It's been a good week. First of all, it's premier week on TV! Did anyone catch the premier of Lipstick Jungle last night? I started watching the episodes on nbc.com from my laptop during tour last spring, and I got hooked. I thought it was a pretty good start, and it left me speculating all kinds of ways things could go. Tonight, sadly, I will be at church during The Office premier, but Nick has strict instructions for taping and not watching til I get home. I told him if I get home and that show is not on tape, he's out on the street. :) Kidding. Sort of.

In other news, the Handel Hercules concerts with MOB went really well. I'm so thankful for that job; it is definitely the highlight of my performing life at this point. The soloists, as usual, were incredible, and really inspired me to keep plugging away at my solo career as well. Now it is on to the High Holidays for the next two weeks. And the money is going to start rolling in, thank heavens. I've already picked out an amazing pair of brown boots that are going to be my comeuppance from this summer of retail starvation.

Wedding plans continue to come together! I hired our photographer this week. We are using Judy Gaulden out of Fort Wayne who did my sister's June 2007 wedding. Chicago photographers are pretty ridiculous price-wise, and Judy's packages are so reasonable that even with adding her travel expenses we're going to save quite a bit of money than if we'd hired a Chicago photog. Plus, I was totally overwhelmed by the hordes of Chicago photogs to choose from, and I was getting so many mixed reviews from various people, that going with Judy was the easiest and most secure choice for us. Elaine's pictures were gorgeous, so I'm really excited about our decision. I've gotten in touch with the DJ recommended by the Hotel Monaco, and she is available, so I'm going to meet up with (and hopefully hire) her next week. Then all I really have to do is hire a florist, and I can take a few months off and not really worry about anything until after the holidays! September has already flown by, and I just know the rest of the year is going to whoosh past before I know it.

So that's the news! Ankle is healing ok, but I haven't been able to work out for the past two weeks, which has been driving me all sorts of crazy. I forgot how addicting exercise can be. Hopefully by next week I can manage the Elliptical machine or bike or something. I don't want to mess things up even more, so I'm trying to take it slow, but I just really want to work up a good sweat!

We're hosting a little dinner party this weekend for my gal pals Stasi and Allison and their husbands. I haven't seen my girls since our bridal gown shopping adventure in July, so I'm excited! Should be a great time. I've got to get cleaning and making a shopping list. It makes me feel oh so grown up and domesticated to host dinner parties. :) Hopefully I'll have some pics to post of the evening.

Have a great weekend, everybody!

All you ever wanted to know about.....Nick, my fiance. Taken from my sis's blog.

1. He is sitting in front of the TV, what is he watching? Sci-fi channel, Ice Road Truckers, or CNN

2. You are out to eat, what kind of dressing does he get on his salad? balsamic vinagrette

3. Whats one food he doesn't like? you know, he is not a picky eater at all. i honestly can't think of anything!

4. You go out to a bar, what does he order? a Leffe (beer)

5. Where did he go to High School? American Community Schools of Athens (??? I think that's what it's called)

6. What size shoe does he wear? huge. 14. he can only buy shoes at Nordstrom.

7. If he were to collect anything, what would it be? he's a big collector. watches, cameras and camera equipment

8. What is his favorite sandwich? patty melt

9. What would he eat every day if he could? probably a burger or a steak

10. What is his favorite cereal? raisin bran crunch, or the chocolatey stuff we can only find in Europe

11. What would he never wear? anything pink, yellow, or orange (believe me, i've tried)

12. What is his favorite sports team? probably Cubs. we're not huge into sports around here.

13. Who will he vote for? tough call. i know who i WANT him to vote for!

14. Who is his best friend? Aki

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do? cry about my finances/career; be really hard on myself

16. How many states has he lived in? well states, one. countries, two.

17. What is his heritage? i'm pretty sure it's Greek ;)

18. You bake him a cake for his birthday, what kind of cake is it? chocolate cake, chocolate frosting

19. Did he play sports in High School? track

20. What could he spend hours doing? surf his online watch forum, walk around taking pictures, bake something

That's Nick, in a nutshell!

