Clang, clang, clang goes the trolley

It's been quite a long time since I blogged. I started to consider giving it up because (1) I haven't posted in about 7 months, and (2) I don't think many people read it. However, in the last few weeks, I have had two loved ones comment on the lack of posts....so here we go.

I'm sure you think that the last 7 months of a 30-something, somewhat newly married, childless lass in Chicago has had all sorts of interesting adventures. Well. I'm not quite so sure about that. Here's the brief history and I'll blog separately on the more interesting events.

- Bought a Kindle. This will be a blog post unto itself since I am Grade-A nerdy about my reading.
- Completed my associate course with Junior League Chicago (what, JMB in Junior League?!  I have successfully stayed away from the sorority pep rally so far...)
- Celebrated RJB's and my second wedding anniversary.
- Went to Boston
- Went to Dallas
- Parents came to Chicago
- Went to FdL
- Rediscovered Luna Pinot Grigio, the one that started my love of PG.
- Dad had good a Q1 and Q2 for test results.
- RJB and I finally got a grill.
- Ran into the garage and put a dent in the passenger door. I'll have to photograph how tight this space is...
- "Celebrated" my 9 year anniversary at GT.
- Revived my love of HBO Sundays with Game of Thrones
- Joined the professional board of PAWS Chicago. Also fell in love with Thomas, a beautiful cat. He was finally adopted. Bittersweet in the B household.
- Ran the slowest 5K ever (heat + humidity+ lack of running), however it was my first 'race' without headphones and the first 'race' that I was not nervous about and actually enjoyed.
- Got promoted.

So there's the flyby of my last 7 months. And here I go back on the trolley.....

Mobius One Escaped

Yesterday someone made a very interesting observation about a well loved Christmas tune. It introduced just the right amount of creepiness to make it worthy of a post. The song is Baby its Cold Outside. Cute little duet, right? I bet you picture a couple in love, ready to settle in for a cold night. Well, get a load of this:


I really can't stay (baby its cold outside)
My mother will start to worry (beautiful what's your hurry)
My father will pace the floor......


Setting a creepy stage, eh? There's more:
But maybe just a half a drink more (put some records on while I pour)
The neighbors might faint (baby it's bad out there)
Say what's in this drink (no cabs to be had out there)
I ought to say "no, no, no sir" (mind if I move in closer)
At least i'm gonna say that I tried (what's the sense in hurtin' my pride)
I really can't stay (oh baby don't hold out)


Hmmm...this ditty was written in 1944. Creepy. Creepy like the oh so popular Young Girl. What is curious is everyone sings along to these types of songs with glee and zeal, but if a song along the same theme was written today, people would go buck wild. RJB noted that he has read an analysis of Baby its Cold Outside. My innocent self was unaware of such horrors in popular oldies tunes. 


On a completely unrelated note, one of my mentors had his final day with the firm on Friday. While I am far far away, there is something sad about knowing one of the good people in the Dallas office has moved on. Clearly friendship and great advice transcend the walls of the office so while I lost a colleague, I still have a friend.  Honestly, it is bettersweet: I am terribly sad that he is not a fellow lifer and I know the firm just suffered a great loss, but I am also so excited for the new opportunities and refreshed energy he and his family have in their future.   

Frolic and play, the Eskimo way?

So, as a starter, yes it occurred to me that my blog background is Halloween themed. Please look beyond those little pieces of candy and focus on the cuteness and wiseness (likely not a word, right) of those owls.  While I've seen many-a-cute winter holiday blogs, I have quite the winter wonderland scene right out my window thank you very much. And whoever penned that "walking in a winter wonderland" is in any way fanciful had to be from the south or is one of those odd winter lovin' Cheeseheads. I actually work with people that claim winter is their favorite time of year. Right.

As many of you know (or may not know) each year I'm in Chicago, I make a valiant attempt to force myself to embrace the winter. Sorta like a northerner tempting the deep south in August with no A/C in their car - you know, the real miserable experience. Anywho:

Year 1 - shuffling through the Shamrock Shuffle in a wet wintery mix (I discovered this weekend that people 'in the know' still talk about the race that year...and yes, I smile with pride).

Year 2 - attended a ND game after a huge snow storm. We sat in snow packed stadium seats for a solid two quarters. This was also the year I walked about six blocks round trip to a client in sub-zero air temps. Kind that makes your teeth hurt.

