Please Be Quiet, I'm Very Interesting

Back and forth, bouncing between fiddling around at my desk and crouching at eye-level with Fang as she sleeps so soundly on the couch-- one half of her growing body on my fleece volleyball blanket, the other on a pillow from my grandma's basement couch that resembles a Dorito. Yum! I'm between desk and couch on account of this one fur swirl above her right eye, of the white tipped black hairs that cover her forehead, of her twitching nose and mouth that I just can't stop giggling at.

Finally we have the internet at our apartment after not having a connection for nearly two months. So, tonight is dedicated to catching up on plenty of youtube clips, sipping Manhattans in honor of my Grandma Julie for her 81st birthday, and listening to albums that bring me back to those truly great emotional outbursts. Cold Chicago winds are harsh out my window and MORE SNOW is falling. I was warned about Chicago in the wintertime. I am channeling my inner arctic, vodka chugging husky. What else can I write about? I want to proudly report and show you pieces I've created since checking in last, but I don't have any. It's been a month of having a lot more time on my hands than usual, more time to myself. More time for reading, taking walks, taking too long to write a grocery list, hanging with Katrina and Joel, sweeping up sidewalk salt, encouraging Fang's Parkour hobby, and going out and laughing with my girlfriends. 

Today's been a day of straight love and thought. It's been a day of coming to a greater acceptance of my brother's death. Three years have passed since his accident but I tell you, I haven't remembered his laugh so clearly as I have today. 

Saturday Night

Sitting up in my room back at mom and dad's while their Danish Christmas party goes on down below. I'm choosing to spend this time listening to Beyonce and Lorde, drinking beer, and reading White Teeth by Zadie Smith. I'll sneak down soon to gather a tray of curried herring, pork roast, red cabbage
shrimp sandwiches, risalamande, and whatever the hell else there is down there! Very thankful to be back on this good Iowa soil for Christmas. Fang is curled at my feet in her new favorite blanket. She shutters every now and then from what I imagine to be her bird-chasing and ballroom dancing dreams. 

Amen! 

The Past Five Months Or So • • Solid Gold- Who You Gonna Run To?

Good'ay, blog! It's been awhile. Since I've last documented my whereabouts months ago, I've been living in Chicago since June. After finding/being found by a lovely family, I am the nanny of two amazing girls in addition to being a fitness instructor to students, kindergarten through fifth grade. 

I share an apartment with two roommates and as of this week, a third roommate. Pictured above, Fang is one of three 6-month-old kittens of my cat, Milou. You may remember me mentioning Milou last January when she first came into my life on a cold winter day. Well, soon enough, she got pregnant and before I knew it, I was moving to Chicago, leaving my parents in Iowa with not only Milou, Fang, Boots, and Pico, but our family cat, Willie. Luckily, my parents have also fallen in love with these cats, so taking them to a farm was out of the question. So, here I am with one of them... it's the least I can do, taking one of my responsibilities off of their hands. {Shout out to the best parents ever!}

But no, Fang is no burden being here. In fact, she and I were having tons of fun last night listening to Lorde's album Pure Heroine, drinking beer (me), and sliding around on our wooden floors. She's a great partner. But this 2-creature celebration of life party wasn't just a TGIF party but a result of my car being hit by another just 2 hours earlier, sending my Honda and me spinning in traffic. Oh the feeling of kissing your cat when you get in the door after such an event... 

Anyway, maybe it was all the hyperventilating that I did yesterday or maybe it's a resurgence of focus since bringing my desk to Chicago or maybe it's a desire for more reflection in my life that's brought me back to my blog... whatever it may be, I'm back! 

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Now here's a song! Play it loudly! 

Saw Solid Gold play with Marijuana Deathsquads at the Subterranean here in Chicago in June. Really enjoyed the pairing of these bands. 

Volcano Choir - Byegone

Today in Images

Lorde- Royals

We the Tiny House People (Documentary)

And here's the complete documentary... "We the Tiny House People" by Kirsten Dirksen!