December 2010 Archives

Here we are...last day of 2010. What a year it was. It was one of the hardest years ever, yet I am happy to say that I am not sitting here with a sense of resentment or frustration of they year that it was, but rather relief. We had to have the hard times to get to where we are now, and I am truly happy with where I am now.  I am so happy and blessed in my marriage (I really am the luckiest woman on earth to have Fuzzy), I have the best friends ever, Mom is doing well, and I have exciting creative projects on the horizon.

I am really looking forward to 2011. I have big plans--big plans that I am excited about. 

Here are some things that are going to happen in the new year:

My burlesque show is going to open and be a smash hit.  I love this show. I love that it is an open run and I can add new dances when I like. I love that we have to keep it fresh. I love that I get to work with these amazing performers. I love that I get to workshop the coquettes solos with them. I love that my 27 year dance career is better than ever. I love that I am getting deeper into the burlesque scene. I love that I never stress about rehearsals or the work involved, and that I come home feeling like a million bucks.

I am going to focus on athleticism. I am going to be dancing a lot. I am going to be teaching a lot. I want to go to two dance classes a week. I want to get back into boxing, whether it is going to be in a class or with a freestanding heavy bag in my sunroom that I don't yet have. I am going to run a lot. I am going to complete the Soldier Field 10. I am going to do a sprint distance triathlon. I am going to be healthy and better than ever.

I am going to have more confidence. I am going to dress well. I am going to take care in my appearance and how I behave around people.

I am going to see the people that I love. I am going to see my brother at least twice before he moves off of the continent. I am going to have dinners with friends. I am going to enjoy my time with my loved ones.

I am going to get out of debt. We are so close I can taste it!

I am going to go to Paris. Yep. We are going.

I am going to manage my stress.

I am going to eat a lot of great food and drink amazing things.

I am going to laugh a lot.

Happy New Year, everybody. Thank you all for being you.
xoxo

I love my family and friends.

My brother, though he is now a college administrator and social worker, was originally an artist and a graphic designer. He blew me away with this awesome T-shirt for Christmas this year.

 

PARKER PARKOUR! Oh man. Best T-Shirt Ever. I can't get over it. So funny!

Our friend Noah this year made us these amazing Erica and Fuzzy Munnies. What impresses me the most is the amazingly accurate tattoos: Even my new tattoo! Love it. Noah previously made us these awesome Pez Heads, and his girlfriend Stephanie previously made us these awesome DADA Flutter and DADA Little Piece of String dolls as well as my amazing Cutie Bumblesnatch doll. The Ginex/Hoerner household is good to us!

Thanks guys! I feel so special!

On Thursday last week, I met Fuzzy downtown at the Christkindlmarket, an awesome outdoor holiday market that has great food, yummy gluhwine and adorable items for sale. It was super cold, super crowded and a lot of things were sold out, so we didn't stick around for that long. However, on our way out of the market, we walked past one of two ornament shops that sell handpainted glittery glass ornaments from Germany, and this caught our eye (all photos by Fuzzy):


What? A dolphin swallowing Jesus? Fuzzy suggested Jonah and the whale, which makes more sense, but come on.

So we were walking past the other ornament shop when this caught our eye:
You know, a witch. A Christmas witch. Holding a cat, or as Fuzzy said, a seal.

That, combined with beautiful clip on birds, made us turn around, go back into the crowd and wait in line to enter the shop. What happened in the next 25 minutes was hilarious, amazing, and even still keeps me laughing. Allow me to introduce you to our new Christmas Ornaments.
 
The aforementioned clip on birds. Aren't they gorgeous? So shiny. I love them.
A winter squirrel and the traditional Christmas pickle.
Now, anyone who knows us knows we love to drink coffee, and we use our stovetop espresso maker ALL THE TIME (Thanks to our friends Becky and Andy!). So we couldn't resist a glittery glass one. And the bratwurst, well, come on. I love any hot dog type sausage product.

THE WITCH! And a glittery ghost and skull! Because it's Christmas.
And finally:

Words cannot describe.
 
