Auld lang syne

There was a thunderstorm in the Second City last night, in December.

Now if that’s not a dramatic way to wind down 2010, I don’t know what is.

Well played, weather.

Anyway, this was a serious year my friends.

JD & CC got married. So did one of my favorite cousins.

I did a triathlon and did not die.

JW & I got engaged (by the way, I hate the phrase “got engaged.” Please send suggestions).

Ky and I cooked. And we cooked. And we made the boeuf.

In the interest of not being entirely obnoxious (although, as you know, I’m not above it), I won’t link to every last item I’ve seen or accomplished (or failed at, since that’s always a thing too) this year.

But it was a good year.

Really though, if we’re gonna be serious, most of them are.

Which makes me one lucky chickadee.

Or one overly optimistic one, anyway.

Either works for me.

2010 was a good year for me. I read a lot of books, went on vacation, spent time with people who make me laugh my head off, and completed a physical challenge that made me realize that, yes, I am so stubborn that I can do pretty much anything I decide I’m going to do.

Some may see this as dangerous.

I see it as encouraging.

Up in the new year? Getting married (P.S., bought the dress yesterday- we’ll touch on that in 2011), reading some more books, laughing at least as much as I did in 2010,  writing something apart from my blog (and no, I don’t really know what that means yet) and trying to decide what eating a “reasonable” amount of butter is.

Which probably also means picking myself up and getting back into some kind of race.

We’ll talk about that another day.

In any case, I hope everyone else’s year is rung in safely and with lots of fun and champagne.

Chicks, I’ll see you next year!

 

 

Take two.

We did the shopping for the wedding dresses.

I did not die.

Or break anything.

Or ruin any dresses.

Or sweat too much.

Or eat at any chain restaurants (although I was in the suburbs, mecca of chain restaurants)

I even liked a few selections, so I’ll be back.

If I live through the triple threat of appointments I have scheduled for today.

I literally dove into more than a dozen dresses (with only about a third that made me look like a cupcake), and paraded around in front of giant mirrors which were both awesome and frightening at the same time.

Is it necessary to view yourself in so many angles?

I guess in this situation, the answer is probably.

Also for today: working on my reaction when someone nicely says “Congratulations! How exciting!”

I think I’ve been wincing.

Because of the stress and the sweating, not because of the lack of excitement.

I believe there’s room for improvement here.

Post dress extravangza, my family went to Costco, bought some goods in bulk, and came home to eat dinner.

And flipped through some more magazines.

And binged on Modern Family.

Which is seriously the funniest show ever.

Now, I’m off to do it all again.

Wish me luck, times two.

It’s a nice day for a white wedding

I completed my one day of work this week in a whirlwind fashion, crossing things off my list and clearing paper from my desk as fast as I could.

Then I put on my out of office, round 2, and had my sister pick me up curbside.

That’s the life.

Last night JW whipped up this delicious recipe for my family while we sat around the table flipping through bridal magazines and discussed the kind of dresses I might want to try on today.

I think I’ve got a general idea, which is a marked improvement, since prior to last night when someone asked me what kind of dress my response was:

“A white one. With straps I think. But maybe not.”

I feel like this would not be the ideal conversation to have with a bridal consultant.

It probably wouldn’t narrow things down, anyway.

In any case, I’m about to get myself ready to pack my family into the car, head to the suburbs, and brave fluorescent lighting, strip malls, and potentially frightening women attempting to sell me dresses which may or may not make me look like a pastry.

 

For instance, this tulle is wider than I am tall.

I do it in the name of love.

And because I keep having dreams that I forget a wedding dress, and then have nothing to get married in.

This seems like not a good plan.

But like something that could happen to a girl like me.

And so I’m off.

I’ll catch you chicks on the other side with an update.

Back at it

And back to my cubicle.

But just for the day, so I promise not to complain.

JW and I took off yesterday for Chicago in the afternoon, only to take a detour about an hour later.

We’re in the money?

Not really, but there is nothing like playing a couple slot machines to ease the stress of a morning full of wedding planning.

The casino’s right off the highway, and we watched it being built over the past few years- now that it was complete, we needed to try it out.

And I can only say no to JW so many times before actually realizing that a little roadside gambling might not be the worst thing.

And it wasn’t.

Anyway, we came out fairly even, which was good, because it meant we had money for gas station snacks and sodas.

Imperative to the ride.

When we got home, we stopped at Whole Foods and grabbed the two largest salads I’ve laid eyes on.

The lack of vegetables in the past week’s festivities was a bit alarming.

I think we started to make up for it.

But I’m making pasta tonight.

My shirt still buttoned this morning, so I’m taking that as a sign that everything is going to turn out okay.

For now though, I’m headed for a day in my cubicle, tying up some loose ends and remembering what my office looks like.

Hope everyone’s still relaxing!

On the road again.

Today is the day in which I finally pick up the clothes all over my mom’s guest room floor and do some laundry.

And pack up all of the nice gifts I received.

And sprint ahead of my family to Chicago to clean things up in time of their arrival, tomorrow.

Yes, the Palluzzis are simply relocating to the city for a few days.

We’re gonna see if there is even one wedding dress suitable for someone who has just eaten her way through Christmas.

Probably through the next three Christmases, if we’re being honest here.

Anyway, I can’t be the first person to overindulge to such a ridiculous degree.

Right?

Also, a few notes on yesterday:

We were interrogated at the Canadian border.

JW’s passport picture is a decade old.

“Who’s Jonathan?” a very straight laced, no nonsense law enforcement man asked.

I pointed right to him.

