Ramblings from Royalty

It isn't a single tourist site though living close to Chicago makes it so I have plenty of really cool places to take family when they visit.  I love taking them to local restaurants, the food is so amazingly good here.  It isn't just one place that is noteworthy either, just about everything is better here.  Don't even get me started on the pizza.  I have yet to have just a mediocre slice around here (well as long as I stick to local shops and not national chains). 

My absolute favorite though has to be Portillos.  They make everything so good.  I am especially fond of the Italian Beef (hot of course).  Just dripping with goodness. 

It was my first official Chicago food.  After a long day of house hunting with my real estate agent Mike Kwain (Century 21 he is so awesome by the way.  You should call him up) he treated me to my first Italian Beef.  I was expecting something like a roast beef with au jus but no Portillos has perfected the art of beef, dripping with juices and flavor and the bun is just right.   It doesn't matter what time of day I order it it is always perfection.  My waistline is suffering but it seems so worth it at the time. 

I am fond of Home Run Inn pizza as well because I was there for dinner when I got the call that our offer on the house was accepted. 

You can complain about the weather here all you want and you would get absolute agreement from me but you can't complain about the food. 

This is so out of my comfort zone.  We moved into our place almost two years ago.  We left everything just as the previous owners left it so I have a mirror in the dining room.  Recently we bought a flat screen and mounted it on the wall.  Other than that my walls are bare.  The bedrooms are boring and white.  I want to jazz things up and create cute and cozy seating arrangements but feel so overwhelmed by the process. 

I bought a magazine to give me ideas but I soon realized that my budget and theirs are so far apart that I will never be able to do what they did or even come close.  I am considering hiring someone to do it for me.  Do you suppose with the economy the way it is I could get one cheap?  I need things to hang on my walls and cute floral arrangements and I guess lamps.  Doesn't everyone end up with lamps?  Oh I guess I need things for people to sit on.  I hear beanbag chairs are making a comeback. 

I bought almost all of our other furniture at Ikea perhaps I need to go back there for more ideas.  Ikea is a bit overwhelming and the idea of schlepping everything back home just to have to put it together makes it a little more unappealing. 

I will just keep plugging away and trying some things out.  If I keep to neutrals for the big pieces I can add little things like throw pillows for color.  At least that is what I think I read in some magazine. 

I love the Metra!  It took me a year to figure out there was a station only 3 miles away from my house.  Since that discovery I have visited the city more often and had a much better time.  It is stressful to find parking not to mention all of the honking of horns and the endless construction.  I live in the West Suburbs so the train ride is about 50 minutes but driving in on my own takes about that or more. 

Parking is so expensive especially with the new hikes in rates at the meters.   I think I read it can cost $6 for half an hour.  That is just crazy.

Metra has these weekend rates that are so cheap.  It is $5 for a pass you can use any time on Saturday and Sunday.  We were even able to use the same pass on Memorial day. 

Our most recent trip brought us in for a concert at the Chicago Theater, we arrived a little off schedule but had plenty of time to enjoy a little fast food at the food court and then walk to the theater.  The trip home was a little more hectic as the concert ended a little after 10 and we had to be to the station by 10:40pm.  We had to walk a little faster back, but that was good, worked up a sweat.

My mother is bringing two of my nieces to visit this summer and we are going to plot out all of their trips using the Metra.

The past months have slowly dragged by.  The winter was long and cold.  Finally the sun has come out and the temperature is rising along with my mood. 

I have found new love.  It isn't better than my old love, it is just a different love.  There is even more to love this time.  It is such a wonderful feeling to be excited to hold someone new, to wonder during the day what they are doing, are they okay, do they miss me too?  Racing home to see them and touch them again. 

I thought I could only love boys but instead I fell in love with girls.  It all happened so quickly, I was checking out a group and a member of the group ended up in my arms and my heart leaped.  I turned to my loving husband and said "Please can we keep this one?"  and then, "She will get lonely, we should take one of her siblings too".  Not too long after we were on our way home and our hearts that were so empty and still a little battered from our loss started to feel a little better, a little more complete. 

