On This Day and Every Day

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I am thankful for…

  • the blessing of a happy marriage and a loving husband
  • the roof over our head that provides a safe, warm, dry place for us to live
  • good health, strong bodies, and able minds
  • food to nourish us
  • plentiful, clean water to drink
  • clean and warm clothing
  • our educations
  • employment to sustain us
  • a reliable vehicle
  • being raised by loving parents in happy homes
  • our faith
  • lasting friendships
  • years of happiness with so few troubles
  • waking up each morning
  • freedom and peace
  • the sacrifices others have made
  • the talents we were blessed with and the things we do well
  • the great city in which we live
  • our five senses
  • the beauty of the world
  • kindness and generosity
  • community
  • help when we’ve needed it
  • humor
  • a life rich in spirit, joy, laughter, adventure, and love
  • the responsibility to give back
  • to have so much to be thankful for
  • and three days off….amen!

I am thankful…

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…every day of the year.

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The Bowl That Wasn’t

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Today I was supposed to have an awesome post for you. Today I was supposed to have a fun story to tell. Today I was supposed to have amazing pictures to share.

Today was supposed to be Turkey Bowl.

Yes, turkey bowl.

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It’s just as wonderful as it sounds.

Bowling. With a frozen turkey. On the outdoor ice rink at Fountain Square. To help feed the homeless.

I love bowling. I love ice rinks. I love turkeys. I love a good cause.

Could this sport be any more awesome?

Believe me when I say that I was stoked for this.

The price to play was two canned food items to benefit an organization that houses Cincinnati’s homeless. I was so incredibly ready to fling that frozen turkey across the ice and strike out that I went to Kroger and purchased four of the best cans of food I could find. I was so incredibly ready that Ted and I devised an entire scheme complete with detailed schedule to meet up during our lunch hours and get our turkey bowl on together. I was so incredibly ready that I wasn’t even phased by the chronic rain that’s been plaguing us for the past three days or the half mile walk we took from my work to Fountain Square in the rain.

I was so incredibly ready to donate my two canned goods and fling that frozen turkey across the ice and strike out…

…until we got there and saw an utterly empty ice rink.

WHAT KIND OF A WEENIE POSTPONES TURKEY BOWL BECAUSE OF A LITTLE RAIN!?!?

I was/am devastated.

It has been rescheduled for tomorrow (supposedly…pending RAIN), a day that I do not work at a theatre that is conveniently located 0.5 miles from said Event of Epic Awesomeness and that I do not have a lunch break that allows me to participate in said Event of Epic Awesomeness.

Again, devastated.

I cannot fathom why I have to miss out on such a fabulous opportunity.

Although I’ve asked four times, Ted refuses to let me set up my own turkey bowl in the apartment (why not is simply beyond my level of comprehension – something about not having 60 ft. or a sheet of ice….minor details that I was working on solving before he thwarted my crafty plans to ice over the kitchen floor), so I may have to force him to go without me tomorrow and take a crap ton of pictures so I can be slightly less bitter about my misfortune of not getting to participate in turkey bowl.

Alas, Turkey Bowl and I just were not meant to be this year. (Because whoever runs turkey bowl is a pansy)

But if I find a frozen pond before April, all bets are off and turkey bowl is mine.

Next year, Cincinnati.

Next year, turkey.

My canned goods and I will be waiting.

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On Basil, Lemons and Apples

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I was carded for purchase of both cough syrup and cooking wine today. As if anyone enjoys the taste of tangy cough syrup or salty cooking wine enough to get drunk and/or high off of it. But my sincerest of thanks to the young man ringing up my groceries who was not yet old enough to purchase either item, but who carded me on my purchase of these items anyhow. As I checked out my total came to $7.77.  I considered buying a lottery ticket on my way out.

Then I made another gargantuan batch of healthy, hearty and tasty homemade applesauce because we’re addicted to the stuff, and a pan of gooey, delicious, sugary and tart lemon bars – for good measure. I devoured three before hauling the rest off to hungry lighting students on their second of three straight midnight work calls at CCM. They definitely need them more than I do.

