TMC

I am suffering from Too Much Christmas. It can happen to anyone, but especially those who have multiple families due to divorce and remarriage. But it has been a great one, and I am so lucky to be part of a family that has such nice (though a tad exhausting) Christmases.

Rory-girl is definitely part of our family. Look at her stealing that mic.

Happy Birthday (yesterday) Liz!

Trying really hard...

not to click on the celebrity news updates about Britney Spears and K-Fed. Just like I try not to click on the ones about Jessica Simpson and Katie Holmes. Usually I fail.

As the Shopper comes home with her presents...

I agree with everyone who says Christmas is too commercial. My sisters and sister-in-law say their kids have enough toys...don't go crazy. It's true; they do. I watch commercials and think there are some ridiculous things out there. And yet...

I think I am brainwashed. I LOVE to Christmas shop. If I was a millionaire the first thing I would do was act like Oprah and go on a crazy spending spree and buy people what they have always dreamed of. (Which is, perhaps, the reason I will never be a millionaire.) I love to think about the most creative thing to buy someone and then I want to out-do it the next year. Joel told me to calm down this year. "We just bought a house," says he, "you can't go crazy like you usually do." And yet...

Am I a victim of the commercial culture? Probably somewhat. I think we all have been marketed to death, but it is so fun to give someone exactly what they wanted.

A few years ago my mom had this nice idea. She asked us to stop buying her presents because she felt that she had more than everything she needed. Instead, she asked us to do one good dead in her honor, write it up, and present it to her Christmas morning. Nicest thing ever, right? Yet for some reason I find this harder to do every year than all of the presents I have to buy. My sisters and I, on a few occasions, have totally bitched* about her behind her back because we forget to do the good deed and then we are left scrambling the week before Christmas. This should be all the proof I need that my Christmas traditions have gotten too commercial. Perhaps I should tell people to give me good deeds instead of presents. And yet...

NKB

*I think that is my first curse word on the blog. Bad.

Over Thanksgiving weekend I saw Shopgirl with Steve Martin, Claire Danes, and Jason Schwartzman. I really enjoyed it. The acting was great; a huge departure for Steve Martin. I had also read the book and thought it an interesting read. One reaction that is worth mentioning though, was that it was quite jarring at a few points in the movie to watch a relationship between Steve Martin, who is, I believe, sixty, and that girl from My So Called Life. Luckily the acting is moving enough to let you deal with that and get past it. Still, a bit embarrassing to watch with your father in law. All in all, however, a very sweet and touching film.

NKB

Favorite Christmas Carols...

(This will be a rotating list.)
Baby It's Cold Outside
O Holy Night!
Blue Christmas
Please Come Home for Christmas
Carol of the Bells
Coventry Carol
Christmas in Kilarney
Mele Kalikimaka
I'll Be Home for Christmas

Reading

I just finished reading Adam Langer's Crossing California . If you grew up in Chicago in the seventies or eighties I think you will really enjoy this book. It was sort of a love song to Chicago the way that Middlesex was to Detroit. Anyway it was quite funny and I can't wait to read the follow up, The Washington Story . (Hint to whichever of my sisters has my name in the grab bag...love you.)

I also read A Million Little Pieces. I have mixed feelings about it. It paints a very vivid picture of one man's experience in rehab. It id a unique experience though. I wonder if there is a backlash from people in AA because the novel doesn't always portray this group in the most positive light.

Anyway, now that Joel and I have returned from the always restful Grand Rapids, I am sure I won't have as much time for reading so that might be it for a while. Sigh. Back to painting.

Wrong Side of the Bed...

Did you ever have a day where you woke up cranky for no particular reason? This is me today. It is nothing hormonal so please don't even suggest it; I am just grumpy. Everything Joel said or did all morning made me cranky. Traffic made me cranky. The two workers in Panera talking to each other and moving at a snail's pace while having the most inane discussion about absolutely nothing... made me cranky. And as all of this was going on there was still the part of me in the bubble floating above my head saying, "Wow! You are so cranky this morning!"

I know that I have a million reasons to count my blessings, and most days I am pretty good at that. Today, though, I wish I could just put on my sweatpants and an old flannel shirt of Joel's, curl up in a ball, and bitch about the state of the world.
NKB

Home Improvements

Who knew Joel was such a handyman? (Certainly not me!)

