Happy Christnikah

Wow! I didn't realize it had been almost 2 weeks since I last posted. Hope everyone had wonderful holidays. Despite many changes this year and being away from my family, I had a really nice Christmas and even better Christnikah. Granted I had a moment or two where I got sad, because of these changes, but over all it's been nice.
Most of my improv groups are taking a break till the end of the year and the hair bizz has been slow. We're still doing shows but these last two weeks have slowed down. None of this is bad considering how busy my life can get. I even took several naps this weekend without feeling guilty once. Plus, work has slowed down. Well, not really. There's still a ton to do, but the office has been really empty which is nice, because I can wear my comfy sweatshirt and actually get work done, plus I've been able to sneak out extra early on most days.
Last week, work was especially fun. Besides getting a ton of work done and gaining weight by the minute with all the cookies, candy and catered lunched brought in, we also had "kids day." It's basically bring your kid to work day and since I'm part of the comittee that plans it, I ran the activities and brought in a friend of ours to do an improvised kids show. While that was going on, we went in another room and got Corey dressed up as Santa. I'll post pictures later, but it was hilarious! Not only was the suit awesome, Corey did an awesome job. So much so, that they want us back next year which is good because it paid well.

We (and Anne, Corey's cousin) spent Christmas Eve at our friend Ali's new place. It's really sad when you live a couple of blocks away from your friends, but are both too busy to see each other more than once every couple of months. Anyways, it was a lot of fun.
Monday we had friends over for the first annual Christnikah dinner.... Asian themed of course. I must say, the food was delicious (thank you Anna and food network for the receipes) although we haven't mastered fried rice yet. I must take after my Grandmother who ownes and runs 2 Mexican restaurants, but still can't make simple rice. Anyways, between the food,drinks, friends (even Pete from KC came to celebrate), games and IO shows it was a lot of fun. You can read more about the show on Pete's blog.
Now, it's time to get ready for New Year's eve. I'm doing hair and makeup for a friends wedding and then we're attending. Plus Corey's parents are coming into town this weekend. It should be a nice time. After that, short of a couple of out of town gigs, we don't have anything major planned. It'll be nice to recoupe and get back to a normal schedule, no holiday's, no wedding to plan. Just a plain, "normal" life. Ha! Yeah right!

Braces... a Christmas Miracle?

Hoping to put a smile (a normal, not creepy one) on my face, I turned to happynews.com this morning and was surprised to see what they called a Christmas Miracle. While a turtle with braces is certainly strange and funny , I wouldn't call it a miracle. You gotta admire their optimism. I guess that's there job. So there you go Pete you were looking for a dentist. Where's Hermy you asked? Well, he's apparently at the zoo, doing just fine. Maybe you could make an appointment with those dentists.

Now this is something to be happy about!

http://www.happynews.com/

Between all the bad news that's reported daily and our own negativity (not that I ever am) sometimes it can be tough to stay positive . Once in a while, it's just nice to hear about the good things happening across the world. Maybe crazy lady read an article from here.

SOOOOO HAPPY :)

Maybe I'm just cynical, but I always find it strange when people smile for no reason. I'm not talking about someone who's cheerful or friendly. Some people just have pleasant faces and that's wonderful. It's those ooky people who just sit there with a huge, nonstop grin for no apparent reason that creep me out. I got on the train this morning at 7:15 am. At 7:15 in the morning people are sort of stone faced at best, most just looking groggy or grouchy. I am definately one of those groggy people, but I still do my best to give a friendly nod, slight smile or at least turn up the corners of my mouth in effort to make someone feel comfortable. But today, there was quite the little ray of sunshine in our "car." I was thoroughly weirded out by the lady across from me who was beeming with a full on Julia Roberts, toothy smile. It was unatural. What could she possibly be soooo happy about and didn't her face hurt after a while? I mean, we shared the El for a good 20-30 minute ride and her expression never changed. I really tried to do my best to not stare at her, ("keep reading the paper Monique") but I already have the bad habit of people watching and she had me captivated. Maybe she was just happy about life or maybe (since she was looking out the window), it was her first time in Chicago and she was thrilled by the city. There were a few times that I saw her lips move or at least quiver... was she talking to herself? Was she crazy? Was she retarded? I never actually found out, but either way I envy her. She was either too batty to care or she really was just having a kick ass day.

