New Year's Eve and Beyond...

It seems like so long ago (6 days!!) but I'm finally getting around to posting about New Year's Eve and the weekend that followed it.

The evening began with Dan, Luis and I meeting up for dinner, and then we made an appearance at a party. We excused ourselves from it so that we could make our way to Jackhammer, our regular watering hole where we were being joined by our friends Tina, Denise and Polo. I could not think of a better way to ring in the new year. Drinks were poured, laughs were had and when the big ball dropped, there were hugs and kisses all around.

Dan and I, celebrating the end of one decade and the beginning of another.


Teri Yaki, the hostess for the evening. Please note that the original picture is in landscape, but for some odd reason, this site decided the picture should be in portrait.


At about 2, Denise, Polo, Tina and I had our fill of drunk people, drag queens and messy strippers losing their clothing so we left Dan and Luis at the bar and went all of 10 feet south to the Mexican restaurant for burritos. We crowded around a tiny table and enjoyed our feast and each other's company. Alas, it was time to head home. Unfortunately, this was made difficult by the car that had blocked Polo's car in the parking lot. Tina felt festive so she left the offending driver a new year's greeting on their windows "Happy New Year, ASSHOLE!" We laughed, and hailed a cab. I saw to it that Tina and Denise got home, Polo went back in the bar for a little while.

Friday was a quiet day at home, I had company over for New Year's Day dinner. Denise joined mom and me, along with my sister and our friend Karen. Traditionally we eat black-eyed peas on New Year's Day, for good luck. My mom grew up in the South so this is something we've done every year. I've grown to like them. Denise and Karen, who have joined us in the past look forward to their yearly dose of good luck.

Saturday, I joined Dan, Luis, Polo and Denise for a movie. I don't often go to the movies, I blame it on my short attention span and the fact that a movie has to really interest me otherwise I won't sit still through it. Well, we saw "The Blind Side," and going in, I wasn't 100 percent sold that I wanted to see it but once it began, I was glued. I loved it. Sandra Bullock gives such a great performance. I highly recommend it.

Sunday was Christmas, revisited. Try to get six relatively busy people together around the holidays and it's a crap shoot. It wasn't until January 3 that the six of us could get together to have our gift exchange. We decided to turn it into an Italian feast. Dan and Luis opened their home to us and made pasta with sauce and sausage (Luis makes the most delicious marinara saucee!), along with some delicious puff pastry appetizers. Tina brought a huge antipasti platter, I brought a roasted tomato caprese salad, Polo brought enough garlic bread for two dozen people, Denise brought delicious desserts.

Knowing that we were attending this party without a Christmas tree, Denise and I took matters into our own hands and created a tree for the party. I had a gold tinsel tree in my store room at work. I brought it home, we adorned it with colorful ornaments and a giant glittery poinsettia. We stood back and were very proud of our creation. I believe that Dan and Luis were momentarily speechless when they saw it, no doubt they were stuck by it's overwhelming beauty. Perhaps a tear was shed.

The Christmas tree, and some of the delicious food on the table.

Round 1 of the food was served. We cleaned off Tina's platter of goodies and were too full to move. So, we rolled ourselves into the living room and exchanged gifts. In no time, paper was flying, laughter filled the room and a series of "oohs" and "ahhs" along with an "oh wow" or two were spoken.

Well into the gift exchange, yet there are still more gifts to go. Luis is wearing one of his gifts, a yellow down vest.

When the paper finally settled, we went back to the table to finish our dinner. Round two left us all pretty close to unconscious but happy.

What a great way to end a long, fun weekend. 2010 is off to a good start.

Me, cuddling a present from Dan and Luis. It's a beer bottle shaped sausage. Mmm...

Happy New Year!!

Funny Books

File Under: Joined at the brain

Vahona gets me. From the time we first met, we have said that we are joined at the brain. We laugh at each other's jokes and finish each other's sentences.

Yesterday she joined us for dinner and we exchanged Christmas gifts. We both bought each other the same calendar: (yes, I "borrowed" the image from Amazon.com)

Vahona and I like to look at pictures of cute animals but have our limits. I thought of her when I saw it at the store. She thought the same thing. We're going to keep them at work so when we need some "cute overload" we can share our thoughts about the pictures.

