Eliot Mooney

This post is to celebrate the life of Eliot Mooney. You may remember me mentioning him in an earlier post. I've been blessed to walk along this journey with Matt and Ginny as I've read every post they've written. Please pray for Matt and Ginny.

Week Worth Mentioning

This week was jam packed with events and non-events.

First, I had my Second City Touring Company understudy audition. It went okay. It wasn't spectacular and it wasn't horrible. It was just kind of...eh. But I'm glad I did it and I can't wait to do it again!

Second, I missed two days of work due to illness. I finally went to the doctor and he gave me a strep test. My throat was raw, soar, swollen and covered with white dots. A sign of strep? That's what I thought. When the test came back negative the doctor said it was just Post-Nasal Drip and that I should just take some Benadryl. All that for POST-NASAL DRIP!??? Well, at least I got caught up on my sleep and am feeling a wee bit cabin feverish.

Finally, when I returned home from the doctor, my roommate said that we had had a visitor. This woman claimed she was from the projects and had been receiving my mail occasionally. She refused to give it to my roommate because I wasn't home and she asked for a reward. UMMMM, a REWARD???? First of all, don't come to my house! Secondly, it's called good citizenship. Thirdly, do what we all do, put "Return to Sender" on it or "Wrong Address." I wouldn't be too upset but one of the envelopes has a check in it. The check has since been cancelled. The woman called last night and said she was on her way again to give me my mail. I just asked her not to come over but instead to take it to the post office. She then proceeded to ask for a reward. I did what the post-office told me to do....I said no. This whole thing makes me nervous.

Anyway, I just took an anti-histamine and now I have the shakes. What a week!

Wedding Pictures

Here are some pictures from Rachel's wedding.
















Me and my old college roommate, Rachel (not the one that got married). This also happens to be the dress that flew over my head.




















The church where they got married. It was gorgeous! The glass walls let the autumn leaves shine through.




















The happy couple.

Marilyn Moment

It was great to see my friends this weekend at Rachel Robinson's wedding in Little Rock. I was able to see a lot of them and unfortunately they were able to see too much of me. Wearing a cute dress I walked out of a hotel bar only to be hit by a gust of wind that blew my dress over my head. With a loud scream I thrust my arms down to pin the dress to my legs. Unfortunately I realized I was too late as I looked just ahead of me into the eyes of the brides brother. Yeah, he saw me...all of me. Once again, I can walk away blush free because I had on my cute panties.

Laffy Taffy Break

Tis the season for bags of individually wrapped candy. My candy of choice this week are Laffy Taffy's. I think I had a headache this weekend because of withdrawals. Now I have a sugar overdose headache.

The great thing about Laffy Taffy's isn't the gooey like texture or the chemical flavoring. It's the brilliant jokes they share! Here is one courtesy of Jessie E. from Knoxville, TN:

"Which President was the biggest Ham?" I don't know Jessie. Who possibly could it be? "Abraham" (Lincoln of course). hahahahahahaha! Oh Jessie, YOU'RE a HAM! No, You ARE! You're good Jessie. Thanks for the laugh!

Angela R. from McKenzie, IN has a more heartfelt one:

"What kind of ship never sinks?" Ummm, friendship? "Damn you, you stole it!" I know, I'm heartfelt. I can't help it. It's who I am!

**My responses can be found in italics.

Mia Famiglia

Erin, Chris and Connor came into town this past weekend. This makes 3 out of the past 4 weekends that I've had family in Chicago. It's been fabulous and I've loved every second of it. Connor and I did some bonding. I think I'm his new favorite person in the whole entire world. At least I thought that until I babysat him so Erin and Chris could have dinner together. He liked me for the first hour or so and then I just couldn't measure up. As soon as they walked back in the door he laughed and smiled. As my sister was breast feeding I asked her "What do you have that I don't?"

My favorite part was waking up this morning with him next to me. He smiled first thing...and then tooted...loudly...several times. Hence the smile...

I can't wait to babysit again. Erin and Chris are wonderful parents. It's amazing to see my little sister as a mother. It's fits her perfectly!














Aren't we cute?















Apparently my face tastes great.

Connor's already a comedian. Check out his impression of the Blair Witch Project. He's going places.




















I'm sure Erin & Chris will have more fabulous pictures from their Chicago trip. You can check out their website.

Anniversary

Sunday marked my three year anniversary here in Chicago. I celebrated by throwing a work event for over 10,000 people. It reminded me of how far I've come since I left on a 15 hour road trip with my dad three years ago. So much has happened in those three years. I've been blessed with great opportunities, wonderful friends and unforgettable memories. I thought it might be fun to highlight opportunities I've had since picking up my life and moving to Chicago.

