The Holiday

Follow the link to get a peek at our holiday fun!

The Holiday

A little Christmas thriller...

What does one do when the first snow falls?

Mark and I head to the park.  But will we both return????

They Eat Your Friend

Side note: Mark and I recorded random park footage without a storyboard planned or a final vision in mind.  This is what happens when we grab a camera, run to the park, and run back before the frostbite sets in.

And another one...

Some might say I have a bit of time on my hands....

The Move

Thanksgiving Trailers

Still playing with iMovie....

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving with Uncle Jerry and Bac Giang (Aunt Christine).  Norm, Kristen and Laura did a fantastic job with the dinner.

As I have muted cooking skills, my contribution was to document the festivities.  Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Action Trailer

Thanksgiving Documentary Trailer

Experiments with my new Macbook

About a week ago I purchased a Macbook - and all I have to say is that switching from PC to Mac is like learning how to drive a stick-shift after years of using an automatic.  Or vice-versa, depending on who's making the argument.

It's frustrating to me that I have this wonderful machine in front of me and I only know about 25% of what it's capable of.

Anyhow - today I started playing with iMovie's trailer function.  I created two from random vacation footage from the past year.  Enjoy!!

Tower over Chicago

"Mamooth" (Mammoth Lakes)

Fondue Finish!

30,000 people attended this year's Hot Chocolate 5K.  That's a lot of people.

As a couple, Thanh and I are pretty easy to analyze.  I'm the sociable creative one, he's the quiet introspective one.  But when it comes to how we spend our free time, we're actually opposites.  I prefer to hole myself up in the house with a book, avoiding crowds and parties at all costs.  Thanh likes to surround himself with people, either hanging out downtown or chowing down in a popular restaurant. Arguments have ensued over my hermit-like urges, so as we shuffled into the runners' corral surrounded by thousands of athletes, I looked up at him and said, "Well, you said you wanted people.  I give you people."

It was 7:30 AM down in Grant Park.  My adrenaline was pumping, but not because of the music blasting through the speakers or the enthusiastic unity of the crowd.  I had to get to the porta-potty stat!  Last Tuesday I succumbed to a nasty bout of the stomach flu which kept me incapacitated for three days.  It kept me from training and from working.  Though a round of acupuncture revived my energy and blessed me with a blissful night of sleep, I was still feeling queasy as we pulled up to the race.  I thought carbo-loading last night was a good idea (oatmeal and spaghetti and bananas), but in retrospect, it made the walk from the parking structure to the starting-line long and tremulous.

I was also nervous that we wouldn't be able to physically handle the race.  Did I mention that Thanh had the flu last week?  Yup.  Much to our surprise, though, we ran the whole race!  With the exception of walking past the gatorade table.

A few factors contributed to our athletic success:

-Weeks of training built our stamina, so getting sick didn't really knock us back much.

- It was freezing!  When we arrived it was around 35 degrees and it maybe went up to 40 by the time we started running.  Even if I wanted to walk, I couldn't, because every time I slowed down my hip flexors started cramping up!

-  Running with thousands of people down the lakefront slows your pace, but keeps up your spirit!  It's easy to keep running when you're surrounded by determination!

Coolest moments:

The lady running with a stuffed Yoda strapped to her back.

Rounding Soldier Field and seeing the morning sun over Lake Michigan and the downtown skyline.

A guy stopped Thanh and I when we were walking back to our car and asked us, "Hey, are you guys runners?  And without pausing we both answered, "Yeah."

Oh.  And running on highway.  I've never run on a highway before.  That was cool. 

Here are some pictorial highlights in no particular order:
  

The view at the 2 mile mark. My friend Cathy took this picture. 

Just finished!

Our badass bibs.

I'll take you down!

Rocky Balboa moment.

Ghiriardelli fondue!

I packed my cheeks with marshmellows.  Just kidding.  Those are just my cheeks.

Thanh's 5th grade photo. 

My new running outfit.

It's getting cold in Chicago.  So I gotta suit up.

What's sweeter than chocolate? Our first 5K!!

What makes Chicago sweeter than a CHOCOLATE-SPONSORED 5K!!

When I brought up the desire to run a 5K, one of the parents at school recommended the Hot Chocolate 5K because it "has the best goodie-bag!"  Apparently, 5K's are all about the goodie-bag.  I checked it out - the bag includes a great jacket and knit hat for the brisk autumn run, and the after-party has chocolate, fondue, and tons of goodies sponsored by Ghirardelli.  That's enough to motivate me to train!! 

