...sunshine...

Today marks day three of sunshine in the city of Chicago since I moved here over a month ago.

Yes.

I'm counting.

Finally enough sun to open the tulips and encourage leaves to actually grow.

SPRING!

...flags...

Brooke Fraser is one of my all-time favorite musicians.

She has the most incredibly clear voice, and a god-given talent for writing beautiful music. She has written some great contemporary worship songs with Hillsong Church (one of the BEST: Desert Song), but she has equally awesome solo albums.

Her latest CD, Flags, is so great. I'm pretty obsessed with the following song.

I could listen to that on repeat for a long time. (In fact I have been).

If you have the time, read through the lyrics (below). They're incredible. Such a blessing to have someone using their talent for the glory of God!

Come, tell me your trouble

I'm not your answer

But I'm a listening ear

Reality has left you reeling

All facts and no feeling

No faith and all fear

I don't know why a good man will fall

While a wicked one stands

And our lives blow about

Like flags on the land

Who's at fault is not important

Good intentions lie dormant

And we're all to blame

While apathy acts like an ally

My enemy and I are one and the same

I don't know why the innocents fall

While the monsters still stand

And our lives blow about

Like flags on the land

I don't know why our words are so proud

Yet their promise soothing

And our lives blow about

Like flags in the wind

Oh oh oh oh

You who mourn will be comforted

You who hunger will hunger no more

All the last shall be first

Of this I am sure

You who weep now will laugh again

All you lonely be lonely no more

Yes, the last will be first

Of this I'm sure

I don't know why the innocents fall

While the monsters stand

I don't know why the little ones thirst

But I know the last shall be first

I know the last shall be first

I know the last shall be first

...when did this happen?...

Upon facebook stalking my own flesh and blood (aka my brother), I stumbled across his high-school senior photos.

One word.

Stud.

He's such a handsome guy! I'm a lucky girl to have such an awesome little bro, who is not only a looker, but has a matching personality.

He's one of the funniest people I know. Hilarious, in fact. Anyone who disagrees with me can BRING IT, because I'll defend him to the grave. THE GRAVE!

Oh, and did I mention he's on a D-1 golf scholarship to Oral Roberts University.

Yeah. D-1.

Let's talk about it.

...deskies...

I've recently come to the conclusion that procuring a desk would be of the upmost convenience for my husband. He needs a place all his own where he can study.

I'm not really into buying new furniture.

Nor do I have the budget.

My first instinct whenever I need a new piece of furniture has been to visit the local thrift store. Living in downtown Chicago without a car has made this difficult. Even more difficult would be the purchase process were I to actually find the perfect fit.

By the perfect fit, I mean a cheap piece of furniture that I can DIY to look AWESOME!

Also difficult, DIYing in a baby-sized apartment with poor ventilation. To my critics I would suggest trying to spray-paint a desk in YOUR kitchen and see what happens.

But I have high hopes. I'll figure it out. Unless someone wants to create one of the following and ship it to me as an act of goodwill.

Extra points if you send me a desk with a plant growing out of one of the drawers!!

...visitations...

I, as a Chicagoan, have hosted my first guest in our apartment.

We pulled out all the stops. Gourmet food. Delightful breakfasts. The best accommodations and sleeping conditions. Everything was simply perfect.

Who was the visitor? None other than the great Abigail Davis.

No, she is not, nor will ever be a politicians wife, even though I still claim her name sounds very regal.

And no, accommodations were anything but perfect. Even though I had the best intentions of testing our air mattress before Abbey arrived, somehow it just didn't happen. As a result, the plushy air mattress I had promised her ended up being more like a paper thin layer of padding against the hard-wood floor.

Abbey ended up sleeping on a "pallet," (her words, not mine).

The pallet was a camping pad.

She's a good sport.

After the failure of her sleeping situation, I tried to woo her affections with food.

Making her latte's in the morning...

