Read It!
There's an article about Robin's delicious dumpling restaurant, Kuai, in the Dallas Morning News!

Hmmm
My very nice trainer gave me the dubious honor of telling me that I sweat the most of all of her clients during our workouts. Um, thanks? I don't know if I want to be known as the excessive sweat producer, but it's true. Especially with the humid weather now, I am positively soaked every time I leave the gym. Today it kind of looked like I jumped in the shower with all of my clothes. (Don't worry, I just did a little Googling, and it's GOOD to sweat lots, it means that you're more efficient at cooling down!).

I had a killer session this morning, in which a good percentage of it was based on doing a variety push ups while balancing on those horrid mini medicine balls on my hands. I hate those exercises with every thread and shred of my being. I want to die when I do them. Seriously.

At the session's end, my trainer asked me if I had known that I wanted a choose a female or male trainer (female, all the way, for me...it's a comfort thing). Anyway, she said that people often seem to think that female trainers are easier on their clients. In my case this is not true: I often see people (who totally appear to be in poorer fitness shape than me!) traipsing around with their male trainers and they're conversing and *laughing* through out their sessions. In the meantime, I probably spend at least 50% of my sessions praying that it will be over soon. And groaning loudly like a wounded seal. I seriously stop caring about the noises I make.

This is not to say that I don't appreciate my training sessions: they're great. It's just that they force me to do those kind of strength building exercises (e.g. push ups on the devil's medicine balls) that I effing loathe but know that I need.

So, anyway: if you need some excess human sweat, come and find me at the gym.

Winery Shower
Ah, thanks be to my favorite ADD for organizing an amazing bridal shower. We went to Potomac Point Winery just south of the beltway for lunch, gifts, and a tasting. It was quite lovely and nice to see some much missed and beloved friends (my DC contingent, if you will...and I will). The traffic down there was something with which to contend, but sweet Suzi offered to drive. Oh, and also Suzi brought this honey goatcheese cheesecake with raspberry sauce which was nothing short of heavenly and kind of made me want to cry myself to sleep with joy. Thanks for Anne for lunch, and thanks to Annie for the tasting, and thanks for Des for making these remarkable blueberry tarts that look like something from the illustrations of the "Alice and Wonderland" book (those illustrations always made me hungry). I gots some nice friends. Also, thanks for my mom for coming and for gifting me the jade that I'm sporting in the photos.
Oh, and also thanks to Suzi for the pictures. :)

Detective
So, we got a second kitty! We went to a no-kill, no-cage shelter on the northside of the city called Felines Inc. I can't recommend the place enough to people looking to adopt kitties. The volunteers are so helpful: you walk in and tell them your situation and what kind of kitty you're looking for, and they think about several cats to introduce you to. The place itself is a large house with 120+ cats wandering freely (and unbelievably, it does NOT smell like kitty litter). We got to meet a few cats and then spend as much time with them as we wanted, among all of the cats. I love that. The other shelter where we got Hef had to be all business: you named off the tab band of that cat you wanted to meet, and the people retrieved them from a cage for you. You don't have time to dawdle and play.

So, we ended up choosing a long-haired kinda scruffy looking guy who we have now named "Detective Helldorfer" after a homicide detective on A&E's the "First 48." Todd loved the guy's name at first blush, so we've kept it in our pockets, waiting for the second cat. We call him "Detective" for short, of course. This cat had me at hello when we met him. He was relaxing amongst the cats when we first walked in. When I knelt beside him, he immediately got up to clamber into my lap. He appeared to be a sincere and true lap cat (Hef likes the lap for short stints, but prefers to snooze beside you with his paw resting upon your thigh). Todd and I both agreed that this guy was the one for us. Plus, he has these kind of big hairy paws that I love.
We brought him home yesterday and kitty has not emerged from under the bed in the guest bed room. No, scratch that: he did sit by the door and cry pathetically in the middle of the night. I woke up, opened the door, and he rushed back under the bed.

I'm being patient and letting him get comfortable at his own pace, but I'm worried that it's going to take weeks to months. The good news is that he's eating and using the litter box. Hef is curious and sometimes sits by the closed door outside new kitty's room, but for the most part carries on his usual routine of napping by the window or on the couch.

05. days left
Tomorrow is the last day of work until next fall and it'll only be a half day. Freedom! Today was "teacher institute day" which means that the kids aren't around, but you have the time to get organized, clean, file, etc. I'm thrilled.

I also want to report that I was really proud of myself during my training session last night as I did for the first time something I wasn't able to before. See, my balance and stability is kind of my weak point. One of the things my trainer always tried to get me to do was to be able to roll with your belly on one of those giant exercise balls. Eventually your shins are resting on the ball, and the rest of your body is in a plank position. From there, you move your hands up from the ground so that they rest on the barbell. The ending result is that you're kind of in push up position, except your legs are straight out. Before, I would always fly off the ball or push the barbell away trying to get balance. After one false start, I did it last night! I was psyched.