Our literal money pit...

Hi!
Hurray! We are finally in the house. The work we are doing is progressing nicely; the place already looks so much different. Fun!

Now for the bad news...our $2,500 sewer repair became an $8,000 sewer repair in a matter of a few hours. I woke up Saturday morning to a back hoe (Spell?) digging a giant trench in the flower box and yard in the front of our house. I guess we are officially home owners. (Though my first reaction was certainly to call my mother and cry.) The good news... you can flush the toilet without repurcussions next time you come for a visit.

Anyone know anything about landscaping?

-NKB

A fun weekend...

Friday:
Got to watch Barb's band with a few other teachers from school. They were great, and it was fun to see all of Barb's groupies. Look at how cute she is with her guitar...

Saturday:
Our schools football game won the city championship for their division! Go Huskies! Then we celebrated Amy's birthday and watched the White Sox. They are SO going to win!

Sunday:
Thanks Anne for hosting us at the super fun Gap party. I can't wait for my free jeans. Have you tried on the new "curvy" jeans? Wow, most women have hips that are wider than their waist!

I saw In Her Shoes on Wednesday with my mom and sister. This is definitely a movie to see with your mom and sister. I enjoyed it tremendously, and even thought there were a few things I liked more than the book. (The Rose character was more flawed in the movie which made her more believable.) Though, of course, the movie had to leave a few cool plot elements out for time reasons. Afterwards I went to Red Light with the ladies. My sister and my mom did not get carded; I did. Hee hee.

How mad will my youngest sister be when she finds out that we had this outing without her? Well, that's what she gets for moving away and taking my adorable niece and nephew with her.

Barb's band...

So Barb's band is playing Friday night. You can find the information here:
http://www.mirandala.org/Gig.html

Hope to see you there.

Will we ever move?

OK, so here is the latest. The court date between the seller and the tenants was on Thursday. They were given seven days to vacate. Then the sheriff will move them out and the locks will have to be changed. (We were warned that the sheriff gets to come when they want, so it could be up to two weeks before they are moved out.) Still there is an end in sight. My dad has been great, but we are anxious to have our own place and our stuff again.
NKB

I've been on a reading binge lately. Here are some thoughts.

• The Cape Anne- (Faith Sullivan) This was a book club book. I really enjoyed it a lot, although it took me a while to get into it. But then the characters became so engrossing that I then read the sequel...
• Gardenias- Also a good read.
• Faithless- (Karin Slaughter) Interesting if you like mysteries, but if you haven't read any by Slaughter then I suggest you go back and read the first one: Blindsighted.
• Goodnight Nobody- (Jennifer Weiner) I so loved In Her Shoes, Good in Bed, and Little Earthquakes that I wanted to love this too. It was alright...I liked that the main character was a bit flawed; I thought certain plot points were too ridiculous for me. (And I am not terrible picky about plot.)
• Pride and Prejudice- This is the One Book One Chicago selection and my student book club is reading it. Can you believe that I have never read it? All the mysteries and chick lit might be rotting my brain because I am struggling with the language. I need to go back to school!

So not very many new changes on the housing front. Thursday is the eviction hearing. Hopefully we'll know more then.

Is anyone else having a tumultuous couple of weeks?

Housing Update...

Our house situation has turned into something of a nightmare. The tenants have not left. The seller has begun the eviction proceedings through the court. (Although the tenants still keep claiming they have another place to live and are in the process of moving out, it is a bit hard to believe them.) The first court date is next week, so we will know more than. We had to hire a new lawyer; we are living with my dad. At some point we will probably have to make a decision to walk away or see it through the whole court proceeding. (We are looking at what else is out there, but so far are not in love with anything else.) If we close, the seller will cover the cost of our storage and increased fees from the title company. If we walk away, we lose that, plus everything we have put toward our first lawyer fees and the two inspections we have had done. And, we still love this house. Hopefully it will work out in the next two weeks and we will like the house more because we had to fight for it.