1. Road trip with Dad
2. Slept on Kathie's couch for 4 months
3. Celebrated and mourned with the Cubs loss to the Marlins - Bartlett ball incident
4. Met Joss Stone
5. Got a great job, new roommates and an apartment all in ONE day
6. Ran 2 half marathons
7. Completed a sprint triathalon
8. Trip to Hawaii
9. Brother, Patrick, got married to Alicia
10. Erin & Chris had a baby
11. Best friend, Beckles, got married
12. Auditioned for the Second City Conservatory & got in!
13. Graduated from the Second City Conservatory
14. Made life-long friends from Second City
15. Finished the iO improv training program
16. Performed with Quick!Paddle!! at iO
17. Performed with Sable (my first improv show ever)
18. Auditioned and got cast in "Generation X-Communication"
19. Performed with friends in "Mockupations"
20. Asked to perform at House of Blues with Rebirth
21. First audition for a play and CAST!
22. One minute part in a seven minute play - "The Resignation"
23. Picked up Gary Hall Jr. from the airport
24. Learned to flyfish with my dad and patrick in Montana
25. Family trip to Vancouver
26. Climbed the Grouse Grind
27. Lost 20 pounds
28. Gained 20 pounds
29. Had many unsuccessful blind dates
30. Turned 30 and had my whole family celebrating with me
31. Skiing with my family in Breckenridge, Colorado
32. Went to Stacey, Rachel, Katherine and Lindsay's Weddings
33. Shook Harold Ramis' hand and talked to him about Second City
34. Re-introduced Chris & Marissa who ended up getting married
35. Bought a couch and oversized chair
36. Got numerous parking tickets
37. Part of the greatest small group ever
38. Live with my cousin, Jessie
39. Learned that I don't like beer but like a good Cider
40. Discovered Potbellies
41. Attended 2 plays at Steppenwolf with Helen
42. Met most of Chicago's top CEO's
43. Passed by Scott Speedman on Dearborn St.
44. Found the love of my life - "Dancing with the Stars"
45. Bonding with Auntie
46. Cubs games with roommates, dad, work, Ashley and Drewbie
47. Becky, Wendy, Katherine, Dow, Bunny, Marissa and Courtney visit me
48. Family Reunion in Myrtle Beach
49. Laser Hair Removal!!!
50. Discovered D'Agostino's thin crust extra sauce cheese pizza. mmmmm good.

I'm going to stop at 50. I think that's a good number. I am blessed beyond words and comprehension. So much can happen in three years. I took a risk by leaving everything I knew and look how much I've been able to do with my life. Three years passed by so quickly. I wouldn't change a thing. I want to make the most of the time that I have here.

I know that there are many things that I've failed to mention or momentarily forgotten. Please feel free to add any memories you've had with me over the last three years. I'd love to hear them!

Weekend with the Ladies

Last weekend I had the honor and privilege to spend a couple of days with some of the most incredible women I know. My mom, her three sisters and a cousin came to Chicago for a girls weekend. What a fabulous idea! I can't wait to do that with my sisters!














This picture is only slightly posed.

We stayed downtown at the Hotel Intercontinental. They put us in three rooms that basically connected together. I felt like I was at camp...a plush camp for women over the age of 50...and loved it! We sat around in our robes late at night and early in the morning drinking coffee, laughing and telling stories. I began to see how each woman is unique and how they all have different personalities. Aside from the fact that they look like they could be quadruplettes, their intracacies came out. But the wonderful thing is to see how they all fit together to make an incredibly loving and entertaining family. I haven't laughed this hard in months!

We saw my midnight show (I'm proud of you ladies for staying up until 2am!), ate long meals at amazing restaurants, shopped til we dropped and of course saw Menopause the Musical! The audience for Menopause the Musical was rowdy! I've never heard so many Amen's and applause of recognitions. These women have a secret club and only they know the lingo. It's fabulous.

They made me feel so loved and a part of the crew. They made me excited to grow older because they have such a zest for life. I hope I'm like them when I grow up! I couldn't help but cry when I left them because I would miss them each. But mostly I'd miss the product of the whole.















Lucky for them I've let a week pass me by and have conveniently "forgotten" some of our conversations and mishaps. Feel free to share your stories. I'll be sure to add any I suddenly remember and CAN talk about. My dating life always was a topic of interest. I didn't feel interrogated. They were great about asking questions and giving encouragement. No topic was a taboo topic for these ladies. It was GREAT! Thank you Mom, Mary, Kathy, Beth and Maryanne.

I miss you all already!

Car Troubles

There's nothing like hearing your car has major engine problems to make you want to immediately call your dad to make sure you're not getting scammed. Case in point: My engine light came on and began blinking. That was followed by serious massage like shaking of the car. One inspection and an arm and a leg later my car is driving just dandy.

I just needed to call my dad to make sure that everything was going to be okay. There's a certain vulnerability and lack of independence with anything involving car trouble that makes me feel anxious, but one "it's going to be okay" from dad and I'm fine.