You've got to check out these wedding shots that were taken right as the earthquake hit in China. Amazing stuff.
(via metafilter)

Did I tell you? Probably not...
-My new gym finally, finally opened and everyone was biting at the bit to get into it because it's been crowded yesterday when it opened and today. Luckily they have a four story garage (I parked on the fourth floor today and it offers a pretty amazing view of the skyline). It's shiny, new, and I love the personal tvs. Today I watched "Cash Cab" on the treadmill.

I also had my intro session with my new trainer. I needed to schedule my training sessions, and had to approach a trainer to do it, so I eyeballed them while they milled around the first day. I totally chose mine based on her down-to-earth appearance and she appeared to have the smallest ratio of hair product: hair. I think I chose correctly. She's super nice and has a gentle, non-judgmental manner, which I love because I need that kind of nurturing when it comes to strength building. So we did the measurements etc tonight and she figured out where my starting levels are. Bottom line: my arms are weak, people! And my balance could be better, too. And I intend to lose some inches. So, I'm going to have my next session with her on Thursday and I expect it to hurt a little.

-We painted one of our bathrooms. It's a nice light blue-gray and I love it. I did the roller and Todd did the edges and the prep and clean up. His part was much tougher, but we both get to enjoy the pay off.

- We tried to take HF/Hef to the vet last Saturday. Key word: TRIED. Dude was NOT going to be coaxed into his carrier. We tried about three times and it was chaotic and kitty was stressed. Todd ended up getting his forearms scratched to hell and then Hef just ran away and hid under the bed. Vet for another time. We read up a little and I guess the key is to desensitize him: leave it out, leave the door open, even put his food into there. Anyone else got any good ideas for me?

-16 more days left to school (I'm not counting the last day since the kids are like there an hour and everyone gets let out early).

Super Fat Japanese Monkey

The tourists overfeed them.
You can read about it here.

I love it.

(via neatorama)

Snugglebunny.

Shiny New Gym
So, this gym has been in the works close by to Todd's and my place for at least a year now. I think it was last summer that they had their skimpily dressed employees handing out promotional flyers in the main, very crappy intersection by which it resides. In fact, we got a flyer a couple of weeks ago and I finally called today since the deal was about to expire. On the phone I was told that I HAD to come in, and with some reluctance (I wanted to go home after work, dammit!), I faced the bad traffic and went by. The place is opening in a couple of weeks and I got a tour today before they nailed me down with the contract.

Dudes, it's NICE. It has tons of equipment, and each cardio machine has its own personal television. That's high living for me. It has a pool, a resistance pool, and a jacuzzi. It's got a steam room and a sauna. It's got a room for spinning classes, one for yoga and pilates classes, and another for other aerobic classes. It has a rock climbing wall and a basketball court, which isn't my thing, but it still kind of fancy. I paid one bulk rate for the year at a promotional rate, but it's worth it since it worked out to $35 per month, which is dirt cheap in the world of gyms in Chicago.

Since it was their last day of their promotion, their theme was "Hawaiian luau" and I was kind of embarrassed for them. Everyone was dressed a la Miami Vice circa 1985 and they were "spinning records" really loudly and dancing outside the building...which is right across the street from a Target parking lot.

The dude who took me around was a nice enough guy, but kind of a caricature of himself. He was super friendly and to every person we passed he called out something like "How's it going, Big Guy!" or "Yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" All I could think about was how Todd would say that he'd bet that this guy would like "bro-ing it up" and watching some "Entourage." I ended up signing up for some personal training sessions (not with him--he was too enthusiastic for me) mainly because the rate was pretty good and I can take advantage of them with the summer coming up. Each salesperson bamboozled people into signing up for them, though, because immediately after signing you up, they take your fat percentage and calculate your BMI! I kind of resented that, but whatever. I'm a little scared of personal training since I'm so goddamn weak, but that's exactly why I need to face my fears. Ugh.

Todd's 30th
So this past Saturday was Todd's birthday...he's finally 30! He still looks way young, but maybe now people won't think he's 18 anymore. Regardless, it was my duty as the Future Wife to plan the shindig, and in my usual state, I left it till two weeks beforehand. We did some scrambling, but managed to get the private room at my favorite old neighborhood bar, Spyners, in Lincoln Square. We used to go there to watch/do karaoke and soak in the comfortable, slightly grizzled atmosphere. It's an earthy kinda place. Anyway, I knew that they had a back room and when I called I was told that: a.) the room was open that night, and b), we could have it.

