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Oct. 14th, 2010 01:40 pmLast night was super-fun. After work I drove downtown to meet up with ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
nu_breed, vileseagulls, spasticat, and deeablo. The first two are in Chicagoland for WinCon and staying with the third, and the fourth and I met the three of them for dinner at Lou Malnati's. (This is quickly becoming the go-to eatery for when out-of-towners come to visit; we also went there for abby20's visit this summer.) We figured out that the last time nu_breed was in town from NZ was all the way back in 2004. Holy crap, that was a long time ago. And I've never met vileseagulls before, but she is absolutely charming and lovely, and I'm glad to have had the chance to meet her. It was also great to see spasticat again, as it's been years—literally, years—since we've seen one another. We'll have to make sure that much time doesn't pass by till we hang out again. Anyway, it was a great time at dinner with lots of laughing, lots of pizza, lots of gossip, and a good time all around. Hooray!
In other news, tonight I'm going to try to hem the Scientist's suit pants. I've never hemmed pants before, but I think I can do it. We'll see...
nu_breed, vileseagulls, spasticat, and deeablo. The first two are in Chicagoland for WinCon and staying with the third, and the fourth and I met the three of them for dinner at Lou Malnati's. (This is quickly becoming the go-to eatery for when out-of-towners come to visit; we also went there for abby20's visit this summer.) We figured out that the last time nu_breed was in town from NZ was all the way back in 2004. Holy crap, that was a long time ago. And I've never met vileseagulls before, but she is absolutely charming and lovely, and I'm glad to have had the chance to meet her. It was also great to see spasticat again, as it's been years—literally, years—since we've seen one another. We'll have to make sure that much time doesn't pass by till we hang out again. Anyway, it was a great time at dinner with lots of laughing, lots of pizza, lots of gossip, and a good time all around. Hooray!In other news, tonight I'm going to try to hem the Scientist's suit pants. I've never hemmed pants before, but I think I can do it. We'll see...
Weekend = food, food, and more food
May. 10th, 2010 10:00 amSo let's see, what to tell you? This weekend was busy busy busy. Friday night was Iron Man 2 with the Scientist, and then crashing out after geeking with aj about the movie via text message. On Saturday my sister-in-law J came over for more Felicity watching. J has taken a new job where she works the swing shift, and for the past month or more she's worked on Saturdays for overtime. So this was the first time in quite a while that we've watched, and we're almost done with season two. We're three episodes from finishing, and I can't wait until J sees ( spoiler, if you care. )
Then Saturday night when the Scientist got home from work, he and I headed into the city. We were off to celebratefava_bean's birthday. YAY!!! We took 290 in, and despite all the construction we made it in enough time to pick up aj on the way. The three of us headed up to Wicker Park/Bucktown to Thai Lagoon, which had great food and even better service. fishdoctorpost and gingrale showed up next, and then fava herself. We opened two bottles of wine and then mei_x arrived. It was quite the dinner feast, and for pretty cheap, too! Then people at another table got up to leave, and they offered us what was left in their two bottles of wine, as they couldn't finish it. So we essentially got a free bottle. Whoo! From there, we all hiked over to North/Milwaukee/Damen, which is RIDICULOUSLY CROWDED. Totally hipster/fratboy central. Bleh. But we got a table at Bin and all had wine and cheese or desserts, and there was more talking and laughing and generally a great time. It really was a great birthday celebration.
Yesterday morning we woke up totally exhausted, but got up, dressed, and headed back to the city with the Scientist's parents and J. We took my mother-in-law to brunch at Zed 451, which is one of her favorite restaurants. (It's also the restaurant where we had our wedding rehearsal dinner, although that one has since closed and the only one left is downtown.) The brunch was phenomenal, with food like pears poached in wine, crabcakes eggs benedict, cajun maple bacon, cinnamon rolls, cold brussel spout salad with a buttermilk sauce, and chicken and waffles. I'd never had chicken and waffles before, and OMG is it good. Though I think Zed does theirs differently than most, as they have buffalo chicken breasts on the waffles instead of just fried chicken. But either way, delicious. The drive back home was, unfortunately, horrific. It took well over an hour with the stupid construction. Man, I hate IDOT.
The Scientist and I ended up crashing out and napping once we got home. I called my mom, but she wasn't home so I left a rambling message for her. Then last night we went back to the Scientist's parents' house for our annual Sunday night dinner. So that's about it. This morning I woke up exhausted, but my cat was lying on top of me and was kneading my cheek with her paw. Awwww. She's never sweet like that with me, only the Scientist. So that was a good start to a Monday morning.
aj about the movie via text message. On Saturday my sister-in-law J came over for more Felicity watching. J has taken a new job where she works the swing shift, and for the past month or more she's worked on Saturdays for overtime. So this was the first time in quite a while that we've watched, and we're almost done with season two. We're three episodes from finishing, and I can't wait until J sees ( spoiler, if you care. )Then Saturday night when the Scientist got home from work, he and I headed into the city. We were off to celebrate
fava_bean's birthday. YAY!!! We took 290 in, and despite all the construction we made it in enough time to pick up aj on the way. The three of us headed up to Wicker Park/Bucktown to Thai Lagoon, which had great food and even better service. fishdoctorpost and gingrale showed up next, and then fava herself. We opened two bottles of wine and then mei_x arrived. It was quite the dinner feast, and for pretty cheap, too! Then people at another table got up to leave, and they offered us what was left in their two bottles of wine, as they couldn't finish it. So we essentially got a free bottle. Whoo! From there, we all hiked over to North/Milwaukee/Damen, which is RIDICULOUSLY CROWDED. Totally hipster/fratboy central. Bleh. But we got a table at Bin and all had wine and cheese or desserts, and there was more talking and laughing and generally a great time. It really was a great birthday celebration.Yesterday morning we woke up totally exhausted, but got up, dressed, and headed back to the city with the Scientist's parents and J. We took my mother-in-law to brunch at Zed 451, which is one of her favorite restaurants. (It's also the restaurant where we had our wedding rehearsal dinner, although that one has since closed and the only one left is downtown.) The brunch was phenomenal, with food like pears poached in wine, crabcakes eggs benedict, cajun maple bacon, cinnamon rolls, cold brussel spout salad with a buttermilk sauce, and chicken and waffles. I'd never had chicken and waffles before, and OMG is it good. Though I think Zed does theirs differently than most, as they have buffalo chicken breasts on the waffles instead of just fried chicken. But either way, delicious. The drive back home was, unfortunately, horrific. It took well over an hour with the stupid construction. Man, I hate IDOT.