help, i've fallen and i can't get up

So, last week I fell down some stairs at one of my students' house. This will come as no surprise to many of you who know me, as I am wont to trip and stumble. Once, while backpacking in Spain, I slipped with a giant backpack and ended up like a turtle on the sidewalk, frantically waving my arms and legs trying to get back up. But I digress. This particular fall was bad, and now I have an ankle the size of a tennis ball. I finally wised up and went for an x-ray last Thursday, just in case, and thankfully it isn't broken. But I can't do yoga or run, nor can I walk in a shoe with any sort of heel. Which leaves me one pair of wearable shoes at the moment (I'm a big fan of heels). So that's kind of annoying.

But work is getting better. Things picked up quite a bit with my return to the CPS school (where I teach through MOB's outreach program) and my classes in Plainfield starting up. Time is once again flying, and I can look forward to a fat bank account in the very near future (well, by my standards, anyway). Our first MOB concerts are Sunday/Monday, which is always a good time. It's really a feast and famine type deal with freelancing. Thank God I'm heading into feast phase again. I need some new clothes like whoa. I purged my closet of several pairs of pants that I don't have a prayer of fitting into ever again. Sadly, I'm no longer 22 and have dinners of cottage cheese and beer. Or just beer. Side note, cottage cheese is a great pre-drinking meal. ;)

Anyways, things are back to somewhat normal for me. I've been seriously considering getting my teaching license though. I really enjoy my days at the public high school, and the benefits and stability are highly attractive. Nick and I have been discussing it -- it would be very helpful for us to have good insurance benefits, since at the moment both of us are independent contractors and will be paying out the wazoo once we have kids. I would still be able to do lots of the professional singing I'm doing now since rehearsals are usually in the evenings, and I would have the summers open for singing gigs as well. So...it's just an idea right now, but one that sounds more and more promising and exciting to me the more I think about it. A paycheck every two weeks? Good heavens, I can't remember what that's like.

So yeah. Good stuff. Wedding plans are coming along. Besides my swollen ankle, I'm feelin' good. And it's FALL in Chicago. The best season of all. How could I not be totally blissful?! :)

Sorry folks, I've just been feeling a little...unbloggy...lately. I'm a little down in the dumps about work right now, and I just don't have a lot of interesting things to write about.

I thought this week was going to feel different, since I was back to MOB rehearsals and church. But it feels pretty much the same as summer, except that when Nick comes home from work, I leave and go to a rehearsal. I'm bored all day by myself at home, and then when I want to be home spending time with him, I have to leave. It sucks. Most of my friends are back to working day jobs, so I have nobody to hang out with during the day, and I can't hang out with them in the evenings either. Whine whine whine, I know.

You are probably thinking, here's a solution, get a day job. Well, here's the thing. I don't have to have a day job. Why in the world would I want to work at a horrible, low paying, zero satisfaction job that isn't in my field if I don't have to? And yet I can't continue my current schedule forever, nor do I want to. If I could think of ANY nine to five job that was fulfilling and enough money to make getting up early and spending forty hours a week doing it worth it, I'd be there. As of now, I can't think of anything. I've thought about going back for my teaching license, but I feel like that's selling myself out a little. I went for a Masters degree so that I could someday be a voice professor at a college. Unfortunately, these days you need either a doctorate or ten years of experience. So I'm going to have to wait on that one a little. I'm always on the lookout for a small adjunct voice position, but those are hard to come by around here.

So at the moment I'm just trying to get more students on the North Shore. And sort through the mess of possible auditions for this year. I did have a great coaching yesterday with my favorite Scot, Alan D, so that perked me up quite a bit. He gave me some really terrific audition advice and some new ways of practicing that I think are really going to help. It looks like I'm going to have an audition next week for Sarasota Opera young artist program, which would mean three months in Florida in the middle of winter. That sounds pretty freakin' awesome.

