Juli and Scott Spencer

I got a phone call from Juli this morning. Juli, Karla, and I all worked for Crate in Pasadena, CA. My journey of friendship with Juli has taken us down a path of her being married, her being divorced, her being single, her dating (scary!), her being engaged and now her being married again. I love her very much and I am so glad to see her happy again.
So she called and we chatted about her wedding and I found out that she and Scott went to Africa for their honeymoon. Africa! My gosh that's the mother of all honeymoons! I asked how you plan a trip to Africa and she said she didn't know, Scott planned it all.

In talking with her, I found out that Juli and I have more in common than I realized.

And her call this morning is a miracle, in my eyes. Last night I was thinking about some things in my life and feeling uncertain (in general). I recently have learned a prayer by Anne Lamott that simply states "Help me, help me, help me", so last night I prayed "Help me".
This morning Juli calls my work and offers me some peace of mind. And a miracle is born.

The Lord works in mysterious ways. :)

Take the Lead

Last night, Kate and I went and saw "Take the Lead". It's a movie about a ballroom instructor who teaches ballroom dancing to inner-city kids in NYC. The script was ify, the acting was ify, and the editing was ify. I LOVED IT!

I first took ballroom dancing classes in college. Over the span of 3 years I studied: Tango, Waltz, Fox Trot, Box Step, Paso Doable, Merengue, Salsa, and Swing. I truly love dancing, especially ballroom.

What I love most about ballroom dancing is the energy felt between the man and woman. The energy actually begins before the couple enters the dance floor. I love the chivalry of a man asking a woman to dance and a woman accepting. I love how a man escorts the woman onto the dance floor. That sort of dignity and respect is so rare these days. (When I was in Orlando at a dance club, some strange boy stood next to me and watched me dance and then said "Hey baby, you look fine." See what I mean by chivalry is dead.)

There is a powerful energy felt when a man and a woman dances together. I know for me, when I dance, I am very aware of my body. I can feel all of my muscles working together, I feel my bones and their support, and I am aware of my skin and how it feels. This is so defined that if a drop of sweat rolls from my neck down my back, I am aware of how fast the sweat is sliding. Powerful energy.

This movie makes me want to go dancing again. There is nothing sexier than a man who knows how to dance, knows how to lead, and knows how to command a dance floor.

Wait, I take that back, Antonio Banderas is sexier than anything. The guy can read off the instructions of a shampoo bottle and it sounds like poetry. I would see the movie again just to hear him talk. Holy crap I wish I had a kick ass accent like that.

Make a Wish

Karla's Birthday Extravaganza went down without a hitch. Looks like DJ Matty B from the O.C. showed madd skillz on the decks. True friendship was proven when a pan of brownies was presented to the birthday girl (instead of your typical cake). BJ - I love your hair! Matt and Josh - that pose reminds me of a certain magazine cover:

Happy Birthday, Karla! I love you! I wish I could have been there to help celebrate!

Runny Babbit

Yet another costume change. I like the Cadbury egg in its Easter basket.

Tomboy

I had been living in Chicago for about a month when I stumbled on the show "Check, Please!" on WTTW (Chicago Public Television). It was featuring the restaurant Tomboy and watching 10 minutes of the show, I wanted to eat there. It's run by two female, best friends who grew up together and were known as tomboys on their block. The restaurant features bistro style food, free jazz music on Thursdays, and an atmosphere which is perfect for conversation and friends. After two years of living in Chicago, I finally got to eat there.

Friday night, Sarah, Paddy, Kurt and I met for dinner at Tomboy, located in the Andersonville neighborhood. I ordered the bowtie pasta with asparagus, tomatoes, in a gorgonzola cheese sauce. It was delicious (except the chunks of cheese were a bit too strong for my liking). Dessert was amazing. They offered our table a free piece of the Andes mint cheesecake (good lord that was incredible) and we also ordered a martini glass of chocolate mousse with fresh strawberries. Delicious!

The best part, though, was spending time with good friends. I've thought a lot about “friends" this week; the role they play and how important they are. I truly feel you are the company you keep and I am grateful and proud of whom my friends are. They are all honest, good people. They are intelligent and hard-working. They are kind and generous. My friends are never offensive and never rude. They are encouraging and supportive. They are fun and funny and good. And spending 3 hours eating wonderful food and having lovely conversation is the best way I could think of spending my Friday night.