The Scientist and I ended up crashing out and napping once we got home. I called my mom, but she wasn't home so I left a rambling message for her. Then last night we went back to the Scientist's parents' house for our annual Sunday night dinner. So that's about it. This morning I woke up exhausted, but my cat was lying on top of me and was kneading my cheek with her paw. Awwww. She's never sweet like that with me, only the Scientist. So that was a good start to a Monday morning.
(no subject)
Mar. 19th, 2010 09:44 amLast night I made butter tarts for the first time! It's a Canadian gastronomical wonderland in my kitchen! I didn't have the time and/or motivation to make my own pie dough for the tarts, so I used store-bought dough. I won't make that mistake again, because that dough SUCKS compared to my own. The goo inside the tarts is perfect, though. Yummy! At least I know for the next time not to cheat on the dough and I'll do it right. The tarts are at about 80% of what the taste should be. But an 80% good butter tart is still better than no butter tart at all, so I'm happy.
Thanks once again tobigboobedcanuck for the recipe. It's much easier to follow than my grandma's crazy recipe calling for "a hunk of butter the size of an egg." That recipe is LEGENDARY in my family, simply because no one but my grandma could follow it. Mom finally figured it out after years of trial and error, but it's still crazy. You have to put the tarts in for five minutes at 450, then down to 375 for another fifteen minutes, etc. The BBC's recipe was just "mix this, pour it into tart shells, bake." SO MUCH EASIER.
Thanks once again to
bigboobedcanuck for the recipe. It's much easier to follow than my grandma's crazy recipe calling for "a hunk of butter the size of an egg." That recipe is LEGENDARY in my family, simply because no one but my grandma could follow it. Mom finally figured it out after years of trial and error, but it's still crazy. You have to put the tarts in for five minutes at 450, then down to 375 for another fifteen minutes, etc. The BBC's recipe was just "mix this, pour it into tart shells, bake." SO MUCH EASIER.
Fug Madness!
Mar. 18th, 2010 09:52 amToday when I came into the office, I saw that one of the warehouse guys hung a huge poster of the NCAA Tournament bracket by the door. And this reminded me not of college basketball, but instead that today marks the start of FUG MADNESS 2010!!! Woo-hoo! I still need to fill out my bracket, and I have no clear-cut favorite for this year. (Last year's hopes of a win for SWINTON were quashed by that tacky Aubrey O'Day.) I have a feeling that Miley Cyrus may go far this year, but the one-two punch of Patricia Arquette & Thomas Jane could be surprise us all and go even farther. Only time will tell...
***
In other news, last night I made my first batch of Nanaimo bars! Thanks toyakgirl for sending me the custard powder, and to bigboobedcanuck for the recipe. Tonight, I attempt butter tarts. Oh, Canada!
***
We got a Wii Fit. So far I am LOVING it. So much fun! I'm mostly doing stretching with the yoga poses (which I'm totally feeling in my left arm this morning) and the aerobic stuff. Of course, in one day's time the Scientist has already lost a pound, whereas I've gained one. Dammit. I just need to not look at his stats, or have him know mine. As long as I'm enjoying myself and actually DOING SOMETHING rather than just sitting on my ass, I'm happy. I'm not looking at the Wii Fit as the answer to all of my physical issues (generally better shape, weight loss, increased endurance), but I AM looking at it as a start towards improving myself. Do I want to go to a gym? No, because I am afraid of it. I have issues, whatever. Do I mind jumping around in my living room while little avatars of my friends and family jump around on a TV screen with me? Yes. Yes, I do. So maybe -- MAYBE -- if I start to feel some kind of change in my body, I'll be more inclined to, say, go use the gym at the clubhouse, or maybe someday go for a run around the neighborhood. But for now, I like the Wii.
In other news, last night I made my first batch of Nanaimo bars! Thanks to
yakgirl for sending me the custard powder, and to bigboobedcanuck for the recipe. Tonight, I attempt butter tarts. Oh, Canada!We got a Wii Fit. So far I am LOVING it. So much fun! I'm mostly doing stretching with the yoga poses (which I'm totally feeling in my left arm this morning) and the aerobic stuff. Of course, in one day's time the Scientist has already lost a pound, whereas I've gained one. Dammit. I just need to not look at his stats, or have him know mine. As long as I'm enjoying myself and actually DOING SOMETHING rather than just sitting on my ass, I'm happy. I'm not looking at the Wii Fit as the answer to all of my physical issues (generally better shape, weight loss, increased endurance), but I AM looking at it as a start towards improving myself. Do I want to go to a gym? No, because I am afraid of it. I have issues, whatever. Do I mind jumping around in my living room while little avatars of my friends and family jump around on a TV screen with me? Yes. Yes, I do. So maybe -- MAYBE -- if I start to feel some kind of change in my body, I'll be more inclined to, say, go use the gym at the clubhouse, or maybe someday go for a run around the neighborhood. But for now, I like the Wii.
Sushi tonight!
Feb. 19th, 2010 04:31 pmSUSHI SUSHI SUSHI SUSHI SUSHI! I cannot wait. This is what's been getting me through today. And today has been full of stupidity, mostly my own. I accidentally overwrote 12 pages of layout and had to do them over. But it doesn't matter. Why? Because tonight is
SUSHI!
Lemme tell you, it is so awesome having this great little sushi place around the corner from our house. Sushi ain't cheap, right? But this place is great. It sounds so tacky, but they have all-you-can-eat sushi for $18 a person. Not bad, considering that if you were to only order the Godzilla roll, it would cost you $14. And this way, you can share with whomever else you eat with, and appetizers like edamame and goyza and tempura are included in the $18 price. AND they send out coupons, which is an added bonus. Yay for sushi!
And yay for this work week almost being over, too!