So, Thanh and I have decided to run our first 5K - the "Hot Chocolate 5K" on November 6th.  I've wanted to do one for a while, but I didn't want to do it by myself.  But a few weeks ago, Thanh started running with me, and now I have a running buddy!! 

Oh man...it's going to be autumn...that means I'm going to have to invest in some runner's leggings and some earmuffs....

We'll take a camera with us and take lots of chocolate-covered pics!  Wish us luck!!

(Wanna peek at the details?  Go to Hot Chocolate 5K)

ends today thinking....

"Everything is a step forward,"

and, "always thank your teachers,"

and, "Gee that wine was gooood."

I know you're awaiting video or our Hamilton House, or as I like to call it, "The HamHouse", or "HamHome."  It's coming.  I swear.  I've just been very very busy but this last Saturday I finally brushed the last coat of generic white paint upon the walls of my old apartment, put the keys on the kitchen counter, shed a few tears, and then drank a good cheap bottle of Cabernet from Trader Joe's. 

So while I hold you in suspense for pictures pictures pictures, a few things I love about The HamHouse.

Things Hamtastic:

1) The Black and Decker hand-vac I purchased.  How have I survived with so many pets for so long without this genius invention?   Floating fur-balls begone!!

2) The dishwasher.  It's been ten years.  TEN YEARS since I've had a working dishwasher.  Jesus.  Mary.  And Joseph.  Neither of these three had a dishwasher and their lives were HARD.

3) Our renovated basement-turned-family room-which we turned into a HUGE BEDROOM.  In other words, our "bedroom" has our bed, my leather el-shaped couch, Thanh's weight set + bench, and my stereo, and there's still room for me to roll out my yoga mat and downward dog my way to bliss.   We use the adjoining downstairs bedroom as a dressing room since it is conveniently attached to the walk-in closet and bathroom. 

4) Two bathrooms.  That means that if Thanh and I come home from a restaurant and we both have to go poopy, we can.  No shoving or pushing.  Just peace. 

5) Two floors.  So tonight, I come home late from rehearsal, and I have to prepare for a coaching session tomorrow.  Where or where should I rehearse my monologue if Thanh is sleeping?  Oh, well, I can do it in the office.  Or the guest bedroom.  Or the kitchen, with the rest of the Cabernet. 

6) The recycling bin.  Cause it's just good for the earth.  


Enough for now.  Must wander into the living-room and read some Shakespeare.  Video I SWEAR by next week I SWEAR. 

Moral ineptitude.

I was babysitting the girls today, and we were walking back to their house (my future home) when we ran into their neighbor/one of the moms from school, walking her dog.  She lives about two houses down (did I mention that many children live on this street, many of whom I have taught?). 

I shared the news about Thanh and I moving in and she said,
 "Oh, boy.  I'm gonna have to explain that to the girls.  They're gonna be like, 'Ms. McBride is living with a boy?!!!  And they're not married??!!!"

And then I smiled.  What do I say, when I work at a Catholic school, and the kids are now your neighbors, and not only are they freaked out about seeing me out of context (they stare when they bump into me at the library or market), but they'll be puzzled about my living situation which goes against morals they are currently being taught?  I say nothing.  I pet the dog.  I talk about the block party. I go inside and think about the many myths that will be woven amongst the neighborhood children about their teacher, right there in that house, living with that BOY. 

Did I mention this block has a block party?  Huge.  The day after I move in.  Like, four hundred people. 

Another comment from another mom who lives at the end of the block (she's super-cool she teaches her kids to compost with worms):

"Wow our kids are gonna be so much better behaved with you living here.  They're gonna be freaked out that they'll get in trouble!" 

Can you imagine?  If I put them in time-out?  On my porch? 

Fate, a house, a jinx lifted.

Blogging does not equal jinxing!!

Last time I e-mailed/blogged about an apartment, we lost it, so tremulously I give you an update today.

Obviously, we lost the last apartment, the big beautiful 1930's one.   Since then we've seen....oh I'd say in the range of 10 more places, and they have all been too small/too old/wrong layout/kinda dirty. 

