Thursday, March 29, 2012

I should probably eat a lot of chocolate, too...

My Apple computer is even cooler now than it was a few days ago. Check it out:

Yep, I got a sweet purple cover for it. (Okay, so maybe I'm the only one who thinks it's cool... :))

We've had no food in the house for the last couple days, having eaten everything up before we left for Austin. And Rick has been busy with the new job, so we haven't made any grocery runs lately. (And yes, I COULD, theoretically, walk the eight blocks to the Jewel Osco and buy a few things on my own... but I'd only be able to bring three, four bags at the most back with me... and we need more than that. I suppose I could also DRIVE myself to the Dominick's not too far from here... but don't get me started on the topic of me and driving. I'm weird. Have I mentioned that??) Where was I? Oh yes... we have no food. So we walked down to P.F. Chang's the other night for dinner...

I'm not usually a huge fan of P.F. Chang's, but when we were in Austin, we met our friends Bill and Marcia for dinner at Maggiano's (which is Italian, not Chinese, but hang with me here...), and they ordered fried zucchini. I'd never tried fried zucchini before, and was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. This started a conversation between us and our friends about fried vegetables in general (frying makes everything taste better, right? :))... and at some point, Rick mentioned the fried green beans at P.F. Chang's. And from that moment on, I was struck with a fried green bean craving. So as soon as we got back to Chicago and I realized we had no food, I suggested P.F. Chang's. Which I hardly ever suggest. But I really wanted some fried green beans...

And after our oh-so-healthy dinner (hey, they're vegetables... they're good for you), we received the requisite fortune cookies with our check. I opened mine first:


Well THAT sounds rather ominous... And then Rick opened his:


So wait a minute -- apparently my own death is imminent, but once I'm gone, things will be all rainbows and puppies and daffodils for Rick?? Well... that just doesn't seem fair...

At least I survived long enough to hang out at Eric's place a couple nights ago so I could retrieve my house keys from him. Well, that was the excuse I gave him for going over to his place... really, I just wanted to see this guy:

Cutest. Baby. Ever. (Okay, so I'm probably biased... but still... :))

And now, I'm off to enjoy some coffee in my favorite mug... because if those P.F. Chang's fortune cookies are accurate (and why would I have a reason to doubt a P.F. Chang's fortune cookie??), I need to drink as much coffee as possible while I still have a chance...


Monday, March 26, 2012

Returning to random...

Back in sunny (but much cooler than when we left it) Chicago. It was funny -- the mornings in Austin started out much cooler than the mornings here in Chicago, but by afternoon, it was always in the 80s. When we left, Chicago was in the 80s every day, too... but now it would appear that Chicago has remembered that it's only March, and perhaps 40 or 50 or 60 would be more appropriate. I may have to turn the heat on for a little while...

Random stuff:

Today is Rick's first official day at his new job. Since he's working from home, this means that his commute consisted of walking across the hardwood floor to his study. Such an inconvenience on a chilly day like today -- that hardwood gets really cold. :) (He'll actually be traveling a lot, so his "commute" is about to get a lot more complicated...) His new work laptop arrived while we were in Austin -- it's hard not to laugh at the fact that it's a Dell...

It was nice to see Austin looking so green when we were there -- last time we visited, they were still in the middle of a drought, and everything looked rather dead. In fact, as we were flying in, I looked out the window of the plane and attempted to guess our location. I was thinking, "it's too green to be Texas... maybe we're over Arkansas..." And then the pilot announced that we were beginning our descent into Austin. Well... I was WAY off... The grass is green again, the trees are green, the bluebonnets are blooming -- it's nice that they have something to show for all the rain they've been getting lately...

We weren't lucky enough to be upgraded to first class again on our flight home. Oh well. :) We DID, however, score a couple exit row seats... exit rows are good for the extra leg room, but the downside is that they're right over the wing, and the droning engine noise can be annoying. I actually had to pull out some earplugs last night -- I always carry them when I fly, but I hardly ever use them. But I was already fighting off a headache, and the constant engine roar was starting to make my head feel perilously close to implosion. But stretching my legs out whenever I wanted was definitely a plus...

Hey, I just noticed there's a tree across the street covered in green... spring has definitely arrived in Chicago earlier than last year, when the trees were bare until after we returned home from our California trip at the end of April. We're a good month ahead of schedule. Or maybe last year we were behind schedule... I haven't lived here long enough to know for sure...

Well, this morning's oatmeal breakfast is failing to stave off my hunger any longer, so I'm off to find lunch. Hope everyone had a good weekend...


Wednesday, March 21, 2012

A is also for...