Lemme tell you, it is so awesome having this great little sushi place around the corner from our house. Sushi ain't cheap, right? But this place is great. It sounds so tacky, but they have all-you-can-eat sushi for $18 a person. Not bad, considering that if you were to only order the Godzilla roll, it would cost you $14. And this way, you can share with whomever else you eat with, and appetizers like edamame and goyza and tempura are included in the $18 price. AND they send out coupons, which is an added bonus. Yay for sushi!
And yay for this work week almost being over, too!
(no subject)
Feb. 15th, 2010 10:36 amThe rest of my weekend went pretty well. Saturday we did the wine thing in Oswego, which was nice. There was a chef on hand making pears poached in wine with chocolate ganache, and it was KILLER. And I got to try a new wine they had created for Valentine's Day called "Amore." It smelled like chocolate, and tasted like chocolate port. Yum! When we got home, the Scientist gave me a bottle of it as a Valentine's gift. It seems he had called ahead to put a bottle on reserve for me. Sneaky!
So then we kind of sat around like "What are we gonna do until dinner?" And I decided to give the Scientist his present a day early as well. I bought him a Wii. I know, I know. But it's a twofold gift. I've been putting money aside so that I could get him something nice to celebrate when he got a full-time job. And it just so happened to coincide with Valentine's Day, so I was like "Screw it, he's getting the Wii." So his brother G came over to help us set it up, and soon after he was playing games on it. So the two of us did that for a little while, and then went to Toscana's for dinner. The food there was excellent, especially our appetizer of spinach and rice balls flash-fried and served with sundried tomato aioli. YUM. And we got so much food that we took the leftovers home, and that's lunch today. Hooray! Then we skipped out seeing Wolfman in order to go home and play more Wii. That was a wise decision, I think.
Sunday I woke up to find he'd not only made me breakfast, but he'd snuck out and bought me a dozen roses. Awwww. Then he had to go to a meeting at the theater. Boooo. I did some cleaning while he was gone and chatted withxica_s for the first time in forever. Then he came home and more Wii was played. He did boxing for a good twenty minutes (and says he's feeling it in his arms today), and then I discovered I'm actually decent at golf. Who knew? Not me! I then did some grocery shopping, talked to my parents, and then the Scientist and I updated the wine blog. From there we headed over to his parents' house, caught the last half of Survivors on BBC America, played Skip-Bo with J, and had dinner. It was a good day.
And now I'm back at work, so that's that.
***
In other news, it seems that good old RPattz has created a media firestorm over his "I'm allergic to vaginas" comment in Details. I will say, if this is a well-calculated move on his part to alienate the rabid fans then good job, kid. But I still love is this comment from a CNN reader:
"Little does this pretentious little dork know, most vagina (the grown-up variety that isn't 13 and brainwashed by media) is likely allergic to him."
Bwa ha ha ha ha! Priceless.
So then we kind of sat around like "What are we gonna do until dinner?" And I decided to give the Scientist his present a day early as well. I bought him a Wii. I know, I know. But it's a twofold gift. I've been putting money aside so that I could get him something nice to celebrate when he got a full-time job. And it just so happened to coincide with Valentine's Day, so I was like "Screw it, he's getting the Wii." So his brother G came over to help us set it up, and soon after he was playing games on it. So the two of us did that for a little while, and then went to Toscana's for dinner. The food there was excellent, especially our appetizer of spinach and rice balls flash-fried and served with sundried tomato aioli. YUM. And we got so much food that we took the leftovers home, and that's lunch today. Hooray! Then we skipped out seeing Wolfman in order to go home and play more Wii. That was a wise decision, I think.
Sunday I woke up to find he'd not only made me breakfast, but he'd snuck out and bought me a dozen roses. Awwww. Then he had to go to a meeting at the theater. Boooo. I did some cleaning while he was gone and chatted with
xica_s for the first time in forever. Then he came home and more Wii was played. He did boxing for a good twenty minutes (and says he's feeling it in his arms today), and then I discovered I'm actually decent at golf. Who knew? Not me! I then did some grocery shopping, talked to my parents, and then the Scientist and I updated the wine blog. From there we headed over to his parents' house, caught the last half of Survivors on BBC America, played Skip-Bo with J, and had dinner. It was a good day.And now I'm back at work, so that's that.
In other news, it seems that good old RPattz has created a media firestorm over his "I'm allergic to vaginas" comment in Details. I will say, if this is a well-calculated move on his part to alienate the rabid fans then good job, kid. But I still love is this comment from a CNN reader:
"Little does this pretentious little dork know, most vagina (the grown-up variety that isn't 13 and brainwashed by media) is likely allergic to him."
Bwa ha ha ha ha! Priceless.
Thanksgiving wrap-up
Nov. 30th, 2009 10:28 amThis is the last time I'll get to use this icon for a while. I'm milking it for all it's worth, because it's AWESOME.
I had a good Thanksgiving weekend. ( It all started Wednesday night... )
And tomorrow is December 1, which marks the beginning of my holiday craziness. WHOOOOO! I am looking forward to the holidays this year. There will be cookies, and putting up the Christmas trees, and the annual holiday music mix. Good times.
I had a good Thanksgiving weekend. ( It all started Wednesday night... )
And tomorrow is December 1, which marks the beginning of my holiday craziness. WHOOOOO! I am looking forward to the holidays this year. There will be cookies, and putting up the Christmas trees, and the annual holiday music mix. Good times.
Day before vacation spam
Nov. 25th, 2009 11:13 amFantastic Mr. Fox opens today! WOOOOOOO! I am so excited to see this movie, you don't even know. This was the first Roald Dahl book I ever read. More accurately, this was the first book of Dahl's that my mom ever read to me. (On long car trips, Mom would read Dahl's books aloud to yakgirl and me, quite possibly because they were the only kids' books weird enough for my dad to tolerate while he drove.) I actually went out and bought the book recently so that I could re-read it before seeing the movie.
This book essentially started me on a lifelong love affair with Roald Dahl's books, and the idea of seeing this on the big screen -- in stop motion, no less -- makes me gleeful. I going to try to convince my mom to drive down to Kalamazoo this weekend to see it with me. So far the reviews are pretty good. The word "charming" has been thrown around a lot. And who doesn't like that?