A week ago, I started working for a family from the school I teach at.  Having a strange two-week interlude between the last day of school and the beginning of my California vacation, I spread the word among the moms in my class that I was looking for daytime work.  One of my favorite moms of one of my favorite families approached me about taking care of her girls for two weeks while they got ready to move to the suburbs. 

On Sunday of last week, the day before I started working for the family, I was walking around Ravenswood, scoping out "For Rent" signs, and I saw a place next to the park in a cute vintage 2-flat.  The next day I drove to work, and lo and behold, the address I pull up to was the same place.  So I inquired: would you consider renting to us?  They were very excited about renting to people they knew, but a few negotiations had to be made: we have pets, and they were advertising an August move-in while we needed a July move-in.  But conversations were had, Thanh saw the house this morning, and we are moving forward!  By the end of the week, the lease should be signed, security will be paid and keys will be exchanged!

The apartment is in Lincoln Square/Ravenswood (I get confused as to where the border is between the two neighborhoods), about five minutes from my current apartment.  It's next to my favorite park, which has a little nature preserve and a running path.  The apartment is gorgeous, totally Chicago style with hardwood floors and nice woodwork.  The first floor has a living-room, dining-room, two bedrooms, full bath and kitchen.  The basement is renovated into a den, a master-bedroom and bath, walk-in closet, and a laundry-room.  It has a lot of space for both of us, and plenty of room to have an office and a guest room! 

Thanh and I were talking about fate and opportunity and the power of knowing people.  We went through apartment-finding agents, saw so many places, lost a place, started searching the MLS, it got painful and nerve-wracking, and after this extended search we end up renting a place through someone that we know.  And the apartment is the best of everything we've seen.  So when I return from vacation, Thanh will be moved in, and then I begin my packing/re-painting and moving adventure.

Even with the excitement, I'm still sad to leave my apartment.  It was the best apartment that I've ever lived in.  So very very me, I worked really hard to paint it and make it creative and homey.  So flip-cam in hand, I will record a video of my old place to have memories, and when I return from California, I will videotape the new place so that everyone at home can see it!

Apartment jinx begone!!

Jimmy Choo McBride: 200?-June 3, 2010

My bunny died today.  I came home and he was in bad sorts, so I rushed him to the vet, but it was too late.  May you hop in fields of hay forever, Jimmy Choo!  You had good friends.

Spencer, the Fedex Cat

Spencer loves the Fedex box.  It's his personal bed, boat, coffin, whatever.  It's cozy.  It reminds him of better days.

Fuerza Bruta and a Judging Porch.

This has definitely been an emotional rollercoaster of a weekend. 

First off, Spencer is doing better today, thank god.  Still a lot of gross stuff coming out of his eye, and he's still "coned", but the inflammation has reduced at least 50%.  I'm done having kitty heart-attacks. 

Last night I scored tickets to Fuerza Bruta: LOOK UP, which is absolutely amazing, and when they come to your city your have to get tickets and see it.  It's hard to describe - I could call it the Brazilian Cirque du Soleil, but it's edgier, more exciting, and more in-your-face.  It's been described as "part show, part dance party, and part sensualist rave."  The audience members stand on the stage and move around the space as the cast members perform on set pieces that move around and ABOVE YOU.  At one point a mylar pool descends to your eye level, maybe seven feet off the ground, water explodes from the ceiling and the performers start slamming themselves into the water, right above your head.  I was like a kid in a candy store.  Here's their official trailer:



At one point the cast-members roamed through the audience, breaking confetti-filled styrofoam boxes over people's heads.  Audience-members were begging to be "boxed", including me, and I WAS IN FACT BOXED!  Then the DJ starting misting water into the audience and everyone started dancing.  People of all ages.  Oh, and when I got home, there was confetti in my bra. 

I will go see everything this company ever produces.

Thanh and I went apartment hunting this morning.  We saw six places, and the last one might be the winner.  It's in Andersonville, close to one of my favorite coffee shops and an easy hop onto Lakeshore Drive for Thanh.   Today we weren't able to see the actual apartment because the tenant needs 24-hour notice, but we saw the garden apartment in the same building, and if the first floor is anything like the garden unit, it will be awesome.  3-bedroom, great kitchen, parking, and a BALCONY WITH SWING.  Um, Emjoy and I have always dreamed of having what we call, "A Judging Porch".  On which to sit and judge people who walk by, preferably while drinking wine.  Or, iced coffee in the summer.  Tomorrow we're going to be able to see the actual apartment.  Let's cross our fingers and toes.  (Don't get confused, I'm not moving in with Emjoy.  But if we do get that apartment, she has requested that the Judging Porch also be called, "Emjoy's Bedroom.")