And the best of my Italian cooking work at night...

And of course, the finest wines.

That's just how we roll.

...irony...

It rains in Chicago. It rains a lot. At least right now it does.

Us city dwellers don't really let it get us down. We're out and about no matter what the weather might hold.

But here's the thing....it's no easy task to stay dry whilst walking from place. You see, not only do we have rain, but we have wind. It winds a lot. Always.

I'm currently cozied up in a window seat at Starbucks. This has given me the privilege of watching person after person walk/run/canter/skip down the street trying to stay dry.

I've seen a lot of this.

sad and sadder.

Having experienced this unfortunate circumstance myself I have the opinion that umbrella's should be made of sturdier stuff than this....

Alternate solutions to the problem? Definitely NOT the floor length fur coat I just saw passing by the window. That seems like a recipe for smelling like a wet animal....

I suggest this.

The only downside appears to be that your arms get wet. But just look at the range of motion she has!! Not to mention the protection from the rain and wind.

In any case it's better than my idea to simply carry attachable wings with you everywhere, so you can at least take advantage of the wind and fly to your destination, instead of trying to hop around puddles filled with dirty street water. Also, flight eliminates the chance of being doused by street water by a passing car or bus.

It hasn't happened to me yet.

YET.

...address...

Now that I actually know where I'll be living for at least a year, I'm yearning to get a return address stamp. I love writing letters, random notes, etc.; and I've been wanting to get a pretty address stamp since freshman year of college. Unfortunately, my troubadour and stingy ways have prevented me from making the purchase.

I'm thinking of biting the bullet.

There are so many pretties to choose from....

These three are from paperwink. I used one of these stamps for our wedding rsvp cards, and am supremely jealous that the stamp hosts my parent's address, and not mine. :)

And look at THESE from Primele on Etsy. Custom calligraphy. So beautiful.

...a good laugh...

Does anyone ever really like watching commercials? I mean, besides when it's superbowl time, and you can't wait to see the creative genius of companies willing to pay millions for a 30 second spot.

Well I'd like to introduce you to a couple commercials that I could watch over and over, and then over again because they are so ridiculous.

First. Purina Cat Chow. Who knew this commercial would be about cat food?

Oh my heavens. I know it's supposed to be sweet and sentimental, but I can't help but find the absolute hilarity of this story. I do think, however, that the way he decorated the cat's new room pretty bomb dot com.

Secondly, I bring to your attention the Slob-Stopper.

BAHAHAHAHA. This is just too good. There are several things to note in this excellent commercial. I would encourage you to replay, and take note of several choice moments.

1) At 2 seconds in, I just love the way that after his ENTIRE drink spills on his shirt, he continues to let all the liquid that actually made it into his mouth spill out as well.

2) At 8 seconds in, I appreciate his expression after he has spilled his second drink. He actually looks grateful for having spilt. Why?! Obviously because he's wearing the slob-stopper. Bonus: the hot chick walking by seems to love it too!

[a quick question: what happens to the liquid after it slides down the slob-stopper? this company might consider also making a full body suit stopper to avoid users walking around with wet areas around the crotch....because we all know that would be awkward.]

3) 22 seconds in, I can't get enough of the mom's facial expressions. She seems so disgusted that her child has, gasp, just entered the vehicle! And why the deuce does SHE need the slob stopper? I see no liquid involved. At all. Very confusing.

I give kudo's to whoever did the casting for that commercial. Spot on!

They are only 14.95 (plus s&h), and according to the website, a great gift.

...oprah...

Oprah and I go way back.

Way back to the time when I tried to go trick-or-treating at her Montecito mansion in California, and was promptly turned away by her gate security.

That's how far back we go.

Obviously Oprah and I have a bond, so I thought it only fitting to try and go to a filming of her show. Besides moving to Chicago for my husband's schooling, a chance to see Oprah was a close second in terms of reasons to move.

Not really....

