May 2011 Archives

Oh man, y'all. CHRISTOPHER AND KATIE ARRIVE THIS EVENING!
I am so excited I can't even handle it! They have a big weekend of burlesque ahead of them, and I can't wait to spend the next few days relaxing and laughing with my favorite people on the planet. I am going to enjoy every second of it, too, since I won't be able to see them a lot once they leave the continent. (!!!)

I am in a great mood today. It is a holiday weekend, and the sun is shining! Finally! This week has almost done me in. For you Southern readers, it has been IN THE FORTIES this week (may I remind you that it is LATE MAY?) and it's been awful. Seriously, I turned into a big bitch the other night, only because I was too cold outside. Everyone I know, too, has been on edge and about to snap. It is supposed to be in the 90s this weekend and 70s-80s and sunny all next week, and if it isn't, I think we are going to see some serious crime sprees in Chicago from everyone going mad.

Man, I love coffee.

I faced my fear of my new bicycle this week. My old bike is a big ole lady cruiser--real girly and big--and this new one is a mountain/road hybrid, a lot lighter and with a million more gears. I took it out for an 8ish mile ride on Tuesday and it was AWESOME. So easy to ride, so much more comfortable than the other bike (sorry, Roxie Hazel!)  Once it warms up, I can't wait to ride it to work and get even more comfortable on it. It was cold and windy on Tuesday, but I still did it!

Also this week in exciting fitness news, we put up my heavy bag! It is awesome. Half of our office at home is now my little boxing gym. It is great! It is loud when hitting the bag (sorry neighbors) but it feels great! My arms were sore all day yesterday from the day before's workout. Now to get in the habit of doing it every day...

I think I had more to say, but I can't remember. I might not post again til next Thursday cause of BROTHER VISIT 2011! So have a great Memorial Day!

As some of you might know, my office is a virtual office of 4 main and 2 part time employees. My colleagues live in Wilmette, New York, and Oregon and we do all of our business and communication over the phone or online. When I am out of the office, I have 2 part timers who cover for me so I rarely see them--we are ships passing in the night. Because of this, it is impossible to have any fun normal office incentives, such as Cupcake Day or Cappuccino Day (both days of which Fuzzy's office has had recently.) If I want to talk to someone, I skype with Shannon. If I want a fun snack in the office, I have to get it and pay for it myself. It is easy to go a little batty alone all day, and when we are busy and it is stressful, there is no one to take my attention away from the computer to break up the day. For that reason, we created Dragon Day.

Dragon Day is a fake holiday that celebrates and elevates the mighty Dragon. We reference dragons in all our emails of the day, email photos of dragons to each other, and wear dragon tattoos. It all started last year before Shannon moved to Oregon and after Christopher and I cleaned out the Vicksburg house and I brought back with me this shirt that Christopher made in school that is a wax batik of a dragon. I love it. I got to work that day and showed the shirt to Shannon, who exclaimed and showed me a dragon temporary tattoo that she was wearing that day as well. And this, Dragon Day was born. It has grown and grown and now several people participate in the celebration of the mighty Dragon.

There is no set day for Dragon Day. It happens every few months, generally when we need a pick me up. We will pick a date and notify all involved parties of the day. And then, when it arrives, it is glorious. Today is said day. Dragon Day.

I am wearing the tshirt today, a tattoo, and a dragon necklace that Jeff gave me from his European travels. Today it is rainy and black outside, black as the heart of the mighty dragon.

I hope that everyone's day is as strong and firey as the mighty Dragon's soar.

This past weekend was my eleven year anniversary of living in Chicago.

That's real real, son.

Last night Fuzzy and I had one of those life moments that makes you sit back and say WOW. I would like to share it with you.

We were sitting on the couch, and looking at Amazon for this that and the other. I asked Fuzzy what was on his "wishlist" and he was telling me that some things he tosses in there just to remind him to look at things later on. Some items have been in there since 2004. One thing that caught my eye was an Arthur Russell cd, and so I asked Fuzzy who that was and what kind of music it is. He started playing me clips and telling me about his history, and his voice sounded really familiar to me.  I told Fuzzy that his music reminded me of this one song, but I got too shy to sing it to him cause I was going to mess it up. Finally, he convinced me to sing it, and the song didn't sound familiar to him (I don't know why...I am an [ahem] excellent singer, especially cause I was trying to sing it in his same tone of voice) so he googled some of the lyrics. The song "A Little Lost" by Arthur Russell popped up! I was proud of myself for recognizing the voice. So we listen to the song for a minute, and suddenly Fuzzy jumps up and runs to the CD rack. A minute later, he says "You know why you know that song?" and he hands me a mix cd he made me right when we were dating only a couple of months. The song was on the cd.

So sweet! So not only was that a SUPER sweet and gutsy song to put on a mix cd to a girl he was dating, but it obviously made an impression to me that I could remember the voice and lyrics to it 7 years later.  I love that.

