I know (October update pics)

My wonderful grandmother waving from her hospital bed. She is back home and doing much better but she scared us a bit there - she doesn't like eating or drinking water, and here's how she winds up. Stubborn!

This is Clover, the dog I helped to dogsit for my friend B. Clover is old and has lost some functioning, which makes it not so easy to care for her, but what a sweet pooch - look at that face!

I am terrible at this blog-updating thing. I am gonna try to be better. I also haven't been doing pushups, situps, or anything else lately. Swam once last week, that was good. Now, I am mildly sick and without any new or exciting netflix DVDs at home, plus it's incredibly cold in my apartment - so the most comfortable place is under the covers in by bed with Lois and the warm laptop in my lap.

P came to visit and took me to the opera - Manon, at the Lyric. It was such a treat! Most of all, it was great to see him.

I have been working on lots of things: winterizing the apartment, going back to school in January, preparing for the birth of my brother's first children - twin girls expected in late January or early Feb. (I have about 7 craft projects in planning-to-just-started phase all over the apartment), cleaning the apartment, and looking for a job. We just found out today that there will be no salary increases in 2009 and we're switching insurance carriers even though we just did that last year.

I went to Philadelphia for a work conference and loved it - the conference, and what I got to see of Philly. Here's a big ship next to my hotel at Penn's landing.

I also have one broken tooth and crown and another tooth that one dentist has said needs to be removed and replaced with an implant. I need a second opinion, because should I have implants already at 38? I have yet to start that investigative process because of the unbelievable expense it is clear it will cost me.

This is my favorite Philly pic. I was there when they won the Series, and this sign was still up at City Hall after the ginormous parade/rally when I walked around downtown after midnight on my last night.

Ugh.

Sunrise at the triathlon. I am still posting these pictures. People were really nice, and everyone was sort of milling about and checking out the course. Instead of taking pictures, I should have been in line for the portapotties... but that comes later.

Things aren't great at poptart HQ - I'm up with the toothache that I've been dealing with since last Thursday, I haven't done laundry in at least 3 weeks, my house is a mess, and work just plain sucks right now (too much to do and no time to do it, and bosses and coworkers that make my life miserable. Did I mention I make very little money, too, and have terrible benefits?)


Same scene on my walk back along the swim route, just a few minutes later. So many people (8,500 athletes - the largest triathlon in the world!). Isn't Chicago gorgeous backdrop?

So this is where I am. I've also been feeling really weird in my body lately - not just the terrible toothache (which is one of those sinus/upper molar face-ache toothaches) but my fitness/weight stuff, too. I am continuing to be as active as possible with Pilates, dance class, running, and swimming - plus the usual biking everywhere, but I'm sluggish and heavy. The rain, which lasted for four days straight at the end of last week, didn't help that either.


I have never ever been so nervous in a bathroom line before in my life. This picture was taken about 15 minutes before my wave was set to start the triathlon, about a 1/4 mile away, and I had been stuck in this line for more than 30 minutes!! The bozos who put on the event definitely need to get more portapotties next year... people were panicking. I barely made it to my the swim start (but I did make it, phew.)!

So this damn toothache - it was so bad that I stayed in bed all day Friday (my new day off, I work Sun-Thurs now, most weeks) and Saturday, only getting out to go to an awesome wedding Friday night and an intense 'Pilates for Runners' workshop Sat. I was living on Tylenol sinus six times a day plus a cold pack on my cheek - and crying when, at 3-1/2 hours, my last dose of the painkiller would wear off and I'd have to wait 30 minutes to take the next two caplets. And believe me, I am not at all a pill-taker - this was just extreme.


This is from a special midnight behind-the-scenes tour last month of the Music Box Theatre, one of Chicago's oldest, coolest movie houses. D, center, is a projectionist and our host, and thanks to him we had a private viewing of the last Twin Peaks episode and some really creepy David Lynch animation shorts, plus everyone (there were 8 people) brought food. Fun!

The four glasses of wine at the wedding Friday didn't really help the tooth as much as they should've, either, but they did help me make a not-very-well-thought-out booty call attempt... because I was already in pjs tucked in with the dog and I cancelled when he texted me. The next day when it was his turn to initiate, I called him and fessed up about the toothache (sexy!) and that I just wasn't feeling up to a rendezvous. Anywho, my dentist who finally could see me MONDAY, said it was more serious than she could deal with, so I had to be referred to a specialist, and I have an appointment with him this Friday morning. The pain has subsided, but right now, at 2:38am, I am waiting for the tylenol to kick in so I can go to bed. I'm also mentally bracing myself for like 3,000 in dental bills and a whole lot of pain soon, so that, too, is getting me a litte down.


I went to a "movie night" at the place where I take German. I was one of two people there. So much for meeting people! But the film was cute, so it wasn't a total waste. This is a bad phone pic because I felt that it captured the awkwardness of the evening...
What else? Well, my Wednesday night beginning German class started and I love it so far - though I still haven't finished my homework for tomorrow night - oops! Also haven't been able to quite get the R sound yet - but I'm sure it'll come with practice.

**sidenote: as I write this, my dog is barking in her sleep these adorable muffled little barks that are bouncing her whole sleepy dog body - it's really cute.***

OK, so that's my world right now. Bad work, bad mouth, cute dog, too much to do. I'll post something more exciting soon. PROMISE!

I think I'm in love

(even though I have a massive toothache that is keeping me literally in bed today until I have to go to a wedding) with this fella, Ari Melber: