eee!

So a while back, sunbrae was poking at people to come back to LJ, and this morning I have a little bit of free time, so here I am. Hi, sunny! Hi, missrachael! Hi, anyone else who may still be here!

There's been a lot going on in my life since I last posted. Both of the kids had birthdays, which went well. MDR came first -- he's now two -- and we had a Kung Fu Panda themed party for him. He didn't really seem to grasp what was happening, but he knew to try to blow out the candles on his cake. Then VEE turned five and we had a DC Superhero Girls party for her. She got so many gifts. Holy Pete. Being the only granddaughter/niece on both sides of the family makes for a very spoiled little girl.

She's doing great in preschool. She's READING. Like, legitimately reading. Now every night at bedtime she insists on reading a book herself (which makes the bedtime routine last much longer than it should, but she's reading, so I shouldn't complain). I'm really so proud of her. And MDR is starting to talk a little more than he was a few weeks ago. He's very tight-lipped, but he likes to try to recite the alphabet along with us. He's also lately obsessed with Super Why on PBS, which is fine by me. I'm convinced to this day that VEE's obsession with that show is why she knew her alphabet at such a young age.

So the big event that happened in my life recently is that I had THE BEST WEEKEND EVER last weekend when my sister came to town. Many, many months ago, I got an e-mail from deeablo saying that a friend of our mutual friend was trying to get a group together to go in on early group sales for Hamilton in Chicago. So I called my sister, who said if it was a Friday or Saturday she'd fly in from RI to see the show with me (considering she can't get tickets in NYC). It turns out our group got tickets for last Friday, so on Thursday night she flew in after work. We spent Thursday night at home playing with VEE's Fashion Plates together. Friday morning we took her to preschool and then afterwards the four of us, MDR included, went to Portillo's for lunch so yakgirl could get a Chicago-style hot dog. Then we came home and played Wii bowling with VEE and got ready for the show. We dropped the kids off, then headed downtown.

It was pretty awesome to see how genuinely excited yakgirl was to be back home in Chicago. She's lived in RI for so long, but Chicago's still home. She kept snapping photos of the skyline (which is the most impressive skyline in all of the US -- sorry not sorry, NYC) and she got pictures of all the congratulatory Cubs World Series signs. We found parking right near the theater and then walked over to the Palmer House Hotel so she could use the bathroom in the lobby. Dear God, that hotel is swanky! I've always heard of the Palmer House but never went in. It's all mosaic ceilings and gilded statues holding lanterns and wow. The hotel was a block across and over from the hotel where we were seeing Hamilton, so she got a bunch of photos of that to show people at home. Then we walked over to Daley Plaza to go to the Christkindlmarket, which she'd never done before. We looked at all the little shops, bought mugs of mulled wine, and then she got some candied nuts (amaretto and rum flavored). THEN we found a vendor selling baked apples filled with marizpan, nuts, and raisins and glazed in cinnamon sugar. OMGGGGGGGG yum.

After that, we headed over to Italian Village, a mainstay restaurant downtown, for dinner. She hadn't been there since her senior year in high school, 1992. It's where she and her BFF went for dinner before prom. We kept laughing that he tried to ask for the wine list and the waiter just snapped back "NO!" and walked off. She was all "Do you think we could get wine tonight?" and that made us giggle. Maybe you had to be there... So we had dinner there and then headed over to the theater to meet our group at 7 for the 7:30 show. It was me and yakgirl, deeablo, xica_s, mei_x, and a last-minute fishdoctorpost. And of course deeablo's and my friend who set it up, along with her son and then two more acquaintances. We were all geeking out the whole way inside, and then there was the requisite buying of merchandise. (I got a t-shirt with the Chicago flag on it, except all the stars are replace with Hamilton stars.) Our seats were way high up, but it was actually not bad at all, as the higher seats gave us a chance to really watch all the choreography (which was non-stop -- get it?) as well as watch how the turntables worked. The show was A.MAY.ZING. I can't even tell you how great it was. And the cast in Chicago is TIGHT. Migeul Cervantes, the Chicago Hamilton, is really good. The man can rap AND sing, which is great. Both of the Schyler Sisters were phenomenal (and Peggy). Laurens, Mulligan, and Lafayette were good, though the guy who played Lafayette was better as Jefferson. Washington had a great voice (though he's no Chris Jackson, but NO ONE can sing like that guy), and Burr... Wow. The guy playing Burr had a different take on it that I expected. He played the role more angry. You could physically see him start to rage out and then he'd just pull it back in, and dear God his voice. Wow. When he finished "The Room Where It Happens," I honestly thought he was going to get a standing ovation right then and there. It's just SO GOOD. If any of you get a chance to come to Chicago to see the show, DO IT. Afterwards yakgirl and I hung out by the stage door for autographs. We met Hamilton, Washington, and Jefferson. It was a really great day all around.

