May Showers

May is over, and with it goes M being in school, regular TV programming, and functional spring. Summer's not technically here, but America agrees that Memorial Day to Labor Day = SUMMERTIME. May was a solid, albeit crazy weather month, so I don't know how much I even needed this list.

1. Read about a miracle. How does one define miracle? Modern or ancient? Most of the miracles I read about were physical healings, some had to do with finances, and others could really be traced back to hard work and a series of good luck breaks. 
2. Take a nap in the afternoon. Check.
3. Speak with precision. I try. I'm not a super eloquent speaker, but I do have my moments.
4. Play catch. Failed at this one--I can't even think of a loophole. I didn't even catch the cold bug that briefly made it's way around our apartment.
5. Sit in a cafe. A few weekends ago, Brit, Diego, and I hung out at Morgan Street Cafe. It reminded me of MercyWorks when I had mornings off with most of my roommates and we could do things like have lazy breakfasts.
6. Invite an unusual guest to dinner. Like a celebrity? We generally stick to friends, coworkers, boyfriends, and family around here.
7. Be someone on whom nothing is lost. I like to think of myself as an observant/perceptive person. If something goes over my head, I am completely aware of that fact at least.
8. Start a journey in your mind. Check.
9. Be extra efficient with time. Check.
10. Write a speech. Can this also be in my mind? Because I do write speeches (dialogue) in my head.
11. Watch a caterpillar transform into a butterfly. Gross and no.
12. If you weren't you, who would you be? Not quite sure how this is a thing to do...do I just think about who else I could be for the day? If I wasn't me and I could choose who to be...I really don't know. Someone just famous enough to eat in fancy places, but not so famous that I'm followed by paparazzi everywhere.
13. Go on a picnic. It's on my summer to do list! Once there isn't so much rain in the forecast. 
14. Spend the entire day reading a book. Ugh I wish I had a book I liked that much. My choices have been hit-and-miss lately, but mostly miss. I've got six new options on hold at the library, so hoping June fares better for reading...especially because I need something to do while sunning at the pool/beach/on my porch.
15. Go on a trip without a destination. Like a walk/run/bike ride? I'm not about to board CTA for the fun of it. I took several casual strolls around the neighborhood this month.
16. Talk to an elderly person. One of the receptionists at Mercy, bless her heart, is pretty much the only elderly person I came in contact with this month. She called me three times during a shift I picked up one weekend with computer questions. Once she asked how to send an email. I am not IT...I think I was just the first person she could get ahold of on the phone.
17. Order a gift from a catalog. Who uses catalogs anymore? I ordered some dresses online.
18. Visit a neighborhood where you used to live. I went back to the West Loop twice. There is a lot of construction happening, but the neighborhood is largely unchanged.
19. Get angry about something and let it go. Done.
20. Make this a day of heightened sensuality. Check.
21. Imagine meeting your life partner. Ok.
22. Don't watch any television. Easy.
23. Make a tape for your grandkids. I'm not the tape-making type. I will write a letter instead. There are plenty of pictures out there of me, so they can just imagine how my voice sounds/sounded while they read.
24. Have a professional business card. For what purpose? Business card raffle drawings.
25. Spend the night in a new place. I rearranged my room so my bed is in a new place.
26. Roll around the floor with an infant. I need to find myself an infant...
27. Dine al fresco. Not quite the season. We had a few outdoor-dining-worthy days, but nothing consistent. This is also on our summer list. (Did I mention The Naw has a 50-item Summer Bucket List?)
28. Listen to live music. On the list!
29. Don't waste anything. I try my hardest.
30. Float on a calm body of water. On the list! (Well, swimming at the Kummerer's is...and that generally means floating around and getting sun.)
31. Write a description of someone you love: in my journal. 

What Is This Madness?!?

In honor of the Blackhawks winning their most recent playoff series against the Red Wings (game 7 was last night), here is a post about ice(ish).

I made my iced coffee this morning like usual: freshly brewed coffee poured over frozen coffee cubes (made from leftover coffee earlier in the week), plus some almond milk. I didn't have enough frozen coffee to completely ice my drink, so I added some regular ice cubes. Several minutes later, I noticed it looked like this on my desk:

How did the coffee separate colors so neatly? I know almond milk sinks, but there are clearly four bands of different iced coffee happening here. Am I magic?

Work Garden

Flowering vines I planted last year at work:

Shopping Cart Garden

Two Views of the City

Playing with the brightness/contrast functions on my computer: (This is the view from Montrose Harbor, which I'm not sure is the actual name of the location, but it's a harbor off Montrose Avenue, where it turns into Montrose Drive, so Montrose Harbor seems logical to me.)

