Life and Times

6am Victory!

2009-07-17T17:48:00.003-05:00

I was able to do the 6am run! I really enjoyed it too. The best part about getting up so early is that I was still asleep for the first part of the run, I woke up about half way through. I was able to push harder and run more than I have before.

I am going to do it again tomorrow. I am going to shoot for 6 or 7am... It should be fun, I am going to see if I can push through and do another .5 miles... We'll see.

Several notes on early morning running...
* People do not pick up after their dogs, how hard is this to do?!

* It is quiet. REALLY quiet.

* Runner's do NOT wave or do the head nod to each other. (I was hoping that there would be a cool secret club that I would be inducted into once I started running.)

New Shoes, early start

2009-07-15T22:19:00.003-05:00

My new running shoes have arrived! I learned last week that running in walking shoes is not such a great idea.

So now I have beautiful new shoes that are perfectly tailored to my running needs. I am going to get up tomorrow morning at 6am and run before work.

Hopefully, I still feel the same way tomorrow morning.

Here we go!

2009-07-14T17:29:00.004-05:00

This post marks a change in my blog. I am switching topics. Not that it really matters, as it has been over 6 months since I posted last...

Anyways, I am now using this space to chronicle my fitness journey. I have recently discovered running. Well, discovered that I don't despise it. I hated running as a kid, but I think that was because it was forced on me and I like things to be my own choice. Plus what is fun about being forced to participate in an activity while a gym teacher stands and yells at you about how bad you are at said activity?

As I have learned recently, there is a certain power and zen to running. During my run I feel like I might not make it, and then I notice how my body feels. The feeling of my feet hitting the ground, my legs propelling me forward my breath coming faster and the sweat beading. It all comes together to give me a feeling of power, strength and peace.

So here I am. Beginning this new adventure. First step: train for 5k. I have about 3 weeks left! Yikes. I have been training for the race for about 4 weeks now, so hopefully I will not embarrass myself too much. Goal: Finish the race, run 85% of it.

Once I get past this goal we will see what I will tackle next.

Art Institute

2009-01-03T20:43:00.004-06:00

I have been going to the Art Institute for almost as long as I can remember. My family had a membership, and when I got to be old enough I obtain my own membership. It is a very familiar place, I usually notice when they have moved or removed a piece. When they put the Chuck Close (I believe it was 'Stephen' located near the decorative arts and American galleries) I was quite upset. It is a comforting, exciting, stimulating place to visit. I always come away with new experiences and new ideas for my art.

My Morning In Photographs

2009-01-02T17:20:00.007-06:00

The winter light was amazing this morning. It gave everything an interesting glow. This is the continuation of my current obsession with light.

My new place

2008-12-31T13:55:00.003-06:00

As some of you know I have found a new apartment! It is much closer to church and work, which is going to make my life easier in general. Plus there will be much easier parking, so it will be easier for people to come over! I went in to measure and make sure that everything I have will fit in, and translated that into a floor plan from floorplanner.com.

I'd like to welcome you to my new apartment!

Signs

2008-12-28T18:16:00.004-06:00

I love old signs. This one is from a jewelery store in Andersonville, they have recently closed and shortly a new business will be in their old space. The new will replace the old and another piece of the neighborhoods history will be lost. It is another aspect of time, this sign shows it quite literally on the Elgin clock embedded into it. Signs now are primarily for information and less about the artistic expression of the business and sign maker. We are losing the beautiful, gaudy, fun signs of the past. I love them and have begun incorporating them into my art, hopefully this will help them to live a bit longer in our consciousness than they normally would.

Alley

2008-12-27T10:06:00.003-06:00

On my way home the other night I noticed this alley scene. I thought it had great texture and an interesting light quality. I was also struck with the idea that this moment that I had captured was fragile and would never be there again. The light would change, the ice and snow would change, and it would be a different photograph all together. In fact as of today, just a few hours after I took the photograph, there is no more snow or ice left on the ground. It is all a brown watery mess and has lost any magical quality that it once had. Time has interested me for quite some time, the different light that each day brings. Each day is different, and holds its own beauty.