Seriously.
We put them front and center on our tree.
 
Can you see them? (Yes, that is Pig of Gerdes and Pig in a Santa hat as our tree topper.)
Va Va Voom!

Oh man. We spent a small fortune on those ornaments, but they are worth every penny. It was such a blast picking them out and putting them on the tree. I look forward to pulling them out year after year!


Boo!

...that I am working on two shows that are both Friday January 14th at 11pm?

Aye aye aye.

 

 

Fuzzy took some photos behind the scenes of our Coin Flip video! Enjoy!

  Blocking the dance with Bryan and getting the framing right. Getting the framing just right. Placing the gals and talking through the routine. I had a girl call in sick that morning so I had to step in. Because I was having to run back and forth between the dance space and looking at the framing behind the camera, guess who was the one who didn't know her placing in the frame? Steve behind the camera. Teaching Watching a take Bryan picking up the coin. Final Pose The Ref B/W Action Shot! Final Pose

Special thanks yet again to Fuzzy Gerdes, Steve Delahoyde, Bryan Bedell, Coudal Partners, Claire Zulkey, Kelley Clink, Dana Dardai, JK Wickersheimer, Tiff Svitko, Pamela Paul and Terre Virgilio.

Merry Christmas to you all! Much love!

Bitch

Bust

Chicago Magazine

Entertainment Weekly

Fitness

Mad

Newsweek

The Magazine that Fuzzy works for

Spin

Time Out Chicago

Vogue

Wired

 

*Inspired by Zulkey's love of lists.

**I wish I had more time in the day to read them all!

Fuzzy took this picture of Parker being real excited for Christopher's birthday party.

 

Ready for more at 34!

Kick down the door! You're 34!

Forgotten Lore--that's 34!

34, you Big Fat Whore!

34? What a chore!

34! STOP THE WAR!

You will soar at 34!

A Downpour of 34!

Lie on the shore when you are 34!

You I adore at 34!

 

UPDATED TO ADD:

Christopher and Katie's slogans in the comments are so hilarious, I have to post them here:

You're a snore at 34.

Yelling FORE! At 34.

What a bore at 34.

Soup De Jour at 34!

I deplore 34.

Clogged pore at 34.

Drunk on the floor at 34.

Please sir, may I have some more? Oliver at 34. (erica's note--this made me laugh out loud)

A god like Thor at 34.

Up shit creek without an oar at 34.

Thanks for noticing Eeyore at 34.

Clinton/Gore 34!

Four score and 34!

I'm so sore at 34.

Me so thirty-four-ny.

I ignore 34. Happy 35th!

I love you!

My brother recently asked me if the new Kanye West album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy really is as good as all the year end album reviews are saying it is. And I have to say: IT IS. I seriously can't get it out of my head. I have been listening to it everyday for over a week, and I can't get enough of it. Some of the lyrics and skits aren't my favorite, but I am all for free speech, so I don't mind. I haven't heard an album that so much makes me want to dance in a really long time. I love it. Yep, it's my pick for Best Album of 2010. Get on it!!

Today a video that I choreographed for Coudal Partners for Layer Tennis is online! It was a lot of fun working with Steve Delahoyde, Bryan Bedell and all the dancers: Tiff Svitko, Pamela Paul, Dana Dardai, Terre Vigilio, and JK Wickersheimer. Special thanks to Fuzzy, too, for his help on the shoot!

You know that (IL State Representative) Sara Feigenholtz poster that has been on that building at the Addison red line stop for over a decade? Well, for some reason, today it caught my eye again and I wondered what ole Sara was looking like now, since in the picture on the banner she looks like a 12 year old. Allow me to remind you:

Ah, Chicago. It is good to be back. Nice to be home.

My memaw got me a room at one of the casino hotels and I slept like a dream last night--9 hours. Maybe it is a relief that the hearing is over and that we were approved. Finally something in our favor! I really love sleeping.

Hi from MS. I am happy to say that mom's hearing went very well today and she was approved. Thank you all for your prayers--they have been a blessing.

