The Sausage King of Chicago

banshee @ 2008-05-13T22:41:00

2008-05-14T02:57:30Z

Tonight we decided, kinda last-minute, that we would go to the Lilac Festival for dinner. It was a beautiful evening, it was a weekday and we could (ostensibly) avoid crowds, M could get off work early, what could go wrong?

It was horrible! There was no parking. No parking! We spied only two small lots, both full, no street parking, ridiculous traffic...where are these thousands of visitors putting their cars? We drove for perhaps an hour trying to find a spot until we eventually parked about a mile away, not before being harassed by a police officer for not pulling in front of oncoming traffic. OK.

How do you feed three cranky people at a crowded festival? Consecutively, of course. After another full hour of waiting in lines for Italian sausage, a plain hot dog, and a Tahou's Garbage Plate, we were DONE. The music was terrible, the exhibitors were boring, the crowds obnoxious, and I just wanted to go home and scream into a pillow. We did run into Pat, Fran, and Greta, who were probably wondering why I was sullenly stabbing at my macaroni salad instead of being sociable. My apologies, kids! It was nice to see you!

Oh, we are perhaps just not festival people.

banshee @ 2008-05-13T16:01:00

2008-05-13T20:26:13Z

Today we had a bunch of noodly little errands to run: OB appointment (normal), Home Depot for a missing desk bolt, Staples for printer ink, return library books, et cetera. Owen and I decided it was just too nice not to take a long stroll through the village, so off we went. We gawked at flowers (see above), walked over the canal lift bridge, watched two trains scream by, and headed to Lombardi's, which my mom has always insisted we visit but hadn't gotten around to it until today.

ZOMG. You know how ravioli is delicious? How about a whole wall of freezers with every ravioli flavor imaginable - homemade? You like cheese? Chocolate? Coffee? The supply of hard-to-find imported varieties is endless. Since I stupidly left my car about a mile away, I was only able to make it out of there with two packs of Aranciata and Limonata. We have to go back.

banshee @ 2008-05-09T21:02:00

2008-05-10T01:09:45Z

Wednesday was M's birthday. It was low-key; we went out for Indian food and came home for cake (Chocolate with whipped Nutella filling and whipped ganache icing! Too bad the cake was dry. FAIL.)

Within an hour I began to feel terrible. Oh no! So I've been cooped up with Owen upstairs with a horrible cold the last couple of days. Thankfully Owen's fine, just bored.

This week his class did a sweet Mother's Day 'brunch' where they made fruit salad and mini pizzas, sang songs, and presented us with gifts (bracelets made with real beads, not macaroni!). Aww.

Almost 18 weeks and I look several weeks beyond that. Fantastic.

banshee @ 2008-05-05T22:23:00

2008-05-06T02:41:50Z

Hi, internet. I've needed a little break from your soul-sucking power.
I couldn't stay away forever, of course, so what's new?
I'm tired and my eyes are twitching, so tonight you get bullet points:

* My in-laws came up for the weekend; we celebrated M's birthday early
* I worked a bit for our preschool fundraiser and won a fancy high chair that I really wanted (and needed!), as well as symphony tickets and a gift certificate at a local yarn shop!
* We cleaned the garage, moved the dining room into half the living room in preparation for the upcoming nursery moving the office to the former dining room. Get that? It's like musical rooms.
* We did a bunch of garden stuff but have a lot more to do before things look appropriate
* I plopped flowers into the windowboxes and entryway planters, hooray, and on time!
* Zoo field trip today, followed by the park
* I am tired. I forget if there was anything else. Maybe tomorrow.

(click for more info, more photos)

banshee @ 2008-04-26T15:59:00

2008-04-26T20:01:12Z

So the one day we start cleaning the garage, thus rendering it full of stuff and unusable, forcing us to park the cars outside...HAIL STORM. Oh, hooray for dumb luck.

banshee @ 2008-04-25T13:35:00

2008-04-25T17:45:57Z

Last night I met up with the husbandperson to see an award given to Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai, who gave a great talk afterwards. M had made a short introduction film for the evening (which was excellent!), and we got to meet her after. It was quite an honor. She's had an amazing life. I went out this morning to pick up her autobiography, actually.