We have two kittens, both girls.  We named them Julie and Eartha after the beautiful women that played Catwoman on the Batman TV show.  They both make us laugh so hard when they play.  First thing in the morning they come looking for love and we are more than happy to give it to them.  Our lives have been changed once again and it feels so good.  It has only been a week and they have already gotten bigger.  They started out so tiny and a little scared, but they are feisty and love to wrestle.  Sleep is also one of the big activities, followed by food. 

I look forward to seeing them grow up to be even more beautiful and sweet. 

We have a dog.  His name is Tiger and he is now 14.  I got him as an 8 week old puppy.  Struggled through house training, sacrificed half my shoe collection to get him to 2.  He has been so loyal to me all these years.  We have shared good moments and bad. 

I love the way he sneezes and the way he sounds when he is sleeping.  At night it is always fun to have to race to claim your space on the bed before he steals it. 

The last few years he has really started to slow down.  Now he has virtually come to a stop.  Getting up after laying down is a struggle.  

Last night Ben and I picked a date.  December 14th that is the day we are going to say goodbye for good.  Even though it is the right thing to do it hurts to even think that in less than a month I won't have to fight him for the blankets, or to feel his nose push into my hand for more loving. 

Maybe another day I can write him a fitting tribute but today it is too new too painful. 

I thought it would be better to have the date set, we have been planning it for awhile, my dad even has the urn made for us.  We will pick it up on our trip home for the holidays. 

That is all from my kingdom for now. 

Finally, I have a friend that is local.  I love my online friends but sometimes it is nice to just have someone nearby to hang out with.  This is a new experience for me as my new friend is male.  His name is Drew and he is a very nice guy and we have quite a bit in common.  We met because he was a regular customer at work and we just started visiting.  We realized we had a lot in common and decided we should hang out.  Ben is supportive and that is nice, I think he was a little jealous when I went to a movie two days in a row while he was working.  Get Smart and Kung Fu Panda both really good movies by the way.  It is odd to start a friendship by making sure both parties understand the boundaries.  When I have had female friends in the past there has not been any feeling that one party might be looking for more than a friendship, in this one I wasn't sure at first so had to make it clear I was happily married.  So far I am having fun and it is nice. 

Work is going well though it is getting really busy now.  My class is keeping me busy as well.  Probably less busy if I would just do the assignment instead of putting it off forever.  Lately I have not been getting tired at night like I usually do.  I blame the late nights for work, either that or I am drinking caffeine too late in the day.  Probably the caffeine. 

I think that is all for now.  I hate humidity by the way. 

My friend Lauren said I don't post enough and when I do I don't make them long enough.  Yesterday was my birthday.  Another year.  I think my birthdays keep getting better and better.  I love them, I love the attention I get.  I also enjoy getting presents and eating cake.  My cake this year is so yummy.  I had my first cannoli and then we bought a cannoli cake.  So good. 

The best part of the day, we went to downtown Chicago and watched the musical Wicked.  It was amazing.  We left the house a little later than we probably should have so we got stuck in traffic.  It always takes way too long to get downtown.  We found parking pretty quickly so we made it to our seats on time.  Right next to the Oriental Theatre is a place called Garrett's which is supposed to have the best popcorn ever.  I wanted some so bad but didn't have time to get some before the show.  I wanted to get some afterwards but they were closed.  Now I am going to have to go downtown again to get some popcorn.  Speaking of downtown, parking is so expensive.  It was $22 to park last night.  We may have been able to find cheaper parking but there was no time. 

The production was so good, I loved the set design and the costumes, the singing was so good.  I never really thought it was going to be funny and then it was.  Galinda was so hilarious.  I can't wait to take my nieces to it.

Oh I like to do product reviews on these and I have a new one.  A few months back I ordered a spot carpet cleaner from bissel online.  They accidentally sent me the wrong thing at first.  They sent this steam mop, I was not interested in it because I was more worried about my carpets at the time.  So time went by and I decided to give this steam mop a try.  I love it.  It is so easy and it does a great job.  My favorite thing is the mop heads come off and you can throw them in the washer.  Makes clean up so easy. 