***
In not so fantastic news, my pies did not work out as planned last night. :( I don't have a mat for rolling out pie dough, which needs to be rectified. I couldn't tell how big I was rolling out the crust, and when I tried to roll it out on parchment paper it just slid all over the counter, despite being taped and weighted down. By the time I got the first crust in the pie pan, the second batch of dough was all dry and crumbly. These two pies are quite likely the ugliest pies I've ever made. But hey, I made pie from scratch. That's more than a lot of people bother to do, right? Right. Next time I'll have the rolling mat, and things will be better.
***
Is it 5:00 yet?
yakgirl and me, quite possibly because they were the only kids' books weird enough for my dad to tolerate while he drove.) I actually went out and bought the book recently so that I could re-read it before seeing the movie. This book essentially started me on a lifelong love affair with Roald Dahl's books, and the idea of seeing this on the big screen -- in stop motion, no less -- makes me gleeful. I going to try to convince my mom to drive down to Kalamazoo this weekend to see it with me. So far the reviews are pretty good. The word "charming" has been thrown around a lot. And who doesn't like that?
In not so fantastic news, my pies did not work out as planned last night. :( I don't have a mat for rolling out pie dough, which needs to be rectified. I couldn't tell how big I was rolling out the crust, and when I tried to roll it out on parchment paper it just slid all over the counter, despite being taped and weighted down. By the time I got the first crust in the pie pan, the second batch of dough was all dry and crumbly. These two pies are quite likely the ugliest pies I've ever made. But hey, I made pie from scratch. That's more than a lot of people bother to do, right? Right. Next time I'll have the rolling mat, and things will be better.
Is it 5:00 yet?
(no subject)
Nov. 15th, 2009 08:58 amI meant to post this yesterday, but our internet was down. yakgirl sent me this coupon, which is for 30% off at the Gap, Old Navy, and/or Banana Republic (in store only). When you use the coupon, 5% of what you spent is given to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Unfortunately, the coupon expires today. Hopefully some of you can put this to good use.
In other news, yesterday I went to see a local production of The Nutcracker. It was good! I didn't know what to expect considering it's an amateur troupe, but it was quite good. And it was also sweet to see all the little kids in the audience getting excited for the different dances in act two. When the Russian dance began, one little girl started jumping up and down with her fists in the air. It was cute. That said, I'm glad I wasn't sitting behind her. ;)
After that I went over tofava_bean's parents' house. She was out in the burbs, so we hung out and she made gluten-free brownies and these great Paula Deen peanut butter cookies (they have no butter! Whaaaa?). We watched Up, and then she made pumpkin polenta with veggies and mozerella for dinner. Yum. Her dad has a new job selling baby-care products, and showed me this weird and awesome product called the Tummy Tub. He even got out the promotional video because I was laughing at this so hard. (I thought it had an agitator like a clothes washer, and that idea KILLED ME.) So we're watching the video, and at one point I was like "That baby just farted in the tub!" And lo and behold, it did, because they started talking about how the Tummy Tub relieves colic. Oooookay. That said, I told fava that when I have a kid someday, I totally expect the Tummy Tub from her as a baby shower gift. Because not only is it hysterical-looking, it makes perfect sense. (Seriously, though, imagine that this has an agitator. HILARITY.)
yakgirl sent me this coupon, which is for 30% off at the Gap, Old Navy, and/or Banana Republic (in store only). When you use the coupon, 5% of what you spent is given to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Unfortunately, the coupon expires today. Hopefully some of you can put this to good use.In other news, yesterday I went to see a local production of The Nutcracker. It was good! I didn't know what to expect considering it's an amateur troupe, but it was quite good. And it was also sweet to see all the little kids in the audience getting excited for the different dances in act two. When the Russian dance began, one little girl started jumping up and down with her fists in the air. It was cute. That said, I'm glad I wasn't sitting behind her. ;)
After that I went over to
fava_bean's parents' house. She was out in the burbs, so we hung out and she made gluten-free brownies and these great Paula Deen peanut butter cookies (they have no butter! Whaaaa?). We watched Up, and then she made pumpkin polenta with veggies and mozerella for dinner. Yum. Her dad has a new job selling baby-care products, and showed me this weird and awesome product called the Tummy Tub. He even got out the promotional video because I was laughing at this so hard. (I thought it had an agitator like a clothes washer, and that idea KILLED ME.) So we're watching the video, and at one point I was like "That baby just farted in the tub!" And lo and behold, it did, because they started talking about how the Tummy Tub relieves colic. Oooookay. That said, I told fava that when I have a kid someday, I totally expect the Tummy Tub from her as a baby shower gift. Because not only is it hysterical-looking, it makes perfect sense. (Seriously, though, imagine that this has an agitator. HILARITY.)(no subject)
Sep. 28th, 2009 12:06 pmThis weekend was good. Friday I had a craving for Greek food, so after work the Scientist and I went to Greek Islands for dinner. I had mousakka. I love mousakka. Then we went up to Elk Grove to see Surrogates. If we hadn't seen it for free, I'd have a lot more beef with that movie. As it was, it was free, so it's a lot easier to just handwave away the giant plot and logic holes.
On Saturday I woke up to find that he was making waffles. Yay! Then he went off to work, and I went to Evanston for Movie Dictator at Kirsti andfizzball's place. The theme was "obsession," and so we watched L'Iceberg and Son of Rambow. The first was not my cup of tea ("Belgian comedy" is an oxymoron IMO), but the latter was GREAT and I HIGHLY recommend it. It was fun to see everyone, and we all chatted for hours once the movies were over. Plus, there was Pita Inn for lunch, which was way yummy.
Yesterday we got up late, rushed through breakfast, and headed to the Tivoli to preview a movie. (If a movie isn't digital, then the managers have to "build" the giant movie reel out of the film that's provided. So after a movie is built, someone has to watch it to make sure it all runs properly.) We watched Sugar, a really good movie about a baseball player from the Dominican Republic who comes to the U.S. to play in the minors. It sounds dull, but it was really well done, and it really made you care about whether or not Sugar would make it to the big leagues. After that, we went for a walk in a nearby prairie reserve, and I found out this morning that one of my coworkers saw us as he was biking there. Weird. Then we did some shopping, had dinner at his parents' house, and got home just before a HUUUUUGE wall of thunderstorms crashed down from the sky.
