My Girl Crushes

Being home this week I developed new girl-crushes. I admit that I think intelligent women are the coolest thing on this earth, ok, next to a really well-crafted pair of Italian leather heels, they're the coolest thing on this earth (is it ok to compare awesome women to Italian leather shoes?). I find the older I get the more outstanding women I meet. Some have travelled the world and some just want to paint the whole thing pink (that's for you Linds), but they all have great stories, big hearts, brilliant minds, beautiful smiles and gorgeous hair. This weekend I had the opportunity to meet new women, get to know some women better and re-discover a few long-time friends.

Let me put it this way, if I were a lesbian and they were lesbians I would have been having multiple orgasms all weekend!

Greetings from the Salt City

Sorry guys I’ve been “off the reservation” for a couple of days, meaning I haven’t checked e-mail or updated you all on my crazy life for a few days. Since I’m at work today (just about wet myself laughing at that) I’m trying to catch up on my correspondence and update you all on the weekend.

Friday was great, after flying in from Chi-town, I saw the fam, then I rendezvoused at JV’s house and hugged everyone there with wild abandon and checked out JV’s Buckminster Fuller! JV has built an awesome geodesic dome for our Burning Man adventure – we now have shade, glorious shade! Then I changed the clothes and picked up the BFF and headed to Murphy’s to meet the UT Bloggers, Sarah, Summer, Helmet and guest-Utahn Kel! We had a great time, and it was wonderful putting actual people to the words. I also invited my rowdy friends, which can certainly be interesting to say the least. I’ve blogged before about how much I miss hugging my friends so I apologize if I broke anybody’s ribs this weekend – SORRY!

Saturday I golfed with the BFF, which was awesome to have that alone time and catch up. Did a little shopping and driving, oh how I miss driving! Saturday night was Girl’s Night Out at the Red Door. Love, Love, Love the girls, they are vibrant, expressive and always lovely. They are a sight to behold when they get together! Then everybody headed to JV’s house for the trailer party and gossip in the kitchen, I finally called in a night/morning at 2AM. I am so not used to such hours.
Note: I especially apologize to the Lovely Wheeler if I broke her ribs, I think I definitely hugged her the longest and hardest. Our relationship is strange, because we work together but in different offices/states, so it’s great to actually see her in person.

Sunday was with the family for most of the day and then dinner with Marley. We had a great meal and absolutely wonderful conversation. For a long time our relationship was chatting across the bar, but since moving away, when I’m in town we actually make time to sit and talk without all the outside noise and constant interruption of others – although the waiter kept sitting down and chatting and whining just a bit, ok whining a LOT! One of the things I love about this town is running into the people I’ve known over the years, there is a reason we call is Small Lake City.

Today I’m in the office and adjusting back to pre-vacation mode for today and tomorrow and then it’s off to Burning Man! Nudity, non-conformity and nocturnal revelry!

Surf-Shopping

I have to plug this website, because it's my favorite place to go surf-shopping with my girlfriends. I love their over-the-knee socks so much, and arm-warmers and leg-warmers and garters...I could go on and on and on.

www.sock-dreams.com

I have brought them so much business they ought to pay me, or at least send me freebies!

Addict!

Hello my name is Doni and I am a shoe addict!

Yep, I said it, I admit it and I currently see no need for changing! There are a few problems with being a shoe addict and there is always a solution. Behold I give you my 12 Step program for being a shoe addict. Pun totally intended, somedays I'm just "punny" like that.

Disclaimer - while I am truly a shoe addict, for those of you who don't know my sense of humor, these are all in jest!

1) Lack of proper closet space. This is huge, your only option is to buy a 2 bedroom condo/house and turn one bedroom into a walk-in closet! I see no other way around this.
2) Shoe-eating-sidewalks - Chicago is notorious! Find yourself an excellent shoe doctor. I'm still looking, because the one I've been going to is good, but the cost is dipping into my new shoe budget.
3) Lack of proper closet space. Shelves, shelves, shelves! Shoes must not be allowed to be thrown into a pile and left there until their next wearing, they develop attitudes this way and will give you a blister just for spite.
4) An outfit to match each pair of shoes. What's the point in having killer shoes if you don't have the killer outfit to match?
5) Lack of lighting in proper closet space. (seeing a pattern here) Shoes should be displayed in ideal lighting conditions, how else am I supposed to determine if the shoes are the proper shade of brown? Especially when I'm working on only 5 hrs of sleep.
6) Footcare. A bad pedicure or neglect of feet can kill a gorgeous sandal. Chipped red on the toenails, huge no no!
7)...

Foget the rest, I'm going back to surf-shopping for shoes!

Update: Littlemansmom brings up a very good point. 7) Wear them often. Shoes will spite you if you do not wear them often enough. They will give you blisters! But I hold firm to proper closet space, shoes need good R&R just like we do. But I have been know to leave multiple pairs of shoes hanging around outside the closet.

Today's Horoscope

Pisces (2/19-3/20)
Your friends are all different, so stop treating them all the same. Mix it up.