Oh, here's a bit of fun news: This week I was elected to the Yelp 2008 Elite Squad! I was thinking about applying after I reached fifty reviews, but I didn't even have to apply! The Yelp community manager emailed me this week that I had been chosen! Check out my nifty new Elite badge on my profile. So, yeah, I'm pretty much a guru on what's hip and happenin' in Chicago. :) The best part is, I am now eligible for Elite events, which often mean free food and booze! And I get a free Yelp hoodie. :)

So that's it from here. This weekend will be hardly a weekend, since I've got a rehearsal tonight, Nick's working tomorrow, and I've got church AND a rehearsal on Sunday. We're going to try to fit in a trip to the Windy City Wine Festival somewhere in there, and hopefully a good meal or two.

Cheers!

Ok, I keep writing posts and then deleting them because they sound like a huge pile of crazy. I'll stop that now. One thing is certain: I need to get the hell out of this house and back to work!

I'll let you know how glad I am to be back when I'm sitting in rehearsals every night for the next two weeks. Say goodbye to cooking and seeing Nick during waking hours! :(

Have a great Labor Day weekend, y'all.

on the edge of my seat.

Ok, I'll admit it, I'm a bit Olympics obsessed this year. Four years ago, I don't think I watched a single second of the Games. Thinking back on it, I don't think Andrea and I had television in the summer of '04. We were too busy carousing Southport bars and going to Cubs games, I suppose.

But I remember watching it as a child with my family, begging my parents to stay up later and later to watch the gymnastics or ice skating finals (all little girls' favorite Olympic sports to watch). I remember tuning in to the Games in 1996 while on a church mission trip in West Virgina, all of us huddled around the little television, watching Kerri Strug brave a bum ankle on the vault to bring home gold for the American team.



You can't help but tear up at watching Bela Karoyli carry her to the medal podium.

Despite having a temp job this morning, thus having to rise early, I stayed up 'til 12:30 to watch Nastia Liukin bring home the gold. It was great to see this eighteen year old beat the pants off those Chinese children. For some reason, the Chinese athletes scare me to death. When they screw up, I see them thinking....banishment to a one room shack six hundred miles outside Beijing living off only $33 a month in welfare. That country seriously scares the crap out of me. Proud to be an American, I am indeed.

Watching Michael Phelps is nearly as enthralling. I'm convinced he's half-fish or merman or something. But watching history in the making is fascinating, and I've been glued to the television all week. Not to mention that most of the U.S. men's swim team members aren't half bad to look at. ;)

I guess part of the reason I've gotten so excited about these Games is that I identify (somewhat) with the athletes. Call me crazy (you won't be the first), but opera is pretty much the Olympics of singing. It takes the same sort of rigorous training, natural skill and talent, and narrow focus as training for a sport. Often in our OFY tours, when the kids would ask "how we sing like that", we would tell them that training your voice is like training for a sport. And it really is. It's all about muscle memory and stamina and training certain muscle groups to perform certain tasks. I know what it's like to be on the "disabled list" and the fear and determination that comes along with returning from an injury.

So though I'll never stand on a podium and have a medal put around my neck for my "sport", I feel a connection to these athletes. Sure, there are differences -- the main one being I'd like my career to last past my 30th birthday. But seeing their hard work and success materialize onscreen has given me new hope for my career. The main message being: keep on truckin'.

If you need a little inspiration in your day (life), just watch that Kerri Strug video a few times. See if you can get through it without tearing up.

Indy recap

'Twas a wonderful weekend in Indy, visiting my Gram for her birthday. I had not been to Indy since Thanksgiving 2006 -- I had forgotten how many childhood memories are contained in that city and my grandma's house. Just the smell of her house takes me back to summers as a kid where each of us would get our own "special visit" with grandma. We'd go by ourselves for four or five days, and grandma would spoil us rotten -- taking us to museums, out to dinner, and as I got older, shopping. Oh boy can Gram and I do some damage shopping. :) I remember shopping with her once for something like nine hours.

Her house also reminds me of many Christmases spent with the whole family together, all of my dad's siblings and spouses and our cousins. For some reason lately, I've been trying to recall memories of my childhood and find myself at a loss -- I feel like I really can't remember much anymore. I guess I just have to be in the right environment -- over the weekend I was flooded with memories. Nice, warm, happy memories. I hope I can give my kids those same type of memories someday.