BUT...the best is the gift she got me. It's a book of postcards:

Sick...yes. But we could not stop laughing over the cover. That is until we started paging through the different cards.

My favorite:












At this point, we were laughing so hard we were crying. I revisited the book later in the evening and was back laughing as hard as I was when I first opened it. Yup, Vahona gets me.

Christmas

File Under: Favorite Christmas TV Specials

Of all of the Christmas Specials, "Pee-Wee's Playhouse Christmas Special" ranks as one of my all time favorites. I watch it every year. Last year I posted the opening number, this year I give you GRACE JONES!

Jane Wiedlin Has Spoken

File Under: Friends who ROCK!

(Jane Wiedlin, me, Charlotte Caffey - March 2001)

I'll spare the fine details, I've been a Go-Go's fan for well over 25 years, yada-yada and I'm at the point where they know me by name, and not because it's on a restraining order. I still become a little tongue-tied around them, however Jane is the one with whom I feel a connection and am totally at ease when we talk.

I've been processing a lot of stuff lately and music has helped me through some of the tough moments. When I consider those songs that I listened to, they are mostly songs authored by Jane.

Yesterday I emailed her to wish her a Merry Christmas and to let her know that her music has been an inspiration to me during a breakup. I tried not to gush and blab on about stuff, I kept it short and sweet. This morning, I got such a sweet reply from her.

Dear Jim,

It was great to hear from you, and I really enjoyed your letter. I'm sorry that douchebag dumped you, but he is obviously a douchebag, since he dumped you!! haha

Stay wonderful, stay warm, happy ho ho ho lidays!
xoxo
Jane

So Jane has spoken, M is a "douchebag."

It's Christmas Time

File Under: Fa-la-la

Another Christmas is upon us.

I love this time of year. I love the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping, I love the television specials, I love getting cards in the mail from friends, near and far. And of course, I love food! Bring on the cookies!

When I was growing up, Christmas began on Christmas Eve. Everybody would gather at my house and my parents would host the big family get-together. We would open our presents on Christmas Eve and have a light dinner. Then the kids would go off to bed and the adults would stay up late. When we awoke on Christmas day, stockings would be hanging, filled with fun things. Then later in the day we would have a big dinner. I remember lots of food, standing rib roasts and turkeys.

The family eventually fragmented and the big gatherings ended. We still hosted Christmas Eve but it became a party with close family friends and their children. The house was loud with laughter and the sounds of excited kids opening presents. Eventually that tradition ended, too.

Now, we still have Christmas Eve. My mom and I host our friend Karen. She comes over after dinner and we have dessert and coffee and open presents. It's very quiet but just as nice as the big gatherings, just not quite as loud.

On Christmas day, my sister and nephew will come over. We used to go to Georgette's house for dinner but I decided it made more sense to cook dinner at my house rather than drag my mom out in the bad weather. Tomorrow my home will be filled with the aroma of roast turkey and dressing and we will exchange presents. It will be very laid back and casual but nice.

With all that said, my best gift this year are not the material things that I'm given, but the love and support of all of my friends. I can't imagine my life without my very best friend Dan. He has taught me so much and is a constant source of inspiration and light. We get each other. We both surround ourselves with good people, hence the happy group of us, including Luis, Denise, Polo and Tina. We are a family. I also have my online friends at my message board, QTS, many of whom I have met in person, some I've never met but I feel equally close to every one of them. Then there's Vahona, who is both a QTS friend and a local friend. She and I balance one another and we make each other laugh like nobody else can. Lastly, there are you, those who visit this blog and comment and provide support and laughs. I can't thank you enough for your kind words and I feel a connection to you as well.

I wish all of you a very Happy Holiday Season, whichever holiday you are celebrating. Peace.

At Work - Part 2

File Under - "Lakeshore"

This is office # 2 at a location we call Lakeshore. It's a block from Lake Michigan. If it weren't for the buildings across the street, we would actually have a view of the lake. But we don't.