Also, my basil plant is thriving. I’m super proud. I remember when I planted the little guy back in April. He took forever to finally peek through and he was so tiny! But look at him now…so tall and handsome! He’s the only one of my herbs to have made it through the fall. What a champ!


P.S. I only have to make it through two more days of work and then I’m off for three whole glorious, luxurious days. I haven’t had a full day off since October 31. Stoked!!

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On Productive vs. Play

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Productive

  • Rockin’ Christmas cards designed and ordered – check!
  • Christmas flights home to Texas booked  – check!*
  • Christmas gifts for the fam & baked goodies for the pals decided upon – check!
  • Modern Thanksgiving menu selected and grocery list made – check!
  • Wedding photo books finally finished and ready for print – check!
  • Several theatre jobs starting summer/fall of 2012 found, resumes updated, cover letters written, headshots attached, and applications submitted – check!
Play
  • A feast of gryo pizza and strongbow cider at Mac’s and opening night performance of Oklahoma! at CCM – check!
  • Five Guys burgers and fries, dulce de leche frozen yogurt, holiday junction model train exhibit, and Rocky Mountain Express and Alaska: Spirit of the Wild omnimax shows thoroughly enjoyed – check!
  • Bowling and Mexican food Groupons used – check!
  • Experiments with dry ice including exploding water bottles (um, TED) and filling our dining room with fog accomplished – check!
  • Respectable headway made into the food memoir “Season to Taste: How I Lost My Sense of Smell and Found My Way” I’ve been reading – check!
  • USDA licensed, family-owned, sugar glider breeder and rescue in Cincinnati found and filed away in my brain for the future – check!

*Clear your calendar between the 19th & 25th, friends!

Were you playful or productive this week?

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I’m Thinking…

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Comfort Food

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In the form of chicken pot pie soup and fresh rosemary garlic Parmesan biscuits.  I’m looking forward to dinner tonight! Cold and rainy weather requires comfort food. Feeling left out? Recipes included in the links. Bonus: It’s all healthy.

Christmas Cards

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I’m really digging the look of modern nativity cards with a pop of pattern and a wash of color. They’re a little traditional, a little contemporary, and a little unexpected while still keeping in mind the true intention of the season. The one above can be found on Etsy (link included) and while it’s not the one I’m considering (because what would be the point of ordering them if I just show it to you now?), it’s similar.

Christmas Flights

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Must make decision. Must book this week. Must quit being a pansy about dates and do it NOW.

Maybe we could just make it there in one giant leap. Or sled to Texas. Or wrap Ted’s truck in Christmas lights and drive down.

Tempting.

Blurb Wedding Books

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92 pages. I am so close to being finished I can smell it. Such a great, worthwhile keepsake. Such a time-consuming pain in the ass with endless possibilities and opportunities to screw up and second-guess every photo and layout. I can’t wait for it to be completely finished, partly for the relief and joy of having a real wedding album and partly because I don’t want to deal with it anymore.

What are you thinking today?

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The Way Mondays Go

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After a long day of teaching theatre, entering theatre data into Excel spreadsheets, and more teaching theatre and dance/babysitting, there are few things I enjoy more than sitting at B-dubs with my husband, rooting on the Packers, sipping a red stag and coke, and downing tasty eats. After today? A Welcome release. There’s also a series of crazy wicked storms raging outside. Are sugar gliders afraid of storms? That’s the stuff we future sugar glider moms and dads need to know!

A thought for the day:

“It’s a troublesome world. All the people who’re in it
are troubled with troubles almost every minute.
You ought to be thankful, a whole heaping lot,
for the places and people you’re lucky you’re not.”

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A Christmas List

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Too soon?