Actually I can count the number of times I've watched the show on one hand. HOWEVER, I have heard tale of her "favorite things" episodes--because who hasn't--and I think I'd really like to get a bunch of free stuff from O herself. So I've been visiting her website daily to see if the reservation window will open and give me a chance to get my name in the lottery for seeing a show.

BOOM.

I knew Wednesdays could be good for something! I officially have my name in the lottery for seeing an Oprah show. Apparently I'll know in 48 hours if I'm in or not...so I'm taking all the support I can get.

Prayers.

Positive thinking.

Incense burning.

Sun salutations.

Finger crossing.

...and obvioulsy...

Tattooing.

I might go there. I really like free stuff!

...d.w.t.s.2...

It's official. I might be a dancing with the stars convert. Especially after last night.

Did anyone else watch? Because it was AWESOME.

They had a 46 piece live orchestra, along with rock violinist David Garrett, (whom I had never heard of, but I really liked his pony-tail. He rocked it), AND opera singer Katherine Jenkins.

The dancers this week had to preform classical dances to classical musical pieces. The live band was sensational, and at the risk of sounding cheesey balls, I truly LOVED watching every minute of this program.

The best part of it was that all the musical pieces were recognizable, and regardless of how well the dancers performed, the sheer beauty of the music was enough for me. At the end of every dance, I realized that I was psuedo-moving around on my seat to the beat of the music. Ha. Does that happen to anyone else?

Some of the music that was played:

Karl Jenkins : Palladio Allegretto

Bizet: Carmen Overture

And my all-time favorite, The Flower Duet

And I'm totally not kidding when I say that is my favorite. For some reason, I've always loved that song. It got me through many a study sesh in college. One Anna Storvick may recall how I would have this song on repeat whilst homeworking.

And of course, the new dwts leaders twirled to the Harry Potter theme, which I am obviously obsessed with. Counting down the days until the next movie comes out in July! Booyah!!

...addendum...

Post my post on the Royal Wedding, I had several people bring to my attention additionally ridiculous Royal Wedding items. My new favorite are the fingernail decals. Nice find Kim.

The Royal Pez Machines. I could actually go for one of those. I miss pez.

Royal Baubles...or Bobbles.

Royal Sick Bags? I don't get it.

Royal Nail decals. Just so you can take Wills and Kate with you whenever you, and your fingernails might go.

...da da DMV...

Ahh, the Department of Motor Vehicles. Doesn't the name just strike a warm chord in your heart? Who doesn't love being given ambiguous instructions, waiting for hours, and then being helped begrudgingly by mean people?

I've had the pleasure of visiting said establishment in several different states. California wins, hands down, for being the lamest of the lame. Denver I could take or leave, but definitely leave. Illinois...well, let's just say we got off on the wrong foot.

Before you get the wrong impression, read carefully, because I'm about to actually say something NICE about the DMV and the people who work in the Chicago downtown office. Even though I did have a self-proclaimed "ultimate fail" at the DMV today, and after having spent all day in and out of the office and having nothing to show for it; I'm not annoyed. Mostly because it's all my fault, but also because the people in the office were really friendly and helpful. Midwestern charm? Who knows. All I can say is that I'm living with the knowledge that I have to go back to the office tomorrow, and I'm not in a state of depression. At least not yet.

Even though I may have been through my most pleasant DMV experience, I couldn't help but think of all the useful things I might be doing with my time were I not enjoying being stuck in the confines of a government agency. For example...

Learning to become an expert with my sewing machine, so I can make cool things like THIS!

Photo from DesignSponge

Hand-stitched name place cards. So easy and cute!

No, I don't have room, or the funds, for a new chair. When I do, I'm all over this idea!

Photo from DesignSponge

Coat-Rack! My newest obsession. Quite practical in Chicago as well.

I've got to get my craft on more often. I miss having all my creative roommates; no offense to the husband. (He's crafty in his own sort of way.)