As frustrating as the situation is, and it is frustrating, we can't help but count our blessings. It is hard to feel bad about a delay moving into our new home when you watch the news filled with people who are homeless as a result of the hurricanes. Also, I can't imagine having to go through this on my own. Joel has been very strong and supportive. So, I guess it has brought us closer (though we are living in close quarters and we get a bit snappish with each other once in a while).
-NLB

last day of summer

this morning i rolled out of bed pretty close to the time i will have to be waking up every weekday until next June...i thought i should "practice" before i actually have to go back to school. well, i did get up, congratulated myself for a job well done, and swiftly proceeded to the couch and fell back asleep until noon! from there i rolled my groggy butt out the door (undoubtedly the only time i will make it outside today) to make a run to the corner store. why? because i thought to myself, or possibly out loud...one never knows these days... "why shouldn't i drink henineken, eat mac and cheese, and watch days of our lives and possibly dr. phil before napping again"? it only seems natural being that today is my last day of summer vacation. highlights of this summer include: a lovely trip to napa valley, afternoon "meetings" with nora, meg and amy, playing with my band One Flight Up, late nights followed by later mornings, and supporting an addiction to the reality show Rockstar INXS. ahh, but all good things must come to a close. i think i'm ready to forge ahead into adulthood and responsibility and 6am wake up calls now though...afterall, i gotta support my mac and cheese habit somehow!!!
--barb

13 going on 30

Birthday Party
Originally uploaded by NKB.

My very nice family organized a lovely birthday party for me this weekend. (Of course I was a brat and pestered everyone until it was no longer a surprise, but it was still a great night.) A DVD projector was somehow procured for the evening and we watched many a cheesey movie on a big, white hospital sheet. A lot of my family and friends were there. A good time was had by all. This photo is of my impossibly cute cousin getting ready to dance to "Summer Lovin'" from Grease. It is good to know that movie has withstood the test of time with little girls everywhere.
-NKB

Disappointing movies...

I hate movie build-up. This has happened twice in the last week. I thought Broken Flowers was good, not great. I saw The Aristocrats a few days later. It was terribly funny at some points, and actually a bit dull at others. Sideways is another film that comes to mind when thinking about this topic.

I do love it when you know nothing about a movie, go to see it, and are tremendously surprised at how amazing/ interesting it is. I can't think of too many that I have felt this way about, but a few are Whale Rider, Ponette, The Shawshank Redemption, Seven, and... that is all I've got right now. I'm sure there are others. Admittedly, I don't have the most high brow tastes in film. I like a good story. Character study is impressive, but I still like a plot. And I love it when most questions are answered. There are probably a lot of Logan Square hipsters who would scorn these choices of "surprising films", but I suppose that just makes more room in the theatre for those of us lovin' plot-driven movies.

-NKB

Thirtysomething

Birthday dog
Originally uploaded by Okaggi.

So, the big day is here. No more saying I am in my twenties. It is pretty painless actually. I am exactly where I want to be today. I am so lucky to have such wonderful people in my life who contribute to the over-all sense of well-being that I've got goin' on today. So, friends and family, thanks so much. I'm feeling pretty blessed.

more books...

One of the many things I love about August is that two of the mystery writers I like put new books out. I am a sucker for a mystery/thriller. I don’t know if I should credit my father, the retired Chicago policeman, or my mother, who gave me a V.I. Warshawsky novel to read when I was in high school. Anyway, if you like a good, escapist read from a female author, here is a list of my favorites:

Tess Gerritsen (Vanish 8/23)
Karin Slaughter (Faithless 8/30)
Patricia Cornwell (Predator 10/25)
Nevada Barr
Lisa Gardner
Kathy Reichs
Sara Paretsky
Sue Grafton


There are plenty of excellent male mystery writers, but that list is for another day. Also, the book club is reading The Cape Ann by Faith Sullivan for September (Beth's choice).
NKB

Confidence is the new black...

So I can’t stand to be teased. This is truly an example of being able to dish it out and not take it, because I can be a merciless teaser. Still, if someone teases me, even if it is someone who truly cares for me and means it in the most light-hearted, loving way, I kind of freak out and get all weirdly-sensitive. I have a pretty self-effacing sense of humor; I laugh at myself regularly. So why can I not handle a bit of ribbing from someone else? When I envision a woman in her thirties, the word “confidence” comes to mind. This is the kind of thirty-year-old woman I would like to be. Self-doubt is so twenties; don’t you think?