Of course, while I've been frittering away the last couple of weeks on the internet and wandering the aisles of Target, she's been tear gassed as she protests the current Kenyan government on behalf of hundreds of thousands of refugees. Gee, I'm an ahole.

banshee @ 2008-04-22T11:51:00

2008-04-22T15:59:39Z

Last night we were watching No Reservations: China, and Owen was less-than-pleased that we weren't watching one of his shows.

Me: "Look at that beautiful village! It's really, really old. Much older than where we live!"
Owen: "I'm not impressed."

He stewed some more, crossed his arms, then finally turned to us and said conspiratorially, "You know what I heard? I heard that all of China likes the Yankees."*

* Trying to shock two Red Sox fans into changing the channel in disgust, FTW!

banshee @ 2008-04-21T15:52:00

2008-04-21T19:57:53Z

Two random photos - Owen and I waiting for the train into NYC, and some of Owen's recent works as featured on M's bulletin board.

banshee @ 2008-04-20T18:25:00

2008-04-20T22:36:20Z

We seemed to have gone straight from winter to spring; do not pass go, etc. Not that I'm complaining, mind you! It's been in the 70s-80s and sunny for a solid week now. And we've been busy! I think we spent more time outdoors this week than most of last year in total. Well, sorta.

Yesterday we hoofed it over to the racetrack (see what I did there?) for opening day. Ah, the noble running of the ponies...and we did well! Better than usual! I won on three races and M won one also. We ended up on the plus side, considering how much we laid out for food and risky $2 bets. That's how we roll.

Today we repented for our sins, and dutifully buckled down for some yardwork. M and O played entertaining versions of soccer and baseball out back. Everything is weeded and almost ready for planting. I made beef stew in the crockpot, which is such a refreshingly light meal for an over-80 day.

Oh, and Friday there were garage sales! Lots! Granted, I spent a total of twenty-five cents on a Yoshi McDonalds toy that we already had, because as Owen always says, 'It's ok if you have two of something.'
Sure, kid. Tell that to our cluttered disaster of a basement. Oh, that's the job for next weekend. Right.

It just occurred to me that I should probably change my icon, all circumstances considered. Oops.

banshee @ 2008-04-17T18:30:00

2008-04-17T22:34:21Z

It's Spring Break time and the weather is criminally pleasant, so we've actually left the house for the last couple of days. Computer, what computer?

Yesterday it was ice cream and the playground, and today it was miniature golf and Lollypop Farm. Somewhere there's a photo of me as a kid, standing in front of the same dang bull.

banshee @ 2008-04-14T10:16:00

2008-04-14T14:39:43Z

First things first, thank you all so much for the congratulations and well-wishes! :D

So after last weekend's whirlwind road trip to Toronto, it was time to rest.
Unfortunately, instead of resting, we took it upon ourselves to drive to NJ this last weekend.
Exhausted yet? How about getting up the next morning and taking the train into NYC for the day, and tearing around on the subway all day, dragging a stroller and a 4-year-old through Penn Station, uptown, downtown, and through the streets of Soho in the rain?

Owen loved the train ride. This was how he looked for the entire hour.

While M had a meeting to hopefully pick up some freelance work, Owen and I went to Chat 'n' Chew around the corner. He was trying to draw Yoshi eggs.

Then we went to the Whitney Biennial, which sounded like a good idea at the time, but less so when your junior art critic is bitter about the lack of any Super Mario leitmotif. After powerwalking the exhibit in about 40 minutes, we headed to Rockefeller Center (oy) to visit Nintendo World instead.

The mood brightened considerably after that.
Then we met some lovely folks for dinner:

Thanks for venturing out with us, look and B! We had lots of fun!