I am really tired--what a day. I had to testify--that was interesting. Also, later when we were waiting for our lunch at a restaurant, mom took a big spill on the floor--thank God she didn't hit her head. She's ok, it was just stressful.

That's my new slogan for Vicksburg: Ok, but Stressful.

Heading back to Chi tomorrow to my sweet husband, my frozen tundra temperatures and my Frankenstein Kitty. I haven't even blogged about that--Parker had surgery last week. It went well, but she has the gnarliest incision/stitches on her back. The poor dear. Had some teeth pulled too.

So tired. Time for a nap. Thanks, friends, for reading.

It is a big day for friends today!
Claire was on WBEZ's Eight Forty-Eight this morning (listen in the link) talking about fun holiday events this weekend!

Hmmm...I wonder who her female friend who ran in a beard last year was?

I Want to Draw a Cat for You cannot be stopped!

Thanks to Steve.

The high today is 22 degrees! Feels like 7! Yippee!
We had our first big snow here on Saturday--several inches. It is gorgeous.

Also, it is COLD.

Just wanted to share.

I am STILL sick--I've had a cold for a week now. No good. I am feeling ok, but my nose is awful, red and runny and my voice is heading out and I have 3 more rehearsals this week! What's a girl to do? Fuzzy thinks this is a good time to start integrating a cane into my choreography teaching. And a wig and a thick accent of some sort.

We put up our tree on Sunday and it is so pretty. I love Christmas. We went to church on Sunday and I just bawled singing "Oh Come Oh Come Emmanuel" (Warren Central High School Chamber Choir represent, represent-sent!) It was good to be back into church, and I am going to really start trying to go regularly. I need some Jesus up in here.

I've been crying a lot lately, but it's felt really good. You know? On the Dad anniversary last week, I was first pissed that I was sick and not able to honor Dad at 100%, but it turned out to be just what I needed. I slept in, and then looked at photos of Dad and the family while listening to George Harrison's "All Things Must Pass" album over and over again, and sobbing. I needed to. You know, I don't want to ever take Dad or that day for granted, and it felt good to feel the sorrow and just miss him. There are photos of him all over my house, but I so often get to where I don't look at them--like really LOOK at them--that often, and I don't ever want to forget him, or his voice, or the fact that he called me Girly-Girl (which my sweet brother called me on Thursday). So it was nice to just sit and remember. Then later Hanson came over, which was nice that she braved both my cold and tender emotional state, and we watched Wings of Desire, one of Dad's favorite movies. When Fuzzy came home, he and I ordered pizza and watched (spoiler) my girl Ann win Top Model (hooray!) and we talked and I went to bed feeling really content.

Next week I head down to MS for a couple of days for Mom's disability hearing (prayers please!). It'll be good to have a break from the cold, then I head back up to Chi for some holiday fun. And lots of eggnog martinis.

Stay warm, everyone!

Ooooh, y'all!
Let me tell you how much I am LOVIN' my new burlesque show! The gals, the producer, the tech, the co-hosts...man. Everything about it is fantastic and I am so excited to get to know everyone better and work with them a lot more in the new year. I have a week of rehearsals, and I am so excited. What a rush.

We open February 4th.... who wants to go see it with me?

Beware of Darkness by George Harrison


Watch out now, take care
Beware of falling swingers
Dropping all around you
The pain that often mingles
In your fingertips
Beware of darkness

Watch out now, take care
Beware of the thoughts that linger
Winding up inside your head
The hopelessness around you
In the dead of night

Beware of sadness
It can hit you
It can hurt you
Make you sore and what is more
That is not what you are here for

Watch out now, take care
Beware of soft shoe shufflers
Dancing down the sidewalks
As each unconscious sufferer
Wanders aimlessly
Beware of Maya

Watch out now, take care
Beware of greedy leaders
They take you where you should not go
While Weeping Atlas Cedars
They just want to grow, grow and grow
Beware of darkness (beware of darkness)

In loving memory of David Reid, March 23, 1954- December 2, 2007

We miss you, Daddy.