It was great and I can't recommend this place enough for your private parties. First of all, the back room is enormous and was NO COST (way bigger than the regular bar and way nicer as well since it's brand new--you even have your own new bathrooms to use). Also, Maureen, the owner, catered the party and let me just tell you that it was dirt cheap. She put out a spread of nice salads, dips, cheeses, crackers, spaghetti and meatballs, italian sausage, pasta alfredo with shrimp, italian beef sandwiches, and shepherds pie along with german chocolate cake for dessert. It worked out to about $3.12 per person and it was GOOD. If our wedding were small enough, you're potentially talking about the cheapest wedding reception ever.

Enough about the food, though...More about the party.

Todd, Steve, and Kiley played a short set, which was awesome, and a fun spectrum of people showed up. Afterward, people wandered into the main area and partook in the karaoke with the rest of the bar. We didn't end up leaving until 1:30, which is like staying out till 6 in the morn at this point in my life. Todd had been sick that weekend, but he rallied and seemed to have a good time. Also, people brought him a lot of nice beer as gifts, so that sweetened the party for him.

So, fun times! Todd resides in the same decade as me! Call Maureen at Spyners if you have a private party to plan!

37 Days
Two teachers came up and told me that there are 37 days left to the school year, and then another teacher told me that there are 7 weeks left. People aren't stoked for the summer in the least, are they? I think what makes it so tough--besides overall teacher exhaustion--is that the weather is so glowingly amazing outside all of the sudden. It makes people all the more itchy to be free. I know that I'm excited.

In cat news, we're still loving it. Todd has taken to calling him "Heff" and "El Jefe" (sp?), and we both call him "Kitty" by default, but it doesn't seem to confuse him too much. Bottom line is that he's totally dying for you to love him, so he'll come running when you sneeze. I hosted book club the other night and he immediately snuggled up between Lauren and Becky on the couch. His idiosyncracies are coming out as well. He likes to lay beside you and fall asleep while having at least one paw pressed against you, which is particularly endearing. At one point yesterday he nestled up on the cushion behind me on the couch and all of the sudden I felt a paw on my face, which he was happy to leave there for as long as possible. I kissed it and Todd reminded me that that's the same paw he uses to push his kitty litter around after he poops. Last night Todd commented that someone must have been sad to give this guy up along the way, and I agree but their loss is our gain. People, I love my cat.

Happy, Happy Birthday ADD!

lervs youse!

HF channeling Bill the Cat

HF

We haz a Kitty
Finally, after years of waiting a kitty is mine/ours! Todd and I went over to the Anti-Cruelty society armed with tab numbers of favored cats that I carefully scribed after looking at the web site. We met one young kitty who was super, super active and we could barely keep him from escaping the bench where we sat. One of the cats was out since he wanted to be an only cat, and we definitely want another cat down the road. So we decided to meet this black and white guy with cow markings. I had listed him at the bottom of my list since he was 4, and we were originally looking for a young kitty. But, he was so, so awesome. He was large and lazy and lay in our arms and accepted brushing with no squirming. It was love and he was ours. It was also a good sign that the lady who worked there confessed that he was one of her favorites.

So we had already chosen names for our future cats, and we knew that we wanted to name our first cat after this Yale football player from the late 19th century named William Walter "Pudge" Heffelfinger. We had first heard his name on Antiques Roadshow and it had stuck. Todd and I debated what to call him for short, since the entire name is a bit ungainly and it was decided that we would give it some time to figure out what was the best fit. "Pudge" seems like the obvious choice, but that ain't it, and we're going with H.F. (initials for the last name). It seems to fit him, and it also has a Coen brothers/old-fashioned feel to it, which I like.

Within an hour of taking him home, he crawled into Todd's lap. He also likes lying between us and accepting a crazy amount of petting. I am stoked that we found the lazy, affectionate lap cat that I have sought in this world.

WTFCNN is hilariously awesome.
(via neatorama)

This doesn't quite do it justice...
...but we tried Pinkberry while in NYC (tart! refreshing!) and Clarence chose green tea Pinkberry with chestnuts as a topping. I saw them and thought first that he ordered green olives, and then thought they might be little sausages. Either would have been a funny option.

I had to include a picture of Libby: the sweetest bunny cat. Clarence showed his method of scooping her up for a cuddle, but she eluded me.

New York!
Grace, Clarence, and Jonathan were gracious and super fun hosts, and planned visits to interesting bars, lunch at Ukrainian diners, dinner at Korean restaurants, plays by Columbia playwrights, crepes, and walks through the neighborhoods by Columbia and Barnard as well as the Lower East Side. We also took the subway from Grace's place to Clarence's place and I made the mistake of drinking a lot of coffee and water that day so Grace and Todd were gracious enough to let me get off the train and out of the subway and find a bathroom (at that point I was considering peeing in the pants). Thanks to Grace, Claro, and J for opening their homes and their weekends to us.