Wednesday, July 11, 2012

We bought a house

My life long dream has been realized!  We bought our cute little 3 bedroom bungalow on the Northwest side of Chicago on June 22nd....and boy have we been busy since then!

The house we bought we got a GREAT deal on, however it needed some work....most of the work was cosmetic, and stuff we knew we could do ourselves.

Check out our progress so far.

The house from the outside.  See the lovely lace panels in the window.

 Oh- and the lovely green carpet...
 new window coverings- stained glass applique from home depot!
 peel and stick tile from home depot---- what a difference!

Living room- white walls, carpet

dining room- same carpet- the molding was there, and they gave me the idea of the different color above the molding

My brother came to town and refinished the floors- we did a couple coats of paint, and voila- a whole new room.

More pics to come!  We are planning on moving in on July 21st!  Just shy of our one month of homeownership!

Thanks for looking!

Friday, April 20, 2012

Music...makes the people...come together

Let's go back about 10 years...When I had the amazing experience of spending 4 months in the Dominican Republic with 14 other college students, one ultra cool mentor and one allergy and accident prone Jesuit Priest/ philosophy professor...

One of our first days there, we were sitting by the beach, just watching the fluctuation of the tide. And Jorge decided moving forward we would have a "Song of the day".  That day our song was "Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding.  From Jack Johnson and Ben Kweller, to the Beatles and Janis Joplin, I learned alot about music.  Throughout the highs and lows of our journey there, there are many songs that creep into my head and put me back on my island, where I knew what was right and what was wrong, and I found myself. 

So what does this lovely intro have to do with anything?  I have recently re-discovered my love for music.  I have always loved music, for anyone who really knows me, you know I was born to perform.  I love the spotlight, and for many years, it was me singing in the spotlight.  Now, I refuse to watch American Idol or any of the singing shows as that is not where my life took me and I get a bit melancholic...anyways--- wow is this post plagued with diversions---

I bought my Lollapalooza tickets after much coaxing from friends in St. Lucia (Caribbean islands= music), and have decided I need to get familiar with these new bands, and not the crap I hear on the radio 16 times a day.  So I have been spending money like crazy buying up all the itunes music I can.  I am in LOVE with some new female solo artists and band groups.  

So for anyone interested in expanding their music collection, may I recommend a few artists/bands:

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals- I bought her live album- they rock.  I can picture myself at their concert, for some reason, I see it as barefoot in the park...beer in hand, maybe something a big stronger...hair down and just dancing.   My favorite song thus far- "Paris (oh la la)"

Kate Voegele- shes a little bit country, a little bit rock and role.  Kate was a secondary character in One Tree Hill  for a few seasons playing Mia, who, funnily enough, was a singer/songwriter.Kate's songs are catchy, uplifting and just songs you want to belt out in the car.  My favorite is "Sunshine in my Sky" from the Gravity Happens album.

Kat Edmonson- I heard about Kat on an NPR episode, I guess she raised all the money herself to put together her new album "Way Down Low", which has a unique and coquettish femininity to it.  She is playful, and amusing.  My favorite on this album is titled "Champagne" and starts with an infamous lie that many of us have told ourselves at least once "I'm never gonna drink again".  I picture sipping cocktails, at a swanky piano bar while listening to this album.  A perfect cocktail hour CD.

As you can probably imagine, none of these bands is coming to Lollapalooza, so my musical search will continue.  But I hope you tune into some of these new artists and enjoy them as much as I have.



Friday, January 13, 2012

not an early adaptor

"Early Adaptor", Im not sure if this is a new term, or if it has come about with the constant changes in technology that seem to be driving adoption.  I guess there were probably people who first bought telephones after Bell's discovery.  Were these the same people who bought TV's and then color TV's? 

I have come to realize that I am generally a little late on the 8 ball.  Here are some of my late comings:
1.  I bought a palm pilot in 2006...when everyone else had already moved to "do it all machines", a phone that will give you your email, calendar, etc.  so for a while, I had a palm and a blackberry....which makes for a very heavy purse.
2.  I have never had an iphone, I still have a blackberry, that according to our companies mobile central office is "ancient"
3.  I just got an e-reader.  As someone who reads around 40 books a year, this may seem rediculos.  I just like the way pages feel, so I held out for a long time.
4.  I have only owned 1 of my "own computers", not owned by my company that I need to give back.  My computer broke, I never got it fixed.
5.  I use a MAP, not a GPS, a good old fashioned map.
6.  I just learned how to play angry birds
7.  Most importantly, I never watched Arrested Development....WHAT was I missing..  This show is HALARIOUS, I wish I had watched it when it was live.  I wish I had watched it wth everyone else, so when I quote lines people don't look at me like i have 5 heads.

So, I am going to try and make a solid decision to be a little bit more "early adaptive".  Take advise from people, listen, learn and embrace change....

Anyone have any new technologies I should try?