Haven

It's a time of joy and celebration!!

I'm happy to report that Haven Schuh was born last night at 9:20pm weighing 4 lbs 13 oz and measuring 18 inches long. (They are still deciding on a middle name!)

Karla's labor really kicked in at 3:30pm yesterday afternoon. And by 9:20pm Haven was born. Mama reports she had a very healthy cry but was taken right away to the NICU where she was put under observation.
This is standard operating procedure for a baby that is born 6 weeks early. I heard from BJ this morning that the baby is doing well and both Aaron and Karla were looking forward to some much needed rest last night.

When I spoke to Karla last night, about an hour after Haven's birth, she sounded very upbeat and happy. I told her you all were praying for her and supporting her and she was thankful.

That is all the info I have for now. Feel free to call her or send her text messages. She's at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Downtown LA. She will be there for the next couple of days and Haven will most likely be there for the next week. \

Sweet Thang

Carolyn and I met up tonight for some tasty brews in my hood, Roscoe Village. After a couple hours of chatting in a quiet little beer garden, we decided to walk around the main drag a bit. It was only her second time in the R.V. and I wanted to show her all the best places. We stumbled across a bakery, Sweet Thang, that was having it's opening event so we stopped in for some dessert. Carolyn got the large cookie and I had a scoop of the Rainbow Shebert. What a perfect way to end a hot day!!

I love exploring new places! The staff was so nice and helpful! I guess this bakery used to be located in Wicker Park but they lost their lease there so they decided to build a home in Roscoe Village. And I couldn't be happier! I'll be stopping by again sometime soon for brunch; those quiches looked scrumptious!

Baby Spend Your Time On Me

Thanks to my boss' generous Itunes gift (yay for birthdays!) I bought myself the new Duffy album. I got my first good listen this morning and I LOVE this album! Chris and I saw her perform at Lollapalooza and I knew right away that I would dig her stuff. She's got a very Motown voice; think Amy Winehouse without the smack. I will try to get a youtube video up cause I really want Mom and Angie to hear her stuff.

OK MOM -
hit play on this clip and then close your eyes and just listen to her voice.

Seeing Double

Remember the good old "Allie McBeal" days, when Robert Downey Jr. was really good looking? Why would he want to look like Robert Goulet? Is he really a method actor who will soon be playing the role of Robert Goulet?

31st

Chris gave me such a wonderful surprise for my birthday. He arranged for my friends to come over to his place for dinner. And beforehand, he took me to the store so I could buy ingredients to prepare a meal for them. See, on our first date I mentioned that I love to cook and have always dreamed of preparing a gourmet meal for my friends but since my apartment is so small I am unable to have a group of people over. So Chris arranged for people to come to his bigger apartment so I could cook. :)

Here is what I prepared for dinner:
Appetizer - brie, sliced pears and a flight of 4 honeys
Appetizer - caprese salad (tomato, fresh mozzarella, basil and olive oil)
Salad - Spinach, dried cranberries, candied walnuts, blue cheese and a raspberry vinegrette
Main Course - mini gourmet pizzas
Dessert - Molten chocolate cakes with fresh raspberries

it was delicious. :)

some of the pizzas I made were:
#1 - red sauce, sliced roma tomatoes, chopped basil, mozzarella cheese
#2 - italian sausage, caramelized onions on a red sauce
#3 - olive oil, chopped oregano, sea salt, goat cheese
#4 - sliced mushrooms, chopped spinach, mozzarella cheese on a red sauce
#5 - sliced procuitto, oregano on a red sauce

and then we rocked out at rock band (Wanted Dead or Alive!) and then off to The Hidden Shamrock we went, where we met up with a whole group of friends and drank until after the bar closed. It helps when your boyfriend used to be the bouncer. And in the end, after 15 people drank wheat beers, took shots and sipped scotch, our bill totaled $20.00.

Again, it helps when your boyfriend used to be the bouncer. :)

It was a wonderful evening filled with food, laughter, friends and drinks. Thank you to everyone who helped me celebrate! And thank you to Chris for everything he is and everything he does.