So that was my weekend. And now the weather has turned and it's colder and very windy outside, which means autumn is officially here. Yay! Tomorrow's high is only in the mid-fifties, which means it's sweater weather. I am pleased.
On Saturday I woke up to find that he was making waffles. Yay! Then he went off to work, and I went to Evanston for Movie Dictator at Kirsti and
fizzball's place. The theme was "obsession," and so we watched L'Iceberg and Son of Rambow. The first was not my cup of tea ("Belgian comedy" is an oxymoron IMO), but the latter was GREAT and I HIGHLY recommend it. It was fun to see everyone, and we all chatted for hours once the movies were over. Plus, there was Pita Inn for lunch, which was way yummy.Yesterday we got up late, rushed through breakfast, and headed to the Tivoli to preview a movie. (If a movie isn't digital, then the managers have to "build" the giant movie reel out of the film that's provided. So after a movie is built, someone has to watch it to make sure it all runs properly.) We watched Sugar, a really good movie about a baseball player from the Dominican Republic who comes to the U.S. to play in the minors. It sounds dull, but it was really well done, and it really made you care about whether or not Sugar would make it to the big leagues. After that, we went for a walk in a nearby prairie reserve, and I found out this morning that one of my coworkers saw us as he was biking there. Weird. Then we did some shopping, had dinner at his parents' house, and got home just before a HUUUUUGE wall of thunderstorms crashed down from the sky.
So that was my weekend. And now the weather has turned and it's colder and very windy outside, which means autumn is officially here. Yay! Tomorrow's high is only in the mid-fifties, which means it's sweater weather. I am pleased.
Long weekend in review
Sep. 8th, 2009 03:10 pmI haven't updated in a while, so I'll do a quick recap of what I've been up to.
On Saturday the Scientist worked, and I stayed home just in case my parents stopped by on their way to a wedding. Stupidly, though, I forgot that the wedding was on Sunday, not Saturday. So I could have gone out, but didn't. When the Scientist got home we made a big fancy dinner at home, which was nice. Then we watched a terrible, terrible movie called Immortal. I had seen it at Target and thought it looked interesting. We were smart and rented, not purchased, this movie. It made absolutely no sense. It's French sci-fi. I don't know what it is about France, but if it's not Luc Besson, then they just can't do sci-fi. This was a two-bottle-of-wine movie, people. Bad, but not Movie Dictator worthy.
Sunday I had planned to surprise the Scientist with something to do, so without telling him what was up we did a mini wine tour. First we drove up to Carpentersville to the Village Vintner, who had some very good wines. We ended up buying an amazingly buttery, oaky Chardonnay unlike any I've ever had before. Very tasty. Then we drove down to the historic (aka oldsy-timesy) Long Grove Village. They were doing an Irish festival there, which meant parking was a bitch, but eventually we found somewhere to park and made our way through the crowd to the Glunz Family Winery. Most of their stuff was just okay, but their Glogg was phenomenal. Needless to say, we bought a bottle to hoard for the winter. I was debating on taking the Scientist to the Valentino Vineyards, which was just around the corner, but the tasting at Glunz took far longer than I expected due to the crowds, and the place was closing by the time we got back to the car. Oh well, that place is pricey, anyway.
From there we headed back home, at which point we went to Buca di Beppo for our friend Tammy's surprise 30th birthday party. A bunch of people were there, and Tammy was totally shocked by everyone who showed up. (Seeing as how I got together with her and our mutual girlfriends on Friday for "her birthday party," she was really surprised. Nothing like having a party to fake a person out when it comes to the REAL party.) We all ate tons of food, and it was delicious.
Yesterday we woke up early to help my friend move furniture at the last minute. Hey, what's Labor Day without some manual labor, right? After that we went home, cleaned up, and chilled for a while. Then we headed downtown to meet up withfava_bean and aj. We hung out at a coffee shop for a few hours and played Sorry and Uno. I won Sorry, which meant I was destined to lose at Uno. After that we went to the Scientist's parents' house for dinner, and that's about it.
Right now I'm just ticking down the hours till the weekend, when the Scientist and I will head up to Michigan for the Wine & Harvest Festival. Yay!
On Saturday the Scientist worked, and I stayed home just in case my parents stopped by on their way to a wedding. Stupidly, though, I forgot that the wedding was on Sunday, not Saturday. So I could have gone out, but didn't. When the Scientist got home we made a big fancy dinner at home, which was nice. Then we watched a terrible, terrible movie called Immortal. I had seen it at Target and thought it looked interesting. We were smart and rented, not purchased, this movie. It made absolutely no sense. It's French sci-fi. I don't know what it is about France, but if it's not Luc Besson, then they just can't do sci-fi. This was a two-bottle-of-wine movie, people. Bad, but not Movie Dictator worthy.
Sunday I had planned to surprise the Scientist with something to do, so without telling him what was up we did a mini wine tour. First we drove up to Carpentersville to the Village Vintner, who had some very good wines. We ended up buying an amazingly buttery, oaky Chardonnay unlike any I've ever had before. Very tasty. Then we drove down to the historic (aka oldsy-timesy) Long Grove Village. They were doing an Irish festival there, which meant parking was a bitch, but eventually we found somewhere to park and made our way through the crowd to the Glunz Family Winery. Most of their stuff was just okay, but their Glogg was phenomenal. Needless to say, we bought a bottle to hoard for the winter. I was debating on taking the Scientist to the Valentino Vineyards, which was just around the corner, but the tasting at Glunz took far longer than I expected due to the crowds, and the place was closing by the time we got back to the car. Oh well, that place is pricey, anyway.
From there we headed back home, at which point we went to Buca di Beppo for our friend Tammy's surprise 30th birthday party. A bunch of people were there, and Tammy was totally shocked by everyone who showed up. (Seeing as how I got together with her and our mutual girlfriends on Friday for "her birthday party," she was really surprised. Nothing like having a party to fake a person out when it comes to the REAL party.) We all ate tons of food, and it was delicious.