I can't believe I have not posted in so long.  I won't even try to catch up with all of the changes that have been going on. 

Saturday is Ben and I's 11year anniversary.  I am so happy with him and I am glad we have stuck through the hard times.  He makes me so happy.  We will be watching the new Indiana Jones movie of course and probably find somewhere nice to have dinner. 

Tomorrow we are going to see the White Sox playing the Cleveland Indians.  I am excited we are going to be doing something new.  On my birthday in a couple of weeks we are going to see Wicked the Musical.  Way way way excited about that. 

We did sign up for Netflix.  I love it.  There are a lot of options for the view on the internet and they have so many movies.  Much better than Vongo.

I have been picking up a few new household products and some of them just make me want to rave.  First the Scrubbing Bubbles Fresh Brush Max is fabulous.  Love it!  My old toilet brush was a bio hazard.  I used one of the scrubbing pads and it wasn't flimsy like I thought it would be.  It has a little button that releases the pad so you don't have to touch it before or after use.  It even has a little hook that you put on the tank and the handle hangs out of sight. 

Second product....I love the Swiffer.  I bought one a long time ago and I love how the little cloths pick up all the dog's hair off the floor.  Now that I have hard wood floors again I knew my Swiffer would be getting a lot more use again.  A number of years ago I bought the Swiffer wet jet.  Hated it.  It was a pain to use and I didn't like dealing with it.  They now have these wet clothes that fit on the little Swiffer and I love them.  If I had a major spill I don't think they would work but for a light mopping they work wonderfully.  My hardwood floors look great.

Last product is definitely my favorite of them all.  I went to Bath & Body Works this weekend because the previous owner's left behind some hand soap and I became addicted to it.  The bottle was almost empty and I saw that they were having a sale so it was the time to stop and stock up.  I decided as one of my scents to try the Kitchen Lemon, in the moisturizing.  It is so nice.  The scent is very mild and not overly girly so hubby likes it too.  The amazing thing is it takes the garlic smell off your hands in one wash.  I use lots of garlic in my cooking and I can have fingers that smell like garlic for days.  Not with this stuff it was gone leaving behind only a light lemon scent.  I went to the website and they are sold out of the fragrance so if you want to run out and get some I say you had better hurry as it looks like I am the last one in on the secret.  They have it in deep cleaning and the moisturizing I prefer the moisturizing one because my skin tends to be dry. 

Ben stopped at the furniture store last night and bought the chair I fell in love with.  Yay I will have some place to sit besides on a metal folding chair or on the bed.  The chair is camel colored with three throw pillows.  It is over sized and can hold both Ben and I.  It is round and it swivels.  It does not recline, however it sticks out in the front so your legs rest on the chair instead of hanging over the end.  It is really comfortable and I love curling up in it.  It will be delivered on Friday.  I will take pictures and post them somewhere. 

We closed on the house on Tuesday.  That was exciting.  We actually did our part last Friday but the seller's signed theirs on Tuesday to make it official.  The house came with an air conditioner which is really nice but what is even nicer is the one that was there when I made the offer has been replaced with a shiny new one.  We have the best luck ever.  I am so glad the old one broke before we closed so the previous owners had to pay for the replacement. 

The apartment is full of boxes full and empty.  Everything is kind of a mess.  I hate moving.  This move is rather emotional too.  It is so far away.  I try to be excited but I keep thinking of all the people and things I am going to miss.  We have been going to all our favorite restaurants.  Last night I had the yummiest pizza from Flying Pie.  Man those guys know how to make a pizza.  The #17 vegetarian was perfect.  I tried the Denver.  It was good but I think I am just a fan of the red sauce. 

I am also a little sad.  I have a really good friend Derek who told me yesterday he was going to try match.com.  I am happy for him because he would make a great boyfriend or husband but it makes me sad because I know he won't have time to talk to me as much.  We spend hours and hours on AIM almost daily.  It has been so much fun and I am going to miss him.  I am looking forward to hearing about his dates though.  I am sure we will remain friends it will just be different. 