Terrorist Fist Bump

Today is my birthday! Chris put together a wonderful birthday surprise for me, this past weekend. I'll try to write more about that later on.
But I did want to mention that one of my birthday gifts from him was this Barack Obama action figure! :)

The Girl in the Window

Dooce's website brought an St. Petersburg Times' article to my attention, earlier this week, and I can't seem to shake it from my mind.
Danielle's story makes my eyes well up with tears when I think about it, and makes my stomach churn and threaten to vomit, when I reread about the first 7 years of her life. But like most valuable lessons and stories, they are difficult but important to hear.

And now I find myself praying words of support, encouragment and gratitude for a family I don't even know.

The audio is also compelling.

The Tudors

Last night Chris and I watched the first episode of the Showtime television series The Tudors. This show is awesome! I already love the British (pre)Renaissance era with all the turmoil of religion, war and cultural happenings. Couple that with great acting, costumes and scripts and the show is a winner in my book!

This show begins with the introduction of Henry VIII as a fairly young man who is (unfaithfully) married to a Spanish woman named Catherine of Aragon. They focus on his greed, desire to become immortal and love of women. And pretty much in every scene he's eating something. I wonder if they'll make Jonathan gain weight as the show progresses?

Anyway, I recommend Netflixing this show!

Sweeney Todd

Jake, Chris and I watched Sweeney Todd the other night. Well, Jake slept through Sweeney Todd and Chris and I actually watched it.
It was a little hard to watch for the following reasons:
1. The sound was off. So when the music would swell it would be blaring and we would have to lower the volume really fast and then the actors would sing or talk quietly so we would have to raise the volume really fast. Chris spent a lot of time working the remote control during the 2 hour film.

2. They spoke really, really fast in really thick accents. So most of the time I had no idea what they were saying.

3. There was a lot of blood. And a lot of slicing of the throats. And a lot of breaking of the necks. Watching this movie made me queasy.

Watch at your own risk. Or do what Jake did and pass out from too much drinking the night before at the Cubs game. Either way and you'll probably feel a bit nauseous.

Home Wrecker

A big storm came through Chicago on Monday night. I was on my way to Chris' for dinner when the radio broadcast was interrupted to announce that a tornado had touched down and everyone needed to get to a basement. Which didn't do me much good considering I was stuck in traffic on Clybourn Avenue.

But I made it safely to Chris' place and we watched through the windows as the storm tore through his neighborhood. It wasn't long after I walked through his front door that the tornado sirens went off. It was strange watching the news and hearing things like "It's going to be a The Cellular Field at 8:25. At Soldier Field at 8:29. At Navy Pier at 8:34."

Chris' roommate Jake was at the Cubs game at Wrigleyfield. They were all directed to take shelter underneath the bleachers. Luckily, he was unharmed during the storm.

The lighting strikes were incredible! The whole sky lit up with so many strikes! And after the storm began to die down a bit, Chris and I ventured back to my apartment to check on Pua. It was a bummer to see the tree in my backyard had split off and a large chunk of branch landed on our power lines which meant we had no electricity.

Chris and I scrambled to clean out my freezer and fridge and haul that food over to his apartment. And Pua, although a bit freaked out, was doing ok.

So I've been without electricity since Monday night. And I just got off the phone with my landlady, who is a total wack-job, and she still isn't sure when electricity will be restored. There are currently 100,000 people in the Chicago area without power...so it could be a long wait.

Home-Wrecker

OK, Sienna Miller must have some major issues. Isn't this the second time she's had an affair with a married man? She started fooling around with Puff Daddy when he was still attached to someone, which eventually broke up Puffy and his long time girlfriend. And now Balthazar!?! He's married with 4 kids! One of those kids is only 9 months old! And I'm not putting all the blame on Sienna, those guys are just as responsible for the situation as she is. But I'm curious as to why she continues to choose men who are already 'taken'.

In general, I don't understand women who allow themselves to be 'the other woman'. Why would you want to fool around with someone who is already in a relationship? For me, the fact the guy was willing to cheat would be a turn-off!