Quick recap of weekend, sans pictures (Nick still needs to upload them). Friday evening we got into town around 8:00 pm and headed out to a Greek restaurant near my Gram's house. Check out my review of the place on Yelp. Saturday my Gram fixed us breakfast and then Nick and I headed out to do some exploring. We tooled around downtown for awhile and then I took him over to Broadripple, the "trendy" district of Indy. We had a drink and a light meal on the patio of a wine bar and stopped in a few shops, then headed back to Gram's to get ready for her birthday dinner. My aunt met us at Macaroni Grill and we had a lovely time catching up and celebrating Gram's 71st birthday. And damn does that woman look good for 71. She dresses better than I do, for goodness sake! I can only pray I look that good in forty some years.

Sunday I went with Gram to church, and then we went to her country club for brunch, where we met my aunt and cousin. Sunday afternoon we chilled in Gram's awesome neighborhood pool for awhile, then went to dinner at Rick's Boatyard. Again, check out my Yelp review. This place was great. Monday morning we packed up and headed home, stopping in Crown Point for a quick diner lunch. It was the perfect long-weekend trip, and I think Nick really relaxed and enjoyed himself. I know I did.

This week is uneventful. Today I am playing housewife, cleaning and doing what I lovingly refer to as the "bitch chores". Picking up dry cleaning, buying things at Target, making dinner, etc. I have a good feeling I'm going to be missing doing these things in a few weeks, especially the making dinner part. As it stands, I've got rehearsals/teaching til about 9 pm or later just about every day of the week starting after Labor Day. Nick does not like this aspect of my job, and neither do I. If I could do everything during the day I would, but it just doesn't work that way. We've been spoiled this summer with my lax schedule, so it's going to take some getting used to.

Pics of Indy trip to follow! Enjoy the fleeting days of summer, my friends.

stuff (mostly boring)

You know what European tradition should be embraced by Americans? Taking the whole month of August off work. Somehow, I feel less guilty about not working this month knowing that an entire continent to my right is on vacation. I tried to convince Nick that we should take off for Greece for the month, but he didn't go for it. Too many things like bills and savings for down payments on houses and the bad economy getting in the way...

My summer of leisure is about to end, unfortunately. I've been putting my fall schedule together, and it looks to be about as crazy as last spring, if not crazier. I've added a gig -- I'm singing the High Holidays at a synagogue in Evanston -- and I've added a day in Plainfield teaching three voice classes for different age groups, plus more private students. Plus I've got MOB gigs and outreach teaching for them. I'm hoping to add a few more students on the North Shore to round out a couple of afternoons up there, but basically -- I'm booked. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to fit audition season into all this, but I'll find a way.

Audition season...something that's been on my mind lately. Last year I sort of went balls-out and just auditioned for everything I could. I didn't get any jobs out of it, but I got some good feedback and got my feet wet. This year, I'm going to be a little pickier in choosing which auditions to take. The wedding next year will undoubtedly rule out several programs, and I'm not even sure I'd want to do a summer program at all -- being out of town for the two months prior to the wedding doesn't seem like the best idea. I've got a pretty darn good career going here in Chicago that can only grow and get better, and I'm going to be a married woman -- A year-long young artist program that would require a move to another city and renting an apartment, or worse yet, living in some sort of dorm setting, sounds as about as appealing as...I don't know, something icky. So here's my plan: audition for every damn thing I can here in Chicago and nearby cities (such as Milwaukee, Madison, etc.), and try to get some auditions for programs that are one to three months long (preferably in a warm climate during the Chicago winter). Sure, it may seem like I'm limiting my options, but...I think it's more a matter of growing up and realizing what will make me happy and fulfilled. Being with Nick in Chicago makes me extremely happy, and I don't really see that changing. Ever.

Blech, audition rants already! You've probably stopped reading. Nick and I are off to Indianapolis tomorrow for a little three day weekend. It's my grandma's birthday, so we are taking her out on Saturday night. Nick hasn't seen much of Indy, so I'm going to show him around a bit. Not that I'm the Indy-expert (I've been on Yelp all week scoping out the scene), but I did spend a good amount of time there growing up and in college. I'll also get to see my aunt, uncle, and cousin whom I have not seen since my sister's wedding last year! Usually I see my extended family atleast twice a year but we missed them at Christmas. So I'm really looking forward to the weekend!