No sense in trying to protect anyone.

Despite the fact that the person in the passport picture looks like he could be JW’s son, the man let us go with a raised eyebrow.

Not before asking what we all did for work.

By “we all,” I mean everyone besides me.

I think I was taken for a child.

Anyway, once we made it to Canada, things got better, and we snacked and opened more gifts and played Wii and generally made merriment except everyone still kept laughing and calling me a child.

It’s a good thing I have a sense of humor.

And now, I’m off to spend the morning picking up, packing in, eating at least one more unnecessary meal, and getting myself back to the Windy City before night.

One more thing…DA BEARS! :)

source

On the second day of Christmas.

You guys.

The endless amount of food in my parents’ house is taking me down.

I don’t think I’ve resisted one Christmas cookie or leftover  fried shrimp I’ve laid eyes on.

Can you blame me though, really?

Wedding dress shopping the week after the holiday will prove to be interesting, I’m sure.

Anyway, yesterday was lovely, involving sausage-and-cheese egg casserole, leftover seafood from the night before, drinking all the red wine we could get our paws on, opening gifts (and now actually owning this. Take that CPL, and your endless “in transit” status!), and watching Despicable Me, which was a funny way to end our holiday evening.

Then I put myself to bed and slept like I’ve never slept before.

Today’s another crazy day, visiting family friends for brunch, trekking to Canada to visit with JW’s sister and her husband, and then back home for another cinematic DVD while snacking on whatever is left (which is still a LOT) and listening to my dad attempt to snore and watch the movie at the same time.

He’s very talented.

I hope everyone else’s holiday was equally as fulfilling and that we are all grateful that today is only Sunday.

Also, in case I am at brunch/in transit:

Go Bears!

Technically, I know that you don’t need to win this one, but maybe do it anyway as a Christmas gift to me?

And the city of Chicago?

Now get out there and make me proud!

Good talk.

Have a good Boxing Day, chickadees!

 

Merry Christmas baby

Christmas day.

Ahhhh.

In my family, that actually just means opening gifts, eating a breakfast casserole, and laying around.

The big show was last night, you see.

Production line of de-tailing and de-veining the 10 lbs of shrimp

Time for the Granpappy's unveiling!

My favorite part: clams and mussels!

Crab, squid, and lobster sauce. Delicious.

These are the Christmas rolls.

This is the Christmas dog, who ate 12 of the Christmas rolls.

All in all, a good time was had by all.

Except Bailey, once she was caught with the dozen Christmas rolls in her mouth.

And now I’m off to open some gifts (all of which have been returned to their rightly place under the tree) and listen to some holiday tunes.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

 

Where’s the grappa?

Merry Christmas Eve, chicks!

I’ll probably be updating tomorrow with a recap of today’s day of cooking and feasting.

You’ll probably be jealous.

And now, a few notes on last night.

Can we clean out the guest room for coats? my mom asked.

Sure, we’ll move the gifts to under the tree.

We piled gifts under the tree, and I remarked,

We could probably move to a grab bag situation at Christmas.

Don’t be ridiculous, my mom said.

We kept piling.

Later, when all the presents were under the tree, my mom looked at all the gifts.

We have to move some of these. There are too many.

Don’t be ridiculous, I said.

Hide the gifts. My mom said.

*****

I was watching the beginning of Despicable Me with a bunch of kids in the living room, and the conversation turned to the movie Up.

You know what part I don’t like? said Stella, the six-year old.

The part when Kevin is woun…when he’s wounded.

I’m pretty sure she’s smarter than I am.

*****

What else should I write about?

The Grappa! my father said.

Where is it? he said, looking around.

Probably down your gullet, I’m thinking.

Christmas Eve is here, chickadees, enjoy it!

 

Even the vegetables don’t like him

Morning chicks.

We’re two days from Christmas and yesterday the Palluzzi clan spent the day running appropriate errands to procure all eight thousand pieces of fish necessary for tomorrow’s great feast.

More to come on that.

It’s my favorite meal of the year, which is saying a lot, since, as we all know, I eat a lot of meals.

Anyway, we also started in with the Christmas movies, selecting Muppet Christmas Carol as our first contender.

I forgot how funny Muppets are.

Pretty friggin’ funny, in case you were wondering.

Good thing I have two more Muppet holiday treats before I must turn to live action creatures.

Have you seen this or this? Get to it, already- time is a wastin’.

In today’s news, even though it is the day before Christmas Eve and as stated previously, tomorrow is The Best Meal of the Year, my mother has invited over half of the town for pizza.

She tells me it’s not that many people.

That’s what she always says.

In any case, it will be a day of last minute wrapping, gabbing, chopping, and eating.

Pretty standard, actually.

Hope everyone else is hustling home to their own traditions and their own famiglia.

Catch you chickpeas later.

 

 

 

Two of you will have to sleep on hangers on a hook on the wall.

I’ve been enjoying Christmas in the city.

I love the people, the snow, the twinkling lights, and the general air of hustle and bustle.

I also love holiday parties, hot cider, and Christmas cookies.

But man, I’m a little tired.

What with the tourists running (or slowly ambling) into me, the hauling of the bags home every night, and the crowded, slushy, tired El passengers.

And literally nearly colliding with a woman wearing a dark purple velour tracksuit complete with low cut tank top underneath.

And no coat.

It’s Christmas time in the city.

Which means it’s time to pack up my gifts, warm up the car, and head to Waterloo.

Land of not.a.whole.lot.going.on.

At least not a lot I need to leave the house for.

And that, my friends, is a Christmas miracle.