Election Judge

2008-11-12T18:47:00.005-06:00

I know that this is unbelievably late, but I finally have the time and motivation to write about my day as an election judge.

After the training I was quite apprehensive about the whole day. The anger, the confusion, the hacking coughs... Luckily no hacking coughs at my polling place. Anger and confusion are another story, we had those in abundance.

There was quite a cast of characters, the apparent leader was Willie the elderly southern belle, her husband the World War II vet Harold, Vladamir the elderly Russian with limited English skills, Beth the young high powered Republican and Todd our college age tech guy.

The line began forming at around 5:30am, and continued to wrap around the front of the polling place until around 11:00am. It was rushed, but everyone was fairly nice and in pleasant moods. Which was better than expected. Especially as the help was not always the most effective.

Vladamir and Harold insisted on being at the name station (first station where you look up the person's name), although neither of them could see or read the names on either the person's driver's license or the record in front of them. When it was suggested that they allow one of the other people to help them read, they got angry and told us all to leave them the *bleep* alone and do our own jobs. Lovely.

After the morning rush Harold took a break from his station for the rest of the day. He decided to take a nap for the rest of the day. He would wake up every once and a while and show us a card that his niece sent him. The fact that he did not have teeth made it really difficult to understand what he was saying. Very sweet man, but probably shouldn't be doing this job anymore. What made the whole thing more special? His wife constantly shouting at him from across the room to wake up and get to work...

What many of you probably are not aware of is that my area is a major hub of Russian elderly types. This is why Vladamir was working with us. Unfortunately most of the Russians living in this area also do not speak English AT ALL. I swear the only words they knew is Vote Obama. They would just yell that at us. Eventually we just let Vlad handle all of the Russians, although that presented a new set of issues. Vladamir didn't really understand the whole concept of a private ballot and would actually go into the voting booth with people. They were all speaking Russian so we had no idea what was going on, but every time he headed back there one of us would have to run over and stop him.

Beth was the other young type person working, she is a high powered real estate sales woman. I have never met anyone more in love with their chosen party. Every word out of her mouth was about the Republican party and how they were more awesome than the Democrat party. I found it entertaining to listen to her extol the virtues of her favorite politicians.

Willie was the self proclaimed leader of our merry band of electioneers. Unfortunately she didn't know the procedures or rules. She had no idea how to run any of the stations, but did feel the need to walk by to criticize and contradict us all day. The best one is when a college student came in and asked if she could vote here even though she was registered in Peoria. Of course you can not vote where you are not registered, but Willie told her of course she could vote here. And then planned on proving me wrong by looking it up in our book. Eventually she did admit that yes she was wrong, but she was so angry at me in the meantime.

All in all it was a very interesting day. I enjoyed being a part of the election process. I might actually do it again if they asked...

Election Judge Training

2008-10-19T20:51:00.001-05:00

I am going to be an election judge this year, I had my training this last week. It was interesting to say the least. We were in a basement room of the county building in the loop. There were approximately 50 people in the room, no air-conditioning or air circulation and questionable hygiene. It got really funky by the end of the night. There was also many instances of ridiculousness, that I felt I had to share with you all. They are as follows:

- During our training video (when they explained how to set up the equipment) there was A LOT of screen talking. Some of the best were: "Uh Uh! He said we don't do that!", "No we do not!", " Ha ha, I WILL ignore that part. Oh yes I will."

- "Why can't we let the poll watchers help set-up?! It's 5am for geez!" (eye roll after the explanation that, it is illegal and grounds for nulling all votes that take place in that place.

- Repeating what the teacher says, and then saying: "oh Yes, ma'm", "MmmHhmm, that's right"

- Teacher: "They can then only vote for Federal offices. You know president, vice president, Senate... or is it senators, and is that all? I can never remember..."

- Woman raises her hand " I am warm." Teacher: "Yea it's warm in here." Woman: "Good, I think I am having a hot flash too. Am I?" Teacher ignores her and continues teaching the class.