Have a good one, everybody!

a bit of wedding news

So, the wedding plans are back on track. I'll let you in on a little secret...I might be a little dramatic. Shocker! I get paid to be dramatic, mmmmkay? But when it comes to wedding planning, drama is no good. So I'm vowing (haha, vow, get it) to keep the drama out of it from now on. And now that the church and reception venue are booked, things should calm down for quite a while. Update: Apparently, the excitement is never ending -- the Greek church called me yesterday to tell me that we could not be married on the date we chose (the date they told us we could have a week ago) because it's some sort of religious fast day and they will perform no marriages. So the date is moved yet again...I'm starting to think it will never be final.

But the biggest news is....I bought my gown!!! Now, I cannot reveal too much but I will say it is a Melissa Sweet gown, and it is absolutely GORGEOUS! I fell in love with it the moment I put it on. My dear friends Allison and Stasi were great shopping companions, especially since they've both been through the gown shopping recently. I purchased the dress at Vanessa's Modern Bride in Arlington Heights, which I would highly recommend--the service was friendly and helpful and HONEST (none of this "oh that looks so fabulous on you" about EVERY SINGLE dress). After we were finished, we headed across the street to a great little Mexican restaurant for a round of margaritas and lunch to celebrate the finding of the gown!



And I am happy to announce....

The 2nd Birthday of The Midwest Princess II!!!!!!

Some of you (not many) may remember the original Midwest Princess, which I began in January 2005 and ended in October 2005. Sadly, she was deleted (an action I will always regret), but her spirit lives on in this here blog. So Happy 2nd Birthday, dear blog, and wishing you many more birthdays to come.

a l'il trip to the Indiana Dunes

what a lovely way to spend a Sunday...

yelping about yelp, via blog

Last night's Yelp Event was super fun...I mean, what's not to love about free food and alchohol? The sweets were definitely the highlight of the event. We tasted some amazing chocolate -- one was a basil chocolate that I couldn't quite wrap my mind around, it was that good. I may seek it out and purchase some for my next party; it's quite the conversation starter. There were some very tasty cupcakes and a chocolate fountain from the Melting Pot, too! It was a bit overwhelming.

The savory items were not quite as plentiful or inspired, but good nonetheless. There was a pizza/pasta station, small plates from a restaurant called Dine! that included a fresh tuna and watermelon salad and some scallops with a delicious smoky apple sauce. They were also handing out mini red velvet martinis which were amazing. Sadly, the Thai food had run out before we arrived, so we didn't get to sample any. There were some mussels that we deemed too difficult to eat whilst standing up and holding a drink, but I heard they were good. Venus, a Greek restaurant, had some rather dry tasteless meatballs, which saddened me because I love Greek food and had heard great things about the restaurant.

There was wine and beer and vodka o'plenty, but lucky for me I only had two glasses of Merlot, because I got called in for a last minute reception job today and had to get my butt out of bed earrrrly (well, for me anything before 8:00 am is early).

Weekend plans include some bridal gown shopping tomorrow with Allison and Stasi. I'll be honest, wedding planning isn't going well for me. Nick and I have had more disagreements about the stupid wedding than we've had in our whole relationship, and I'm about ready to throw in the towel and elope. I was ready to cancel the day of gown shopping, but Nick convinced me to go, and I really want to see my gals. We are usually so good at compromising, and we have many of the same views about things and what we want in life, but a wedding is not one of them. I've worked really hard to create what I thought was a great compromise, but it doesn't seem to be enough. So I'm kind of stuck at the moment and thinking that eloping sounds like a lot more fun than fighting for the next year. We'll see...

Have a great weekend!

A Yelp Event.

After a bit of a hiatus, I've gotten back to writing Yelp reviews. It is a really entertaining site, if you've never been there, and chances are, there are tons of reviews of everything from nail salons to fine dining restaurants in your neck of the woods.

