alison the wilca

4 years of this thread. happy thread-iversary!

yeah- SUPER lazy. i think they figured it was an easy way to make back some money after a year+ off of work! the emails seem like they've been polished for the book so it isn't really rough writing or anything. it is for sure an easy read!

This couple quit their jobs and traveled to all of the national parks. The "books" are a collection of their emails home to their friends telling them about their journeys. It is nothing earth shattering but they have a nice way of writing- they are lightly funny and honest about the good and the bad. I wish i could do what they did. These are each a dollar for kindle.

Really interesting. I started running almost 2 years ago after a lifetime of being mostly sedentary and I liked learning more about people that have mastered running and what it takes to do it. This book was also instrumental in bringing the barefoot running debate to the forefront. I have to admit that it has a pretty compelling case. I've always run in minimalist shoes but now i want to try barefoot shoes. On top of that, there is a lot of interesting writing about the Tarahumara people of Mexico's Copper Canyon and of the ultrarunning culture and people.

tonight i planted a new native perennial garden in my back yard. I have a pine tree with acidic clay soil underneath and chose prairie plants native to the area to live under it. They are supposed to do well in a spot like that. I chose a mix of prairie grasses and flowers and I have one spot that never gets sun so I picked some shade plants and ferns native to area forests to live in that plot.

I'm also growing strawberries for the first time. I bought an everbearing variety so that I can have them the entire growing season (fingers crossed). I will also be planting mini boo pumpkins to grow up a trellis. I grew pumpkins on my lawn before but they spread like crazy and are susceptible to lots of diseases- they were a pain in the butt but i loved the end result.

i've got 2 large pots- one on either side of the front door. I am growing a bunch of herbs in one and peppers in the other.

my back freezes up like crazy when i garden- i can't stand straight for a while after.

Also, the WGN weather blog is awesome: http://blog.chicagoweathercenter.com/

http://www.thestylerookie.com/ - Tavi is my teen hero

http://www.sherylyvette.com/ - Sheryl is my workout hero

http://www.thejulieblog.com/- julie is my bike hero

http://www.retroist.com/ - there is often great stuff here, especially around halloween

wow, you have way more posts than i thought you did!

All I know is I've never spent money to buy a phone and I have a great phone now. I usually wait for (1) my trade in period to come up and (2) an awesome promotion that gets me a free phone with contract renewal. Last time I got a Droid Incredible, which I'm sure isn't as awesome as an iPhone, but it is pretty darned good and I didn't have to spend a cent.

I just don't get spending a bunch of money when I could get something similar for free. Money is just too hard to come by, Just my thought!

At my university (yeesh, about 11 years ago now) we had this intranet/online bulletin board system for students. Everyone had the ability to create a free-form profile page. People always changed their pages and put funny things on them (basically a precursor to facebook type stuff) and we'd often find ourselves reading profiles for hours at a time. A friend of mine had the lyrics to California Stars on his profile and I loved them. It wasn't attributed to anything so I asked him about it and that was the end of that. I have a special place in my heart for that song because it introduced me to Wilco and I've had quite a few fond memories with that song as the soundtrack.

Meant to add earlier that they changed the second encore up a bit, playing Hoodoo Voodoo (with the long-awaited return of the shirtless roadie on cowbell)

but you failed to mention if it was a hoT roadie!

this year i've made ginger molasses cookies, peanut butter cup cookies, and peanut butter cookies with toffee and pretzel bits. tonight I also made little italian meatballs for a holiday potluck tomorrow. my ginger molasses cookies are my fave- I made 5 batches of dough Thanksgiving weekend and froze them so that I could bake them whenever I needed.

this thread is making me nostalgic for when i was discovering UT for the first time. it also reminds me of one of my fave christmas gifts ever- a worn copy of Still Feel Gone on vinyl- and hearing If That's Alright for the first time in all its scratchy glory.

also, it snowed. on stage. twice.

yay! he was SO awesome. I loved mine so much I eventually got a degree in Math.

The wife and I were just discussing this one. I may have posted it before.

 

I've been married 7 years now (after meeting on VC, no less!). Kris and I originally planned on eloping for ease but I didn't want to create an unnecessary rift with my parents who have always been loving and supportive- of course I wanted to share this most important moment of my life with them. So, we had an extremely small ceremony with only immediate family in Las Vegas. It was AWESOME. I didn't have to plan anything and it was so cheap that my parents paid. I had a small party afterwards with friends back in Chicago.

I've never regretted what we did. Since we had no money, it was either that or no marriage at all.

Do what feels right- I'd encourage you to include family, though, because then you'll all be in it together Also, every family has a bad egg (or eggs)- I don't think you'll be able to get around that no matter how you get married!

Also, $150 is an insanely good price.

i think i've been the same for a very long time. i don't really like the whole name changing business... i've been here the whole time and can't figure out who anyone is.

good tips- THANK YOU!

Good thinking, Louie!

I'm hoping to spend the day in the city before the Opera House show in an attempt to take in all the festiveness Chicago offers in December. I'm hoping to go to finally see the Christmas Around the World exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry- they've also got a Dr Seuss exhibit I'm interested in. The cost of parking at MSI is a slight deterrent, though. I mean, $16?!

I'll probably also go to the Christkindlmarket which I'm hoping will be less crowded than a weekend evening.

I considered having lunch under the tree at the Walnut Room but I've heard the restaurant is terrible, which is really unfortunate. I may try a sandwich at Perry's Deli instead- I've been wanting to try it but I'm never in the Loop.

If I do go to MSI, then I'll be driving to the show from the suburbs and will need a somewhat affordable parking plan. Oof.

Are there any must-do Chicago holiday traditions?

i kept refreshing and got 2 tix around 10:20.

Finished Anne of Green Gables (which was lovely) and now onto another book I never read in my childhood.

I'm spending the day cleaning out my kitchen and found the old VC Cookbook that Frankie put together. I still need to try Mart's corn chowder!

Thanks to the $1 bins at Target- a book I am loving but for some reason never finished it when I checked it out of the library in the 3rd grade. The cover of the $1 version is shoddy so here is another!

omg, i forgot about Pequod's in lincoln park. sort of deep dishy but not insanely so PLUS a deeply carmelized crust.

Chicago has very little decent thin crust pizza.

This is so true- it's all cut into squares on crackers?! What the heck- so not good. I agree with the above comment on New Haven style pizza, although I've only ever had it here in Chicago at Piece.