That would be Austin, for anyone not familiar with the skyline. :) Rick starts his new job next week, so we thought we'd take our free time and spend a few days here. I'd say that we wanted to escape the Chicago cold... except at the moment, the weather here is almost exactly the same as the weather there. A few random odds and ends:

We got bumped up to first class on the flight up. I love it when that happens. Not only because the seats are bigger and there's more legroom and if you're reeeeaaaally lucky they feed you (nuts and a chocolate chip cookie this time -- but it's better than nothing, I suppose...), but also because first class is so close to the bathroom. I have a weird sort of phobia about walking past fifty rows of tightly packed passengers to get to the bathroom in the back of the plane. I always feel like everyone is staring at me... although I'm sure that must not be the case, because I never give anyone a second look when they're walking to the bathroom. But still, every time I stand up on a plane, I can't help but feel like I'm in a packed theater and the audience is waiting for my performance. It's unnerving. (And yes, I'm also good with the LAST row of a plane, because it, too, is so close to the bathroom... man, I'm weird...)

Speaking of weird hang-ups -- we were talking about food aversions at dinner tonight. Like how Eric hates mayonnaise and I hate fish... and ground up meat... and food with little seeds... and carrots. And we were wondering if Eric has ALWAYS hated mayonnaise, or if there was a certain point in time when he finally decided he'd had enough of that repulsive egg/oil emulsion. I, for instance, actually used to eat fish all the time when I was a kid. I ate fish sticks, and we used to get fish and chips at a place called Arthur Treacher's in Buffalo. And I ate tuna fish well into my 20s... but at some point, the smell and taste of ANY fish became completely unappetizing to me. So maybe in ten or twenty years I'll LIKE fish again? And maybe Eric will love mayonnaise... I'm going to keep sneaking it into his sandwiches until he likes it again...

Speaking of Eric... he's cat-sitting for us while we're gone, because he's awesome. (Thanks, Eric!! I'll refrain from sneaking any mayo into your sandwiches for at LEAST another week or so... ;))

I'm off to watch some TV with my mom and then maybe head to bed early... flying always seems to drain my energy... maybe it's all that worrying about walking past the audience to the bathroom... :)



Monday, March 19, 2012

A is for...


Yes, that's right -- I am blogging from my brand new, barely out-of-the-box, can't-believe-I-actually-own-one Apple computer. I've been a die-hard PC user forever, and never thought I'd turn to the proverbial Dark Side. Specifically, Rick and I have used DELL computers for as long as I can remember -- purchased, no doubt, partly because Rick worked for the company... and, since his expertise is in sales, he knew all the reasons why a person SHOULD choose a Dell computer.

And don't get me wrong -- I've never had any major problems with any of my Dell computers (with the exception of one particular laptop case that cracked/was replaced about three times...). In fact, I've always been quite happy with my Dell computers. But I do, at the moment, have a slight issue with Dell as a company. Because if you lay off Rick once (as they did back in 2008), perhaps you can use the old "it's not personal, it's business, you were just the new guy on the team" line... but if you lay him off TWICE (as they did just a few weeks ago), well, that's just colossally rude... and maybe I don't want to buy my computers from your stupid mean company anymore, Dell...

But really, this all works out great -- because not only has Rick already found a new job (which he's much more excited about than he ever was about his Dell job), but the "you must always buy Dell" guilt dropped away the moment he was laid off, paving the way for something new.

And so far, I'm really liking the Apple. The only other time I've ever used an Apple computer was a million years ago when I worked at a law firm in downtown Austin... and they were using Apples that were old for a million years ago. The ugly, bulky, monochromatic kind that still had that little guy with the x-ed out eyes that popped up when the computer crashed. Which happened a lot. I mainly just used the computer in the file room to keep track of file numbers, and to delete the sexist jokes that were constantly distributed throughout office email. (I've always thought it was ironic that the only place I've ever felt like I honestly could've filed some kind of sexual harassment lawsuit was when I worked at a LAW firm...)

But now, Apple computers are about a million times cooler and more interesting. For instance, I've been having lots of fun with the photo options on this laptop:

Andy Warhol pop art... (Ah, so THAT'S where all those people who use this for their Facebook profile pictures got it from.)

 Pencil drawing...

 Scary pencil drawing in which I look like I want to kill someone...

The "glow" setting -- I think I like this particular setting. It removes all those little wrinkles/imperfections/etc. (My mom will tell you that I have no imperfections to begin with, but that's just because she's my mom... ;))

I tried to get Riff to sit still long enough to get a picture of him with the "comic book" setting (because I think he'd make a great cartoon character, anyway), but he moves around too much. I'll keep trying... comic book Riff would be cool...

Anyway, like anything new, it's taking some getting used to... but I can definitely see the appeal. So perhaps my years of absolute PC-loyalty were unnecessary. Maybe I CAN get used to an Apple... maybe the Dark Side isn't so bad, after all...