Tonight, we are attending a Yelp event! See, I knew eventually all my eating and talking about eating and writing about eating would pay off...in the form of an evening filled with free food, drink, sweets, and entertainment. Yelp Around the World, Chicago Yelp's biggest event yet, goes down tonight at the German Cultural Center in Lincoln Square, and Nick and I will be in attendance! Expect a full report tomorrow.

For now, head over to my yelp profile and check out my recent reviews and my yelp friends' reviews. I thought I'd been to a lot of restaurants...some of these people put me to shame! Maybe you want to start yelping too? Join in the fun!

The T-Shirt Deli

Over the weekend, I ventured out for a stroll along the Andersonville "strip" (as I like to call it), and happened upon a new shop that recently opened its doors. The T-Shirt Deli's flagship store in Wicker Park has been around for several years, but in the past month they have opened a second shop in Andersonville. The concept is a simple one, they put logos on t-shirts, but the way they present it is the fun part. The whole shop is decorated like a deli, with ketchup and mustard bottles lining the shelves and traditional red and white checkered tablecloths on every available surface. Binders and binders full of different logos take up a table in the center of the shop. There are political logos, pop culture logos, logos for kids, or you can just make up your own and choose from a variety of fonts and colors. All of the t-shirts are American Apparel, and they have many different styles and every color you can imagine. After spending a good thirty minutes leafing through the binders, I decided to order my very own t-shirt.


It came wrapped up like a sandwich in deli paper


and was served with a bag of chips!

Click to enlarge and get a better view of the logo. I got so many great ideas for fun gifts while leafing through the binders at T-Shirt Deli. Don't be surprised if your next gift from me is an amusing and unique tee!

An Evening at Wrigley

Last week we spent a lovely evening at Wrigley Field, courtesy of my parents. My dad gets tickets every year, but my cousin's boyfriend offered them some better seats (right behind Cubs dugout!) so Nick and I got the cast off tickets. We happily took them and had a great night -- and cheered the Cubs to victory!!




me and my cousin Angela


Aunt Lynn bought a Fukudome headband on the street


getting the field ready for play


the infamous Wrigley bleachers, aka The Friendly Confines

It was a great time had by all. Nothing like a warm summer evening at Wrigley!

Updated 7.14.08
It was an amazing "vacation" week spent in Fort Wayne, and I have to say, I was not ready for it to end. I guess I needed that time away more than I thought. It is taking me a couple of days to get motivated and get back to working diligently at my career, but I think the break was just what I needed. We had lots of relaxing pool time, lots of good meals with even better company, and a fantastic time at the wedding of a dear friend. It was great to get to spend lots of quality time with my sister, mom, and dad; and I even got to see my brother and his girlfriend for a short time on Sunday afternoon.

Here are some pics from the week/weekend.


bridesmaids entering the sanctuary


the browns getting hitched!




giant cupcake tower


my handsome fiance!

I'm having a lot of trouble loading pictures right now (hence the week back dating on this post). Does anybody know a better way to load pics? Maybe it's my Mac...

Anyways, I'm way behind on posting, but I have lots of fun summer activities to report. Trip to Wrigley last week (Go Cubbies!), wedding planning news, trips to the beach....it's turning out to be a fabulous summer. Stay tuned...

thoughts on NW Indiana

What a fantastic weekend, and what a way to kick off my vacation week! Yesterday was an absolutely wonderful day, spent at my best friend Andrea's parents' house in Ogden Dunes, Indiana. I took the ten a.m. train out -- what a lovely ride it is on the South Shore -- where Andrea met me and we immediately put on bathing suits and headed down to the beach. After lathering up with sunscreen, we spent the next several hours lounging on the beach, chatting, looking at bridal magazines, playing with her adorable niece, enjoying a few afternoon adult beverages, and having a fantastic time. We even got to go on an (extremely fast) boat ride with her neighbors. I can't remember the last time I've been on a boat! It was great. Andrea is the kind of friend who, no matter how much time has passed since our last visit, we just pick up where we left off. She's one of the best listeners I know, and she's gotten me through more difficult times than I can count. I'm constantly (selfishly) trying to persuade her to move back to Chicago, but I'm so proud of what she's done in New York; she has built a great life there. Hopefully it won't be another six months before I see her again!