It's old home week for birthdays here in Reid-land. Both Christopher's and my best friends for our whole lives have a bday a day (and a year) apart. For YEARS I was confused by this and couldn't get it straight because 1) I am dumb and 2) in my head 19 is a feminine number and therefore it couldn't be Melissa's birthday and so hers was the 18th and Jeremy's was the 19th. NOT SO. One year I called Melissa on the 18th and she said "You are the first person who has called to wish me a happy birthday today--because it's tomorrow!!" I think that was the year I finally got it straight.

ANYWAYS! Happy happy birthday to my lovey Melissa! I love you and your sweet babies, and I am SO happy that we are closer now than ever (and that is saying a lot!)

Nature, me and Melissa at a bday party of mine at Big Wheelie

Me and Melissa at a bday party of mine at Pizza Hut (that cat was a radio! How cool!)

The WC Crew at my wedding: Me, Christopher, Melissa, Jeremy, Alyssa (honorary Viking) and Alex

M and me

Melissa, after sampling Malort.

Today is the birthday of my "other brother" Jeremy! Happy Birthday, HomeSkillet!

Jeremy, Billy, and Christopher

(sidenote: Jeremy's Halloween costume that year was so gross. It smelled bad and he kept biting into blood capsules. I gagged the whole time. Also, for me--dance costumes make great Halloween costumes! And Christopher makes a cute pirate.)

A lot of things on my mind right now.

...and noted that this time last year, my family was having one of the two hardest weeks of our lives. I hate even thinking back and remembering it.

But look at us now! So much better. Mom is doing better, Christopher and Katie are heading off to Africa, Fuzzy and I are better than ever, busy with shows and having so much fun.

It's amazing what a year can do.

Wake and Be Fine by Okkervil River

This weather! It's amazing! 70s and 80s!  I love it! For those of you who don't live in Chicago, it is really hard to explain the glories of a Chicago Spring and Summer. We know how to do spring and summer here. Since 9 months of the year is awful, the 3 amazing ones we have we do up good! A friend once said it was described to her as something like "Imagine someone punches you in the face every day for 9 months. Then one day, they stop and don't do it again for 3 months. Think about how awesome those days would be. That's a Chicago summer." Pretty accurate if you ask me.

I went for a run today in the heat in only shorts and a tank top (no long sleeves!) and it felt good to run and sweat. I ran probably 2.5 miles and walked another .5. My run was 31 minutes. It felt good to be running, of course, until I started getting big rib pains, and that's when I walked. Now I just need to get over my fear of my new bike and start biking to work.

Also, I am wearing a sundress today. A SUNDRESS. I think my natural state is in a sundress. Me in my purest form is in a sundress. Sundress.

This weekend I was back onstage for the first time (I think) in about 2 years. It was great! I am happy to report that it was the first show in forever where I didn't feel like I was going to vomit beforehand. Take THAT anxiety! I dusted off the ole tutu and tried out some new Cutie bits that I might use for the pilot taping. We'll see. It was a fun show and it felt good to be back onstage. Afterwards, I felt like a million bucks!

I'm back, Baby!

What is this warm thing in the sky? It is so bright!

66 degrees today! I feel like a unicorn!

My bruised knee after last night's class!

In anticipation of my return to the stage and screen, Steve gave me a shoutout in Trib Local Wilmette! It's mostly about Ken, but I'll take whatever I can get!!

Q: Will Wilmette be one of the show's last stops before television?

A: It's going to be our last show before the pilot.

Q: So the Wilmette audience is getting a sneak preview?

A: You could say that. Erica (Reid), who has been with the show from the very first, is writing some new bits. Ken Barnard, one of the most innovative comics in Chicago, is trying out a new character. We're not sure what he's going to do. He'll go to great lengths to get people to spit the water and demean himself in any way possible to get people to laugh. There's nothing he won't do. I'm sure it's going to be great.

Thanks, Steve!

Look at my adorable extended family!

From left to right: Amelia, Marc, Sam, Heidi (Fuzzy's sister), Jake and Luke.

TOO MUCH CUTE!

Hey y'all! Sorry about the inconsistant posting these days--it is just still trucking along with busy things and sun shine and everything is great. Fuzzy and I ran our first official 5K of the year yesterday. Well, not really official--we ran it guerilla style without officially signing up. The weather was gorgeous and we ran with our friend Claire and it was the longest distance I've done yet this year, and although I was a little day-after-boozy (not too bad, though) I ran the whole way and felt great after. Yeah! I can't wait for summer running! Now I just need to get on my bike--stay with us, sun!! I am going to try to get into 2 dance classes a week again--or at least one. I need it. Other goals: take desk down and put up heavy bag for 10 minutes of punching a day. I did a new kettlebell workout the other day and I loved it and have been MEGA sore ever since. Rehearsals are plentiful and keeping me busy, but my gals (and guy!) are so awesome that I am constantly inspired. The randomness of this paragraph is a good example of what my brain is like these days. So yeah, nothing super new or exciting to report...just trucking along and having a good time doing it. xoxo