Friday, March 16, 2012

Friday randomness...

Hello from ridiculously unseasonal Chicago:


(Yes, so I'm posting ANOTHER skyline picture... but it's not because I'm weird and obsessed or anything...)

We had a couple days in the 80s this week, and I've actually been running the air conditioner at night because I like it cold when I'm sleeping. And the condo hasn't been cooling down very quickly... I think it's pretty well insulated, what with all the concrete and brick. Last year at this time, I was still bundling up in coats and hats and scarves every time I left my abode, and I was keeping my eye on the trees in Lincoln Park for any sign of green. Last night I walked to dinner in jeans and a t-shirt. But I'm still keeping my eye on the trees (in the Office Depot parking lot) for any sign of green...

Speaking of green -- why do my cats instinctively KNOW when I'm preparing any kind of leafy green vegetable, and, consequently, jump on the counter and attempt to steal bits and pieces? Riff tends to hang out with me when I'm in the kitchen anyway, but Piva never bothers me at all when I'm cooking -- UNLESS I pull out a head of lettuce or a bag of spinach. Then she's on the counter, very insistently nosing her way close to me, while I attempt to shoo her and Riff away long enough to wash/dry/chop the leaves. This is the same reason why I can never have fresh flowers in my house. What is SO intriguing about leaves??

Also speaking of green -- tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day. And I can't say that I really care. I guess I'm not Irish enough. Although I keep seeing recipes on the web for chocolate cupcakes made with Guinness and frosted with Bailey's Irish cream frosting. And even though I've never been much of a beer fan, I really want to try these cupcakes. (Or maybe I could just go across the street to the cupcake store, where last night I saw a picture in the window of their seasonal Bailey's cupcake...)

This morning, as Rick and I were innocently walking down the sidewalk, a high school kid in a school bus at a traffic light yelled out to us through his open window... it was something about how I was a stunning vision of beauty and Rick should consider himself lucky to have me. Okay, actually, that's my clean translation... the actual words, which I can not repeat, suggested an activity which would've been incredibly rude to participate in right there on the sidewalk. Rick said I should take these words as a compliment, since apparently the hormonally-overrun high school kid thought I was attractive enough to warrant a comment... but it's hard to know, in these sorts of circumstances, whether to be flattered or just disturbed...

And now, in an effort to maintain my status as every high school kid's fantasy  stay in relatively decent shape, I'm off to jump on the treadmill for a while. Hope everyone has a good weekend...

  

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

When there are no words...

... Lisa posts pictures! Yesterday we had the chance to see Faisal's new condo up in Lincoln Park, just a couple blocks from where we used to live before we bought this place. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't totally jealous, because he stole my old view. You remember my view, right? No? Maybe this will refresh your memory:


Or how about this:


Or maybe this?


Surely THIS one will jostle your memory:


And I'm certain this one will look familiar:


Or this?

How about this one:


Okay, I give up.

It's not like I was abnormally obsessed or anything...



Monday, March 12, 2012

He's my new assistant...

Finished up another day of freelance work... I love the flexibility of working from home, but it does have its disadvantages, as well. For instance, this is how Riff decided to "help" me this afternoon:


I've decided that attempting to work with rambunctious cats in the house is kind of like attempting to work with a toddler in the house. There's a lot of sighing... and close calls with potentially spilled coffee cups... and many times when the words, "no, don't do that!" come out of my mouth... and struggles to find some other activity that will hold the little ones' attention. Fortunately, nap time for cats is much longer than nap time for toddlers. (Although obviously Riff's nap time needed to be relocated to the couch...)

Speaking of Riff -- he's found this new game that he just loves. He'll hide underneath a chair when I'm in Rick's study, and then when I come out and walk past the chair, he leaps out and grabs my legs with his front paws. And he'll do it over and over again -- if I go back into the study, he hides under the chair again and jumps out at me as soon as I walk past the chair. That cat is hilarious... and slightly crazy... but there's never a dull moment when Riff is around...

Well, that's enough words and reading for today -- I'm off to make tea and watch some shows that don't require brain power...

Thursday, March 08, 2012

Isn't he cute?

Whew... long day... mostly filled with proofreading... with a short break for lunch... and then more proofreading... and then a stop at Twin Anchors for some chicken with (semi) spicy Prohibition sauce... and then more proofreading. You'd think the LAST thing I'd want to do right now is gaze upon words -- yet here I am, typing away for a blog post. (Maybe I just feel guilty that I haven't written more blog posts lately...)