Yesterday we woke up early to help my friend move furniture at the last minute. Hey, what's Labor Day without some manual labor, right? After that we went home, cleaned up, and chilled for a while. Then we headed downtown to meet up with
fava_bean and aj. We hung out at a coffee shop for a few hours and played Sorry and Uno. I won Sorry, which meant I was destined to lose at Uno. After that we went to the Scientist's parents' house for dinner, and that's about it.Right now I'm just ticking down the hours till the weekend, when the Scientist and I will head up to Michigan for the Wine & Harvest Festival. Yay!
(no subject)
Jun. 8th, 2009 01:02 pmI am very tired today. It is a holdover from Saturday, which was the day of my friend Tammy's bachelorette party. (For those of you who came to my wedding, it was Tammy's dad that married me and the Scientist. He and Tammy have been friends since elementary school.) Anyway, Tammy's marrying this really great guy on Saturday, so this past Saturday marked the debauchery that was her bachelorette party.
( The anatomy of the five-phase bachelorette party. )
So yeah, yesterday I spent a good chunk of the day recovering and just taking it easy. I didn't have a hangover or anything, I just felt like I was wiped out. I spent part of the day baking my birthday cake, and part of last night icing it. I still have more work to do on it tonight. I also watched part of Geoffrey Baer's behind-the-scenes-of-Chicago series on the local public TV station. This resulted in calls to bothxica_s and aj, as I know they both love those shows. Alas, neither was near a TV. Then last night I went to my in-law's for dinner, and we watched some Chuck. That was good.
( The anatomy of the five-phase bachelorette party. )
So yeah, yesterday I spent a good chunk of the day recovering and just taking it easy. I didn't have a hangover or anything, I just felt like I was wiped out. I spent part of the day baking my birthday cake, and part of last night icing it. I still have more work to do on it tonight. I also watched part of Geoffrey Baer's behind-the-scenes-of-Chicago series on the local public TV station. This resulted in calls to both
xica_s and aj, as I know they both love those shows. Alas, neither was near a TV. Then last night I went to my in-law's for dinner, and we watched some Chuck. That was good.Recipes needed
Jun. 1st, 2009 12:41 pmSpecifically, recipes that can be made in an iron skillet, or that you think can be adapted for an iron skillet.
( Here is why the recipes are needed. )
( Here is why the recipes are needed. )
Phones, garlic, and weepy movies
May. 15th, 2009 10:06 amLast night the Scientist and I got on the phone with T-Mobile and combined our accounts onto one. Not only are we now saving money, but all in-provider calls are free. I can now chat with him and fava_bean for free! That will cut down my used minutes by half, at least. Depending on how the new plan works out, we might upgrade to newer MyFaves-ready phones and switch over to that plan. Then, depending on if in-provider calls are STILL free with that plan, we can both pick five people to call for free and essentially cut down our used minutes even more. So if things work according to plan, we might be able to chop about $50 off our monthly phone bills.
After dealing with that, we went out to have dinner. A new tiny Italian bistro opened near us, and I've been wondering for a while if it's any good. Then we got a coupon in the mail and decided to check it out. For $25 we got an appetizer, salad, an entree each, two glasses of wine, and dessert to share. Not a bad deal at all. The food was pretty good, and we both think we'll head back. (Though I could have used less Andrae Bocelli over the speakers.) And I ate roasted garlic, which is oh so yummy. Normally I try to limit my garlic intake, because for some reason garlic clings to me for days after eating it. It's gross, and it upsets me because I love garlic but it makes me so stinky that I try not to eat it. However, I figured there was only one day left at work, and the Scientist won't get home from work until midnight, so I won't be bothering too many people with my garlic smell. Yay, garlic!
From there we went back home and watched The Iron Giant and split a bottle of wine. I knew that movie would make me cry, and it did. Such a good movie! Oh, Giant, you are Superman! Afterwards I was at that point where I just needed to cry more, though it wouldn't all come out. But then Serenity was on SciFi, and it was just at the point where the ship got all smashed and then the Imminent Death happened, and I cried some more. Stupid too much wine. Stupid emotions. Stupid Giant and dead character whom I loved.
But despite my wet face and puffy red eyes, I had a really nice evening.
fava_bean for free! That will cut down my used minutes by half, at least. Depending on how the new plan works out, we might upgrade to newer MyFaves-ready phones and switch over to that plan. Then, depending on if in-provider calls are STILL free with that plan, we can both pick five people to call for free and essentially cut down our used minutes even more. So if things work according to plan, we might be able to chop about $50 off our monthly phone bills.After dealing with that, we went out to have dinner. A new tiny Italian bistro opened near us, and I've been wondering for a while if it's any good. Then we got a coupon in the mail and decided to check it out. For $25 we got an appetizer, salad, an entree each, two glasses of wine, and dessert to share. Not a bad deal at all. The food was pretty good, and we both think we'll head back. (Though I could have used less Andrae Bocelli over the speakers.) And I ate roasted garlic, which is oh so yummy. Normally I try to limit my garlic intake, because for some reason garlic clings to me for days after eating it. It's gross, and it upsets me because I love garlic but it makes me so stinky that I try not to eat it. However, I figured there was only one day left at work, and the Scientist won't get home from work until midnight, so I won't be bothering too many people with my garlic smell. Yay, garlic!
From there we went back home and watched The Iron Giant and split a bottle of wine. I knew that movie would make me cry, and it did. Such a good movie! Oh, Giant, you are Superman! Afterwards I was at that point where I just needed to cry more, though it wouldn't all come out. But then Serenity was on SciFi, and it was just at the point where the ship got all smashed and then the Imminent Death happened, and I cried some more. Stupid too much wine. Stupid emotions. Stupid Giant and dead character whom I loved.
But despite my wet face and puffy red eyes, I had a really nice evening.
Anniversary weekend
Apr. 20th, 2009 08:26 amThis weekend marked our one-year wedding anniversary. The Scientist had to work Friday night and Saturday during the day, but Saturday night when he got home we took off for Chicago. One of our first dates was going to Greek Islands restaurant in Greektown, so we decided to hit up Greektown again. We went to Parthenon this time, and the food was wonderful. After that we came home, cracked open at 20-something-year-old bottle of wine and watched a romcom together.
