folks,

i am sitting here at my desk, living proof that dreams can come true. i mean they really, really do.

people, brace yourselves. i ate pizza for breakfast this morning, y'all. and it was good.

so for all you naysayers who claim that wishes don't come true, take a long, hard look at the facts: i ate pizza in the morningtime, which you may or may not know is one of my heart's true desires.

believe it.

the great ache.

well, i'll have all of you know that i nearly died yesterday. i had a day-long, four-alarm, red-hot headache. this doozy lasted from about 11 am yesterday until this very morning, and i slept through it (almost) in its entirety. sad. at its peak, i was writhing around on my bed and crying out for my mommy. at its weakest point, i was able to "watch" (closing my eyes during commercial breaks, of course) one episode of "one tree hill" (most ridiculous show ever, may have worsened my headache) and one episode of "law & order: criminal intent" (i'm a sucker for the stand-ins noth and sciorra...she's real hot, he's a close second). then, it was back to the bed where i slept through the night, despite the fact that i had already slept for 7 hours during the day. i hate losing an entire day like that. terrible.

however, today i came to a realization. it's one i have every time i recover from touching death. i always come out of it with a deep, deep appreciation of how precious time is...how lucky we are to have our health...and how scary it would be to be sick for reals. i'll put off that thought for now, so thankful to have a pain-free head and looking forward to a full day out of bed.

it's hot in my ding dang house!

people! it's hot in my house. i mean, i've been sweeping and moving about pretty rapidly, but still, i think it a bit too hot in here. i'm seriously sweating.

also, and more importantly, sketchcore has a run beginning in february! in layman's terms, that means we are "puttin' on a show." feel free to click on the link to the right and see our website progress...


for now, a sneak peek of "urban legends."






be afraid...





p.s. "king kong" is awesome. truly. just ask my sister who had to tell me to be quiet about eight times during the movie.

christmaspast.

i am back home in chicago. the cats are alive and well and happy to see me. well, polly is kinda giving me the cold shoulder. she'll get over it. i am getting settled in and heating up some leftovers and here are some pix from our christmas...

b took this photo of us on thanksgiving...it was a big hit. this one will live at dad's office.


dad gets an fully updated ipod from rhi(he hadn't really figured out how to use it after he received it as a christmas gift last year.)


...with hand-written instructions from rhi on how to load music.


mom and rhi play santa.


a merry christmas text.

merry!

today is christmas. today we've already had coffee, opened gifts, eaten lovely cheese blintzes made by rhiannon...now we're relaxing. there is snow outside...big ol' flakes, heavy flakes and it is all peaceful. pics to follow...merry christmas, everyone...

december 21st.

b was at dunkin' donuts last night getting a cup of coffee. the lady behind the counter said it was "too much cold" outside. b agreed and added that it was only the first day of winter. the lady then informed b that winter was not for "5 or 6 years." (at this point, i picture b cocking his head to the side a bit as he questioned the response.) perhaps he had misunderstood her. or maybe he just hadn't heard her correctly. he replied, "oh, actually today really is the first day of winter." "no, no," she insisted, "is 5 or 6 years away."

we're not sure what she meant, but b suggested that maybe she knows something that we don't.

'twas four days before christmas and all through chicago...

when we were younger, my sister and i would get up really early on christmas day. if one of us got up before the other, we would wake up the other one. it was very important to be up at the same time. i remember getting up as early as 5 or 6...so excited about the day ahead. the deal we made with our parents was that we could open up our stockings, but weren't allowed to open any gifts. fair enough, i say.

at our old house, we had a sort of open staircase in the living room that took you up to the loft, where the tree and presents were. sometimes, we'd go up and peek...maybe even touch (just touch) a few of the gifts. we never actually opened any gifts, we just wanted to check out the spectacle. we like surprises and never felt the need to destroy the magic.

one particular christmas, after opening and sorting through our stockings downstairs, my sister and i crept out of our bedrooms and tiptoed toward the staircase, lights twinkling around us. as we neared the stairs, we realized that they had been rigged with some sort of christmas booby trap! we looked closer and saw that several strands of yarn had been wrapped tightly around either side of the banisters to form an intricate red-green web barricading us from the presents above. in the middle of this blockade, a lone sleigh bell. a makeshift alarm designed to wake our sleeping parents should we try to get a closer look. pretty crafty. good job, santa.

b and i are going home separately this year which makes me kinda sad. i know we'll miss each other a lot. i told him i suppose it's harder to decide where to go for the holidays when you have two people who both like their families a lot and actually enjoy going home.

more holiday tales tomorrow...

hunger haiku

my heart's desire
pizza in the morning time
pepperoni, please.

$1.69

...ladies and germs. that's how much it costs for a little piece of heaven. i am currently snacking upon a three-cheese pie from the middle east bakery down the street from my house. oh how i wish i could accurately describe to you how ding dang good this thing tastes...you'll just have to eat one for yourself.

sketchcore. coming soon to the 2006 chicago sketchfest.

here is sketchcore. we are very excited to be performing in the sketchfest this year. we are going to put on quite a show! you can find details about the fest here. we perform on january 12th at 8pm. and you can expect a show from us within the next few months as well...so keep your eyes peeled!

in other news, it really snowed last night! i'd say we got up to 6 or 7 inches. yes, that's what i'd say. it's still quite messy out there and i'm watching the cars slide by as i look out the window. careful, cars!

last night after rehearsal, shotts and i had to dig his car out of the parking spot he had drifted his way into. it took a little gunning of the engine and a helpful push from a stranger and me, but we got that baby outta there! when i get into a spot like that and i have to do the ol' back and forth, i tend to swear a lot. when i finally get out of the spot, i pat my car on the dashboard and say 'thank you.'

more babies.

i am lucky. i get to see so many cute babies every day. some of my favorites are in the "older infant room" which means they are 6-12 months. they are all working on a similar schedule development-wise right now and it seems that a lot has happened within the last month or so. they are all almost walking...saying 'hi'...waving like crazy...generally acting more like people.

i have a favorite (which isn't fair, but it's true). he is one year old. he is a little blondie with a lot of personality. every morning when he comes through the door with his mom, he reaches one little arm out towards me until he gets to the desk. he's still working on the 'hi...'

one day, i went to visit their room and they were all having some serious playtime (which is always a site to behold...12 babies all toddling around, very busy). i crouched down to say 'hi' and my favorite little man bobbled over to me, arms out-stretched, opened his mouth and planted a big kiss on my face. let me tell ya, there is nothing...nothing like it.

how do we feel about...

...a grown person wearing a red and white striped, dr. seuss, cat-in-the-hat-style hat without any sense of irony...

?

let me know.

snow.

oh my gosh, is it gorgeous out there or what?

there is lovely snow falling. it has been falling all morning. really slow-falling snow. and it continues as i type.

back in the day when i used to do 'the nutcracker,' i would sometimes perform as one of the myriad of dancing snowflakes. at the end of the first act, snow falls from the top of the stage. here's the trick: it's just newspaper.

it's beautiful, though.