Okay my friend Layren tagged me so now I have to make a list of 10 things that most people don't know about me.  Here it goes.

1.  I collect dolls, not ceramic ones but the vinyl ones.  I have two Chatty Cathy dolls (reproductions), three Madame Alexander, and some others.  I have some modern ones and some pretty old ones.  I would love to get a Lee Middleton doll but it will be awhile as they are very very expensive.

2.  I have gotten one speeding ticket in my life.  I was headed back from a visit with my mom, we had gone to a women's conference and it was late and I had to work early the next day.  When I was saying goodbye to my mom she asked me not to speed and I said I wouldn't but as soon as I hit the freeway I had the pedal all the way to the floor and was in 5th.  At the top of a hill  a car headed the opposite way highlighted the state trooper that was sitting waiting.  I knew I was busted.  I was pulled over practically before he even pulled out.  I don't feel as bad about speeding but I feel bad about lying to my mom.

3.  I love to sing, I even took voice lessons but I am not very good.  I am always singing in my car and I love musicals.  I watch them over and over again.  I am excited to go see Wicked when we move to Chicago.

4.  I love animals.  I used to collect them as pets when I was a kid.  I have had two cats that were my own the first was a female named Patches she had lots and lots of kittens.  We lived in the country and it wasn't a problem to have a lot of cats, the next cat I had was a big tom cat named Neko san.  I would bring home cats and dogs (they followed me home).  Those didn't seem to stay around long.  I had two pet rabbits and a lot of chickens.  My first dog was a little long haired stray, probably a terrier mix.  She weighed maybe 12 pounds.  She died when I was away at college her name was Mopsey.  I also had a pet Ball Python named Baby.  My most recent pet is my dog Tiger he isn't that recent as he is 13 and I have had him since he was a puppy.  Love him love him love him.

5.  I am the middle child of 7 and I fit the classic description of a middle child.   We are full siblings too my parents are still married to each other after 41 years. 

6.  I am a rule follower.  I try so hard to obey the rules even if I think the rule is silly or stupid I will still follow it.  I love being a teacher's pet.  I want people in authority to like me.  Never went through the teenage rebellion really.

7.  I used to collect shoes like Imelda Marcos.  I had more than 100 pairs once upon a time.  I would love to have that many again but hubby helps keep me in check.

8.  I hate change.  I want things to stay the same always.  Even if I hate something I will keep it because I would rather keep it than get something new.

9.  I wear something pink everyday.  Sometimes I am head to toe in pink sometimes the pink is well hidden.

10.  Sports I have participated in:  Swim team for 8 years (loved it), softball for three years (loved the game hated the coach).  Track ran longer distances, Basketball in 7th grade (I sucked, it is hard to be good when you are only 5ft tall),  and tennis. 

I went to Chicago last week on a serious mission.  Find a house in three days or less.  I completed my mission.  I found us a one story townhouse in a suburb of Chicago.  It is really cute.  2 bedrooms 1 bath but totally remodeled.  The neighborhood looks really nice and homey. 
I had great weather while I was there and I ate too much good food.  I am excited for my family and friends to come and visit us and see our new home and town.  What an adventure!

Moving day is August 11th so those of you in the area now is the time to make plans for hanging out and general merriment.  It is an exciting change but also scary and it will be hard to make new friends. 

Graduation was yesterday.  It was an amazing experience.  I was close to tears a number of times but didn't actually cry.  I sat with my friends from my psychology classes and the waiting seemed to be forever.  We met in the morning for the breakfast and to get our name cards.  Then we had to go sit in the gym on hard little chairs.  We sat by major but after that we could sit with anyone within that major.  I chose to sit by Adam.  Adam worked with me on the Zoo project this semester.  He is a really nice guy.  Him and his wife work at a cat rescue center called Simply Cats.  Anyway we sat in the gym and they gave us instructions.  Eventually we filed into the Taco Bell Arena where it seemed to be packed with family and friends.  Pomp and Circumstance was playing as we walked down the aisle to our row.  That was one of the points at which I almost cried.  I had finally done it I was wearing the outfit but at that point it was real.  