After dinner, we headed back to NJ on the train to spend the weekend with M's family, and arrived back home last night. Ok, kinda tired. How was your weekend?

banshee @ 2008-04-10T22:19:00

2008-04-11T02:25:00Z

Ha ha. I totally just entered my second trimester, dudes!

I know, right? We started trying for #2 last September, got preggo, and had a very unfortunate loss in November. With a little time to recover both physically and emotionally, we got back on that horse in January. Hi, vacation baby!

I've kept it on the downlow just in case we had more trouble - and, in fact, there was some spotting and unpleasantness at around 8 weeks, but an early ultrasound showed that things were hunky dory in there, and here we are. Here's today's ultrasound - the second half of the first trimester screening. Everything looks just fine and dandy. This kid can wiggle! Still don't know what flavor it is; that ultrasound comes in a few weeks.

So, that's the news from Lake Wobegon.

Edit: More later...time for bed! Busy day tomorrow. Thank you all!

banshee @ 2008-04-08T21:50:00

2008-04-09T01:57:00Z

Owen hasn't had much interest in drawing anything until recently, and only then he only draws Yoshis over and over. He's very good at Yoshis. The problem has been getting him interested in trying new things - except this week he came home from school with a drawing of Peter and the Wolf, plus a cat and a bird. Flabbergasted! He drew everything so well!

Today I asked him to draw me lots of things he hasn't drawn for me before. He decided to draw:
1) A family portrait. Me, the Boo, Zuzu, Owen, and the Mitten in that order. And the sun, natch.
2) A flower. Then I told him how to spell 'flower' and he carefully wrote it out.
3) A giant mushroom. No doubt influenced by the Mario universe. He specifically wanted to label it 'giant mushroom, exclamation point'.
4) A germ, 'really close up'. Ok, junior scientist. Or future sufferer of OCD.

banshee @ 2008-04-07T16:27:00

2008-04-07T20:27:29Z

Well, I guess it had a good run...

banshee @ 2008-04-06T21:22:00

2008-04-07T01:44:32Z

Mini-vacation results are in: success!

We drove to Toronto yesterday morning, and caught a Red Sox game. Can I stress enough how good our seats were? And how we only bought the tickets about a week ago? And for a totally reasonable price? Too bad that the Red Sox are always terrible against the Jays when we visit.
Oh well. Still! Great seats! And we came within 3 people of catching a Manny Ramirez foul ball.

We stayed at the Westin Harbour Castle, the same place I used to stay as a kid. Not only do I have fond childhood memories of sitting at the windows and watching the fog roll in over the lake, but M and I have stayed here several times - it's just a lovely, modern, friendly hotel. I love it there.

Vacations are primarily about food for me, so we made a point to have something we couldn't have in Rochester. We had Moroccan, mint tea and all, at Cafe Moroc. This afternoon we were able to snag seats at the open-kitchen bar at Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar for a prix-fixe brunch. It was delicious, and interesting. As we like to joke that we've been married too long and don't have anything new to talk about (untrue), it was fun to watch the kitchen at work and guess what was being plated at any given time (are those beets? I think they're beets.)
(lakme, we picked up a copy of 'edible Toronto' there, and there's a big article about Treadwell, FYI - I want to go!)

After a date with some bubble tea, we headed home. It was really nice to have married-person grownup time. Good stuff.

banshee @ 2008-04-03T22:57:00

2008-04-04T03:05:40Z

Cue the chorus of angels! First flower of the season!

In the last couple of days I washed the car, lovingly wiped down the interior until squeaky, and vacuumed every last particle of dirt from the floors. I love a clean car.
Now, if only I had motivation to clean the house.

