My stomach aches and it's all my fault.
I went to the county fair with my sister today and I ate SO much unhealthy food. I mean, I actually ate fried vegetables!
I seriously wouldn't be surprised if I turn into a piece of fried zucchini. Or maybe a piece of fried mushroom. But fried pickle??? Uh, nooo. Just like I said no to fried Oreos, fried Snickers bars and fried twinkies, fried pickle is not the business!
Maybe I can sleep it off?
Friday, July 03, 2009
Stomach Ache
Thursday, July 02, 2009
My Beautiful Sister!
Yeah, can I brag for a moment about how ridiculously adorable and awesome my sister is? It's been a year since I've seen her, we just snapped this picture and I couldn't resist sharing my excitement with you all. She was out of town when I arrived yesterday so this is the first time I've seen her. No kidding, I jumped up and down with excitement!
And, check out how beautiful her hair is! She decided to go natural too and wowzer, I love her hair! We're going to a county fair tomorrow and we'll be like the afro twins up there! LOVE IT!!!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Au Revoir, Los Angeles
I'm very, very excited about heading back to the Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana part of the world. And my kids have been BOUNCING nonstop all day long. They are ready to go!
Me? I'm all packed and ready to sleep on my redeye flight. I'm exhausted. I don't talk about it in this space (or most spaces), but this has been an extremely difficult month for me and my family. Sometimes it feels like everybody I know is going through a tough time right now, in one way or another. I've even wondered, is it this city? Is it LA? But then I talk to folks in other cities, and they are also feeling the weight of this world.
I went to see Michael Jackson's star on the Walk of Fame tonight. It was a crazy scene... people of all colors and ages crying and placing handwritten letters alongside his star. But in the background, folks were yelling, "Get your Michael Jackson shirts right here! $100!"
I chatted with another woman who was selling her t-shirts for $5 a pop. She told me she'd made $1300 in 7 hours. I was floored! Entreprenuership is a good thing but good grief, these folks were capitalizing off of death!
The whole scene seemed like it was a representation of everything that's wrong with this world. Greed juxtaposed against genuine emotion... and I couldn't help but think that it was SUCH an LA story.
But as I drove home along Hollywood Blvd, I let the windows all the way down so I could feel the cool sunset air blow against my face. As gritty as Hollywood Blvd is, with it's "lingerie" shops, tattoo parlors and homeless folks slumped across the golden stars that line it, there is something undeniably special about this city. I've lived here for 11 years this August, and this is perhaps the first time I've gone back to Chicago feeling like LA is more my home.
Maybe it's the dreamer in me that loves this place, the way people can come here and be themselves or reinvent themselves. Whatever it is, I do love this city and I will miss it while I'm away.
In the meantime, I am happy to head back east to see my family and all the friends I grew up with. And I can't wait to see how big the humidity makes my hair! Whoo hoo! I'm ready to scare all those Midwesterners with my ginormous afro!
Oh, and in case something happens, which I hope DOES NOT, but you never know, it's been good knowing you, blog fam. Whatever comes to pass, keep being that light in the darkness.
Love,
Liz
a/k/a Your Girl, Los Angelista
Me? I'm all packed and ready to sleep on my redeye flight. I'm exhausted. I don't talk about it in this space (or most spaces), but this has been an extremely difficult month for me and my family. Sometimes it feels like everybody I know is going through a tough time right now, in one way or another. I've even wondered, is it this city? Is it LA? But then I talk to folks in other cities, and they are also feeling the weight of this world.
I went to see Michael Jackson's star on the Walk of Fame tonight. It was a crazy scene... people of all colors and ages crying and placing handwritten letters alongside his star. But in the background, folks were yelling, "Get your Michael Jackson shirts right here! $100!"
I chatted with another woman who was selling her t-shirts for $5 a pop. She told me she'd made $1300 in 7 hours. I was floored! Entreprenuership is a good thing but good grief, these folks were capitalizing off of death!
The whole scene seemed like it was a representation of everything that's wrong with this world. Greed juxtaposed against genuine emotion... and I couldn't help but think that it was SUCH an LA story.
