You could pass put candy by hand OR you could make a pulley out of a broom and sit on your porch with a beer while deciding which kids to lower the pumpkin for.
Brilliant.
Call Your Grandmother
I called my grandmother a few days ago, just to say hello and tell her I love her. I don’t do it often enough these days; I let my worry over if she can hear me or if she is having a clear day or, to be honest, being busy with my own things get in the way which I realized is entirely bullshit the moment she answered the phone. Just hearing her voice made me cry. Here she is, 96 years old, and asking specifically how my trip to LA was, how Ryan is doing, if we have settled in to the new condo…it is just amazing- I have zero expectation of her remembering anything, she’s 96 for crying out loud.
I think her voice has sounded the same since I was a child. It was so good to hear it. Her voice is something I don’t have to miss yet.
When I hung up the phone, I thanked God for my darling, thoughtful, kind hearted grandmother…and looked up to see this church. Noted: call (and tell!) the people you love if for no other reason than you love them.
2 Observations
I have been in LA for around 5 hours and I have 2 observations.
1- The West Coast has ruined me for sushi. First Vancouver, now LA- it’s just so, so much better out here. Dinner tonight was unbelievable. Proximity to water and all, I suppose.
2- So. Many. Mirrors. I have never seen so many mirrors in my life. The restaurant, the hotel, the gym, every surface in my hotel room. I am watching TV into a wall made of mirrors and the shower? I just have never seen so much of myself in one day. It’s been all me, all the time and I feel like I get that plastic surgery stereotype- if everyone is surrounded like this, I can see why no one has their original nose.
Tomorrow is for trainings and some fun workouts so I am sure there will be more than 2 observations by end of day. Stay tuned.
Care Packages
Moms are the best. And so are seasonal cocktail napkins.
Highlights
Weekend highlights pictured include the biggest piece of lasagna in the world c/o Rose Angelis, receiving the first gift from our wedding registry, dinner at the Halloween’ified Hubbard Inn and turning our time at Bub City into a game night with a large side of singing country music at the top of our lungs (and of course, the fried pickles). Not pictured (what can’t be pictured, really) is how darn good it was to have some of our best friends in town for the weekend. It was a blast showing them some things we love about our city and nothing beats having face time with people you love. So whether it was catching up sitting in our living room while devouring pastries from Beatrix, belly laughing over tots and football at our favorite neighborhood bar or walking down the street talking exclusively in hash tags, it was one of my very favorite weekends. I wish they lived closer but I am so grateful for the in-person celebrating we got to do, even if the time went way too fast.
Friday!
Cheers! It’s Friday!
Ready to Rock
Sweater and boot season has arrived! When I was in college, planning a good outfit for an exam always helped me feel alert and ready to rock. I’ve prepared for this little work excursion like I was studying so the same plan applied. Boots and polka dots, hot coffee in hand, notes out to review before hopping on the jet…ready to rock is an understatement!
Let’s all go be great today, shall we? Happy Hump Day, friends.
Update: the cookies were from Alliance Bakery in Wicker Park. Thanks for the intel, Gina!
Cookies
Cookies are good but Chicago flag cookies are great. I had this little guy at an event last Friday and am trying to track down its origin because it was really, really great.
Speaking of cookies, I have a pretty high pressure work trip tomorrow and I want to eat all of the cookies, like all of the cookies in the world right now. I am well prepared for the trip and it’s only a 24 hour jaunt but I am sweating it. Please send cookies and, after Thursday evening, wine.
I attended my first condo association meeting tonight. I didn’t know what a condenser was (something with the A/C, apparently), I said we didn’t have satellite even though we definitely have DirecTV (which IS satellite, apparently) and I raised my hand to call “not it” when the open position of treasurer came up. So, all in all, everyone basically left the meeting shaking their heads, wondering how I could possibly be a homeowner.
Monday. Oy.
Marathon Sunday
Marathon Sunday. Nothing makes me want to be great more than watching cheering on runners who have spent months preparing for this morning, this run and freaking doing it. It’s just a beautiful and inspiring reminder that pretty much anything is available to us if we decide we want it and do what it takes to get there.
Related: while I had a blast dancing and cheering my heart out this morning, I had serious “I wish I was running!” envy. I had a great experience on 10-10-10 so maybe another Chicago marathon is the best way to close out my 20s next year…
Congratulations, runners! You rocked every one of those 26.2 miles and now you’re marathoners! High fives and ice baths, all around!
