Which Ghost Brought THESE?!...

So, I have ghosts in my house. Seriously. There has been more than one occasion where the following has happened to me:

1. I am sleeping upstairs in my bed, with my body facing the edge of the bed, back to the bedroom door.
2. I am actually half-asleep, like in that dream state just before you really wake up.
3. I hear slow, deliberate footsteps coming up our stairs. It sounds like men's dress shoes (we have wood floors).
4. My husband has always been away at these times, and let me tell you, I lock those doors tight. I don't want to deal with any of his friends stumbling over to our house from the bar because they know I won't kick them out.
5. So the steps continue to my bedroom, and move around the bed to where I'm "asleep."
6. I feel- that's right, I FEEL- someone sit on the edge of my bed right next to me.
7. I try not to pee on myself, count to three, and with my eyes still closed, I flip over so my back is now towards the ghost on my bed.
8. Once I've flipped over, I open my eyes, look at the alarm clock, and the time is always the same: 3:33 am.
9. I can't make this shit up.

So, my point is this: was it that ghost who brought the Chupacabra of Cookies to my house (they are the Candy Cane variety of the Evil Lofthouse Cookies. They taste like butter mints.), or was it one of the Christmas ghosts? And if it was a Christmas ghost, was it the Ghost of Christmas Past, Present, or Future?

Let the debate begin...

Renovation Dirt Can Look Cool, Too.

Top photo is some dirt that was behind the old cabinets in the kitchen. The cobwebs and shadows give it that abstracted look. The bottom photo is the same photo as the top one, just with some iPhoto filtering. I like 'em. I'm always tempted to give art as a gift, but its just too personal of a medium for me to impose on someone as a gift: "Look! I created this, and I want you to treasure it as if it were my first born!" I just don't think its practical- and if I'm anything, I'm practical.

So, I'm thinking of creative ways to not spend mountains of cash on my friends this holiday season. My ideas so far include: 1) cookie exchange; 2) my W.T. recipe collection; 3) knit hats and/or scarves; or 4) handbags all around. In all actuality, it will probably be a bit of each of those.

And if you don't know what "W.T." is, then you get a hat. Knit out of icky acrylic yarn.

Out and About with My Peeps

Don't we look happy and well fed? My Peeps from the left: Susan (a new friend), me, My Favorite Redhead, and Lynnie Poo. By this point, My Favorite Local Celebrity had to leave us for her bartending gig (but she looked soooo cute in her new skirt/boots/overcoat combo!), and I had switched from vodka gimlets to bottled water. I was wearing my spankin' new green birthday coat (thank you, Mother-In-Law!) from BB Dakota , bought at the locally owned Gigi's Boutique. I did manage to get a good pic of My Favorite Local Celebrity at her bartending gig (below). She's on the right.


Anyhoo, I did get a bit of holiday shopping done, and I don't think I'm the only person with this problem: What do you get the kid who has everything? I struggle with this every year, and usually end up getting clothes, or- worse yet- books (at least from the kid's point of view). Now, I know that I would be geeked with nice clothes or a good book, but when you're seven, the aunt that gives you clothes or books is L-A-M-E. So I think I'm gonna get the kid this game I saw on the television called djubi . And maybe a cool t-shirt for good measure.

So that was Friday. Saturday and Sunday were spent getting creative with left overs, squeezing in a workout at the YMCA, and being surprised that I was not hung over. Really! Now I just need to start hiding all of the displaced items laying around the house (due to the Neverending Renovation) so I can decorate my house all sparkly like. I think I may even host a cookie exchange...

I hope everyone had a lovely holiday surrounded by people they love, and spent the rest of the weekend making themselves happy. Have a great week!

Happy Thanksgiving

Today began with hot coffee, the annual Turkey Trot 5K (complete with a new runner- Go Red!), and now some chillin' before we head to the mother-in-law's for our Indian-themed (Indian as in India, not Native) Thanksgiving dinner. I even painted my nails for the occasion.

However you spend your day, remember that the focus is to give thanks, even if you're giving thanks for not having to see certain people all the time!

Two Scenes From The Windy City

So, like I mentioned before, I went to Chicago with The Devil last weekend. Fan-freakin'-tastic time, too. After the circus on Friday night, we went to The DIY Trunk Show , a huge hand-made goods market. We saw lots of cool things, met lots of cool crafters, picked up a few gifts (like pins for Katie and Hannukah that say "I'm a Crafty Mother Fucker"- it gets them off my back for bailing on the craft show I normally go to...), and saw the above picture. Yep, its a cat in an apron. After some discussion, The Devil and I decided that the vendor didn't get that the cat in the apron was strange; she probably thought she was being clever or cute. Its even more strange when you see the hound dog peeking at you, too. After crafting ourselves silly, we headed to traditional consumer fare, like Crate and Barrel, The Container Store, and Sephora. Dinner was sushi at Ai , billed as "The hottest new sushi in River North." No complaints on our part- it was simply wonderful.

We also managed to avoid actually seeing The Magnificent Mile Lights Festival and Parade, but did run into the yahoos in the subway. So many people! They actually close Michigan Avenue to ALL traffic for the parade (between Oak and the bridge), and we were able to walk down the middle of the avenue, north to south, because of the lack of cars and cabbies. It was after the event, and I ran out to the middle median (before people started crossing the street again) and snapped the picture below. Absolutely quintessential Holiday Season in Chicago scene. *sigh*


Alrighty then- that's it for now because I'm off to "get my stripes painted on," as Mr. Fix likes to say. That'a man talk for "partial highlight and trim." Miss Rhonda does me good, so I'm off!

The Greatest Show On Earth

I'm not talking about the circus (which I saw with The Devil this weekend in the Windy City), but rather the spectacle of plain ol' people, doing what they do in the streets of Chicago. I love people watching. I love trying to imagine what's going through their heads as they walk down the street, or ride the subway, or eat their sushi.

I have a point, but I will have to make it in a seperate post later today or tomorrow as I need to return to work right now. Enjoy that photo above of the finale from circus, and have a great Monday!

First It Was "Jingle Bells" In The Grocery Store at Halloween, and Now This.

Yep. 21 degrees outside right now, and we got hit with this yesterday afternoon. To discover (or rediscover, as the case may be) my true feelings on Winter and its evil cousin, Snow, please refer to posts from last Winter (which in these parts, lasts from late October until Memorial Day).

Just so I can write something more pleasant, see how pretty those Globe Amaranth are with the bit of white on top? And look (below) at the starkness of the bones, rocks, and snow...all the varying shades of white. Pretty, I guess, in its own Wintery cold kind of way.


Bundle up and don't forget your hat and gloves- most of your body heat is lost through your extremities!