And why in the world does Sienna refuse to clothe herself? That woman is constantly topless! It's like she's allergic to shirts or something.

I get that she's beautiful and has an incredible body, but I wonder about her self-confidence. I don't know many confident, healthy women who prance around topless while fooling around with married men. I think I'm gonna have to label her Homewrecker.

Julia, I think this would be a great blog topic. Would you be willing to date someone you know has cheated in the past? Would you be willing to start up a relationship with someone who has yet to break it off with their current boy/girlfriend?

Lollapalooza 2008: Day 2

Day 2 at Lolla was a lot more chill. Chris had a frisbee tournament in the morning so he was a bit run down for the festival. But we loaded up with plenty of water and good tunes, and the cooler temps helped our energy levels tremendously. Our setlist was:
MGMT
Serena Ryder
Explosions in the Sky
Okkervil River
Broken Social Scene
Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings
Rage Against the Machine

We did more walking around on Saturday, as the shows we wanted to see were scattered about the park. We also took a short break to sit in the shade of the trees for awhile. We met up with Sarah and Paddy for Broken Social Scene and Sharon Jones.

Chris and I rigged our bracelets to get his roommate, Jake, into Saturday's show...just in time for the Rage show! But Chris hit some speed bumps with his bracelet so ended up watching the show from the sidewalk outside the festival. Rage was a great show and I was glad I got to see them perform live, even if every 5 feet there was a mosh pit. Luckily, the band stopped for a few minutes after every song asking the entire crowd to step back 5 feet, be kind to your neighbors and not to mosh around. It didn't really do that much good, but I have hated to see that crowd if those breaks didn't happen.

Chris and I were both really tired by Saturday night and after looking at the line-up for Sunday, we both opted to sell our bracelet for Sunday's event. The only band I really would want to see was Gnarles Barkely but I had seen them 2 years prior so it wasn't necessary.

So we sold our bracelets for more than we bought them for (yay for pre-sale 3 day passes!!). So I actually profited money from Lollapalooza this weekend. 2 days of music, beer and food and I walked out with extra cash in my pocket. Not too shabby!

Lollapalooza 2008: Day 1

Chris and I started out our Lolla experience on a very warm, very sunny friday afternoon. The heat became pretty unbearable but we all laughed when a single cloud floated in front of the sun, offering 45 seconds of shade, but the ENTIRE park erupted in cheers from that one single cloud.

Our setlist was:
The Go Team!
Duffy (LOVED HER!)
The Black Keys
Cat Power
The Raconteurs
Radiohead

We spent most of the day with Sarah and Paddy, which was a ton of fun! Paddy lost his spare set of concert clothes, so rocked Lolla in a pin-striped suit and black, leather shoes. It was hilarious the strange looks he got! But we still thought the chicks in the knee high leather boots or wool leg warmers looked much more wacky!

It was really cool seeing/hearing Radiohead. We just laid on our blanket, had some beers under the cool of the night and let the music lift our spirits. It was really a great day.

Covert Hostility

What could Katie Holmes have possibly done to deserve the punishment of tight-rolled jeans? Did she make fun of Xenu's mom? Did she comment on Tom Crui-zay's short stature?

Or has she, God forbid, lost her ever-lovin' mind and actually done this to herself?

My Superhero

I love this!

Baron Von Awesome

Jenn and I met up for dinner and drinks last night at Piece. She hadn't eaten there before and I was excited for her to try the pizza and enjoy their speciality brews. We both decided to quench our thirst with a few tasty wheat beers. I love their Baron Von Awesome brew! So much so that I have a slight headache this morning. :)

And it was such a great surprise when Michi called me on my drive home to work to ask if I wanted to meet up with her and Tim at Piece, for a drink or four. What a coincidence! Of all the restaurants in Chicago, we ended up at the same one on the same night! So I got to chat with Michi while waiting for Jenn to arrive!

About 10pm, after dining on a tasty white pizza with fresh tomatoes and basil, the DJ started playing really loud club music so we kindly asked for the check and scooted out of there as quick as possible. We headed over to Estelle's for a pint of Blue Moon and more fun conversation.