So that's what's been keeping me up and running this week. Which, considering my children's sleeping habits, is good. As for today, I have to finish cleaning the house, straightening the kids' room and the playroom, and then start getting ready for our Christmas party tonight. It's supposed to start snowing this afternoon, so I wouldn't be surprised if people start dropping out because they don't want to drive in the snow. We'll see. We have the house all decorated and it looks very nice. Hopefully we'll be able to get everything ready for tonight in time. Which means I really should get off the computer and start cleaning up.

I hope you're all well. If I don't post again before the holidays, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas or Hannukah this year. And best wishes for a wonderful New Year. 2016 has been a shitshow, and 2017 doesn't hold much promise, but fingers crossed! Take care, y'all.

Why oh why don't I live in L.A.? Because I would go to this in an instant. Unfortunately there will be no Laurence Fishburne. However, "...Laurence said to Pee Wee, 'But listen, if you decide you're going to do another movie, I'll get that Jheri curl out and I'll be there...'" A girl can only dream!

In other news, thanks to aj for the Devil Duck on my profile. Woooo!

1. Last night I went shopping at the outlet mall. While there, both fava_bean and yakgirl called me, but I didn't answer and so owe each of them return calls. When fava calls, my phone plays Robin Sparkles' "Let's Go to the Mall." I found this funny, as I was at a mall when fava called, and Robin started singing on my phone. (I don't go to the mall very often, so it's the little things that amuse me.)

2. I finally bought a new pair of khaki-colored pants at the outlet. I am pleased with this turn of events. I also bought a new pair of winter boots, as my previous pair died last winter. I went to the Timberland outlet, as I figured if I were to buy winter boots, I'd get me some winter boots, you know? The options for women's boots in my size were minimal, and the one pair I liked had zero support and very little tread. So I got a pair of guy's boots, and they are hardcore and awesome and I am ready for snow. WOOOOO!

3. I'm still planning with my mom about Thanksgiving. I will make pumpkin pies! Oh, yes.

4. We have acquired Star Trek. Repeat. We have acquired Star Trek. We watched some of the special features last night, but this does not include the gag reel. So far, it needs more John Cho.

5. Work is D-U-L-L.

6. Democratic Party, stop calling me for donations! I've been telling you for months that I can't/won't donate. Take a hint already! It's not that I don't like you, it's that I can't afford to give you my money. My charity money is already earmarked for the girl I sponsor in the Phillipines. Leaving blank voicemail messages doesn't make me want to give you money, either.

7. You know who makes no sense to me? My parents. They live in Michigan now, right? Well, sometime this week (today, maybe?) they're coming down to Illinois. Why? Because there's something wrong with their car, and they're taking it to the dealer they trust in Joliet. :| If there's something wrong with your car, driving it 180 miles to get it fixed makes PERFECT sense, doesn't it? I swear, one day I'll get a call from them saying they broke down on I-94 in Indiana. Also, they drive back to Illinois for car repairs, dentist visits, appointments with the lawyer, etc., and half the time they do this during the day and don't stick around, so I don't even get to see them. :|

8. I have barely watched any TV lately. It's kind of nice.

9. I have no idea what to get the Scientist for Christmas. I bought him one thing the other day, but it's kind of impersonal and practical, which is dull. I want to get him something nice for Christmas, but I have no ideas this year. Phooey.

10. Tomorrow night is The Addams Family. WHOOOOOOO! Bebe Neuwirth! Nathan Lane! Terrence Mann! I hope it's good.

11. I asked the Scientist to get my 60GB iPod repaired for Christmas. I thought the battery was dead. He just called from the store, and it seems that the hard drive is completely corrupted. Booooooo. (We actually have two dead iPods, both with the same problem.) They said it will cost $250 to get a new hard drive put in just one of the two, or for the same price we can get a brand new iPod with 160GB and video capacity. We'd also get a discount for recycling one of the dead iPods. So I guess I'm getting a new iPod for Christmas? This means I've really got to step up and get the Scientist something good...

And that's all I've got.

It seems that Andrew Lloyd Webber is making a sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, this time set in Coney Island. The Phantom will have left Paris, set up shop in the freak show at Coney Island, worked his way up to running the place, and will still have a hard-on for Christine.

Seriously.

Okay, I will fess up and readily admit to LOVING this musical when I was a kid. LOVED IT. To this day, I could probably sing the entire soundtrack at you by memory. It's rather pathetic. As an adult, my opinion of this show (and ALW) has changed dramatically, but I still enjoy it for the cheeseball spectacle that it is. However, this new show sounds like a COMPLETE disaster. Even its title is ham-fisted and ridiculous: Love Never Dies. Oy vey. ALW, what are you thinking?

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In other news, I'll be going to visit yakgirl and her family this weekend. Yay! I'm looking forward to carving pumpkins with my nephews. And the younger one turns 3 on Sunday, so we'll be doing a mini birthday party as well. Fun!