But as I drove home along Hollywood Blvd, I let the windows all the way down so I could feel the cool sunset air blow against my face. As gritty as Hollywood Blvd is, with it's "lingerie" shops, tattoo parlors and homeless folks slumped across the golden stars that line it, there is something undeniably special about this city. I've lived here for 11 years this August, and this is perhaps the first time I've gone back to Chicago feeling like LA is more my home.
Maybe it's the dreamer in me that loves this place, the way people can come here and be themselves or reinvent themselves. Whatever it is, I do love this city and I will miss it while I'm away.
In the meantime, I am happy to head back east to see my family and all the friends I grew up with. And I can't wait to see how big the humidity makes my hair! Whoo hoo! I'm ready to scare all those Midwesterners with my ginormous afro!
Oh, and in case something happens, which I hope DOES NOT, but you never know, it's been good knowing you, blog fam. Whatever comes to pass, keep being that light in the darkness.
Love,
Liz
a/k/a Your Girl, Los Angelista
Zing Zang Zoom With Ringling Bros.
As excited as my sons are to head to Chicagoland later on today (and they're REALLY excited), they're disappointed that Chicago doesn't have something that LA is going to have this summer: Ringling Bros. Circus!
Yes, the circus is coming to town and my boys have been marching around the house over the past few days chanting the name of the latest show, "Zing Zang Zoom", non-stop. That phrase is the Ringling Bros. equivalent of, "Abracadabra!".
This year's circus incorporates something every kid and adult loves: Magic. So, instead of a ringmaster, the Zing Zang Zoom show has a "Magical Zingmaster", magician Alex Ramon.
I met Alex a couple of weeks ago, along with his production assistant Leah Christiana (who is also his sister), the creative director Shanda Sawyer and the special effects master, Jim Steinmeyer. They were holding an event for a local elementary school at one of my absolute favorite places, Los Angeles' Magic Castle. I got to take my eldest son to it and we had the BEST time ever.
We heard how Ringling Bros. is incorporating the traditions of magical showmanship into the circus, meaning there'll be fabulous tricks like elephants disappearing into thin air. I have no idea how that gets pulled off in front of everybody, which explains why I am not a magician, I mean, "Zingmaster"!
The thing I liked most was that Alex Ramon is really personable, humble, spot-on with his interactions with kids, and he's a Mama's Boy!
Need proof? Even though this footage of him doing some "close magic" for the kids isn't the absolute best, I love it because at around the 30 second mark, he gives his mom such a sweet tribute.
Aww!!! Wasn't that sweet of him to thank his mom for his success? I also thought it was great for the students to hear how hard work and practice has paid off for him. They definitely were in awe of his talents, and after seeing him, my own son is more convinced than ever that he too wants to learn how to do magic tricks.
If you want to see Zingmaster Alex Ramon and the rest of the Ringling Bros. performers, the circus is playing here in LA at Staples Center from July 8-12, in Anaheim from July 15-26, and in Ontario from July 29-August 2nd.
I'll miss out on the LA and Anaheim shows, but you Los Angeles area peeps should definitely go have some fun at the show.
To help you do that, Ringling Bros. created a special discount code for Los Angelista readers! A four-pack of tickets is specially priced at $44 when you enter in the code “mom” in the "MC Promotion Box" on Ticketmaster.
If you're a dad, no worries, you can still enter "mom". And no, please don't say I'm discriminating against dads who want to take their kids to the circus! It's just that Alex's story about his mom was so touching so why not have the code be "mom"?
Anyway, you do have to purchase at least four tickets for the code to be valid, but every additional ticket after four is still only $11. No, you're not going to be able to buy the Circus Celebrity/Front Row/VIP seats but that's still a pretty inexpensive night out with your friends and family, especially when a movie ticket at The Grove is $13.
Hopefully we'll be able to catch one of the Ontario shows when we get back, even though the drive out there will probably make me want to ingest copious amounts of some toxic, mind-numbing substance. -- oh wait, I have that covered. It's called breathing in the air on the 10 Fwy.
In the meantime, my mini magicians in the making will undoubtedly be bouncing all over Chicagoland, practicing magic tricks. Gee, I wish my kids would get good enough that they could learn how to make money for college appear out of thin air, or at the very least, figure out a spell for making my eyebrows look perfectly waxed at all times. Wouldn't that be awesome?
If you hear some kids shouting, "Zing Zang Zoom!" on the El, you"ll know it's us!
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