I kind of fell in love with Ogden Dunes yesterday. I've always known it was a great place to live, but now that Nick and I are seriously thinking about where we want to settle, I saw it in a new light. Andrea's parents' were (are) both high school teachers (her mother is retired, her father is retired from public school but teaches at a private school), and have lived in OD for nearly thirty years. It's a wonderful, friendly community, which was made evident by the giant party on the beach yesterday -- everybody who was there was a friend or neighbor. The houses are adorable and unique (Andrea's parents' home was built by a pupil of Frank Lloyd Wright in the 1920's), and it is about as far from a cookie cutter suburb as you can imagine. It's not a cheap place to live, but it's cheaper than many of the nicer Chicago suburbs. Plus the sales tax and property taxes in Indiana are much lower. My only concern would be the OD school district, which isn't stellar, but there are a few nearby school districts that are better (Chesterton, Valpo). And it's a one hour ride on the South Shore train into the city. So my new pastime (besides looking at wedding stuff online) is looking at Northwest Indiana real estate online.

Tomorrow I make my second journey in two days on the South Shore, this time to South Bend, where my mom will pick me up and bring me to Fort Wayne (it's the only civilized way of getting to FW via train -- Amtrak is a hot mess). Besides my three hours of teaching today, I am on "vacation"!!! Woot! Nick will join me in FW on Thursday for the wedding festivities, and then we will come back together on Sunday. But between now and Sunday, I will be doing a lot of the following: lounging by the pool at my parents' country club, partaking in adult beverages, visiting a few bridal shops with my mom and sister, hanging out with the fam at home, eating yummy food, and of course all the wedding festivities. My only goal is not to get a sunburn and get rid of my bathing suit tan lines before the wedding on Friday (the dresses are strapless and I've got quite the strap marks from yesterday). Lofty goals, I know. It's going to be a great week.

I'm sure I'll be posting intermittently over the next few days, but if you're on vacation like me this week, enjoy yourself! And Happy Independence Day.

temp central

This is where I'm temping today. Trust me, it's not as cool as it looks. I am just sitting at the reception desk, answering the phone and signing for packages and such, but I'm keeping busy looking at wedding stuff online, texting my sister, and trying to finish a novel. The office culture is so foreign to me nowadays, but sometimes it's nice to have mundane tasks and a simple day. I'm reminded of how much I do NOT belong in an office. Give me a stage, a rehearsal room, a teaching studio, even a church, anything but a stuffy office. Thank God I only have to do this for a little while this summer.

Luckily I have a scrumptious lunch packed today, since they informed me I would not get a lunch break because there is nobody to cover the phones (what is that?). Fine with me, I'd rather get paid for the extra hour rather than wander aimlessly around downtown by myself and spend too much money on lunch. I've got leftover pastitsio, which is like Greek lasagna, that we made earlier this week, a leftover cupcake (last one! they went fast) a peach, and a diet coke. Delicious!

Weekend plans include: seeing some reception sites tomorrow and an audition in the afternoon, then on Sunday I'm heading to northwest Indiana to visit my best friend Andrea at her parents' house. Andrea lives in NYC, and I hardly ever get to see her, so thankfully it works out that she will be in town when I have time to spend an entire day with her! It will be great to see her family too, and I'm really hoping to get to meet her 1 and a half year old nice, Ione. Ione has her very own blog, so I'm certain we will become fast friends.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

quick ENT update

My cords are beautiful and healthy, according to one Dr. Robert Bastian (best voice ENT ever, in my opinion). I was thinking of scanning the photos and posting them on here, but Nick thought that was gross, so I'll spare you all. You can go to Bastian's website to check out some gross pics if you want! Warning: Pictures of vocal cords look a lot like vaginas.

We even managed to get in a quick Walmart trip and a gas tank fill up while we were out in the 'burbs! I love multi-tasking suburban trips, especially ones that save me money! Much as I hate and try to avoid Walmart, they do have darn cheap toilet paper and toiletry items. And the gas in the suburbs is about thirty to forty cents cheaper a gallon, so SCORE.

