Recaps

What a week! The inauguration was amazing, I went to Florida and back (it was a disappointing 50 degrees down there), the Bushes left DC (so long, suckas!), the Oscar nominations came out, my husband didn't get laid off (whew!)!

Readers of Agoraphobia might not be so disillusioned, but sometimes people suffer under the mistaken impression that I am a very nice person. Not so! In fact, I make fun of former vice-presidents who are in wheelchairs! I have to tell you, the official story, that Cheney threw out his back while packin' up, is total BS, mark my words (mark them!). Are we meant to believe that Dick effin' Cheney packs his own shit up? Please. Dick Cheney doesn't even slaughter the innocents by himself before he devours them, much less packs his own damn box and carries it out to the U-Haul. I have a sixth sense for these things. I knew right away they were lying about "weapons of mass destruction" in Iraq, and when they said he threw his back out moving boxes I knew that was a lie too. I just find it amusing that the administration left us with one more lie for goodness knows why.

No major surprises in the Oscar nominations. I still want to see Slumdog Millionaire and the Curious Case of BB, and Doubt (wow, Meryl Streep and Amy Adams AND Philip Seymour Hoffman got noms?!?) I love that Robert Downey Jr. got nominated for Tropic Thunder and Happy-Go-Lucky and Wall-E for Original Screenplay. To me, Orig. Screenplay is just teh prize to win.

Stay tuned for my underappreciated If We Picked the Oscars!

boo ya!

And, he did it!

Blog for Choice Day

On the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, pause to consider the importance of women’s rights and women’s health. I have high hopes that Obama will help to undo some of the damage that was done under the Bush administration. Rumor has it that Obama will repeal the Global Gag rule, which restricts aid to countries that provide abortion for women (in other words, countries that have a full range of options for women of free will).

It’s not just a women’s rights issue, it’s a human rights issue. Support human rights by supporting a full health care system. Peace out.

Obama!Obama!Obama!

Oh, the inauguration was so exciting! I thought Obama's speech was powerful, generous, and inspiring. I'm glad he included many a reference to the environment. It seems likely that the arts will fare better under the Obama administration than the Bush - what a gorgeous tune by Yo Yo Ma! And that poem by Elizabeth Alexander! Beautiful!

I'm in Florida right now for a conference - when I got here last night it was really warm (70) - but a cold front has come in, and now it's about 50 degrees. Glad I got a quick dip in the hot tub this morning. It appears I made a somewhat monumental mistake by bringing only my big boots and a pair of sandals.

Well, here's to the hopeful beginning of a new administration - the whole country has a lot of work to do, but luckily we've got an inspiring leader for the journey. From the inaugural poem:

Some live by "Love thy neighbor as thy self."

Others by first do no harm, or take no more than you need.

What if the mightiest word is love, love beyond marital, filial, national. Love that casts a widening pool of light. Love with no need to preempt grievance.

In today's sharp sparkle, this winter air, anything can be made, any sentence begun.

On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp -- praise song for walking forward in that light.

Winter-time Activites

Oh, what a weekend - had a fabulous book club meeting on Friday night, then on Sat. hung out with my three-year old pal for a while whilst her mom got some rest, then did some yoga, then had dinner with friends, then tried to see a movie but the rest of the town had the same idea, so we all went back to our house and watched Pineapple Express on Blueray. Do you see what a snob I am? Instead of saying we watched Pineapple Express, I say we watched it on Blueray. But, it really is better.

Today me and my boy took a much needed walk despite the low temperatures, marvelling about how much dog pee there is. (We're extremely dignified.) Then M pointed out that there's always dog pee, we just don't see it when there's no snow. Tomorrow I'm off for Florida where it is (I just checked) 68 degrees! (It's 16 here today.) Here we are on our walk:

and here's a shot of the Barbara Hepworths outside the library where I work:

Before and After, and After that

My old pal MG visited us last week and painted our kitchen and stairwell. He rocked on Guitar Hero, and he rocked on totally changing the mood in our kitchen, too! I just love the new color - I think it's looks so calm and sophisticated in there. Excuse the mess, I didn't feel like cleaning it up to magazine-standards - this is more "everyday". Well, make that a good day.

Before:
After:
After that:

let it snow let it snow let it snow

You know that scene in Little House in the Prairie where it snows a lot on Christmas Eve and on Christmas morning, Pa has to put on snow shoes and climb out the upstairs window and walk across the snow to the barn, climb in the roof of the barn and then bring the presents back to the house? That's pretty much how it is in Chicago right now.

Despite being as cold as negative 20 (you heard me!) at times, we're all getting along fine. It's sort of invigorating. You really know you're alive when you're out there, breathing in the freezing air and tromping around. Also there's a sort of joi d'vie in the air, a: We're all in this together! My quaint little village is very pretty - I'm going to try to remember to take my camera to work in the next few days because the campus looks very nice covered in fluffy white snow. I suppose the fact that I'm going to Florida next week for a conference helps because I know I'll get at least a small break from the weather.

Less Tokk, More Rokk

Last week an old friend came for a visit and aside from playing a lot of Rock Band with us, painted our kitchen and hallway. Before and After photos coming soon! But, here are some pics of our hard-core rokking to amuse you:

This weekend I went to a Mexican restaurant with some friends from work, and these two guys playing the guitar and the maracas just slayed us. The guitarist started playing this unbelievable solo, and everyone in the restaurant stopped talking and turned to watch. Everyone was clapping and shouting as he did all these crazy things. Just when we thought it couldn't get any crazier, he started playing with his teeth! The crowd went nuts!

Not to be outdone, when I came home, more than one margarita under my belt, I played Guitar Hero with my tongue. 'Cause that's how I ROCK!

M gave me this hilarious pair of footed-jammies for Christmas, and I really meant to put them on with my nephew and have a laugh. It seems to me this is just the sort of thing he would find very funny. I didn't get to it in reality, but did make a little photoshopped example of two people enjoying their jim-jams.

hilarious

Just found a funny website where you can "bling" out your photos...

Make your own Glitter Graphics

Happy New Year!

Last night we just had a wee party at our place with some friends - there was a costume to see who would have the most outrageous holiday sweater. Some of us insulted our mothers by asking if they had something we could borrow... Can you guess who won?For the record, my mother did not have anything for us, we got ours at the thrift store. Here's a tiny video of some silliness - my favorite part: "Figure it out!"


I dug up a blog post from last year with some loose resolutions. Here they are:

1. To get in better shape.
2. To take the good with the bad (part of new mentality)
3. To find gainful employment (will at least teach a course at Loyola)
4. Look into selling some of my crafts
5. Continue working on my book(s)

I suppose I got in ever-so-slightly better shape - I did join the gym and can work out for approx. one hour without fainting. I did take the good with the bad; Woo-Hoo! I did, indeed, find gainful employment (although I did not end up teaching at Loyola); I looked into selling crafts, without actually selling any; and, geez, I'm didn't do a ton of work on my book, but I did do a lot of thinking about working on it. I count that. One of my major goals for last year was to be more green, and that I've accomplished quite successfully - we used homemade laundry soap, fabric softener (vinegar), and cleaning solution all year. This year, my resolutions are:

1. To get in better shape/practice being really nice to Kelly
2. To find out if I can make my own dishwashing liquid (and then make it, natch)
3. To spend less time watching tv, more time being creative

Another thing I want to do is find out what's making me sick all the GD time and get heathlier. But, "get healthy" is not a very useful resolution, so I'm not putting it up there with the official ones. Hope you all are off to a great start in 2009!