I shouldn't be so excited about it, and I shouldn't be blogging about it, because I'm setting myself up for disappointment, but it's okay cause if this one doesn't go through, we now know what we're able to find within our price range.  So apartment-finding updates to come, and if all goes well, pictures of our new home.

Now, how can I suspend a mylar pool from our living-room ceiling..... 

Pet-sick. Pot-chocolate.

I just returned from our bazillionth vet visit.  Eye-opthamologist visit.  I'm very frustrated and sad, because Spencer is very frustrated and sad. 

He has this condition called Eosinophilic Keratitis.  This basically means that white blood cells, spurred on by the feline herpes-virus (which, surprisingly enough, the majority of cats have, so don't be grossed out), attack his eyes and he develops inflammation, eye ulcers and a whitish plaque that covers the front part of his eye. 

We discovered this about six or seven months ago when it attacked his right eye.  Luckily for us, the meds worked really quickly and he got better.  He just has to take eye-drops three times a week to keep it at bay.

Unfortunately, the condition has spread to his left eye, and this eye is not cooperating.  So we've been back and forth to the pet-opthamologist, adding on a variety of meds to kill the virus, reduce inflammation, reduce plaque, get rid of pain.  At count we are on one oral med and four different eye-drops.  Oh, and a cone around his head so that he doesn't scratch.

This morning Spencer hid under my bed, which he never does, and cats by instinct hide when they're really sick so that they're not vulnerable to predators.  Unfortunately I think he thinks I'm the predator, seeing that I'm always armed with something to stick in his eye, or lasso around his neck.  He can't clean himself because of the cone, and he can't really play, so he just lays and stares. 

The other day on NPR I heard a story about Gulf War vets who are trying to get the feds to legalize the possession of medical marijuana to treat post-traumatic stress disorder.  This one guy used to be a bomb-diffuser (think Hurt Locker), and for obvious reasons, cannot cope with residual psychological triggers.  He now has a grow-house where he grows different kinds of plants, only he doesn't smoke them, he reduces it to an extract to control dosage and puts it in his hot-chocolate. 

Now, I'm not comparing myself to a bomb-diffuser at all, that's preposterous.  But after this week, I could do with some pot-chocolate. 

P.S. (What's my position on legal med-marijuana?  Well, if you've diffused bombs for the United States of America, I think you should be allowed to possess and injest as much pot as you want.  Go at it.  Live free.)

I just coned my cat.

I just put a cone on my cat's head.  He gets ulcers in his eye, only they don't heal because he keeps on pawing at it.  So today I had to cut a dog-cone down to size and collar my cat. 

He's not smart enough to be humiliated.  He's just confused.  And I'm very, very sad. 

This is the cat that has two eyes, not one.  Somebody has put a cat-eye pox on my house. 

What are you reading, Tanya?

I'm reading this:

A Keeper of Bees: Notes on Hive and Home, by Allison Wallace.

It's a personal narrative - an around-the-bend autobiography of sorts, as reflected in the life-cycle, as well as the care and feeding of bees.  It's my summer book.  During the summer I like to read autobiographies by women that are philosophical in nature and have something to do with growing things.  Last year it was Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. 

I found this one on the "just-returned" shelf at the library.  It's interesting what you find on the "just-returned" shelf.  How to build a log cabin.  A guide to adoption.  Elmo's autobiography (no joke).  I like to peruse and see what kind of people come to the library and anticipate that someone has my same interests and will cut my "searching for that perfect book" work in half. 

If I wrote a personal narrative that was a philosophical, rear-view mirror type of book (i.e. "Let me tell you about bees.  They live in hives.  Oh, hives remind me of this time in my life.  Life is like a box of chocolates.  Speaking of chocolates, many chocolates contain honey.  Now back to how bees make honey....), I think it would center around breakfast foods. 

Speaking of breakfast food, I have a new saying for when someone ruins your day.  It goes as such: "Now, why'd you have to go piss on my waffles?!" 

Because think about what happens if someone did piss on your waffles.  Because of the shape.  And the indentations. 

"Waffles: Notes on Breakfast and Anger-Management".  A work in progress.