I had so much fun last night! And Jenn surprised me with a birthday gift! These lovely earrings are from a boutique called Hammer who sells jewelry from local artists! They're so wonderful even the gift bag and tissue paper was beautiful! And she remembered me saying once that orange is my favorite color. :)

Thanks Jenn, for the lovely jewelry and such a wonderful evening out on the town!!

Nuance

Yesterday I went to the Mac make-up counter to purchase some new blush. They have a new mineral line and I bought the color, Nuance, which is a peachy/coral blush. It's really pretty!
I like the Mac make-up counter the best because I feel like they really help me pick the color that is best for my skin. I used to shop Clinique, many moons ago, and I always felt that they would match odd colors to my skin or just try to sell me their new product even though it didn't look all that great on me.

I wish I could afford all Mac make-up, but it really is pricey. So I just get the stuff that I can't figure out by myself. For instance, foundation, blush and lipstick...I can never tell what the color will look like on me so I can't just go to Walgreens and pick a color out there. So I always get those pieces at a make-up counter. But eye shadows, lip gloss, eyeliner and mascara I can get at Walgreens to help save some moolah.

Yeah for fun new make-up!

Dreams From My Father

For the month of July, I listed to the book on tape of Barack Obama's Dreams From My Father. I was really enjoyed listening to this book and learning more about Barack's history and his life growing up. I appreciated his honesty about drinking, skipping school and being a normal kid. Even though he experienced things that aren't all that normal, such as living in Indonesia for 5 years of his young life.

Obama has a great storytelling ability and knowing where he came from makes me appreciate him as a presidential candidate, even more.

I like that he wrote this book years and years ago because it doesn't come off as a ploy to gain voters.

It's a great story and, in my opinion, the sound of his voice did add to the story, so I would recommend hearing it over reading it.

Definitely, Maybe

I watched the film Definitely, Maybe last night. It was actually pretty good! The little girl annoys me but most child actors do. Ryan Reynolds was really good in it. It's nice to see him in something other than slap-stick comedy.
And I heart Isla Fischer. She has the most beautiful hair.

This is a Netflix-er!

What They Said Was True

So I think it's about time I give props to my mom, my sister, Sarah and Karla. These are all women who over the past 7 years have encouraged me to leave bad relationships and promised me that someone better was out there waiting for me.
For the past 7 years I've spent time wondering if He would call again? If He was the one? Can this be it? Even with the disappointment? Is He supposed to be this selfish? Is He supposed to smoke this much? Is he supposed to have zero social skills? Is He supposed to be shorter than me?

I spent so much time talking with these women and asking these questions, which had such obvious answers. And they have been extremely patient with me as I went on one bad date after another. Extremely comforting when I would call them crying after realizing that He wasn't the one. Extremely loving as they told me it was going to work itself out.

And what they said was true.

It's funny looking back at all those other men. I just shake my head and laugh to myself, because I gotta be able to have a sense of humor about this. :)

See finally, I'm with someone who loves me for who I am. Even when I'm bossy. Who doesn't question why I am opposed to paying for a sandwich at a restaurant, when I can make a sandwich for free at home. Who thinks about me at the most random times and then does something like buys me herb cheese, cause he knows I like it. Someone who saves me a seat at church but respects my independence enough to introduce me to others as Olivia, so people can see me for more than just his girlfriend. Someone who embraces my love for cooking and has mastered the art of mashed potatoes. Who agrees that we need to take responsibility for this planet and joined the Meat Share Program with me. Someone who knows how much I love to travel so began planning a trip to Greece for us. Someone who doesn't mind seeing me with my Invisilign in. Someone who is genuinely concerned when I say my sister's basement has flooded. And genuinely happy when I tell him my friend got the job in the city. Someone who's family is amazingly wonderful and someone who thinks my family is just as great.

And what's so much more surprising and wonderful...I love him just as much, right back.

So what they said was true. When it's right, it's easy. The joy just pours out effortlessly.