Truer words were never spoken. Though I've posted my horoscope a few times before, I should point out that I never put any stock into them, but I find amusement and insight in some of them, and this one is right on the money. Though I've known this for a long, long time it struck me as meaningful for today.

Since being away from all my very close friends, what KW calls the "Urban Tribe", and I have mentioned on a few occassions in this blog, I have most definitely taken to heart that it's true, all my friends are vastly different. There are the romantics, the hermits, the social butterflies, the planners, the players, the jacks-of-all-trade, the loners, the lovable losers, the smart ones, the really smart ones, the not-so-smart ones, the class-clowns and the teacher's pet. But the one thing that brings them all together is...I love them!

I can't wait to see you all!

Meetings & Greetings

Since moving away from SLC, I have "met" some very interesting and funny people from SLC. I say "met" because except for Sarahbellum, and Amanda, I have not yet met in person, the other Utah folk who read this blog and I theirs. So, because I think you all are very amusing, I would love to meet you and hopefully share a drink with you, I will be at Murphy's Bar & Grille on 200 S Main on Friday night at 8PM, until who knows when. If you're out and about, stop by and say hi! If you know Murphy's it's very low key, but for me it's one of those places where I know everybody (mostly) and they know me...especially the lovely Marley, who will be behind the bar slingin' booze!

In case you don't already read these Utah bloggers, here's a little blogroll:

Sarah
Summer
Helmet
Reba & Felicity
Miss Kiesha
Amanda

Bringing Up the Rear

Walking in Chicago has numerous hazards, some of which I have pointed out in other posts, but I have discovered a new one, besides the crumbling sidewalks, the gaps in sidewalks that eat stilettos, the crazy drivers, rude pedestrians that take up more than their share of sidewalk, bicyclists who ride on the sidewalks and taxis who don’t care if you’re crossing the street, my new one is the loss of my ass!

I have never had a lot of junk in the trunk…ok, I’ve never had ANY junk in the trunk, but now I have even less, it’s like a fire sale on my ass EVERYTHING MUST GO! All this walking has made my nearly non-existent ass, non-existent, only enhanced more by the dress I’m wearing today. I thought I looked pretty good going out of the house today, but I caught my profile in the glass of a building and thought – “Oh great, I seem to have left my ass in the jeans I wore last night.”

Note to self: incorporate more squats into daily routine.

Dancing in the Streets

As a mass-transit commuter, I miss having my car stereo; the morning DJ banter, Top 40 hits, blasting the awesome dance songs and yes, even stupid local commercials. I am relegated to the iPod generation, listening to whatever pops up on the shuffle through really shitty ear buds, like the rest of the mass-transit commuters, unable to sing along at the top of our lungs. Currently I am listening to the shuffle because I like the random, eclectic awesomeness that is my shuffle list.

This morning I had the most fortunate experience during the last three blocks to work and standing in line at Starbucks. I distinctly noted the following songs in order with which they played: Me & Bobby McGee (Janis), Black Betty (Ram Jam) and What's Love Got to Do With It (Tina Turner), this caused spontaneous singing and dance-walking all the way from the bus to the office. See, I have a theory that I can make a fool out of myself in front of strangers and passersby because they'll probably never see me again. However, I usually try to maintain composure in front of friends, family and co-workers, this doesn't always happen, but at least I try.

I finally stopped singing and dance-walking (please tell me everybody knows what this is) when I reached the elevator, because that's just a little too close for comfort to be making a fool out of myself with people who see me Monday thru Friday.

Tummy Rumblings

For the past eight days I have been on a cleanse due to some intestinal issues, you know the lemon juice, cayenne pepper and maple syrup cleanse and surprisingly I'm still on it and I feel great. I have never put much stock into fasts and cleanses, mostly because I am gluttonous by nature. I prefer a bacon cheeseburger with fries rather than a healthy salad. I will eat peanut M&M's til I pop, my family and friends can attest to this. I cannot stand to do without, I am an instant gratification sort of girl. So color me surprised when I started this cleanse and I have actually stuck with it. There was one breakdown on Friday night because my friend the Piano Man was in town from Nashville. When he finally made it to my place, he was starving and I didn't want to go into the whole "I'm on a cleanse, so I'll just have water with lemon" thing, so we went out and I agonized over having what I really wanted (huge juicy steak) versus having a salad (I chose a salad). Because this cleanse clearly says you should not eat any food whatsoever during the cleanse, and when you're coming off the cleanse you should only have vegetable broth for two days, I was a little concerned. I had every right to be! About two hours after dinner, and five minutes after walking in my apartment door, I was sick as a dog. I won't go into details, let's just say I didn't leave the bathroom for nearly an hour. This was not pleasant!

I went back on the cleanse on Saturday morning and I feel fine again. I've set a goal to continue this cleanse until the 20th of August, which leaves me two days to acclimate back to normal eating by the time I leave for SLC and Burning Man. There has been a huge benefit, I wore my skinny jeans on Friday night, and not only did they fit, they were loose.

