Downtown!

Heading to downtown Chicago today! I can't wait! Brenda and I are going to meet up after she is done with work, and we will see what trouble we can get into. I have several places I want to check out.

I wonder if the Lisle Starbucks folks will miss me? I've spent hours (and dollars) working there this week. It's nice to get out for a change of scenery sometimes. The writing life can get lonely when it's just you and the computer. The dogs always tend to lay around napping and aren't much for entertainment.
Yes, those are two BIG dogs snuggling -- Hooch the French mastiff and Sugar the pit bull.

Today's coffee goal is to find one of my beloved CARIBOU coffee shops. A standby in the midwest, they are nowhere to be found in the south.

I have two big articles in progress for the September issue of Connection magazine. One is almost done and the other is getting there. Once again, these are light on quotes -- but I am learning to embrace that as my trademark. Instead of letting quotes do the work (aka write the story for me), I let my writing shine. At least, that's what I tell myself. My editor and readers don't seem to mind.

I'm looking into some software I ran across yesterday that is basically speech-recognition software. For $99, I am not sure how reliable it would be, but it may be worth a look-see. It would sure take some major stress off my shoulders when it comes to interviewing people!

Yoga + Pizza

Who says yoga and pizza don't go together?

I tagged along to a yoga class with Brenda last night. It was awesome. And hot. And challenging! I loved it. I am in better shape than I thought -- I am walking fine today. heh. A little sore, but in a really good way.


Ninety minutes of yoga in a 90-degree room equals how many calories burned? We may have negated the calorie burn by going to Lou Malnati's for some incredible pizza. I apparently have no shame, since I am posting this picture (Brenda doesn't either -- she put the pic on Facebook for all the world to see. Or at least our 600+ combined friends.)


Soooo good.

Violet Hour

This is the violet hour, the hour of hush and
wonder, when the affections glow again and valor is reborn, when the shadows
deepen magically along the edge of the forest and we believe that, if we watch
carefully, at any moment we may see the unicorn.
- Bernard DeVoto "The Hour"

Ahh, Chicago! Technically, I'm in the Chicago suburbs as I write this, but whatever.

It's been a whirlwind. I arrived at Union Station at 4 on Saturday and negotiated a drive-by pickup with Brenda via text message. Success! And I didn't get lost, either. Did you know the Caribou Coffee adjacent to Union Station is closed on the weekends? I didn't, either.

Brenda and I headed for Wicker Park, a neat neighborhood north (I think!) of downtown for the evening. After waking up with some caffeine and chatting in velvet chairs at Starbucks, we headed out in search of the Violet Hour. One of Brenda's former co-workers recommended the place--there's apparently a sister bar in Minneapolis. We knew the address and walked down Damen Avenue. And kept on walking. The bar was so well-disguised we walked past it once!

And then we went in. This place was Awesome. They said it did not open until 6 p.m., and thinking we were losers for being there early, we slunk in at 6:10, hoping we weren't the first people there. We weren't--the bar seating was half full, and the seating area had several people settled in already.

Not that we could see. Once you enter the bar, you go through sets of curtains and it feels like you're in a dark abyss because it is so dim. We could not see where we were going, so I was super-careful NOT to knock over a candlelit table as I tried to stumble after the hostess. Both B and I had to "feel around" for our seats--which turned out to be really comfortable high-back, padded chairs.

Once our eyes adjusted, we could see each other and the drink menus just fine. The Violet Hour is a Prohibition-style place, place and they handcraft their own bitters and several house items. I had a Moscow Mule with Tito's vodka, lime and ginger syrup. Heavenly. And strong!

After mellowing out with our pre-dinner drinks, we cabbed it over to our dinner party destination. OMG, was the food good. Cold avocado soup, jumbo grilled shrimp, pork shoulder, and some other Cuban delicacies. And some fantastic company.

I could get used to evenings like this!

Next time: Why I was running through Brenda's neighborhood yelling "HOOCH!!!!!"

Dog Days

They look so innocent, don't they?

Actually, these two brothers are growing up quite nicely. Sure, there was a time I was afraid it was never going to happen -- that maturation that comes "sometime" between age 2 and 4. Now, at about 2 1/2 years old, the boys are truly growing up.

But they have their moments:
Quite simply, they cannot leave each other alone!

Today I have both of them in the house and they are being pretty good guys. Of course, Baxter won't let Rowdy "bother" me. Or eat his food.

Going to take them swimming in a little bit so they can wear themselves out.

August

Here's a sneak peek at the August cover of Connection magazine:

One of my articles has a mention on the cover! Apologies for how teeny-tiny the image is; I stole it from Facebook.

Off to work on an article for the September issue.

mow, mow, mow your lawn...

Monday already. The summer is flying by--and I hope the cooler weather isn't too far behind. Today is yet another hot one, and the humidity is about 129%. I just finished wringing myself out after mowing part of the yard. It was a choice between dulling my mower blade with the wet grass or getting heat stroke by doing it later in the day.

Vacation Bible School was great! I got to work with a super-nice group of people, and the kids were awesome. This year, the church rented the Gizmo Event Center for VBS. Let's just say the building was HOT when the kids sat down at 6 p.m. They hardly complained or fidgeted (I would not have blamed them!).

I helped out with taking photos -- the kids are going to be working on a cute project with the pictures today. I'm kind of bummed out about my 18-55mm lens. You know how you're "supposed" to put on a protective filter over the lens? So if it gets scratched you can just unscrew the filter and put on a new one? Well. The filter is STUCK on the lens. No amount of coaxing or praying is getting that thing off. Sigh. I guess it's better it's stuck on the "cheap" one instead of the new 55-200mm zoom lens.

Better get busy. I have six online articles to write and two magazine interviews to do by Wednesday night. Better refill that coffee cup.

Quick Post

I know--I rarely post on weekends. Just wanted to do a little self-promotion!!
My writing got a mention in the Demand Studios blog:

http://bit.ly/dtpY6O

Not bad! That reminds me: I really need to create my online portfolio as the writing is adding up fast. That's what happens when you apply a little discipline to your life.