small things...

Tell me what I need to know

I’ve been doing a lot of dreaming lately.  Of the nighttime variety

The kind where I want to lay in bed for a few breaths upon waking to remember all the pieces of the story.  There have been several times in my life where the difficulties that plagued my waking life and mind seemed to allow me a reprieve at night and no dreams would come.  A true rest.  These days my dreaming mind is full of stories and messages and replays of the days events. 

I got into the habit, earlier this year, of whispering the following before letting go into sleep, “Tell me what I need to know” and the dreams would come.  Maybe they were coming anyhow…who knows. 

Lately I’ve been doing some writing.  here on the blog but also off blog.  It’s my dreaming mind that keeps providing the story and my waking mind that provides the words.  I don’t know for sure whether my nightly request is being granted, whether or not these dreams or what I need to know.  But what I do know is that I wake up most mornings with stories dancing through my mind and for a good Irish girl like me…this is a good thing.

bookshelf update!

Thanks to all the home decor DIYers on the blog and on facebook for all the helpful suggestions for my massive (and messy) bookshelf you provided!  I’ve been busy sorting through books, climbing up and down the ladder, dropping off donations at my local library and I think it’s finally at a place I like.

Here’s a little reminder of where I started:

Before

And today:

after

Sorry for the glare in the pics, but you get the idea.  To be honest there are still loads of books on these shelves that I neither plan to read or even like…I kept some books just because they were red and others because they were the right height.  This ain’t the library, yo, I can arrange these books any way I like.

A few closer looks:

 

And this little cutie I purchase last weekend in Michigan:

 

Now to tackle the rest the condo…stay tuned

We’re hunting evergreens

This weekend I headed up to Sawyer, Mi with my sister, bro-in-law and cutie-pie nephew for what has become a semi-annual journey to chop down a Christmas tree.  Semi-annual because we didn’t even go last year and I’ve never gone. Ask me again next year and we’ll make it official.

I wasn’t even getting a tree, but didn’t want to pass up an invite to my favorite weekend spot around.  I live in a 3rd floor walk-up and even though my living room is particularly suited for an ENORMOUS  and gorgeous tree (I’ve seen it happen), the climb up and down with said tree is not so particularly suited to me.  In fact, I’d made the decision to invest in a fake tree this year…after Christmas.  After i saw how crazily expensive fake trees are I decided to see if I could score some kind of pitiful unwanted Charlie brown kind of fake tree.  BUT THEN the universe, or whoever, hearing my complete flexibility around this topic dropped a free 6-foot tree in my lap. Okay, not in my lap – that would leave scars.  Thanks universe.  And I didn’t even have to carry it up the 3 flights!  Thanks, brother-in-law and family who carried the tree and donated it to my worthy cause.

So my role for this trip was to give my nephew loads of attention and cuddles, connect with the friends and my family and document the weekend.  I gladly obliged:

Before we broke out the saws

small but mighty

The only way to roll to the tree farm

Ready for winter

Finally pulling his own weight around here

success…

The one where TV saves the day

As part of my quest to find fullness, I’ve been contemplating a career change.  Well, I’ve been contemplating several career changes, two in particular, one I”m talking about right now…As part of this contemplation I actually applied to go back to school to finish up some coursework towards school counseling certification.  I’m not totally sure this is an avenue I want to go down, but I’m a Plan B kinda girl and this one was/is a pretty decent Plan B. 

So earlier this week I drove out to DeKalb to attend a workshop/interview to enter into their program.  I was exhausted when I got there and fairly unclear on what was going to happen at this interview or if I was remotely prepared.  The interview was done group-style and I was in a really warm and lovely group of women who bonded quickly and joked often.  Near the end of the interview I was already feeling conflicted on whether this was the right path for me when the interviewer let us know that she was now going to ask us individual questions (to be answered in front of the group) and I was to be first.

Her question: What does ambiguity mean?

Me: Well that question is pretty ambiguous…

Her: pause

Thankfully (?) a vision of SNL’s “Ambiguously Gay Duo” danced out of my memory bank and after letting out an ill-timed giggle, I went to explain what “ambiguity” means using the SNL twosome as my guide. 

All were impressed and none the wiser. 

Thanks, boys!

Cheating on Chicago

I love Chicago, I really do.  I’m one of those just-outside-of-Chicago Chicagoans who readily defend it’s honor and boast about it’s attributes to the doubters of the world. The lake looks like an ocean! The restaurants…people…music scene…culture…skyline…all amazing!!

I love Chicago 6 months out of every year.  And then comes winter. 

In winter, this relationship I have with Chicago grows a bit distant. Everything gets just a little bit more difficult between us come winter.  I start thinking about other cities, wondering if this thing here me and Chicago have is really gonna make it.  Chicago is cold and icy and I’m just a girl who wants to feel warm.

I don’t wish I could quit you, Chicago, I just wish your weather weren't so moody

I predict I will be cheating on Chicago one day.  Spending my winter months with a city whose warm breezes kiss my shoulders and returning to Chicago come spring when my true love shakes off the winter chill, begins to thaw and welcomes me back with flowers.

****

The first snow is coming.  Let’s try to make this work, Chicago.