on Bascom Hill and ate our ice cream and talked about which Sex and the City character we'd like to be. She picked Samantha; I picked Carrie. But I think Miranda is the funniest and she thinks Samantha is. But we both agree that Charlotte is the prettiest. So we gave love to all four. We were almost run over by a lawnmower. Also, a bunch of "prepubescent kids" must have been having like a camp day and were playing red rover or something. All I know is that they almost ran us over too. KIDS TODAY!!!! just kidding. Ray told me I looked really burnt. So I decided to return the cattiness and tell her she looked sweaty. Unfortunately I was like 3 times sweatier. We had a good laugh at how disgusting we looked/felt. Sticky bodies + newly mowed lawn = grass sticking to skin!!! This is a picture of the pretty sky that was above us. It was much lighter out, so I don't know why this picture looks slightly ominous. Oh well. I like it anyway.
And then we headed out of the sun and lounged on her couch and watched two episodes of Sex and the City. "These stairs are dangerous!" - Carrie after finding out Big is engaged. OH, And I am in love with Rachel's new roooooom so I had to snap a picture. The paint on the walls is my favorite color; Robin's Egg Blue. And the wall of windows with wood framing is so pretty. ME WANT!
And here's me and Ray at the beginning of freshman year (Sept 2007). This picture makes me smile.
T'was a cold Autumn evening back in 2007 when I first discovered Laura Marling. And her lyrics and voice melted my heart. I have been enthralled with her ever since. I believe this was her first national television appearance. I believe that, along with it being a touching song, is why she appears so timid and never looks up into the camera. And spice girls t-shirt? Hell yeah! She has such a pretty/delicate face, and I love her bright blonde hair. Ladies and gentleman, I give you "New Romantic" by Laura Marling...
The past few days I have had some good and some bad. Mainly good.
Da Goot and da Bad...
(+) Andrew and I made ravioli
(-) I spilled red sauce on my teal dress
(+) Tide to Go saved the day
(+) Snuggled with Mallory and talked about smelly boys
(-) The storm knocked all the petals off my Geranium
(+) Broke off those stems and new buds are coming in
(-) Got lost on the way to see UP
(+) Made it on time to see the movie
(-) Missed the previews :(
(+) Stopped at McDonald's on the way home for dinner
(-) Managed to spill coffee grains, milk, and laundry detergent all within 20 minutes
(+) Back massage
(-) Got a call saying my movies were overdue
(+) Peddled my bike over to Blockbuster like a madwoman and thus had no late fees
(+) Had this for breakfast yesterday... Kiwi, toast with strawberry jam, and french vanilla coffee
(+) Picked out a Father's Day card I really really like
(-) Sent it too late so my dad didn't get it on Father's Day :(
(+) Starting to reread Harry Potter!!!!
(+) Mallory came up with a super cool theme for Andrew's birthday partaaaaay... The Periodic Table!!!
(-) Can't decide what element to go as. Leaning toward Neon
1. A French song and music video that makes me wish I was young again. Wait a minute... i AM young. Well, I need to have a day like this sometime soon.
2.Raspberriesare GREAT!!!
3. AND so is this swimsuit. But, the model's attitude has got to go.
I really like this photographer's (Corrie Bond) photography.
http://www.2c.com.au/artist.cfm?ArtistID=43
4. I love Norm Macdonald. And David Letterman. Them together = LAUGHING OUT LOUD!
This had me belly laughing. What had me belly laughing even more was the site owner's description... "Men in Belted Sweaters. Woven from the same shit dreams are made of." Her totally cool website is... http://www.painfullyhip.com/
Now that my first summer school class is finished, here is a To Do list of fun things...
1) Fly a Kite
2) Make Cupcakes
3) Project: finally make my Collage that I've been attempting to do for 2 years
4) Swim!
5) Reread ALL the Harry Potter books before the 6th movie comes out
6) Finish reading Wonderful Tonight by Pattie Boyd
7) See the free screening of 500 Days of Summer in Chicago. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, we were meant to be. Zooey Deschanel, I have a girl crush on your bangs and blue eyes.
8) See UP!
9) Play lots and lots of Bananagrams
10) Babysit
11) Make mashed potatoes, grilled asparagus, lemon herb chicken... My favorite meal :)
12) Lay on Bascom Hill and read
13) Tye Dye some Shirts
14) Watch Conan regularly
15) Project: add cupcake paper things to twinkle lights. Like dis...
I will probably end up adding to this list and only accomplish about half of the things. Oh well.
Yesterday I rode my bike around the west side of Madison and it was BEE-A-U-TI-FUL!!! Those houses there are all really unique and quaint looking; gardens overflowing with colorful flowers (I spotted some sunflowers, irises, hydrangeas, daisies); kids playing running bases; a little kid selling lemonade; a mom reading on her front porch and eating strawberries. It made me miss home a little bit. I think I shall go on bike rides over there more often. Oh and there's a Trader Joe's right over there and I got some delicious dunkers (oatmeal cranberry with white fudge drizzle).
Also two days ago during my 5 minute break from my 3 hour class, I went to the fountain to fill up my water bottle. And you know what??? That water was some of the most disappointing water I've ever had. 1) it was warm 2) it tasted like dentist water. And if there is one thing I really dislike in this world, it's dentist water. I've used this term before and most people don't know what I'm talking about. Does anybody know what I mean by dentist water??? It's got like a fake, foggy, plastic taste to it. Maybe it's just my dentist's place. So even though the water was lackluster, I drank it anyway because I am suppose to be drinking a gallon of water a day to keep the kidney stones away. Man, that is a challenge. Anywho... right now I'm at the terrace, and this is the beauty that I see...
And now here are just some summer pictures of the past that make me happy!
Me and Kev in Florida circa 1992
Me (in that outrageous hat) and cousins on the Fourth of July also circa 1992
The kids with dad at Oak Hills Country Club (Me = happy, Matt = goofy, Kev = pissed off)
Kelly, me, and Julie at Bridget's wedding. I heart that Anthropologie dress
Me and Q getting ice cream last summer. She so pretty!
This race gets me every time. My babies are going to be swimmers. And violinists.
Jackie, that video was for you. Mainly the part where "back fat" growls and flexes.
Cameron had me at "I'll go, I'll go, I'll go, I'll go, I'll go, I'll go". And Ferris had me when he started gyrating his hips. And when he chose to wear that vest. But I think I'd choose Cameron over Ferris. How bout you??? Also, LOVE the candid footage, especially at 10 seconds. How come I have never experienced a parade like this in Chicago?
This is one of the most beautifulist put together glamour looks I have ever seen: the red lips, the antique diamond necklace, the goldish yellow chiffon Vera Wang dress, the loosely pulled back blonde locks. Michelle, you go girl! And even though yellow isn't really my color, I'll borrow that dress from you any day.