- " Uh huh, I can count and that is only 4." After the teacher explains for the 5th time about how there are 4 stations with 2 people manning the first station. (she had also been a judge before)

Back to Wilmette

2008-09-23T20:47:00.003-05:00

Well, I have made the decision to go back and sign up to substitute teach in Wilmette. It was something I was putting off because of wanting to get more rooted in Chicago public schools. It is just much harder to get jobs here than I had originally thought. I am going to start out working with the same kids that I have been working with for the last few years, so that is fun. I am at least prepared for the challenges these students pose, and I am excited about working with people that I like. Hopefully this will lead to a full time position...

First Sub Gig

2008-09-18T07:51:00.004-05:00

After what seems like forever, I had my first substitute gig today. I am really excited and hope that this leads to more opportunities. I also found a job on the CPS Human Resources page yesterday and sent in my resume, I'm hoping that works out as well. It is a seemingly perfect situation, a primary teacher which is exactly what I was hoping for!

It felt great to get back into a classroom again. I have really missed working with students. I was in a small special needs classroom of 6th grade students. Which is directly in my comfort zone as this is what I have been doing for the last 2 years. It was great and I really hope that I have the opportunity to do it again soon!

Good Day

2008-09-01T17:13:00.000-05:00

Today has been a good day. I decided to go down to Millennium park to check out the RedBall instillation. It's by
Kurt Perschke, and it will be moving around the city from now until September 25. It is currently wedged in by the Pritzker Pavillion and the Lurie gardens. It's 15 feet tall, and not as soft as I thought it would be, slightly disappointing texture.

After checking out the ball I went and wandered through the Lurie Garden and played in the face fountain. The kids were having a VERY good time, which was fun to see. I love to play in the fountain, the feel of the water, and wet stone on my feet. It is a really great experience, and the perfect thing for a hot day.

Art!

2008-08-31T21:24:00.000-05:00

Here is my newest piece and most likely the direction I will be heading artistically.

I have been facinated with old signs for as long as I can remember. They are a part of a time that is long gone, yet they are still here apart of today. They also have a strong graphic quality, which is much more interesting then the signage that is used now.

Pie!

2008-08-31T19:44:00.004-05:00

I made a pie! It took me three tries with the crust, but I finally got the hang of it. It is the last of my summer goals and I accomplished it right in the nick of time.

I hope it tastes as good as it smells...

Things I learned about making pie from scratch:
*Pie crust is very picky, and requires careful measuring and handling. - This is pretty much why it took me three tries, as I #1 hate measuring, #2 am not careful with my stirring skills.
*Pie crust is both sticky and crumbly at the same time - it is not governed by laws of nature.
*Pie filling is crazy easy to make - Seriously.

Air and Water Show

2008-08-16T17:45:00.003-05:00

Today I spent the entire day at the lake front. It was awesome. I have been wanting to just veg by the lake all summer, and yet have not. There is always something that comes up that keeps me from going for any length of time.

I decided that today would be different, and I packed my lunch and a book and headed to the lake. I am fascinated by the planes and the amazing things that they can do. The most amazing plan of the day was the stealth plane that is pictured here. It is so odd looking, it really looked fake. When it was flying straight at the shore I could barely even see it. It looked like a mouse and the sky was the computer's wallpaper. Quite awesome!

It was such a relaxing day to just sit and read and people watch. I think I might try and do it again before the weather turns cold...

Under Attack!

2008-08-14T14:51:00.000-05:00

The air and water show practice started in earnest today. Theo is not so sure what he thinks about all of these jets. I thought he might be afraid, because he has recently decided he is afraid of storms and these jets are WAY louder than storms. So far he has just been facinated by the noise, and he rushes to his perch on the couch to try and find out what is making all the noise.

I feel safer knowing that he is keeping his eye on the danger that lurks outside of our windows...

Tomato!

2008-08-12T21:45:00.000-05:00

As I watered my tomato plant a few days ago I noticed that my baby tomato has started to turn red! This little guy started growing a while ago, and I have been hyper vigilante. Checking his progress every day, so excited that something that I have been growing is actually producing something. Now the little guy has a friend, with a few more on the way. Soon he shall be the star of a salad! I can't wait!