No Cavities

I went to the dentist today over my lunch hour. I have no cavities. Yeah! The hygentist actually complimented me on my healthy gums. Who knew flossing made such a big difference!

Battlestar Galactica

OK, hear me out. I am not a huge sci-fi fan, but Kurt has been into this show for a few months and for as often as I talk about LOST he talks about Battlestar Galactica. I figured I would give it a try, because I rarely see him this animated about a TV show (except Scrubs...he also loves that show). So I Netflixed the mini-series and season 1 of BSG. And I'm hooked.
The storyline is as follows: humans create robots called Cylons. Cylons evolve and rebel against humans. As a sort of peace treaty, humans and cylons agree to live in separate parts of the solar system. They also agree to meet once a year to discuss peace and such. For 40 years humans always send someone to the annual peace conference. The cylons never send anyone.
Then, one year, they do send a cylon only now the cylons are so evolved they actually look and feel like human beings. They infiltrate where the humans are living and drop nuclear weapons all over the place. There are only 45,000 humans left and they are under the threat of extinction. And the cylons are still at war with them.
The first season of the show is mostly religion based. But as the show progresses a more political theme is emerging. During the genocide of humans, the entire political cabinet was killed, except one woman who happens to be something like 55th in line for the presidency. She used to be a school teacher and now she has been appointed president of the human race. She is also battling breast cancer. There are many political discussions on a woman running the human race, what to do about abortion rights if they are facing possible extinction, and how do they set up a new government and elections moving forward.
If you can get past some of the cheesy acting and the "Star Wars"-esque fight scenes, it really is a fascinating show.
It airs on the Sci-Fi channel but I have heard rumors that NBC is currently in contract negotiations for the rights of the show. NBC is desperate for a good show and BSG has gotten top ratings in all sorts of publications. (It often ties LOST on the top 10 TV shows of 2006.) But if you don't have cable, like me, you can Netflix the series.


I give it two thumbs up!

I Killed Jesus

My Wandering Jew is dying. I watered it and talked to it, but it just doesn't seem to want to live. I don't think Jesus will be raising from the dead anytime soon.

Luckily I haven't killed off this wandering kitty yet. Hopefully she'll hang around for a long time!

Derailed

Last night, Sarah, Sarah, Ashley and I got together for pizza, beer, and a movie. We watched "Derailed" with Jennifer Aniston and Clive Owen. What's up with Clive Owen always being in the really jacked up movies? And Jenn, dear, stick with the romantic comedies. I don't like it when "Rachel" is evil.
I wore my PJs last night to Sarah's, and I thought of Karla. Once, she and I went to target in our PJs. I <3 PJs!!

More Masinter in Italy!

Sarah got even more photos back from her trip. Now I want to go!!

Little Bunny Foo-Foo

There is a plaster of paris statue of a goose that sits in the window sill of my apartment stairwell. It seems that someone in the build enjoys dressing the thing up for the different seasons. Last fall it had sunglasses on and a little jacket. During the winter it sported a santa suit and a scarf and mitten set. When I walked out the door this morning, I noticed it's new outfit. Happy Easter everyone!

It is Upon Us

Kurt has officially been inducted into my annual celebration of the arrival of Tornado Season. Each April I watch "Twister" in order to welcome in the springtime, and with it, the fury of Mother Nature. I had warned Kurt about this annual festival many times but I think there was a voice in the back of his head that kept saying, "She must be joking." I was not joking.
Friday night, he and I watched the movie and I recited many of the lines along with the characters.
Since then, I have gotten word from my sister that she and the boys spent Friday evening and Sunday afternoon in the basement, listening to the tornado sirens blaring outside. As I sit and type this blog, a warning just came over the television that Cook County (aka Chicago) is under a tornado watch.

I love springtime.

Torndao season is officially upon us. May this season spare the destruction of homes and the loss of lives.

Buon giorno!

Sarah sent me some photos from her trip to Italy. What an amazing experience!!

