2011 MASTER LIST

Ok, per a heavy duty FB conversation today, here is the beginnings to my 2011 accomplishment list. Items left over from 2010 will be marked with a *.
1. Hot Dougs - 3324 N. California*
2. Modern Wing @ the Art Institute*
3. Pho Pho Pho*
4. A bike ride*
5. The Green Market*
6. Use my Chicago Public Radio Membership card for restaurant discounts*
7. Ramen Ramen Ramen  **WENT TO ARAMI 2/18/11.  THE ARAMI RAMEN WAS AMAZING!!!**
8. Korean BBQ (I'm on an Asian Food Kick)
9. Visit Rachel and James  **TRIP IS BOOKED FOR SPRING BREAK, MARCH 2011******
10. Visit the Pacific Northwest
11. Have a romantic weekend with Bill
12. Avoid the same old 2010 haunts (Oak Oak Tap, Clutch, Cleos, all those same old places)
13. Master brand new Soups
14. Make a recipe out of EVERYTHING in my CSA, not just the stuff I'm familiar with
15. New gig, please **I START 2/28/11 - DREAM JOB!!!****** FYI - amazing. Awesome. So great.
16. Get Bill to actually donate some articles of clothing, shoes, etc.   He Donated TWO shirts. Its a step.
17. Margie's Candies
18. Girl and the Goat ***reservations 5/14!***
19. Start a business plan for a doggie daycare "Victors Garden"
20. Get a piano
21. MOST IMPORTANT!  A DINING ROOM TABLE!  I'm hosting Thanksgiving this year, and at this rate we will be eating on the floor!

Things to accomplish in 2011, lets see how 2010 worked out.

Things to accomplish in 2010

My repost of my January 2010 of things I wanted to accomplish....here's what I did.

Three of the things are crossed off my list.  Really?  I did 4 of the 12 things I wanted to do?  That is just pathetic.  Really?  I mean, really Julie?  Really????

You know how it will be nearing the end of the year, and there are tons of things you wanted to do that you never did?
Just so I can remember everything I want to do, I'm starting a list now.  This will be updated as I accomplish things and remember more things I want to do in 2010.   Places and things I want to go to, try, check out, do, etc.  All that good stuff.
1. Richwell Market - 1835 S. Canal Street
2. Hot Dougs - 3324 N. California
3. Modern Wing @ the Art Institute
4. The BEACH.  Haven't been in at least 3 years.
5. Pho Pho Pho
6. A bike ride
7. The Green Market
8. Use my Chicago Public Radio Membership card for restaurant discounts.
9. Go to the Steppenwolf Theater
10. Get my money's work from my A.I. membership. EXPIRED. WENT TWICE.
11. Visit the Mighty Carmona Family!
12. MAXWELL STREET MARKET!!!!

Attempts at a Family Xmas Card Photo

Christmastime and Crafting!

Ah, I am a Christmas fan. It's my favorite holiday.  I love Christmas, the ability to decorate your house totally differently for a month and to have it smell like fresh greens.  I love sending cards, reaching out to people and being excited for my own mailbox to see the cards that will come.  I love crafting, making dog cookies as gifts and shopping, shopping, shopping.  I love Christmas! It means being grateful for who you are and who you have in life,  celebrating life and love, and everything that makes us friends and family.  Parties are fun, too!

Attempt #2 at a family photo, this time with Christmas sweaters.

Lenny's first snow - he loves it!

Crafting at Erica's, we made wrapping paper with potato stamps!

Erica being crafty making a cute magnet.

Christine felting wool!

Kristin about to paint her stamps!

Lenny and Bill, not helping me with the Christmas lights!

And tree!  Finished to its glory!

Pre-Thanksgiving Bitching

I know there is something wrong with me, but  I really don't care for Thanksgiving. In fact, I loathe it and dread it every year.  I don't know if its the food, or Bill and I always having to plan between families, or if it means that Bill is going to start working non-stop until the end of the year.

It means the weekend after Thanksgiving I trek it back to my folks, make 85 trips up and down the stairs bringing up Christmas decorations, fighting with people at Home Depot for the perfect tree for the front yard, freeze my fingers off hanging and tying each and every bow outside and making sure each light on the inside tree is perfect.  Obviously my parents can't do it on their own, and of course I love helping since I don't have a front yard to decorate, but man its a lot of work!

I'm sounding extremely selfish, I know, but for ONCE I would love to host a holiday at our house.  Sadly, I don't own a big enough table, but I am determined to get a cool one from CB2 like this one.
Anyway, enough bitching.  I will go into it will low expectations, but come out proud of my hard work I did on their house, full from left over pie and turkey, and buzzed from Bloody Mary's.  So perhaps I should really just stop bitching, and start decorating the Ford's place.
UPDATE.....12.4.10
The decorating went wonderfully, and I brought Lenny and he and Sheba (my folks dog) get along so well!  It was really fun, went off without a hitch, and the house looks fabulous as usual.  I've got mad skills!!!!

Halloween 2010

As Mary-Frances & Jeff's wedding is quickly approaching I decided its time to reflect back 14 days ago to Halloween.  Whoops!  Almost missed a holiday post!
We had a great Halloween - went to John & Kadima's annual party with the creepy haunted house in their basement (and John even took the last week off of work to complete it).  It is honestly really scary.  I can realize that I'm in my friends basement, but I'm still terrified!
Regardless, Bill and I went as Sookie Stackhouse & Vampire Bill from the books, not True Blood, and there were some amazing costumes.  As per usual, pictures follow after the jump.

Mary-Frances's Bachelorette Party!

As November 19th approaches us, as the "Matron" of Honor, along with Mackie, the "Maid" of Honor, the time came to have an EPIC bachelorette party for Mary-Frances.  From the moment in December 2009 Jeff + Mary got engaged, we knew what we had to do to throw the party that would be remembered, or at least remembered in bits and pieces.  We rented a trolley, got a gaggle of girls together and hit the town for an Irish themed bar crawl.  We had a BLAST.  Not much more to say, pictures follow after the jump!!!!