State Certified!!!

2008-08-06T23:49:00.002-05:00

Those of you that have been following my progress with the state on this know how awesome it is that I have gotten officially certified to teach in the state of Illinois. I was worried that this would never happen, just because the craziest stuff has been going on with the paperwork and what not. I am so excited to be officially ready to start teaching.

Now all I need is a job...

Art so far

2008-08-04T22:59:00.007-05:00

These are not great representations of what is going on here, but these are a few of my pieces in progress. I am trying a new method of putting things together, I am laying layer over layer to create a deeper richer effect. I don't know how they are going to turn out, or how many layers I'm going to end up using. I am trying to let these be what they will be. It is sort of the culmination of what I have been learning about life. It can be messy, it does not have to be perfect, and sometimes you have to lean on those outside of yourself and ask others for help.

I am working on the theme of my church's art show that is coming up this fall. I am currently stumped on how to fully realize this without being too literal. I would like to make these meaningful in an emotional and spiritual sense, but the ideas just aren't fully there yet...

So here is where you come in... What are your first thoughts when you hear the word "passage(s)"?

I am hoping that this will help get me unstuck and be fun and interesting. Thanks!!!

67

2008-07-30T21:09:00.002-05:00

67. That is the magic number. It is the number of resumes I have emailed out to schools in Chicago. These are to some of the same schools I stopped by and dropped my resume off at in May, but not all. Tomorrow I will go to the last job fair of the summer, which makes the second job fair I have been to.

It is frustrating to see what I have done, yet I still don't have a great answer to the inevitable question "So, how's the job hunt going?" I know the asker means well, but it just further emphasizes the fact that I'm not anywhere tangible in my job hunt.

I am not really worried about whether or not I will find a job or not, of course I would prefer to have a classroom, but I really am ok with subbing.

Hopefully I will get a few interviews out of tomorrow...

Why I love the city

2008-07-30T13:39:00.000-05:00

I went to the Green City Market this morning, and on my way I bumped into one of my co-workers from Wilmette. Which is one of the main reasons I love the city, bumping into people I know on a regular basis. It gives the feeling of community in the midst of this big, bustling place.

Another wonderful thing about the city is the fact that we have things like the Green City Market, and I can ride my sweet bike there.

I am glad that these lovely little things happen to remind me of how lucky I am to live here and to be in the situation I am in. I was all ready to be in a bad mood today and just looking for a reason to be grouchy. I was ready for something to happen, I looked for pedestrians to get frustrated with on my bike ride to the market, looked for the market to be out of what I wanted, and looked for something negative to happen on the way home from the market.

I was met with only pleasantness at every turn.

I then had to go and get my vehicle's emissions tested, I was sure that this would provide me the agitation and excuse to be crabby that I was looking for. Instead of the frustrating hot wait that I usually am met with there I encountered pleasent people and was through there in about ten minutes.

It has been a good day, despite my efforts to make it otherwise. And thank God for that!

Clandestino Supper Club

2008-07-28T11:30:00.000-05:00

My sister heard about an underground supper club, and invited me along. We knew very little about how it would go down, but we were interested in seeing what it would be like. The basic idea is there is a chef who throws dinner parties instead of cooking in a restaurant. After placing our reservations about a month ago, we waited and waited and waited to find out where it would be taking place. The idea is that the location is secret up until a few days before the dinner, we received the location the day before (on south Archer) according to Google Street view we would be in a warehouse or creepy looking house. Yikes.

Luckily, when we arrived the place was a tad less creepy then purported on Google, yet still we were not sure what to expect. In our emailed instructions we were told to buzz the first buzzer (all of the buzzers were unmarked, Yikes). We entered into a suprisingly large loft like space, with modern fixtures and a very cool garden banquet right as you enter the space. It turns out to be one of the attendees apartments, although to call it that might mislead you. It was one of the nicer more urban spaces that I have been to in the city, and the perfect setting for our mystery dinner.

