Might take some convincing.

This week's presentations went really well.  By the end I was running about 20-30 minutes, when it's really supposed to last an hour... which gave the sales guy some more time to do his pitch.  I definitely will be talking to the boss about marketing this presentation differently from now on.  It's obviously successful and a great way to get in front of designers and architects that we probably would not otherwise... but by limiting who we are willing to present it to we're totally shorting ourselves.  Hopefully he'll agree, and I'll have my job back (figuratively speaking).

Chicago this round has been great as usual... chilly and windy, but sunny.  The wind today cut right through you, so I've spent most of the time inside.  I switched hotels today, from the Affinia to the Burnham, River North area to The Loop.  The River North is a bit nicer, but The Loop is closer to the museums that we want to visit tomorrow.  Besides we don't need to be doing any more shopping!  

There's been competing noise-makers outside for most of the day today... a couple of kids banging on plastic buckets which isn't so bad, they're pretty talented.  But the hellfire-and-brimstone street preacher is getting on my nerves.  He has a mike and mini-speaker, and since I'm on the third floor of the hotel I can hear him pretty well.  I was going to take a nap today, but I just can't sleep with that kind of noise.  Normal street noise I can deal with okay, but banging and yelling like this, not so much.  But I know when we go to sleep tonight they'll be gone.  The Affinia was right next to the fire station, and when CFD trucks started up their sirens it made me jump a mile every time, especially at 3 a.m., so this is really nothing in comparison!

B & his brother are on their way, and I have a mile to walk to meet them at a friend's place.  I might just make B get a cab if it's too cold though!

Random Tuesday Thoughts

Whee! Now I can say a bunch of stupid stuff, and have a reason for doing so! Thanks, Un-Mom & Captain Dumbass!

• On Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations Chicago episode, he made a point that I totally agree with.  He said that Chicago is one of the last true cities in the U.S.  Like, real metropolis, as opposed to urban sprawl.  This city grows on me more and more every time I visit.
• Hyatt's Corporate Headquarters in Chicago are beeeyooteefull.  Bamboo, carved wood staircases going up, and frosted melamine going down, lots of opulent touches here and there.  Loved it, but still I have to wonder, is it really necessary?  Couldn't that money be better spent somehow?  
• The hairdryer in my hotel room did weird things to my hair this morning.  Static and excessive frizz ensued.
• I had a hole in the toe of my sock today.  But I will not be throwing them out, oh no!  I will learn to darn.  Welcome back to 1850, when you didn't replace things arbitrarily, but actually tried to fix them first.  What a concept!
• I get to sleep in tomorrow, but yet I had my pajamas on around 7:00 this evening.  A whole day of trying to sound like you know what you're talking about will wear you out!
• Another interesting quirk about this hotel... pillow options.  There was an actual pillow menu on my bed when I arrived, and I have the option to call housekeeping and request one of six different pillows.  I may have to try the memory foam type tomorrow.

Despite the excuse to write about whatever I please without having to justify myself, this is all I can come up with right now.  Kind of sad.

Heading out

I'm off to Chicago all of next week!  I finally get to teach that class I've been so excited about.  I hope it doesn't come back to bite me in the butt.  The weather is supposed to be nasty the first part of the week and then warm up a bit by the end, which works out well because B and his brother are driving over Friday afternoon and we're all staying for the weekend.  I love walking around in Chicago, so I'm glad the sun will be out a little bit.

***

The other blog is up and running, and I'm pretty excited about it.  I posted links to it on Facespace and Mybook, and my fam and friends are already pretty enthused.  B even wants to contribute!  He's a good writer so I think it'll be something fun we can do together.

***

The party this weekend was a blast!  A few people couldn't make it, but we still had a great time.  We'll definitely have to do that more often once the weather gets nice!

Weekend Recipe

Every weekend I plan on sharing a new recipe that uses organic or fresh-from-the-garden ingredients.  This first one is a snack I love to make, then gorge myself on while watching a marathon of Tivo'ed shows on a Sunday afternoon!

Black Bean Hummus

Recipe adapted from The Daily Green

• 2 cups (one 15 oz can) organic black beans, rinsed and drained well 
  
• 1 cup chickpeas (half a can, organic if you can find them), rinsed and drained well 
  
• 1 garlic clove, minced 
  
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin 
  
• 2 tablespoons tahini (sesame seed paste) -OR- substitute 2 tbs creamy natural peanut butter plus 1 or so tbs toasted sesame seeds, pureed in the blender
  
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 
  
• 1/4 cup olive oil
  
• Season to taste with Cholula powder or taco seasoning for a kick
  
• Add sour cream a tablespoon at a time to get the desired consistency

Puree all ingredients in your food processor.  Add sour cream and seasoning until you reach the texture and flavor you like.  Serve with fresh veggies, pita bread or chips, or crackers.

The haps

Life has slowed down considerably, and I'm having a hard time with it. We're at that weird season where the sun is shining but it's not nearly warm enough to work in the garden, but sitting inside makes me feel guilty about wasting a beautiful day! Work is still slow as hell too, so I get home at night and really want to do something, anything, but I just wind up on the couch again. It's kind of depressing.

***

This weekend we're having a party, and honest to god party, with people and food and games and everything! B turned 30 last month and I turn 30 this month, so we're having one party. Some friends from Cleveland and Columbus are coming, and a bunch of B's friends from school, and a couple of my friends from work too. I just hope the weather holds out! It's supposed to rain all day tomorrow, but be sunny and mid-50's on Saturday. A little chilly, but we'll have a fire, and when the sun reflects off the back of the house the patio stays pretty warm. I hope it turns out well, because I'm doing a ton of food and I don't want it to go to waste. :-) So if you're around Toledo and not doing anything after 4:00 this Saturday, come by!! Brats & beer! Whoo!

***

I'm starting another blog today. I know what you're thinking... geez Jen, you barely ever write on this one, what are you gonna do with two? Well the other one is going to be strictly focused on the whole 'green' thing that I'm doing, with product reviews, links to good articles, and stuff that I learn along my way that might be interesting to friends and family. I'm going to share with my co-workers too. Right now I write a little newsletter once a month, but I know there are some folks who are more interested in this stuff than others, so I want to be able to share more with them too. So once I get the new place all set up, I'll post a link to it.