My office is much smaller than my "Central" office but very charming. Within a week of moving in, I decorated it. I refer to it as "Paris" since the artwork is all pictures recycled from a calendar with vintage Paris photographs.

Every year for Christmas, the facility holds an office decorating contest. This year I have entered the contest.

To you, I present "Lakeshore!"

My little tree. Does it remind you of the tree at Central? It should, it's the same tree. All of the ornaments are red, green and silver this year.

















Standing behind my desk, this is the view - my HR and Payroll filing cabinets. Exciting, huh?
















My funky monkey ornament. I bought it last night. He's sitting on top of my lamp. My autographed Belinda Carlisle poster is looking down at monkey.

















Again with the pictures. Below the photos is a charming row of penguins that I got for next to nothing at the end of the last Christma season.
















Looking towards my desk. The garland on the wall is one I'm really proud of this year. I think it really stands out. The random red balls that you see are suspended from ribbons hanging from the ceiling.

















The cabinet with the pictures and penguins and my plants. On the front of the cabinet are my Travelocity "Roaming Gnome" magnets, a gift from Dan.

















Just another picture from in front of my desk.

















A better look at the garland and my dangling balls. LOL - Okay I didn't need to post another picture but if I didn't, I wouldn't have been able to mention my dangling balls.

















I am in a windowless office. At one point, there was an empty offce in Administration and it has a big picture window. I jokingly asked if I could have it and I was being considered for it but instead our Controller got it. Right now I'm glad it's not my office.

Today it was a cold and snowy day in Chicago.
View, looking north:


















And looking south: :-(

















Thanks for visiting my offices with me. Hope you enjoyed the tour. Please watch your step. :)

At Work - Part 1

File Under - "Central"


I believe I've mentioned here before that I work out of two offices. I'm a Human Resources/Payroll and Benefits Coordinator for a national hospital chain with four facilities in Chicago. We're one of a few "cluster markets." Because of our size, they've consolidated some positions, mine being one of them. Instead of just doing Payroll and Benefits for one facility as occurs in some markets, I was first given the additional responsibility of HR for one building, and then a termination caused them to rethink the structure and decided to let me be the guinea pig and try out doing what I do for two buildings. Three years later, I guess it worked.

With that said, I thought I would share with you my offices. This would be my office at "Central."

My little tree. Lots of balls on it. No real theme this year, just very colorful.

















The view from across my desk. My bulletin board is 80 percent pictures of friends and 20 percent work. Every year I put a garland around it for Christmas. My desk is a mess.
















Close-up of the bulletin board. So many friends on there, along with places I've traveled. Oh, and a payroll calendar.

















The view from one of my doors. My office has two doors. The one that you see closed opens out into the lobby. I keep that door closed at all times. The door way that I'm standing is in the corridor that is the Adminstrative suite.

















The view at my desk, the direction I'm usually facing since I'm at my computer 95 percent of the time.
















Next up, my office at "Lakeshore"

Christmas Memories

File Under: Retro Fa-La-La

Here's a picture of my family from Christmas 1971. (Note the date-stamp says January 1972, the date that the film was developed.) Standing are my mom, complete with her fashionable mini-dress and headband, my sister Georgette in her festive red top, swingy skirt and knee socks. My sister Jill and I are on my dad's lap. We're quite the fashionable bunch, aren't we? My mom was so proud of our outfits. Jill's vest has fringe on it. My outfit is a matching vest and knickers (yes, KNICKERS!) and a puffy shirt. My dad matches Jill as he's wearing his orange and pink checked shirt.

The holidays were always fun at my house. Ours was the go-to home. My mom (who wasn't much of a cook) would try with all of her might to fix a big meal (with great success, as I recall). My grandmother from my dad's side would come help, as would my aunt Marianne, my dad's sister.

We probably had a dozen to 15 people in the house, which was all decorated. In the background you can see things affixed to the mirror above the mantle. My grandmother loved her crafts and made felt mittens, covered in sparkles, and they were put up every year. Sorry I don't have any more detailed pictures of them. The colors were never right as she was color blind. That one probably had turquoise and orange and brown sequins on it. But, for a long time, I remember those went up every Christmas.