Dad+Chicago=Rockin' Good Times

Thank goodness other people own cameras!!  I know.  I don't!  What???  Just a flip-cam, but no digital-still camera per say.  However, thanks to google, I can show you other people's photos of my favorite things that Dad and I did when he visited me in Chicago over Easter Break. 

The Frank Lloyd Wright home and studio!!!  Unbelievably gorgeous.  Makes me want to learn everything there is to know about the man.  The house felt modern and classic.  Sturdy.  Cozy.  I am going to make everyone who visits me visit this house!!  Frank Lloyd Wright also designed the Robie House on the University of Chicago campus, and once a month they have cocktail night where you get to drink and mill around the place as if it was your friend's house.  HOW COOL.  Next date with Thanh.  HINT HINT.  Anyway, here is a stranger's well-taken photo of their family room:

Dad and I also went book-hunting at Bookman's Alley in Evanston.  Used and collectibles, jumbled together in an endless maze of rooms.  I found this amazing children's book called Loraine and the Little People circa 1915 on sale for 20 bucks, and I was about to buy it but decided to go home and check it out online.  Well, online it was selling for 80 to 250 dollars!!!  I was so mad I passed up that find!!  I still haven't gone back to get it but I hope it's still there when I do. 

Oh, and I can't forget my other favorite surprise at Bookman's:

Why the catface?  Bookman's is near Northwestern, home of the wildcats.  I think.  Home of some form of cat, the petrified head of which is sitting on a bookshelf near the mysteries section. 

Since it's spring we decided to check out a little nature at Morton's Arboretum.  This place is HUGE.  Miles of hiking trails, prairies, forest, and lakes.  It was a beautiful day, so we took a little hike, ate Vietnamese sammiches by the lake, and then checked out the Daffodil Glade:

And last but not least, Peking Duck Feast at Sun Wah Barbecue, a mere ten minutes from my home!  The waiter carves a freshly bbq'd duck at the table, alongside a heaping serving of fresh bao, pickled veggies, carrots and scallions.  Then they take the carcass back, make it into a soup and a huge plate of duck fried rice.  This lovely meal, finished with a serving of sorbet, is a mere $40 for four people!!!  Yeah, I SAID IT!!! 

So, next time you're planning a trip to Chicago, there will be architecture, hiking, book-hunting and EATING involved!!! 

Next up in blogland: Thanh and I indulge a seven-course gourmet seafood meal served in a beautiful antique loft, and also, a little bit of zen brought to you by my flip-cam....

Old bedsheets always come in handy.

Most of the time for lining kitty-carriers, or wrapping electronics when moving, or throwing on the couch for over-night guests. 

Today, I threw one in my camel-pack and headed to Winnemac Park to celebrate the advent of SPRING! 

Spring is such a special time in Chicago, especially when it's no joke, no more.  Two weeks ago it briefly warmed up for Brenda and David's visit to Chicago, then God snubbed his nose at us and plunged us into another week of bitter cold and wind.  Today, however, it is 80 DEGREES outside.  After spending the morning on Emjoy's couch watching Millionaire Matchmaker (don't judge), I hefted myself to my local park with a book, an old bedsheet and some dollars for the ice-cream man. 

Did I mention that I have two lovely parks near my home??  I work out at Chase Park, and yesterday I accidently arrived 30 minutes before the fitness room opened up.  Instead of getting angry at a wasted time, I realized that the sun was out and went and sat down on the grass.  Next to a dog.  I stared across the street at the stately library building and thought, "I like that building.  I use that building." 

I live in a beautiful neighborhood.  Where people bike, and walk their animals, and play ball.  I took a break while reading my book to look around at the beautiful brownstone houses, at the couple nearby having a picnic, at the leafless trees with their tiny buds bursting as fast as they can.  Then I finished my ice cream bar, propped my feet up on my bag, and took a nap.  It was great.  I should always live in a place where I can walk to the park.  Okay, you caught me.  I drove.  But only because I had to go to the pet-store to buy bunny food afterwards. 

Random fact: It costs 58 dollars to give a bunny anesthesia. 
Another random fact: My bunny likes to do back-flips off of exam tables and scream at vets.  You ever hear a bunny scream?

Happy Easter!!!

Skydeck

Short video of our visit to the Skydeck of the Sears Tower.  (Just a reminder, if you receive this blog as an e-mail update, you may have to go to the blog website to watch the video.)