-Mo

I'm not the only one who slid around

At least I know I wasn't over reacting when I was scared to drive last night. I was really pretty surprised at the manners most drivers had, quite unusual for Chicago. Besides the occasional jerkpod pedestrian trying to cross the street as you slid thru the intersection, most people were polite and courteous and understood that things were just going to have to move slowly. I wasn't the only one who slid though. As you've probably read/heard, a Southwest plane slid off the runway and hit a couple of cars out on the nearby street. Unfortunately a little boy in one of the vehicles, was killed. Talk about an unexpected death. It's very sad. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051209/ap_on_re_us/midway_accident

27 Degrees!

It's really sad when you're excited that it's 27 degrees out. Today was much warmer in comparision with yesterday being around 5 degrees. Plus once you factored in the wind it was in the negative digits. Are you kidding me? It hurt, it actually hurt. Once you get downtown, the wind tunnel created by the tall buildings and the lake, feels like it's slapping you in the face. It's impossible to walk into work and look at all decent. First you layer up with a warm sweater (or two) and boots. On freezing days, you even put on cuddle duds. Yeah, cuddle duds. It's a stupid name for these really warm underclothes that are insulating but aren't bulky like long underwear (thanks for the tip mom!) Then, you have to bundle up in a scarf, earmuffs and hat, so you're hair's a mess and your makeup is half way ruined because tears have been streaming down your face from the wind burning your eyes. I don't have too far of a walk from the El to my office (about 4 blocks), but it's days like yesterday that I miss driving to work and parking in a free parking lot right by the front door of my work, like in KC. Poor Corey stood on the El platform last night for over 1/2 an hour waiting for a train that for some unexplained reason was delayed. Once you get to work you roast at your desk, because the cuddle duds have kicked into gear. Being that this is our second winter in Chicago, I remember back in KC a couple of month before we moved, asking Corey if Chicago really was as windy and as cold as people kept saying. I wondered why people kept giving me scarfs, gloves and hats. Corey, "easing my fears" of an unknown city reassured me by telling me that "no, it's not that cold, it's about the same as KC, don't worry." Apparently he was afraid that I wouldn't want to move if I knew the truth. ehhh. Maybe it's not technically colder, but the wind is harsher and you do a lot more walking. Maybe technically Corey was a big fat liar. Maybe it's still worth it to live in this kick ass city.

Happy December

Happy December everyone! Can't believe it's here. I was reading my friend Randy's blog who was talking about how he already has everything he wants as far as a Christmas gifts goes. When asked by mine and Corey's family what I want for Chrisnakah, I feel the same way. While I don't have as many fun electronic toys as Randy does, I don't really feel a want for anything (especially after all the wedding gifts)... well not anything realistic. I mean, I'd love to buy a home, but that's pretty unlikely with Chicao prices and I'd love to get a dog, but that's not happening because we're too busy and it wouldn't be fair to the dog. Plus we've got Corey's dog Ted, staying in KC since our 3 1/2 flights of stairs would be too much for an 11 year old dog or a 25 year old Monique to go up and down several times a day. This of course doesn't stop me from bugging Corey for a puppy. Still, it's pretty cool to not feel like I "need" anything. Plus, we're getting a new couch soon due to the extra work w/shows, hair and photoshoots we're doing and I do want an I-Pod, but ehh it's not a huge deal to me. I think the hardest thing for me this year will be to spend Christmas without my family. A lot has changed this year and it can be a little tough to get used to sometimes. Looks like Corey and I will be creating our traditions this year, which may or may not include reindeer hunting.