This is a post for Annie. Or rather, it’s for her mother Val- her kind, thoughtful, amazing soul of a human being mother. Can it be for both? Let’s make it for both. Annie has been one of my best friends since 2002, since I moved to Chicago and promptly realized that I had no friends, a barely tolerable serving job, and only the faintest glimmer of actual theatrical work on the horizon. And after I met Annie at a {Read More}
We Put The "Ire" In "Ireland".
March 13, 2013 By 8 Comments
As my Dad gears up for his sixth round of chemo, I’d like to thank him for my heritage. Namely, my fabulous half-Irishitude. Back when I was a little kid, St. Patrick’s Day was a major holiday in our household. (Are you catching on to the fact that everything was a major holiday in our household? We’re a tad celebratory.) My Mom would make stellar corned beef and cabbage (no small feat, being an Armenian and all), we’d sit around the {Read More}
Minute Ready To Serve Rice Has Freed Me From The Kitchen.
March 12, 2013 By 2 Comments
Contemplative. And starving. We have a favorite meal at our house- called Ardell’s Chicken- named for a woman who a) created the dish and b) is like a second Mom to me. (And what gives “second Mom” status? I don’t bandy that term around. I reserve it for women who drive me to the E.R. in the middle of my [one] freshman year soccer game and repeatedly bake me miniature cheesecakes every time I visit my hometown.) Anyway. Ardell’s Chicken {Read More}
17 Months Is The Best Age [For Face-Planting].
March 11, 2013 By 5 Comments
Baby’s first ponytail. Baby’s second colander. This girl. This teensy tinsy person who bodily flings herself over the side of the couch. (Again and again and again…) And then the other side of the couch. And then the back. All the while, she points between herself and the couch, shaking her finger and admonishing herself “Nonono.” And the one who climbs the radiator to push herself onto the windowsill with her elbows- pausing like a deer in headlights when she {Read More}
Ellie Activewear or You Can’t Make Me Stop Wearing Yoga Pants.
March 8, 2013 By 2 Comments
I think we all know how I feel about yoga pants, right? Well, since I began working with Ellie and this new line of activewear (formerly pvBody- the company shifted to ensure more available stock and the ability for customers to handpick their own pieces), I feel like I’ve fallen into a neatly folded pile of awesome. The subscription model is much the same. You still get your style profile and workout preferences (unfortunately, “napping in a pile of puzzle {Read More}
Snow, Enya, and Confusing Friends & Family Since 2008.
March 7, 2013 By 4 Comments
So, Midwest: This snow thing. Come on. There’s been a slight disconnect lately between anticipated snow and the subsequently unwarranted freak-outs. Having been a resident of Chicago for over a decade now(!) and being in the [poorly plowed] trenches for the majority of those winters, I’d like to remind my neighbors of what snowfall is. And four inches of ground cover within the city proper wouldn’t even have been a blip three years ago. You call this snow? For example, during {Read More}
Why I Should Never Travel Alone; Ghost Story Edition.
March 6, 2013 By 6 Comments
And now, filed under Things Which Make Me Question/Hate Myself: The other morning, as I made my way to the train- laden with bags and more than a little guilt at leaving my children for the weekend- I thought about my parents, whom I was excited to see. My kids, whom I already missed. The amount of work which might never see the light of day. My imminent flight sans children or [non-psychological] baggage, and the pressure I was putting {Read More}
Turns Out, You CAN Go Home Again. (If You Clean It.)
March 4, 2013 By 4 Comments
On Thursday afternoon, I flew home to spend time with my folks for a wicked long weekend. I wanted to poke my Dad until he laughed during his fifth round of chemo (which is a medically and historically proven way to get smacked upside the head) and berate my mother into Feng Shui-ing the heck out of her living areas. So yeah, you could say I was a big ol’ helper. Here are a few things I realized (and reaffirmed) {Read More}