In other springy news, Owen and I strolled around the local nursery and gawked at the plants and seeds, fantasizing about this summer's garden. Can't wait.

banshee @ 2008-03-31T15:50:00

2008-03-31T20:08:06Z

For over a week now my family has been decimated by illness. Mom and Dad still aren't completely over their flulike stuff, aquagirl is probably still compromised, and even though Owen was well enough to go to school again, he's still not in tiptop shape. He's taking a nap next to me. This kid does not nap. That's an indication right there that something ain't right.

* Last night we watched the last of our new favorite show, Living With the Mek.

* I finally got my hair cut (first time since...January?), and it looks a little Stepford-Wife-meets-Edie-Sedgwick, but it's growing out and what are you gonna do, right?

* I just ate some watermelon and briefly pretended it was July and that I don't still see snow outside. That's not snow, it's dandelion fluff. Hey, watermelon. Yummy.

* We made plans for a tiny, mini, twee vacation that involves baseball and food. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to it, too. YES.

banshee @ 2008-03-24T20:18:00

2008-03-25T00:21:26Z

Owen's brand of dancing lies somewhere between finger-pointing disco and breakdancing.
We really need to capture it on video, but please enjoy this still in the meantime.

I love the Zuzu. Best cat ever.
She follows me around all day, licks my hand furiously in gratitude when I give her food/water/love, and sleeps nuzzled under the fold of my arm, head squashed into my neck, like a teddy bear.

banshee @ 2008-03-23T17:35:00

2008-03-23T21:38:25Z

Ah, Easter. The only day of the year where candy before 7am is ok, and parents are allowed to dress you in the most ridiculous outfit they can find and take pictures.

banshee @ 2008-03-21T22:40:00

2008-03-22T02:42:21Z

Owen, explaining to his dad what he did this afternoon:

'Well, I was going to do some hard thinking, but I decided to take a nap instead.'

banshee @ 2008-03-17T17:37:00

2008-03-17T21:38:55Z

Top O' The Mitten to you!

Incidentally, about ten minutes after I took this, I came back in the room to discover The Mitten hovering over the camera suspiciously.
I honestly think she was trying to figure out how to delete this.

banshee @ 2008-03-16T17:46:00

2008-03-16T22:06:34Z

Winter boredom drove us out of the house today, to - what else? - eat. A lot.
Specifically, lunch at our favorite Indian restaurant, and a late-afternoon crepe splurge. Owen wasn't too happy with our choice to get Indian brunch, and bizarrely kept insisting that we go to 'a French restaurant, so we can speak French'. Ooooo-k.

So, hey. Crepes, right? That counts! No matter that the only French he speaks is basically 'bonjour, maman' and 'rouge' and 'bleu'. Not so handy for restaurant conversation. That, and his dairy allergy precluded him from ordering anything off the menu besides a pink lemonade.

Too full for dinner.

Edit: Hey, the dome house is for sale!

banshee @ 2008-03-14T12:59:00

2008-03-14T17:14:06Z

My mouth is burning. I'm snacking on wasabi soynuts and soup.

Yesterday my mom, Owen, and I visited the Canandaigua Spice Company, which is really quite an amazing little shop stocked to the gills with bulk packaged spices, spice mixtures, soup bases, and baking supplies, etc. You know how you'll be reading an exotic and exciting cookbook, and want to try a recipe, only to be flummoxed by the unavailability of North African Zahtar? Well, is this ever the place for you! I could have spent hours looking through them all. And the salts! Hawaiian red sea salt! Cinnamon and rose infused salt!
This place (combined with the farmers' market in the summer) will be dangerous.

banshee @ 2008-03-10T14:31:00

2008-03-10T18:28:49Z

Oh, snap, Spitzer!

banshee @ 2008-03-09T23:03:00

2008-03-10T03:03:09Z

I made cupcakes for a preschool party. The good news is that they're chocolate, and have flocked Indian elephants and giant sprinkles on them. The bad news is that due to a myriad of school allergies, they also happen to be gluten free, dairy free, egg free, nut free, and generally free of deliciousness. But, they're cupcakes. They've got something going for them.