Sunday morning we got up and went to Sweet Tomatoes for breakfast (we had a coupon). We filled up on biscuits & gravy and breakfast burritos, and all was well. Then we hopped in the car to road trip out to the country. We headed towards DeKalb and went to a town called Genoa, which is tiny and absolutely charming. The Prairie State Winery is there, and the guy working was really helpful and nice. We got a few bottles, including their Recession Noir, which not only tastes good, but has a great label and money from the sale of each bottle goes to the local Salvation Army. From there we headed south towards DeKalb, stopping in Sycamore to visit the Sycamore Winery. Unfortunately their wines weren't very good. Both the Scientist and I think that some of their wines had gone bad. We had heard (both on the website and from the guy at Prairie State) that the family that runs this winery was having health problems, and they were looking to get out of the business. I think because of that we felt obligated to buy, kind of out of pity. Luckily their pink grapefruit and pomegranate wines were good, so we got those. THEN we headed way south of DeKalb to a winery in the middle of nowhere. Waterman Winery is the only winery in northern Illinois to actually grow all their own grapes and fruits. Their winery is in their barn, next to all the giant John Deere tractors. The couple working were extremely nice, and talked with us for at least a half hour. Then the husband took us out to the other barn where they do all their winemaking to show us around. He even pointed out the different vines in the fields to tell us which ones make which wines. It was really interesting. When he found out it was our anniverary, he gave us complementary glasses of their watermelon wine. Very nice. THEN we drove to Geneva, which is one of the farthest western suburbs of Chicago. There was another winery there (a satellite location for a big winery close to Iowa), so we tried some more wine there and bought a few more bottles.
Needless to say, we are fully stocked when it comes to wine now.
We got home, and the Scientist took a nap while I watched TV. Then we went to Clara's for dinner. Clara's is this tiny Italian place near our house. They make all their own pasta, and it's WONDERFUL. The Scientist took me there for our first official date, and we haven't been back since. So I figured this was a good reason to return. The food was absolutely awesome. I couldn't finish it all, so guess what I'm having for dinner?
Today I am staying home from work to hang out with the Scientist. I had pre-approved this absence with my boss, so it's all good. I have no idea what we're going to do today, though. Originally we were hoping to go to the Oriental Institute, but they're closed Mondays. Then we were thinking of going to the Lincoln Park Zoo, but it's rainy and chilly. So I don't know what we'll be doing. We'll think of something. Right now he's downstairs making biscuits and gravy for breakfast. Mmmmm.
Anyway, it's been a great weekend. And it's been a great Year One. Despite having a whole bunch of bad shit thrown our way, this has been an absolutely wonderful year, and I've never been happier. :D
ETA: The Scientist is now putting our anniversary gift to use: a new Dyson vacuum. My parents andyakgirl went in to give us money for it, and combine that with the 20% off coupon that yakgirl sent, we only spent $140 on it! Nice. So the Scientist has been having fun sucking up cat hair and trying to attack me with the vacuum hose. Heh.
Sunday morning we got up and went to Sweet Tomatoes for breakfast (we had a coupon). We filled up on biscuits & gravy and breakfast burritos, and all was well. Then we hopped in the car to road trip out to the country. We headed towards DeKalb and went to a town called Genoa, which is tiny and absolutely charming. The Prairie State Winery is there, and the guy working was really helpful and nice. We got a few bottles, including their Recession Noir, which not only tastes good, but has a great label and money from the sale of each bottle goes to the local Salvation Army. From there we headed south towards DeKalb, stopping in Sycamore to visit the Sycamore Winery. Unfortunately their wines weren't very good. Both the Scientist and I think that some of their wines had gone bad. We had heard (both on the website and from the guy at Prairie State) that the family that runs this winery was having health problems, and they were looking to get out of the business. I think because of that we felt obligated to buy, kind of out of pity. Luckily their pink grapefruit and pomegranate wines were good, so we got those. THEN we headed way south of DeKalb to a winery in the middle of nowhere. Waterman Winery is the only winery in northern Illinois to actually grow all their own grapes and fruits. Their winery is in their barn, next to all the giant John Deere tractors. The couple working were extremely nice, and talked with us for at least a half hour. Then the husband took us out to the other barn where they do all their winemaking to show us around. He even pointed out the different vines in the fields to tell us which ones make which wines. It was really interesting. When he found out it was our anniverary, he gave us complementary glasses of their watermelon wine. Very nice. THEN we drove to Geneva, which is one of the farthest western suburbs of Chicago. There was another winery there (a satellite location for a big winery close to Iowa), so we tried some more wine there and bought a few more bottles.
Needless to say, we are fully stocked when it comes to wine now.
We got home, and the Scientist took a nap while I watched TV. Then we went to Clara's for dinner. Clara's is this tiny Italian place near our house. They make all their own pasta, and it's WONDERFUL. The Scientist took me there for our first official date, and we haven't been back since. So I figured this was a good reason to return. The food was absolutely awesome. I couldn't finish it all, so guess what I'm having for dinner?
Today I am staying home from work to hang out with the Scientist. I had pre-approved this absence with my boss, so it's all good. I have no idea what we're going to do today, though. Originally we were hoping to go to the Oriental Institute, but they're closed Mondays. Then we were thinking of going to the Lincoln Park Zoo, but it's rainy and chilly. So I don't know what we'll be doing. We'll think of something. Right now he's downstairs making biscuits and gravy for breakfast. Mmmmm.
Anyway, it's been a great weekend. And it's been a great Year One. Despite having a whole bunch of bad shit thrown our way, this has been an absolutely wonderful year, and I've never been happier. :D
ETA: The Scientist is now putting our anniversary gift to use: a new Dyson vacuum. My parents and
yakgirl went in to give us money for it, and combine that with the 20% off coupon that yakgirl sent, we only spent $140 on it! Nice. So the Scientist has been having fun sucking up cat hair and trying to attack me with the vacuum hose. Heh.I do not believe in such things as snow!