That's all. Just wanted to make sure you weren't hanging on a limb with worry about my doc appointment. :)

ENT, wedding crap, vacay

Today I have the unpleasant chore of visiting my ENT. Unfortunately, it's a necessary thing for singers to get their cords checked out every year or so, just to make sure everything is a-ok. I had a fantastic voice lesson yesterday and sang a high E flat (basically the tip top of my range), so I'm not too concerned about it. But considering most of my past visits to my ENT's office were rather traumatizing, I am understandably a little anxious (ok, a lot anxious) about the visit. Also, it's not terribly pleasant to have the little camera stuck through your nose and down your throat. I'm trying to focus on the sense of relief I will feel when it's over (similar to the gyno, ladies) and I head home knowing I won't have to return for at least another year. And Nick is going with me, so that makes it better.

In wedding planning news, we have finally settled on Chicago for our wedding city. Now comes the task of finding a reception site and coordinating with the church. Everyone tells me once those two things are nailed down, it gets a lot easier, but I'm feeling uber overwhelmed right now. We have two appointments on Saturday to look at a couple of different places, and then a couple more appointments when I get back from "vacation." I'm having some really good feelings about one of the places we are seeing on Saturday, as I spent a half an hour on the phone with their on-site wedding coordinator yesterday. I want to get as much done this summer as I can, because once fall hits and my schedule gets insane again, I know I will have no time or desire to add wedding planning to my schedule.

Speaking of my "vacation", it's almost here, and I can hardly contain my excitement! Who would have thought a trip to Fort Wayne, Indiana could elicit such glee! I guess I'm just excited to spend six days relaxing with no responsibility whatsoever (except bridesmaid stuff, but that's fun). I don't have to do laundry or keep the house tidy or cook anything, and I'm not going to practice or think (worry) about my career or teach any lessons -- in other words, I'm going to do NOTHING but relax and spend time with family and friends. It's not often that I allow myself these sorts of mental and physical vacations from singing and life, but the opportunity has presented itself, and I'm taking it! Plus my friend Stasi's wedding is going to be extremely fun. I'm slightly nervous about how I'm going to hold it together to sing her down the aisle (I'm singing Ave Maria as she comes down the aisle). I have a tendency to bawl when the bride comes in with her father...I cried yesterday watching the Today Show throws a wedding when a perfect stranger came down the aisle on television! I think if I just visualize the situation a few times while practicing the piece, that should do the trick. If I can make myself lose it while practicing, it won't happen in the real situation. (Stas, I know you're probably reading this and freaking out right now, but don't worry -- I got through the Lord's Prayer at my sister's wedding, so I know I can do it!) It's Stas's mom we really have to worry about -- Stas is an only child and her mother is a bit emotional...

Alright, time to go take some deep breaths before the doc visit. Have a great weekend!

happy birthday to me

I am one lucky girl. I have the greatest fiance, family, and friends a girl could ask for. It becomes even more apparent to me how great these people are when I get to talk to them or see them all in one day! Yesterday was my 26th birthday, and even though my sister says I'm not in my mid-twenties anymore ("You're in your LATE twenties now, Emily!") I still feel like every year gets better and better. The day was beautiful and not too warm.


Foster Beach

I spent a leisurely morning doing one of my favorite things: baking! I made these amazing chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting, courtesy of one if my food idols, Ina Garten:


recipe here

Later I set out to Plainfield to do my Monday teaching with a few cupcakes in tow for my students. One of my students brought me a present with the sweetest card! Being a teacher is so rewarding sometimes. And in honor of my birthday, the traffic on the expressway was not even that bad!

When I got home, Nick surprised me with a cake in which he had put (and lit) twenty six candles. It looked like a fire hazard, but I loved it. And to aid in my pursuit of all things food snobbery, he got me a top of the line coffee grinder that I had been wanting. Then we headed out to Charlie's to meet up with some of my friends for drinks. I have some terrific friends.







It was a terrific day, and thanks to everyone who made it special.