Wanted:

One kick-ass halloween costume.

Anyone have any good suggestions?

Feelings

Feeling stupid for locking myself out of the house.

Feeling upset that it was raining.

Feeling annoyed that my cell phone was on the kitchen table inside.

Feeling fortunate for the tow truck man's super sleek cell phone (although annoyed at Drew's dead car).

Feeling somewhat warm because I had a big sweater on.

Feeling glad I had a covered porch.

Feeling bored.

Feeling the need to be destructive with the Sharpie I had in my pocket.

Feeling sad that I had no paper.

Feeling happy to have friends with spare keys.

Impulsivity (because it sounds so good)

So last night at dinner, I was lamenting our lack of impulsiveness. We are not ones to just jump on a plane and go off somewhere by ourselves. While yes we are fortunate to travel a lot, it would be nice to go somewhere just the two of us. But since I can't even get Drew to call sick in to work, asking him to jump on a plane with me to Ireland seems out of the question. Why Ireland? Well, it's the first country that popped into my head. But then I really started thinking about all the places we could go. Paris, Cambridge, Kyoto all were thrown out as ideas. But the winner by far, for sheer creativity, was a tour of "all the crazy small countries in Europe".

And so I figure we fly into Andorra (or maybe we end there since they have the highest life expectancy in the world) and then jump over to Monaco where we can hang with the millionaires and walk the whole country (total area is 1.95 square km). Perhaps then we could take the train north to Luxembourg and tour the city's old quarters and fortifications before traveling southeast to Liechtenstein. I'm sure once there we could find many people to argue in German with about our differing views on birth control. And then on to San Marino, the oldest republic in the world. Of course the primary reason for going there would so we could later tell people we were in a country that was founded in A.D. 301. The Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica and a crazy amount of art would await us in Vatican City. Our final stop would be Malta, in the middle of the Mediterranean. Most likely we'd get there on some random holiday, like St. Paul's Shipwreck, since they celebrate more holidays than any other countries in the European Union.

If that doesn't sound like a fun-packed vacation, I don't know what does. How else will I ever visit these seven countries if not in a trip dedicated solely to them?

Hmm, I feel like I may need to do some serious arm-twisting for this to really happen. Maybe I should just work on him calling in sick.

Dearest Weather Gods,

First of all, let me apologize. I did not mean to confuse you when I started talking about my sweaters and my love for chilly weather the other day. I was simply trying to convey my appreciation for autumn and the beautiful weather that typically accompanies it. I'm not sure what exactly misled you, but I was certainly not requesting an early winter. Perhaps this morning you were just a little bit lazy or tired and snow showers were just easier than a sunny beautiful morning. But I contend that October 12th is too early for runners in Lincoln Park to be wearing mittens. I should not have to use my windshield wipers to remove the snow. It's not even Halloween yet. If you insist on throwing down the snow, then at least it should melt immediately instead of building up on the tree limbs, lawns and rooftops. I had no plans on shoveling today, yet unless it gets warmer my deck will need to be dealt with. That's just not fair. I mean if there is shoveling to do, at least let Drew be home to help me with it. Now I understand it's not your fault that the lite was playing "It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas", however they would not have played it had skyscrapers and high-rises not been obscured by the wintry weather you insisted on producing this morning.

So I am going to assume this was just a big miscommunication and that you will be back in the game tomorrow. I'm looking forward to feeling the warmth of the sun on my face again.

Sincerely,
the meredoerr

A Happy Anniversary

Is there anything better than a musical? How can people singing and dancing not make you smile and want to join in? Even shy little old me gets inspired to get up on the stage and sing when I am at a show.

We saw Wicked yesterday and it was great! I so wish I could have seen it when Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth were in it because they have fantastic voices. Not that everyone in the Chicago show weren't great because they were. Go here to check out some fun songs from the show.