Breathe

I met Brian for a massage tonight. Brian is a man that I have been watching on Public Television for the past year. He has a massage and acupunture studio in Rogers Park and demonstrates massage technique on public television. Every time I have watched his show I have wanted a massage from him. He seems very genuine and kind and attentive to his client's needs.
He ended up giving me a 90 minute massage and it was incredible. He also taught me a lot about joints, accupressure points, breathing techniques, and tai chi. I walked away not only relaxed but rejuvinated. I feel stronger. And he is as kind as I thought he would be.
He has a website, for his studio. I urge you to check out his webpage. www.skylightwellness.com

If you are reading this post, please, take a minute...close your eyes...listen to the sounds around you...and take a deep slow breath in and then slowly exhale it out. Try it 3 or 4 times. It does make a difference.

Bless all of you...

The Roof is on Fire

The house across the street from Ashley's burned down last night.

Hair Did

Karla chopped her locks! I wish I could have been there to see it! I love haircuts! Karla - you look mahvulous!

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

I gave Amy my jade nesting spheres, from China. She has a whole Asian motif at her desk so it seems to fit in just perfectly.

Save the Unicorns!

While waiting for my coffee at Starbucks yesterday morning, Kurt pointed out that Starbucks appears to be taking on the social cause of saving the unicorns.
I wonder if they will make a ribbon bumper sticker out of this. Ha ha!

Passages

I am reading A Severe Mercy and it is an absolutely amazing book. i just have to share some passages that have moved me...

The best argument for Christianity is Christians...

Indeed, there are impressive indications that the positive quality of joy is in Christianity - and possibly nowhere else. If that were certain, it would be proof of a very high order.

If minds like St. Augustine's and Newman's and Lewis's could wrestle with Christianity and become fortresses of that faith, it had to be taken seriously.

Most of the people who reject Christianity know almost nothing of what they are rejecting.

My fundamental dilemma is this: I can't believe in Christ unless I have faith, but I can't have faith unless I believe in Christ. I can put it thus: I must accept Christ to become a Christian, but I must be a Christian to accept Him.

The contradiction 'we must have faith to believe and must believe to have faith' belongs to the same class as those by which the Eleatic philosophers proved that all motion was impossible.

Christianity now appeared intellectually stimulating and aesthetically exciting. The personality of Jesus emerged from the Gospels with astonishing consistency.

Suddenly I became aware that Davy was praying beside me - she had stolen into the room in her nightgown and knelt down by the sofa. I looked at the quiet figure for a few moments. I had never seen her pray. Then she spoke.
'When I was in bed', she said very softly, 'it seemed to me that God was telling me to come to you. I have prayed God to fulfil your soul.'
She paused a moment, and then she whispered: 'Oh, my dearest - please believe!'
Moved almost to tears, I whispered back - a broken whisper....'Oh, I do believe.'

The position was not, as I had been comfortably thinking all these months, merely a question of whether I was to accept the Messiah or not. it was a question of whether I was to accept him - or reject. Perhaps the leap to acceptance was a horrifying gamble - but what of the leap to rejection? There might be no certainity that Christ was God - but, by God, there was no certainty that He was not. If I were to accept, I might and probably would face the throught through the years "Perhaps, after all, it's a lie; I've been had!" But if I were to reject, I would certainly face the haunting, terrible thought: "Perhaps it's true - and I have rejected my God!"
This was not to be borne. I could not reject Jesus. There was only one thing to do, once I had seen the gap behind me. I turned away from it and flung myself over the gap towards Jesus.

***this book is incredible. i can see why you, josh, read it every year. i may just start doing the same. it is quickly becoming one of my favorite pieces of writing, ever.****

Screw the WB!

9pm CST, Fox Network: Watch Matt become a STAR! (ok, maybe not a STAR, but it's still pretty cool...)

now, I have 5 hours to figure out who the characters are, how they are related, who is sleeping with whom, and who hates whom. karla...can you help a sister out?

The Backhill Sinners

Jimmy, Amy, Kurt and I went and saw The Backhill Sinners play at Lillies in Lincoln Park. Then we ventured over to Mo's Cantina in Wrigleyville.
Good God, I need to wash the yuppie off of me now.

(and I love the photo of Amy with her mouth hanging open...please note Jimmy is drinking two beers...)