NKB

something i like...

I have always liked this poem. Once, several years ago, I was disappointed to read in Newsweek that it was also Monica Lewinsky's favorite poem. The article compared Prufrock to Bill Clinton. I think it was a bit unfair. I don't see too many parallels.

NKB

and your bird can sing

Last night Joel and I went to a party with some of our friends. Like my nights so often do, I ended up at Karaoke. What is with this addiction of mine? Liz and I sang Total Eclipse of the Heart. We killed. I honestly don’t think it is my quest for the limelight that makes me such a whore for the mic, but singing is just so much fun. (And anyone who has ever ridden in a car with me knows how deeply in my soul I feel this to be true. I demonstrate this by singing along with any song that comes on.) I don't even care that much that I sound obnoxious, at best, most of the time. Anyway, I think I need to find a new song. Any suggestions?

NKB

(mis)spellbinding

Sometimes when people have just met me for the first time they will say something along the lines of, "Oh, I better watch what I say around you; you're an English teacher." I hate this reputation. Embarrassingly enough, I do love grammar. However, I have not perfected it and, in fact, struggle with spelling and certain illogical-seeming rules of standard English. With this in mind, I try never to correct other people's grammar. It is rude.

On the other hand, I take an unnatural delight in correcting Joel's grammar and/or spelling. This is because he gets the chance to correct mine much more frequently. And let me tell you, there is not much better for the relationship, I'm sure, than being told, "I think you mean 'me' there not 'I'." Grrrrr. Still, those delightful five times (yes I am counting) that I was able to correct him were so sweet. I felt no shame in dancing around the living room with the dictionary in my hand.Good times people.
NKB

Logan Squared...

Hooray! I am moving to the south side in one month’s time. There are, however, a few things I will miss about being a north side resident. I think they deserve a mention…

Bike lanes on many major streets… walking to Lula café for dinner with Joel… being so close to the following stores I like: G Boutique, Climate, C’est Moi (all on Damen), and The Left Bank (on Webster)…BBqing at Liz’s house fairly often… looking out my window to see Palmer Square… living very close to my sister, Jen, and to Mike and Anne…Karaoke at Four Treys… Logan Blvd. … the amazingly beautiful back yard view of my next door neighbors…being a pedestrian on a street with many other pedestrians (it seems that fewer people are out walking around on the south side)…living two blocks from the Blue Line… $5.00 Tuesdays at City North… the occasional commute with Megan…Cooking Fools… hitting Trader Joe’s on my way home from work… the love/hate relationship I have with the many dog owners that walk their pooches around the square… Gap Outlet… the Logan Square post office…

There are plenty of things I will not miss about the north side and Logan Square… but these are some things that I have cherished.

NKB

Nora, Barb, Meg and Amy... how cultured.

How I am spending my summer vacation...

This summer Nora has been...
looking for somewhere to live. I know I should feel thrilled, mostly it makes me cranky because there is so much uncertainty. And it is scary. My sister is also buying a house this summer. It is good because at least I have someone to talk to about the process.
Another, way less cool and somewhat secret past time this summer is Craig's List Rants and Raves. This is not a good thing to get hooked on. Anyway, here are a few other time passers this summer:

Reading- The Secret History- Donna Tart (For me, a bit slow, but the rest of my book club liked it. Maybe I'll pick it up and try again.)
The History of Love- Nicole Kraus (Really liked it)
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling (Loved it; five is still my favorite)
Adored- Tilly Bagshawe (For me, it was built up too much; I just can't get into it)
The Sixteen Pleasures- Robert Hellenga (A Chicago book restorer goes to Florence to help after the Arno floods... much art and literary history is discussed, passion and romance ensues... what is not to love?)
Cross Bones- Kathy Reichs (Not my favorite of Ms. Reichs, still enjoyed it.)
Cast of Shadows- Kevin Guifoile (Reading for book club; so far so good)

TV- Nothing unusual: Six Feet Under, Entourage, Queer as Folk, and then the embarrassing teen soap, Wildfire. (Sadly, the cable will have to go when we move into the house...what will I do?)

Finally, I haven't been spending enough time with Barb, Meg, and Amy drinking Margaritas. One afternoon is not going to cut it. I'd better see you soon ladies.