I know this is ironic because I’m absolutely anti-Christmas in November. I like Christmas as much as the next person, but I hate that a holiday as wonderful as Thanksgiving gets completely skipped over and that Christmas decorations are out by Halloween. But I’m a big fan of getting the Christmas shopping done in November so that the holidays can actually be cherished and enjoyed, stress-free, when December rolls around. With that in mind, here’s my perfect world holiday wish list. Feel free to steal any of these goodies to add to your own wish list – they’re pretty spectacular, if I do say so myself :-)

Find them here

These Sorel Trivoli II Duck Boots in Chili Pepper (size 9 please!) are both adorable and functional. Sorel is the company that makes my amazing winter boots that are weatherproof and rated up to -25 degrees, so I know their stuff is quality. It rains like crazy in Cincinnati and I’m over having soggy, wet, cold socks and smelly sneakers every time it rains. I have been desperate for a pair of rain boots for at least five years now and I’m vowing that this will be the year I finally get them.

Find them here

My lack of a decent pair of rain shoes is the primary reason why these awesome women’s Puma Voltaic 3’s in limestone grey/heliotrope/white (size 8.5, if you were wondering) are on my list. I’ve ownd a pair of Puma Voltaics for over two years and they are the most comfortable pair of sneakers in existence. I love them to bits because they are so versatile – I can wear them to strike sets, teach dance, chase a wayward kid down the hall, go to work, and run errands. Alas, I wore them to Alaska because I was dumb and didn’t buy a respectable pair of rain boots, so they got soaked with rain and stinky wet sled dog slush on our dog sledding excursion, and ever since they’ve not only become sponges when it rains, but they also stink to high hell. I’ve tried everything to restore them to their original minty fresh condition (proof: they’re coated in baking soda and sitting in the freezer at this very moment) but to no avail. Onward and upward, I say!

Find them here and here

Because of the work that I do, I live in jeans and khakis – things that can be dressed up or down and can go anywhere. Also because of the work that I do, I rarely have extra cash with which to purchase jeans and khakis. I’m in love with Ann Taylor Loft’s denim – they’re a high quality product but, more importantly, they fit me so well! And I’m definitely due for some new jeans. I have my eye on a pair of the modern wide leg trousers, the modern boot cut, and straight leg jeans too! I’m also thinking that Gap’s Perfect Fit Khakis would be an excellent replacement for my sister’s hand-me-down khakis from over three years ago that I’m still wearing.

Find it here

Have you seen my purse lately? It’s disgusting. I paid all of $30 for it (and I guarantee that’s the most cash I’ve ever spent on a purse in my life) and have used it every day for 2.5 years straight. Falling apart is too kind. It’s positively shredded to bits. You know it’s bad when your husband actually comments on how shabby it looks. I don’t own multiple handbags and I don’t change out my purse to match my outfit (uh, who has time for that nonsense?) So I need a good, solid, classic bag that will hold up for several years to come and that I can wear with absolutely everything, like this Maddox Small Workbag from Fossil in Emerald Green. It’s the perfect size without being too large or too small, the cross-body style is totally convenient, and as Ted says, since green goes with nothing, it goes with everything – and it’s my favorite color. Typically, I’d be totally wary about spending that much dough on a purse (that’s a lie – I still am wary), but I have a watch and a checkbook wallet from Fossil, both of which I’ve used nearly daily for 8+ years, so I know their stuff holds up to the tests of time and torture.

Find it here

But given that that old wallet has seen better (read: cleaner) days, I think it’s time to update the old wallet to something a little more sweet and snazzy. Like this awesome Owl checkbook wallet, also from Fossil. LOVE it.

Find them here and here

Ted hates it when I wear “froofy, girly shit” in my hair, which obviously means I need these because they’re adorable, and I love them, and it’s an easy, cheap, and subtle way for me to look and feel a little more put together and a little less like a hooligan who wears sweat pants to work everyday. Ted would be mortified and my third graders would be super impressed…two birds, one stone. I love froofy, girly shit in my hair.