Montrose Harbor

Oh to be rich enough to dock a boat here and hang out on it all summer. 

TGIF

It's Friday. Take your tie off.

Punching Out

When I see this view, it means my work day is over and I can ride home:

When I took this, it was still fairly warm out, but there was a chill in the air and it wasn't long before storms came. I liked the patriotic colors in the sky--warm red where the setting sun hit the clouds, the white of clouds higher up, the deep blue of the clear sky--an auspicious beginning to Memorial Day weekend.

Photography Month No-No

Yesterday Jesus and I went downtown(ish)--we walked around River North, a neighborhood just north of the river and The Loop. It's a beautiful area: skyscrapers, the Riverwalk, Michigan Ave, and I wish I could show you some of the fun sights we saw (Merchandise Mart, Tribune Tower, Marina City, Rock N Roll McDonald's) or the cool restaurant we ate at (Portillo's/Barnelli's), but I FORGOT MY CAMERA. The one thing I should always bring with me, at least for this month, I left at home. I apologize, dear readers and viewers of my pictures. Let me make it up to you with this:

Picture Frame Crafts

If you know me, you know I love a good picture frame. I may not have a picture to frame, but someday I will. Or not...but I will re-purpose it somehow! This week I took two matching frames (a rare find at the thrift store, where about 97% of my many, many frames come from) and used some magazine cutouts to make personalized white boards.

Summer Survival

You don't survive summer in the Naw without wind power and freeze pops. New this year: a window AC unit that effectively cools the area up to and no further than two feet away from itself.

The best three friends that anyone could have.

This guy's got lots of work to do.

Nail Art

Comfort Food

Yes. I took pictures of food. I actually have a "food" setting on my new camera, so I tested it out. Food pics rival selfies in our world of cameras-on-everything, but if We Are What We Eat, then food pics are just another form of selfie, no? With that logic, I am cozy and fattening and welcome at all gatherings.

chopped carrots for homemade coleslaw

bbq tofu

I belong in the South.

Happy Friday!

Allergies

There you are...allergies.

I see you. Barely, because I am now sneezing.

Find Art

Looking South

Two completely different pictures, both taken while I stood on a bridge/platform and faced south. 

Western Blue Line

Monroe Street Bridge

To My Mom

Happy Mother's Day, Mom! Thanks for all the things, concrete and abstract, that you gave/give to me: rides to school, clothes, food, my loves of reading and eating, some pretty cool siblings, inside jokes, my bike vest, hugs...the list goes on.

Note: I'm almost positive the Cubs went on to lose this game, but Mom can cross Wrigleyville off her bucket list!

Fireside Bowl

We are bowling!

Look at that form.

Will she get the spare?

happy faces

super happy faces

super duper happy faces

We all broke 100!

Humboldt Park Round Two

Humboldt Park: actually quite nice

If anyone knows what this is, please inform me! I didn't want to be a super creeper and linger around.

5 + 8 = 13

I love when dates make mathematical sense. Times too (8:19 : 8 + 1 = 9).

In other silly things I love:

this is "playing" at the park

But like really, who is he?

Porch Time!

I'M SO READY TO HANG OUT HERE ALL THE TIME.

Bicycle Safety

Today a woman standing next to her illegally parked car asked me, "Are you the ticket lady?" She was so happy when she realized I was only a super safe biker in a fluorescent vest.

Humboldt Park

Today I ran with Brooke to Humboldt Park, a sprawling area with baseball fields, playgrounds, a pond, and plenty of grass to lay out on. Also, police lines.

Selfie Saturday

Here are some super serious shots of me.

showing off my hair/joining the mustache craze

accentuating my best features

I don't work out.

Manipulated Photography before Photoshop

I'm already learning! Here are some photos from an exhibit at the National Gallery of Art. This is the magic of photography before photoshop and all the other gadgets that made everyone an amateur photographer.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/briangalindo/10-trippy-photos-edited-before-photoshop

Another Month, Another Challenge

Bye April! Poems were not doing it for me at the end there. Still, I think poetry month was an overall success. I wrote gems and duds, and read/reread favorite poets. I pledge (to myself, and now to you) to think about/practice poetry more often throughout the entire year, in the hopes that come next April I'm a bit fresher and need less time to warm up my poetry muscles.

As loyal readers know, May is National Photography Month. I'm going to celebrate, but the thing is...photography doesn't really need a special month like poetry (or pretty much all other art forms). It's everywhere--anyone with a smart phone is a photographer. That being said, I did get a new (digital) camera, so I'll be testing that out extra hard this month.

I leave you with a pic I took with my computer during the process of bleaching my hair. Also, giraffes in love in the background. Note: no makeup/editing/filter...just raw laptop photography.