Apr. 6th, 2009 10:37 amThis weekend was pretty good. Friday night the Scientist and I met up with his friend K, and we had a great time. First we went to Famous Dave's for dinner, and it was good. Then we came back to our place to hang out for a bit, as we were going to a 9:50 showing of Adventureland. ( Spoilers for the movie. )
Saturday I putzed around the house, did some shopping, and baked brownies for Steve. (I owed him after he got Jason Segal to autograph my Freaks and Geeks yearbook.) Then Saturday night the Scientist and I met up withfava_bean to see our friend C in A Streetcar Named Desire. He was playing Stanley Kowalski in the play, and he did a really good job. Overall, the whole show was pretty damn good. I have to say I'm impressed with this local theater company; I really didn't expect the show to be as solid as it was. It was creepy to see my friend scream at people and beat them up and rape someone. So uplifting! As the Scientist said when the play ended, this is one show where you feel BETTER about your life once it's done. Oy!
My only prior knowledge of the play was from the Simpsons episode where Marge plays Blanche in a musical production of the play, "O Streetcar!" After act one ended with C bellowing "STELLAAAAAAAAAAA!" and the lights came on, both fava and I whispered the rest of the song "Can't you hear me yell-a, STELLA!" And of course the ending was ruined by the chorus repeating in my head "You can always depend on the kindness of strangers! To pluck up your spirits, and shield you from dangers! Now here's a tip from Blanche you won't regret... A stranger's just a friend you haven't met... You haven't met! STREETCAR!" Repeating and repeating and repeating.
Sunday around noon we headed downtown for Kirsti's birthday lunch. We met her, Greg, Steve, Jenni, Adam, and Michelle (and others we didn't know) at Cafe Iberico. There was SO MUCH FOOD. Two orders of paella, three orders of grilled octopus (so good!), two orders of spicy potatoes, two orders of dates with pancetta, mussels, sausages, rabbit, shrimp, mushrooms, olives... It just kept coming. We stuffed ourselves silly, but the Scientist had a reaction to the shrimp in the paella (even though he avoided the shrimp) and we ended up being the first to leave. Luckily, we missed the hail completely.
And that brings us to last night, when it SNOWED. Oh, Chicagoland weather. You're always keeping us on our toes! Right now everything is blanketed in white, and the sky is slate gray, and it's actually rather pretty if you're not actively in the cold.
Oh, random question: is anyone else out there watching Kings on NBC? I have to admit, I'm fascinated with this show. I hope the ratings don't suck and it gets cancelled.
Saturday I putzed around the house, did some shopping, and baked brownies for Steve. (I owed him after he got Jason Segal to autograph my Freaks and Geeks yearbook.) Then Saturday night the Scientist and I met up with
fava_bean to see our friend C in A Streetcar Named Desire. He was playing Stanley Kowalski in the play, and he did a really good job. Overall, the whole show was pretty damn good. I have to say I'm impressed with this local theater company; I really didn't expect the show to be as solid as it was. It was creepy to see my friend scream at people and beat them up and rape someone. So uplifting! As the Scientist said when the play ended, this is one show where you feel BETTER about your life once it's done. Oy!My only prior knowledge of the play was from the Simpsons episode where Marge plays Blanche in a musical production of the play, "O Streetcar!" After act one ended with C bellowing "STELLAAAAAAAAAAA!" and the lights came on, both fava and I whispered the rest of the song "Can't you hear me yell-a, STELLA!" And of course the ending was ruined by the chorus repeating in my head "You can always depend on the kindness of strangers! To pluck up your spirits, and shield you from dangers! Now here's a tip from Blanche you won't regret... A stranger's just a friend you haven't met... You haven't met! STREETCAR!" Repeating and repeating and repeating.
Sunday around noon we headed downtown for Kirsti's birthday lunch. We met her, Greg, Steve, Jenni, Adam, and Michelle (and others we didn't know) at Cafe Iberico. There was SO MUCH FOOD. Two orders of paella, three orders of grilled octopus (so good!), two orders of spicy potatoes, two orders of dates with pancetta, mussels, sausages, rabbit, shrimp, mushrooms, olives... It just kept coming. We stuffed ourselves silly, but the Scientist had a reaction to the shrimp in the paella (even though he avoided the shrimp) and we ended up being the first to leave. Luckily, we missed the hail completely.
And that brings us to last night, when it SNOWED. Oh, Chicagoland weather. You're always keeping us on our toes! Right now everything is blanketed in white, and the sky is slate gray, and it's actually rather pretty if you're not actively in the cold.
Oh, random question: is anyone else out there watching Kings on NBC? I have to admit, I'm fascinated with this show. I hope the ratings don't suck and it gets cancelled.
(no subject)
Feb. 19th, 2009 10:03 amFirst off, I'm using this icon because it's the only one I have with a car in it. Plus, it's Chicago. So I guess that counts for an LJ post all about the Chicago Auto Show, right? Sure, just play along.
( Dogs and the Auto Show, with pictures! )
By the time we got on the road to head home, it was already 9:30. The roads were icy as hell (some idiot with no headlights came close to t-boning me as he skidded through a red light), so the drive home was really slow. We hadn't eaten dinner, so we decided to stop by Bacci's Pizza on the way home.aj, the Scientist tried to call you but it went to voicemail, so ... sorry we missed you. We snarfed down pizza (I have leftovers for lunch!) and then headed home and practically passed out.
Tonight I'm making Turkish lamb burgers for dinner. Yay! I actually made it all up on Tuesday night, but since the Scientist had to cover an emergency shift at the theater, everything went into the fridge. So tonight it's just grilling the meat and we're good to go. I'm very curious to see how these taste. I hope they're good... And great, I just made myself hungry.
( Dogs and the Auto Show, with pictures! )
By the time we got on the road to head home, it was already 9:30. The roads were icy as hell (some idiot with no headlights came close to t-boning me as he skidded through a red light), so the drive home was really slow. We hadn't eaten dinner, so we decided to stop by Bacci's Pizza on the way home.
aj, the Scientist tried to call you but it went to voicemail, so ... sorry we missed you. We snarfed down pizza (I have leftovers for lunch!) and then headed home and practically passed out.Tonight I'm making Turkish lamb burgers for dinner. Yay! I actually made it all up on Tuesday night, but since the Scientist had to cover an emergency shift at the theater, everything went into the fridge. So tonight it's just grilling the meat and we're good to go. I'm very curious to see how these taste. I hope they're good... And great, I just made myself hungry.
