Far, Far Away

Gavin: Aunt Bibby is my best friend.
Gabe: She's MY best friend.
Gavin: No she isn't!
Gabe: Yes she is!
Gavin: No she isn't she is only MY best friend! and she lives far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far away.
Gabe: I'm faster than her. I could drive faster than her.
Gavin: No you can't.

I Have the Power

I finally got props:
Sarah - Did you ever figure out that Battle Cat’s name is Cringer? Just thought I would share in case you never figured it out.

Paddy - I did. Tell Olivia she is a genius (I believe we mocked her when she suggested the name Cringer)

hee hee

Eco-Friendly

I'm still doing all I can to save this world from global warming. So yesterday, I sent an email to a big-wig at my office. Here ya go:

Dear ****,
I wanted to send you an email complimenting your presentation yesterday. I think it’s wonderful that we are taking purposeful steps to become an eco-friendly company.

I know your presentation focused mostly on eco-friendly design, but I think there is something we could do here at corporate that would have a large impact on not only the economy but also our bottom line. I think it would be wonderful if we took a look at the paper we generate on a daily basis. I think small changes could be made that would have a great impact. For instance, my morning reports always print in duplicate. So already the first thing I do is toss out ½ of the paperwork in my inbox. There are reports that generate on a daily/weekly/monthly basis that are never used. Last week I witnessed someone taking a huge print-off (approx. 1 foot thick) that had been stacked on the printer and shoveled it into the recycling container. “I can’t figure out how to stop this from printing” was her comment.

I think a lot of us feel this way. If we could get a group of people together, both Merchandising and MIS, and weed through these reports and delete the ones that are obsolete and never used, we would save a ton of paper. And there must be a way to get the printer to stop printing two of everything. We could cut our paper supply costs in half! Literally!

I am not sure if this is what you had in mind when you were discussing eco-friendly, but I think it’s a good start. :)

Thanks,
Olivia

and her response:
Olivia – you’re ideas are rock-star-worthy. I’m going to bring this up with the right people right away. Cross your fingers. And if it doesn’t improve, let me know. Maybe I can shift into arm-twisting mode. Thanks!

A Letter to the Editor

Dear Mother Nature,
Have you lost your ever-lovin' mind? First, you made July feel like August. Now, August feels like September! I had to wear a sweatshirt last night! It's not even Labor Day!!
Today is also grey and gloomy, which means I had to pull out my wool socks and scarf for tonight's Outdoor Film Festival.

Yeah, and this tropical storm you've brewed up, Ernesto, yeah...that's heading straight for my brother. Knock it off already!

Sincerely yours,
Olivia

One Down, Many More to Go

Two weeks ago I decided to test myself to see if I would be able to read The Bible in a year. My dad just did it and finished it up in June. Josh tried doing it last year, with some of his friends, but shooting Talladega Nights kept his schedule so busy he didn't have time to finish.

I think it would be a pretty important and interesting read and I would like to be able to say that I am dedicated and disciplined enough to accomplish such a task. And considering I can't find a church in Chicago that I like, I have nothing else to do on Sunday mornings. So I thought I would try and test myself.

I knew that reading the New Testament would be easy. I've already read/studied most of it (between that class on Paul, and the summer of 1989, when my sister and I first saw The Seventh Sign with Demi Moore and decided to read the book of Revelations while sunbathing).
The Old Testament, on the other hand, would be a challenge.

So my test was this: read one book from the OT.
I tried reading Job about 3 months ago when it seemed everyone in my life was going through some sort of struggle, but about half way through I got bored and instead read "Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants". :)
This time, I decided to read Kings. I love history and I've been told it's an interesting book. And it is! I only have a couple more chapters and I'll be done with that book. I think I will try and tackle Kings II next (seems like a logical next step) but I've also come to the conclusion that I don't think I'm ready to attempt the whole Bible.

Maybe I will try and keep my goals obtainable, and take it one book at a time.