My sister and I entered into the party, unsure of what was going to unfold for the evening. We met the hostess and she checked our names and took our wine to chill, and told us to find a seat the dinner would start shortly. There were 4 tables set up with about 7 chairs to each, all nicely set with a botanic arrangement from the resident's garden, flatware and glasses. These are evidently new additions as we were talking to people who had attended these events in the past, they used to have to bring their own flatware, as well as their own pillows to sit on.

We sat down and began to survey the crowd, very interesting mix of people. Funky biker types, artists, buisness folks, a variety of ages, a diverse crowd. At our table we had the pleasure of sitting next to the musician for the night, a fabulous singer/guitar player with a (as my sister decided) very Joni Mitchell quality. We had a lovely conversation with them as well as the other couple sitting at the table, the chef's roommate ended up joining us and we got to learn a lot about his ideas and background with this whole underground supper club concept.

Then the food, oh the food. It was an amazing, 6 courses of delicious-ness. Each course displayed beautifully on the plate, each ingredient highlighted. The Chef featured cheese from a cheese maker in Wisconsin who makes guyere in the European tradition. The most fantastic guyere I have ever had. The cheese was used brilliantly throughout the meal, adding to not overpowering every dish that it was used in. Super delish!

**Grape Truffles
**New England Scallops on the Half Shell, Baked with Polenta, Seasonal Salsa w/ Herbs and Chile, Microgreens
**Purple Haze Carrot and Jicama Salad w/ Cinnamon and Chile Piquin, Lime Vinaigrette and Watermelon
**Grilled Romansco Squash and Avocado Soup
**Melange a Trois: Eggplant stuffed w/ Local Cheese and Swiss Chard, Sweet Pepper stuffed w/ Ground Piedmontese Beef, Spring Onion, and Green Garlic, Squash Blossom stuffed w/ Local Cheese and Fresh Favas, Grilled Fennel and Heirloom Tomato Concasse
**Saffron Pot du Creme, Lavender Caramel, Dried Peaches, Candied Lilac Petals

All-in-all it was an amazing experience, talking with the other people at the party and experiencing the meal together. Plus it is fun to be a part of something that is underground!

Sleepover!

2008-07-24T15:55:00.000-05:00

Do you remember the days where the sleepover was the biggest social event of the week? You would see how late you could stay up, talk for hours, eat lots of junk food and finally fall asleep mid-sentance?

Well I got to experience this again courtesy of my sweet friends who will be starting high school in the fall.

We talked, pigged out on pizza and ice cream, gave ourselves facials and we even had a fashion show. Apparently I am the owner of a dress-up worthy wordrobe. Finally we (read:I) fell asleep at 2am while discussing the merits of the new Batman movie. All-in-all it was a super fun night that reminded me of how fun sitting around talking about boys and playing with make-up really is! I highly recommend a sleepover to anyone considering one.

Theo's First Ride

2008-07-23T17:46:00.002-05:00

Theo had his first basket ride on my bike today. He seemed to really enjoy it. To ensure his love for the basket we rode to Wiggleyville and got him a chicken Flossie and a lamb Twissle (his favorites)!

Farmer's Market

2008-07-23T12:49:00.000-05:00

This morning I went to the Green City Market in Lincoln Park. I love going to the market, the sights and smells, being able to pick through the produce. This morning was especially satisfying because I rode my bike there. I love riding through the park. I didn't realize how much I missed riding my bike. These are some photographs are just a sample of the wonderful produce that was there this morning.

Now on to cleaning the house and getting ready for the sleepover tonight. I am having two high school girls over tonight for a girls night/sleepover... It should be a good time!

Welcome to my blog

2008-07-22T16:32:00.001-05:00

Hello all!

I am starting a blog to share my art with you all. I am going to try and post pieces, as well as the thought process behind them, a couple times a week.

Here are is one of my current pieces I have been working on.
I have been taking black and white photographs and coloring on top of them with watercolor pencils.I am not sure where these are going, but they are fun to make.

I'll post some more pieces later this week. Thanks for stopping by!