Sense & Sensibility

A conversation with a fellow blogger the other day got me to thinking about certain traits we hold in esteem and in which order we rank those traits. It was a discussion about sense(s). The discussion was that I held common sense in much higher regard than fashion sense, since the topic stemmed from me commenting about breaking a cardinal rule of fashion. So I got to thinking about what other senses I held in esteem. I give you my top six:

Common Sense – By far the highest in my six, seems common sense is not so common. I don’t care if you’re valedictorian of your high school, if you don’t know what religion the pope is there is absolutely no hope for you! <--This was an actual question a 17 year-old once asked me.
Sense of Humor – Oooohhhh, total biggie there! If you do not have the ability to laugh at yourself you are doomed to live a sad life, because we’ll all be laughing at you behind your back. Well, maybe not, because chances are if you don’t have a sense of humor, you’re most likely not one of my friends and therefore wouldn’t be anywhere near us so we could laugh at you behind your back. That made sense right?
Street Sense – (i.e. street smarts) Again pretty far up there because you need to be able to find your way around in new situations. For instance what if you get dropped in the middle of an alligator feeding frenzy, you most definitely need to have your wits about you to survive. Hey, it could happen! Just remember to try and not smell like raw chicken, I hear this is essential.
Financial Sense – HUGE, if you can’t manage your money you need to take a class. This is a basic fact of life, money doesn’t make the world go round, but it will buy you a ticket to go around the world. HAHA, ok, that just cracked me up! Seriously, many single women I meet are putting themselves in debt to finance their lifestyles and it seems they are waiting for a guy to come along and pay off their debt. This makes me sad, because well, I work in money and I believe in girl power. Stop charging yourselves to death ladies! Be responsible!
Spidey Sense – Ok I know you can argue that this is just an amplification of your original five senses (scent, taste, touch, sight & hearing), but the web thing would be totally AWESOME! Imagine all the possibilities.
And Lastly,
Fashion Sense – You don’t have to possess the style of Carrie Bradshaw (character not SJP), however, knowing that you SHOULD NOT wear flip-slops with a cocktail dress – priceless!

Of course I have other traits that are mixed in there in varying degrees of esteem; those were just the senses, other traits like honesty, self-regard, intelligence, etc. are certainly more important…I just didn’t know how to make them funny!

Cheers!

Oh Happy Day!

I broke a cardinal rule of fashion today - I wore a brown belt with black shoes! I have a really, really good reason though. First of all, the belt is not visible, but was absolutly necessary to hold up my black pants that are now too big to stay in the proper location on my hips. Secondly, the one black belt I had that would fit through the loops on these pants...is now too big! Yep, there is not one more hole left to get the belt to stay in place. I knew it was coming and I should have taken the belt to the leather shop up the street and had him punch a new hole, but I like the idea of having a good, valid reason to buy a new black belt.

YAY!

The 312

There is a restaurant called 312 (Chicago area code for those not in the know) on the corner of Randolph and LaSalle. I get off there every morning on my way to work, because it is the most direct route to the closest Starbucks near my office. It's a nice restaurant, it definitely caters to the business breakfast folks in the morning and the theater going folks in the evening. I assume they probably do a pretty good lunch too, but since it's far enough away from my office I've never been inside. So I can't tell you first hand.

For the past few months when I walk by, the morning staff waves at me through the large picture windows on LaSalle and Randolph. I wave back because A) I'm nice and B) It's a huge boost to one's ego and they are adorable, you know in that cute gay waiter kind of adorable. A couple of weeks ago, one of the waiters ran outside and actually said, "Good Morning". So this has been going on for a few weeks, every couple of days the little waiter comes out and says hello, or good morning or you look nice, etc. Cut to this morning, it's pouring rain and everybody is rushing to get where they're going and get out of the rain and the little waiter comes running out. He says how all the guys in the restaurant think I'm cute (ugh, cute is for 4 year olds) and they have nicknamed me "Samantha" as in Sex and the City Samantha because they didn't know my real name. He asks what my real name is, I tell him and then I say thanks, that's very sweet, tell the boys hi, yada, yada, yada, I wave and I'm off to work...in the rain.

Though the more I think about it, it's not so much of a compliment, because she was the sluttiest dresser...best not to think about it.

Random

So I still need to find a cute pink wig (yes as a matter of fact I did mention that yesterday), but I would settle for a cute white wig. Sarah says she knows a place in Utah where she bought a really cute pink wig. I'm guessing Blue Boutique, since that is the first place I would have looked if I still lived in Utah. In addition I would purchased all my skimpy clothes that I will be wearing to Burning Man there as well. But in the interest of preserving my skin as well as my bank account I decided to make all my costumes this year...along with three costumes for AmyT and a skirt for Linds. Since I am in total control of design and manufacturing of the costumes I decided on pink and/or black for all my evening attire.

My costumes will consist of the following elements:

Pink Fur (eyelash fur with pink leopard print design underneath)
Pink Sequin
Pink Mesh
Black Satin
Pink 4" Fringe
Pink & White ElWire

The shoes are another matter altogether. I have the pink knee-high lace up boots I was wearing during the 2006 motorcycle accident, which would totally work. They are pretty messed up from the accident, but they still look hot. And then...I found these boots at The Alley on Clark. I think I have found my Burning Man Boots for 08!

Update: I promise to post pictures of my outfits when I have them finished.