Paulina Love

Yipee!! My shirt is done! There is an artist, Erik, that lives in Bucktown and he silk screens custom L Stop t-shirts. I opted for the green ringer with brown ink, showin' the love of my dear Paulina stop (on the Brown Line).
If you want to support this artist and own a kick-ass shirt, check out his website: www.toghaus.com

Casey Moran's

We went to Wrigleyville last night to hang out at Casey Moran's. I rarely go to bars like Casey Moran's, but I figured if I was going to go I might as well dress the part. Say hello to the only "Wrigleyville/Lincoln Park" outfit I own. I felt extremely exposed and self conscious most of the night.
I did refuse to wear any sort of heel to the bar, and stayed true to my Local flip-flops. My feet must be comfy if I'm going to dance!
(Jesse, welcome to my blog.)

Ole!

My team went out for Mexican food on Friday (it was a belated birthday lunch for moi). Nothing like a strawberry margarita at noon on Friday!

Pink Slip

It was announced a couple of days ago that Paramount Pictures and Tom Cruise are no longer doing business together. Paramount claims they 'fired' Tom because of his recent crazy behavior. Tom claims he 'quit' because he's always wanted his film company to work solo.
There is a bit of gossip that questions whether this separation is discrimination due to Tom's Scientology religion.
Personally, I don't think it's discrimination against his religion. I think last summer he used Paramount's money and time, during his supposed promotion of War of the Worlds, to instead promote his personal beliefs. This negatively effected sales for War of the Worlds. For what Paramount pays Tom for each film he makes, they can't afford for him to make statements against Brooke Shields and her depression or to tell Matt Lauer that he's 'glib'. Or to use his press junkets as forum to discuss his love life (instead of the film).
I don't blame them for firing him. And I'm often surprised and how Scientologists are able to twist the truth slightly in order to project themselves in a better light. I've known my fair share of Scientologists and I always found that sort of lying to be very odd.

**This just in: Tom Cruise has been dubbed the winner of the 2006 Ernie Awards. The Ernie Awards are handed out for the worst derogatory public statements. It was this statement that Tom made, that clenched the deal: "I've got Katie tucked away so no one will get to us until my child is born."**

Home Sweet Home

I got a tour of Jimmy and Amy's new home. It still is under a bit of construction, I witnessed Jimmy getting high off of paint fumes in the bathroom, but it looks beautiful. There is so much natural light, it's amazing. And there is this beautiful group of trees right outside their windows.
You can tell they are both artists by the design of their home.
Doesn't the pic of Amy look like her cameo in the CB2 catalogue?! I think I found my calling!!!

As If!

The girls got together for another movie night! This time we ate lasagna and french bread for dinner (delicious)!! And thanks to Andrea for picking out such good wine!!
We watched the movie "Clueless" which is flippin' hilarious. Some of my favorite quotes:
As if!
Whatever!
She's such a betty!
He's no Baldwin.

what are some of your favorites?

She Knows Me So Well

Over lunch, Sarah told me that she got me a box of Milk Duds for tonight's movie. She knows me so well. :)

Little Miss Sunshine

On Saturday, Michelle, Tim and I checked out a matinee of Little Miss Sunshine. Parts were pretty funny, especially the beauty pagent scene. Steve C. was really good too. But was it all that the hype made it out to be? Nah.

Martinis and Manicures

This afternoon a group of about 12 of us got together at Danita's for "Martini's and Manicures". It was a lot of fun and my nails look great!

Air and Water

Danita has the most incredible view of the lake and of Soldier Field. It was the perfect location to watch the Air and Water Show. The planes flew right over her loft!!

Roof-Top

Mary Beth had her rooftop party last night. Michelle, Ashley, Tim, Jimmy, Amy and I headed over to enjoy some beer and food with friends. She has the most incredible view of downtown Chicago and I tried hard to capture it but without a flash the pictures came out a bit blurry.
It was pretty chilly last night too, which is just odd for mid-August. But it was great hanging out with everyone. :)

Shinebenders

Last night, Michelle and I braved a monsoon to head to The Abbey Pub to hear Dan Whitaker and the Shinebenders. The Berghoff Solstice was delicious, the music was toe-tappin' and the conversation was wonderful. It was well worth getting drenched and having to warm ourselves by the fire of the tabletop candles. :)