Though it's not a Christmas memory, I remember my dad's shirt from another occasion. The fall of 1972 I started Kindergarten. On our supply list was a large shirt to be worn for painting. My dad gave up that shirt so that it could become my painting shirt. I loved painting because I got to wear my dad's shirt. I had the coolest shirt in the class. :)

Share with me some of your favorite Christmas (or other holiday) memories. I'll post a few more pictures during the season.

Fa La La

File Under: 'Tis the season

The holidays are happening in my house. The tree is up and is in the process of being decorated. Packages are being prepped for mailing. Calendars are being coordinated with all of the parties and activities.

I actually began putting ornaments on the tree earlier this week. I came home yesterday to find that most of them had been removed because Z decided I was doing it wrong. Smaller ornaments need to first be placed INSIDE the tree so that there's depth. I'd have done that, but I was putting some of the big fancy glass ones on, just because I like hanging those better. When it's done, I'll post pictures and you will see what I mean. The tree is really quite spectacular when it's finished.

This is the first holiday season that I can recall where I've actually had to compare calendars with someone and see what time we'll have together and what parties we'll attend together. Matthew won't be attending my work holiday party because of a work obligation. I'm sad, I was so excited to bring him with me and introduce him to my coworkers. I'm blessed that I work with a very welcoming group of people, many of whom are gay and bring dates to work events. I had hoped it would be my turn to do the same. Oh well. I'm more excited though about the fact that we WILL be attending a couple get togethers with the bunch known as "The Collective" (that would be Dan, Luis, Polo, Denise and Tina - the term "The Collective" came about when all of us were planning Dan's 40th birthday party...so I guess that means that Dan isn't part of the collective...but maybe he is now, since we've passed the big 40). I want them to get to know Matthew and for him to get to know them better.

Today, I need to run some errands. I have to grocery shop because the weather's just a bit too treacherous for my mom to venture out to the store. I need to visit The Container Store and the gym. I'll also continue to work on making my place more festive for the holidays. Pictures will be posted when it's all done. That's a given.

Fa-La-La

File Under: Christmas cheer on a budget

My friends and I have proven that we're capable of extravagant gifts for the holidays and birthdays. Big parties have been thrown, trips have been taken, fancy dinners have been consumed. But now times are a bit different and we're all watching our wallets and pocketbooks.

All of my friends with whom I normally exchange Christmas gifts, have agreed that we will do Christmas on a budget this year. A maximum of $30 will be spent, handmade gifts are always welcomed. I love this idea, as it's easy to find "the perfect gift" and even thought it's expensive, you know it's just right for the recipient. With limits, thought is required and it sharpens the focus on the creativity. I think this is going to be fun. I've made a couple purchases. Today I'm off from work and my quest will continue. I've got my list, I'm checking it twice and I'm hitting the road.

What are your Christmas plans, and will your shopping habits be changed this year?

Merry Christmas

File Under: Fa-la-la

Merry Christmas! Here's another clip from Pee Wee's Playhouse Christmas Special. Enjoy!

Christmas Eve

File Under: Fa-La-La

Today is Christmas Eve. I'm off from work today. Nothing planned, I've got a couple stops to make. I've got two items to return to the store, I overshopped, apparently. Does anybody want a Duran Duran CD? I have yet to listen to the first one. I ended up with a page-a-day calender that I didn't need and won't keep because I always forget to pull the pages.

I know I posted a picture of my tree, but here it is, again, this time with presents under it. Yes, some of you who read this blog have something under the tree right now. :) See if you can guess which package has your name on it.

I'm also going to make time to watch one of my favorite Christmas shows - Pee Wee's Playhouse Christmas Special. Here's a clip from the show opening:




Campy and fun! Enjoy!!

Behold...The Tree

File under: Fa-La-La

Being home sick has it's advantages. Yesterday we had an ice storm. So, if I were remotely tempted to go outside, the ice falling from the sky helped me remain reasonable. Instead I stayed in and put up the Christmas tree. Okay, I had some help, I didn't do this all on my own but I deserve some credit. Not to mention I get points for moving furniture.

Let the Christmas fun begin!