The speeches were good and the best part was they were short.  I also found out I was graduating in the year of magic which I thought would be a james bond reference but it turns out it was a Bronco Football reference.  We went undefeated this season and won as major underdogs the Tostidos Fiesta Bowl.  Pretty exciting stuff.  They has 1180 graduates walking and when they started reading off the names they went crazy fast.  Even though I was near the end it didn't seem to take long to get to me.  I was at the front of the arena handing off my name card and then shaking the Dean's hand and then briefly on the Jumbotron flashing an "I Love You" sign and over to the photographers.  If I was going to cry I had no time.  Then it was over and we were again marching out of the arena and out into an overcrowded field to meet up with our families.  

We had a picnic for family and friends.  Mainly family showed up.  It was a nice day even if it was a little warm.  We had too much food as usual but that seemed to be okay too.  I would rather have too much than not enough.  It was nice to just sit and visit for awhile.  One of my favorite professors Atara MacNamara came.  She brought me a card and a dozen pink roses.  I am known for wearing pink and even had to show fellow students that my dress had pink on it under my robe.  

One of the funny things that happened during graduation was when the construction engineers went up to get their diplomas.  They switched their mortarboards for orange hard hats with BSU logos on them.  They looked so cute.  

I am so thankful for my family, especially Benjamin that encouraged me and supported me through this journey.  I am so glad that I took the plunge and decided to finish the degree.  It is wonderful to be able to say I graduated from college.  It is about time. 

I was sitting here contemplating what I needed to get done today and not one homework assignment was on the horizon.  It seems so strange the last couple of years have been filled with papers and assignments and now nothing.  Yes I have four finals left to go but three of them are open book so I am not too worried about them.  

Not too much else is going on.  

Though since I feel it necessary to say something meaningful I feel compeled to talk about attention.  It has been a theme over the last few days. Do we give those we love enough attention?  Probably not, I know lately I have not been giving hubby enough as I have been stressed about last minute assignments.  How much of an impact would we have on the lives of our loved ones if we gave them the attention they deserved?  Would there be less violence in the world and more love?  I believe there could be.  I am going to be better. 

So I had to watch the movie Crash for a class.  I enjoyed the movie and it made me think.  One of the things that struck me about the movie was how it used stereotypes.  So I wonder do stereotypes spread because people think that is how they are supposed to behave if they are part of that group?  There are a number of reasons I ask, first I was visiting my sis recently and went to a Starbucks, there was a young man working there and he just about perfectly illustrated the media stereotype of a homosexual male.  Is this how this gentleman behaves naturally and is the stereotype just that accurate or does he behave in that manner because he embraces that identity and feels that is how he is supposed to act?
Second situation, in the movie Terrence Howard plays a TV producer and one of his actors does not speak a line "black" enough.  I have had little exposure to black people in real life and typically only see what is shown in the media.  The black people I have met and made friends with do not speak "black" based on what is shown in the media.  Are they the exceptions?  Do young black children grow up listening to music and watching TV and learn to speak in a manner that is demonstrated by black people in the media?  It seems to be similar to the question of which came first the chicken or the egg.  Who is influencing who?
These things just make me wonder sometimes, what behaviors or attitudes have I adopted because I thought I was supposed to because I am a college student, a white woman, an Idahoan, or I am sure countless other labels I have been given or have taken on.

Phew!  I am home again at last.  It is so nice.  I went with my sisters Nicole and Amy to Vancouver, WA to visit my oldest sister Rebecca and her family.  We had a blast.  We went to Cannon Beach and Seaside for the day and visited the beach, ate good food, and went shopping.  We had nice visits the other days as well.  I am tired and glad to be home.  My dog missed me so much and was so glad to see me when I got to my parents house.  They were kind enough to let him stay with them so Ben wouldn't have to worry about coming home from work during the day to give him a walk.  They are retired now and could let him out more often.  
My sister Nicole brought me back to my place in Boise this morning and now I am so tired I think I will have to have a nap.