Find it here

This deliciousness is a chai tea blend from Teavana. And it is heaven in a cup. Heaven, I tell you! There’s a Teavana store at our Kenwood Mall and every time we’re in the area I have to stop in because they offer free samples of their hot chai tea and it makes me oh-so-happy. It’s mildly spicy, a little sweet, really flavorful, and so cheerful and relaxing. I would love to have a real cup of it instead of just a sip.

Find it here

 My dream list concludes with a Cincinnati Ballet Flex Pass so that I can take adult jazz, ballet, and rhythm and motion classes whenever I can work them into my schedule.

 So, there she is – my perfect world holiday wish list. Well, this list, a sugar glider, and world peace, really. What’s on your list?

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On Lunar Golf and Sugar Bears

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Last night we treated ourselves to date night. Ted spent hours at home hanging pictures, working on some stuff around the apartment, and trying to get our wayward printer to work since he had the day off for Veteran’s Day. I worked at the museum where there were approximately 1 billion people, a full parking lot, and then the credit card machines went down. It was fabulous. I was frusterated trying to work out Christmas flights with my work schedule, Ted was frusterated with a printer with a mind of its own, so we decided to put our troubles behind us and enjoy an evening out together. Luckily for us we have free movie passes from a movie we went to see a few months ago that stopped working at the end of the film, and two Groupon deals that expire soon. We opted to head to Eastgate mall for 3 rounds of glow-in-the-dark black light lunar mini golf and dinner at O’Charley’s. Lunar golf was fun and free because of the Groupon and then I sunk my ball into the prize winning hole at the end of the game and won us another free round for a future visit. Score! In the mall they had a group selling baby sugar bears (aka sugar gliders), which we learned are marsupials and have hair instead of fur so they are hypo-allergenic and dander free, so we played with them for a while and we absolutely fell in love! Finally, an animal Ted likes too that we could actually own because he played with it, then rubbed his eyes and he isn’t allergic to them! After our sugar bear fix we enjoyed a leisurely meal of burger and fries (Ted) and steak and broccoli (me) at O’Charley’s before heading home and into bed by 10:30. Yes, we’re lame. But we didn’t think about work or flights even once so it was just perfect. Some days you really do just need to go out, relax and have a good time. How was your Friday night? As wild and crazy as ours?

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Truth

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A little truth for your Tuesday morning.

Have a good one!

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Open Letters Monday

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I know this has, traditionally, been my Thursday topic of discussion, but today warrants an Open Letters post like woah.

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Dear City of Cincinnati,

To whom may I address the bill for the $17 car wash I just had done when one of your nasty concrete trucks in a shabbily-assembled highway construction zone sprayed the entirety of my vehicle with a thick layer of gray concrete backwash? I am not impressed, but I am willing to forgive as, I assume, you will be reimbursing this expense. I accept checks.

Sincerely,

Not Made of Money

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Dear Inventor of the Child-Sized Shopping Cart at Grocery Stores Across America,

Worst. Invention. Ever.

Sincerely,

The League of Respectable Citizens Who Destest Being Crashed Into, Delayed in Every Aisle, or Run Over by a No Less Than Three Maniacal Four-Year-Olds at Kroger on Monday Mornings

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Dear Mothers of Manical Four-Year-Olds Who Give Their Kids a Missel-Sized Shopping Cart to Run Amuck with at Kroger on Monday Mornings,

FOR REAL?

Sincerely,

The Rest of Civilization is Not Amused by your Poor Parenting

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Dear Girls to Whom I Teach Musical Theatre on Mondays,

If we could have just one class period wherein you do not attempt to beat the tar out of each other, I would be eternally grateful. Also, though I think you’re all swell little humans and I enjoy our time together, your listening skills are kind of sub-par, in the deepest sense of the word. May I kindly ask who raised you?

Sincerely,

It’s Not Your Fault that You’re a Product of Your Enviornment, But I Still Love You Anyways

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Dear Homemade Applesauce,

Thank you for being so delicious on a day when I need you so.

Sincerely,

Your Maker

**

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