Year 3 - I decided unintentionally to jump start my winter embrace experience. I volunteered to work the pre-registration tent at the Rudolph Ramble 8K on Sunday morning (this was really a double challenge - I had to check in at 6:45 am. Why do I do this to myself?). This was Sunday:

The caption for this one is "not that bad". Oh these hilarious Midwesterners. See the scrunched shoulders, death grip on the bag, unflattering outerwear, and the look of misery on the face...yes, it IS a winter wonderland!

 This one is just for Mom - the puppy looks like her Belle! And a flying nun.

Sunday brought sleet, snow, wind (gusts up to 50 mph...are you kidding me), and a sad little Texan sitting in a tent handing out bibs to crazy runners.  But I did it and as my Dad would say, it put a little hair on my chest. Character building? Misery inducing? Whatever you call it, seeing this beautiful skyline immediately makes it worth it to me. Can you have a love affair with a skyline?

Pictures courtesy of Chicago Tribune

Have I mentioned I like to eat?

Happy Thanksgiving! RJB and I have continued with our tradition - Turkey Trot in the morning, dinner with the in-laws in the evening, then out to FdL for our second round of turkey lovin'.

Mom with her bird

Dad doing the honors of surgically breaking down Mom's bird

It was good times all around though I cannot believe Christmas is right around the corner! Hopefully work will let up a bit so I can enjoy my favorite time of year! 

RJB and I continue to make home improvements. The third plumber was a charm in fixing our forever leaking faucets, a home theater (or something) guy is mounting our TVs this week, we purchased some uber cool and modern fixtures (lamp and bookcase to hold TV components), and are in the market to buy more furniture. We are selling my old TV stand and arm chair and plan on replacing the chair with some goodies from Design Within Reach. Thank goodness RJB also likes mid-century modern design.  Nonetheless, we are making progress but as we bring in new furniture, our old stuff looks bulky. Perhaps this is all part of the consumerism plot to get people to buy more. 

We are still considering whether or not we will put up a tree this year.  I noticed that a lot of people in our area have their decorations already up.  Not sure if they are really motivated or just taking advantage of no snow and abnormally warm weather.  I, however, am currently too lazy to open my Christmas decoration boxes. :-(

Tomorrow is the much awaited doctor's appointment for Dad. Cross your fingers and pray for a big zero on the test results!

Yee Haw

A few weeks ago the gals met in Austin for a brief (too brief!) weekend visit. ADF got a fancy new camera and was our weekend photographer...enjoy!

Fun at CCs

At Salt Lick. ADF asked some poor guy to take

about 50 shots of us like this. In a way, it is a little creepy family photo-ish...

As it turns out, Salt Lick is BYOB, so while we

waited, we took care of a nice bottle of red.

KH and YM...hee hee hee

The glorious meat

Walking around a lake downtown. no idea what lake it is. 

Dressed up for Sushi..again, we are all prepped for staged family photos! FYI, I was the only one in flats; I'm not really THAT short. 

Heartbroken

The last month and a half has been a whirlwind of emotions.  If there was ever a time in my life to give me pause and actually listen to what my Dad tells me year over year ("Julie, don't waste your youth on work" or "Julie, you need to learn how to manage your stress" or my personal favorite that generally comes after my reporting of a stress-induced ailment "Julie, you need to take a look at your life"), the time is now.  My family is dealing with a reality that was unexpected and baffling.  Frankly, I'm not sure how to help but I think doing more than acknowledging that my Dad is right and start making a change in how I handle work is a good start.  So, be patient.  I'm not sure how to go about making the kind of change you encourage me to make, but I'm working on it.

Starting to look like a home!

Yesterday was a big day. I finally cancelled my gym membership after not visiting this gym for too long to mention. Sorry RJB.   It was the easiest gym break up ever. Manager was working the desk, she didn't work me over, and I was in and out in 5 minutes. Ah, customer service.

We also had our new bed frame delivered and our table and chairs. Everything fits well and we are quite happy with our purchases. Sylvester was pretty upset when RJB took the old bed apart and there was nothing for him to hide under...so he hid under hanging clothes in the closet. The new bed has fairly low clearance for him to get under but when there's a will there's a way. Sylvester can flatten out like a roach to get under there!

We do have a little bit of furniture rearranging to figure out in our main living area, but for now it will suffice. The last big purchase will be a day bed for the second bedroom. Then its painting, new curtains for the master, and hanging things on the wall.  Maybe by year end we will be settled!

New bed, old sheets (if you have good ones to recommend, please let me know. These have pilled.), and summer blanket. Notice the yellowish gold curtains. High quality - I am pretty sure they are custom - but not our favorite color. 

Here's the table sans leaf. The buffet hanging out back there is what needs to find a new home.