But since my brain hasn't been working for quite some time, I'm going to have to resort to my old standby: Random thoughts. Or maybe random pictures? Like these -- check out how much Connor has changed:

From little tiny this:



To this, just a few days ago:


He still has some awesome hair, though. I probably pat his head every chance I get. He's going to think his Aunt Lisa is such a weirdo. Although he's probably going to grow up thinking that anyway, considering all the crazy stories Eric is telling him about me. When this kid starts to understand language, he's going to wonder why I'm out walking around with the normal people and not safely ensconced in my padded room at the insane asylum. (I might get a free pass because I make lots of chocolate chip cookies... Crazy Aunt Lisa who bakes great cookies...)

I've been informed that it's time for some tea and TV, so that will have to suffice for now. Hope everyone has had a good week!

Disclaimer: I did NOT, in fact, proofread this post before hitting "publish," because my eyes just can't handle any more careful scrutinizing at the moment. So if the previous paragraphs are filled with mistakes, I apologize... :)

Saturday, March 03, 2012

Thanks a lot...

Thursday wasn't my best day. I was not in top form. I did not find sunshine and rainbows around every corner, nor did I shrug my shoulders with nonchalant indifference when things weren't going my way. No... instead, I allowed every little mundane bother to weigh on my mind until even more mundane, less bothersome things seemed insurmountable.

And nothing horrible or earth-shattering occurred. It was just "one of those days." I've had some freelance work this past week -- of the "very deadline oriented" variety -- and I woke up Thursday morning, ate breakfast, got some coffee brewing, and then immediately tackled my work. I was finished by 11:00 -- and, happy that I'd have the finished product back to the originator before noon, scanned in the 23-page document and sent the pdf in an email. And then I got down to the REAL work of the day: baking a cake for my dad's 70th birthday party.

And I'm sort of weird when it comes to baking -- I really, really love it. Mixing together butter and sugar and vanilla is strangely hypnotic and relaxing. (And am I the only one who actually thinks butter and sugar and vanilla -- JUST butter and sugar and vanilla -- taste really good?? I always sneak a sugary bite before I add any eggs or flour...) And I was particularly excited about this cake, because a couple weeks earlier (knowing that I'd soon be baking a cake), I splurged and bought vanilla beans at the grocery store. Not vanilla extract -- actual vanilla BEANS. They are ridiculously expensive, but I've always heard that the flavor is superior to extract. And I thought that a special-occasion cake would be the perfect time to experiment -- I decided to make a chocolate cake with a vanilla bean frosting.

But sometime between mixing the butter and sugar and gathering cocoa and flour, I checked my email and noticed that I had an error message. The file I'd sent so promptly hadn't gone through... it had been unceremoniously rejected by cyberspace. So I sent it again... (rejected again) and again... (nope)... and again (aaarrrggghhhhh). I finally tried shutting down my computer, re-attaching the file to an email message, and sending it again. THIS time I didn't receive an error message. However, Rick (who is much more computer-savvy than I am), said I should check with my contact to make sure the file actually DID go through, because he thought the attachment might've been too large. And he turned out to be correct -- the file STILL didn't go through, because the pdf file was too large. So after some tweaking, I was able to send a smaller file that DID finally make a complete journey to the other side.

By this time, it was past 2 o'clock, and I was stressed out by the fact that my work hadn't made it back to its originator by my (admittedly self-imposed) 11 o'clock deadline. But I tried to put it behind me and tackle the frosting for my cake (the cake itself having baked quite nicely). But something went wrong -- apparently the milk I added to thin the consistency of the frosting was too cold, and it caused the butter to seize. I ended up with a strangely fluffy, slightly separated sort of buttercream. I went to the internet to find a solution: half of what I read said that the solution was to heat the frosting... the other half said to cool it down. I tried both. Neither worked.

I don't think I've ever cried over a baked good... but the combination of my morning of work, the frustrating email issues, and an epic failure of frosting (that I'd not only been looking forward to making for weeks, but also spent extra money on so the frosting would be extra-special) brought me to tears.

And that extra-long story was simply to get to this: I recently read that researchers believe we should all write down five things we're thankful for once a week. Apparently, the act of thinking about the GOOD things in our lives and writing them down can contribute to our overall happiness. So instead of allowing the frustrations of my Thursday to affect me so negatively, I should've turned it all around:

1. I'm thankful for coffee, because coffee is awesome.
2. I'm thankful that people have enough confidence in my abilities to give me freelance work now and then.
3. I'm thankful that my finances are such that I was able to buy ridiculously expensive vanilla beans.
4. I'm thankful for my dad, who is totally proving my assertion that 70 is the new 40.
5. I'm thankful for all my family and friends who actually said my cake was good, even after I'd spent an hour trying to fix the failed frosting and another hour crying about it.

:)