So in light of my cupboard organizing woes - Toddcat thought that he would be "awesome" and send me a picture of his amazing organization. Two things:


1) I guarantee you that he straightened it up before he took this picture (after all - he used to have a jean couch).


2) When I'm done - my cupboards are going to look better than this.

And lest you think that my blog posts are getting boring - next up - the Sunday lasagna that took four hours to make meaning we didn't have dinner until 9:00 pm. Whoa - I'm sure you can hardly wait.

dear chicago friends:

Last night when we got home from work (about 8:00 pm - our days are long right now with the commute and errands and blah blah blah but I digress . . . ) we opened up a can of chili (quick recipe - open a can of chili - pour in a pot and heat and serve - voila!) we started talking about how much we were missing our friends right now. Even this morning as I type this I realize this is still a little close to the surface. Don't get us wrong - this was the right move for us but knowing that doesn't take away the fact that we miss not only having friends - but we miss our friends. You know the kind of friends where they become family because no one has family around. Some of our good friends are having a baby and we are so excited for them - they just found out what they are having (it's a ___!) and we wanted more than anything to run over to their house and deliver a bunch of boy appropriate outfits. Instead - we finished eating our chili, watched the tail end of a Meredith Baxter (Birney - but she has divorced so just Baxter now) movie and went to bed. Our new life . . . well we are working on it. So if you are reading this and you live in Chicago or you once lived in Chicago please just know - you are missed by us.

Lifelong Dream . . . check

Yesterday was my friend Tracy's wedding. She looked beautiful - the groom, Bill, looked handsome and they both showed up and took the plunge. Well . . . to the point of this blog. Tracy is Jewish and during the party afterwards the band whipped out a stirring rendition of "Hava Nagila" which really seemed to get the crowd going. Greg doesn't know Tracy or Bill well but he sure acted like he did. When the crowd lacked the "manpower" to carry Bill around on the chair (see picture - not of the wedding but just so you can get the idea) - Greg stepped in. I wish I had a camera to show you how pleased Greg was when it was all over - seriously - he looked like he had just finally completed a lifelong goal "participate in chair tradition at a jewish wedding. . . . check." So um "Mazal Tov" to you and nice work. For the record - Bill looked frightened the whole time and Tracy was having none of it.

Don't be jealous

Last night, unexpectedly, my best friend who has a half of a heart necklace, Jill came to visit. Random because she lives in DC and I had no idea she was in town (and she didn't know she would be there either). Here we are just knitting and chatting (well, I am chatting Jill, on the other hand, is cursing like a sailor). Jill looks great in her business casual . . . I just look casual.

Welcome my friend . . . welcome . . .sort of

So Todd has finally succumbed to the peer pressure and decided that the narcissistic life he leads is worthy of a blog. Thank goodness----this way he can stop dictating to me what I should post and he can post about it himself. Bring it on Toddcat--bring it on.

I have a dream

Last night I dreamt that me and Ross and our friend Todd were babysitting (or tending, if you will) my friend Lindy's baby, Lucy. In this dream we were not only excellent babysitters but Lucy (at 3 months) was able to speak in complete sentences. Lucy kept saying, "I'm so glad that families are forever." The whole time I kept thinking, "Oh, it is so good for Todd to hear this" [after all he isn't Mormon].

I think I dreamt this for two reasons: (1) I am so proud of myself for giving her the bumbo chair because Lucy obviously enjoys it and (2) I am concerned that Lucy is watching way too much television. Way too much.

Happy Birthday Jill St. John!

Tomorrow is my BF in Washington DC--Jill's birthday (I am posting this in advance just in case I don't have time to do it tomorrow). Jill is fantastic. When we moved here in Chicago Jill came out and visited me and taught me the beauty of cloroxing everything to get rid of the previous owner's germs. Jill is also the person who told us about "the office." She told us to start watching it immediately (after we got cable). We've never looked back. One word, foliage. On our honeymoon we ran into Jill and Betsy and Fahad in the mountains. It really made for some good hiking. Jill also gave me and Ross the idea of going as "the big dog" and his wife to Jill's Halloween party. Thanks to her, we were a hit. Also Jill is probably the nicest person in the world. She will pretend like she is the meanest person in the world but she isn't. Not even close. Jill also loves pink and her nephew Jack. Here is a picture of me and Jill at graduation. I know this post has nothing to do with graduation but Jill looks great in this picture. Pay no attention to me or to our friend Matt in the background who always is looking for some camera time. I was going to post a picture of us hiking in Zion but I can't find it and we don't look very good in it anyway.

Cowabunga Dudes!

With my BF's (not BFF just BF) birthday coming up I thought I better do a posting about him . . . or rather an ode to Todd. I mean honestly, who else will talk to me on the phone and tell me all about the celebrity sightings seen on "Murder She Wrote?" You probably don't know this but Courtney Cox played Jessica Fletcher's niece. That's right, I'm sure you now all have a little more respect for show. Also, no one else is as good at all things trivial when it comes to pop culture---don't mess with Todd. Who else will dress up like Charles Nelson Reilly to my Joanne Whorley? No one. And quite frankly, no one makes better blog comments. No one. (Sorry Abby). Here is a picture of Todd dressed up like some sort of Ninja Turtle for his friends' son's birthday party. That's right--he sacrificed his self respect and dignity (obviously) so that he could bring some joy to the 4 year old. That's what kind of person he is---a good one.

Congrats Lindy and Ryan!

This afternoon I got the greatest text message . . . Lindy Langston one of my law school BF's gave birth to a healthy baby girl yesterday. Lucy Jean Langston arrived at 8:30 pm and weighed in at 7 lbs 7 ozs. This is awesome. It is also awesome because this means Lindy won't have to be pregnant during the rest of the hot Texas summer. Here is a picture of Lindy and her husband, Ryan, at law school graduation. She's pretty much the awesomest girl in the world.