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October 26, 2002

It's time to update because THE SHINING IS ON! Love that movie! Love it love it love it!!! I could it over and over and over again. When it was on HBO the summer after 6th grade, I did. I sat in our family room and just waited for it to come on and then I would settle in with a bowl of ice cream and stare slack-jawed at the 19" Zenith on the rolling cart until poor Jack froze his brains out at the end. When I got the DVD for Christmas or my birthday or something last year, I nearly peed myself when I saw that it included the behind-the-scenes documentary done by Stanley Kubrick's daughter. The book is most excellent as well; the last time I read it (I tend to read books over and over because I'm crazy like that) was right after Quinn was born, and I kept having to put it down because I was so scared. It was, like, my twentieth time reading it, but it still scared the crap out of me. It took me about a month to get through it.

Are you sleeping yet? Because I could go on.

COME ON NOW IT'S THE PART WHERE HE SEES THE TWINS IN THE HALLWAY FOR THE FIRST TIME. Those are some creep-ass lookin' girls! I think I'm in love with Shelley Duvall. Where is Danny Lloyd today?

So tonight Andy's mom stopped by on her way down from Elkhorn, Wisconsin where she had been visiting her mother. Because it was about 6:30 p.m., I expected that we'd go out to dinner with her or something...imagine our immense pleasure and slight hysteria when instead, she offered to babysit while we went to a movie. I think we left puffs of smoke behind us as we rushed out the door at 6:36, Quinn staring after us with a dazed look on her face. We saw Red Dragon, and that is some scary stuff. I likes me some nasty Hannibal Lecter action.

WHY is Wendy wearing furry boots inside the hotel? WHY can't I just crawl inside this movie and...become one with it?

Quinn's birthday party was last weekend, and I think I'm from suffering post-traumatic stress. I get nervous having 2 people over, much less the 35 plus 12 kids under the age of 5. I'm not saying I don't like having people over, because once they're here, I really do. It's just that I'm not good at the relaxing beforehand part. So I haven't written thank-you notes (nor has Quinn, I might add, that slacker-in-a-diaper) or even put the folding chairs and coolers away yet. Because I can't think about it any more, even those it's over and done with. Does anyone understand this feeling? Or is the world filled with people like my friend Katie and Cinda's friend Erica who love hostessing and do it effortlessly?

I think the party was very fun (if not a little sardine-like) and the best part of it is that Quinn didn't lose it once. She let people handle her, pass her around, dump her on the floor, pick her up, feed her random bits of food, and she even skipped a nap without freaking out. By the time we got to present-opening, she was practically comatose, but seemingly game for anything else I was going to make her do.

The worst part of the party is that my parents weren't there. My dad is on oxygen full-time, which makes him wary of leaving the house unless he absolutely has to. Plus, with his claustraphobia, I don't think our pad would have been the best place to be with 50 people crammed into it. Plus, there's the small fact that he has been half-deaf forever, and that his sight is going, and I could go on and on about how many things are going wrong with this poor man who is now receiving hospice care three times a week. Anyway, my mom didn't feel comfortable leaving him on that day, so she stayed home with him until we opened presents, then left quickly after.

Anyway, Quinn, Andy, and I are all very lucky to have had such a wonderful year, and that so many friends and family came over to celebrate with her. She is a blessed little bunny girl.

Here are some pictures from the magical event.

Quinn, in her delirium, tried to escape by crawling between that blue chair and the end table...only to be saved by Colleen's husband Doug. Then she crawled onto Ericka's lap--yes, that's right, Ericka--the person she once was so afraid of we almost had to leave the restaurant we were dining at together because she couldn't look at her without crying.
A tie for the cruelest thing you can do to an exhausted, fried-out bunny: try to make her work a Sit-n-Spin and put Aunt Peggy's new puppy in her face while Aunt Julie breathes down her neck..
Why did I feel you needed to see this? I don't know. But here you go. Please notice the kind of ugly decorations on the big Sam's Club cake. Tasted good, looked sketchy.
Did I mention that she was delirious during present-opening? Then please try to imagine her frame of mind during singing and cake-ing. Sister-girlfriend was NOT with us.
Nope, not really interested in much but the candle. I really don't think she ate any of the cake or frosting...she was suspicious of the entire scene.

Of course, when Dadder showed up it was all smiles and frosting-finger sharing.

Thank you! Don't mind if I do!

Deeee-lightful!

Well, while I was putting all that together we missed talking about the picture hanging in Scatman Crother's bedroom in Florida. I retract my love for Shelley Duvall and instead give it to Scatman.

I took my nephew Danny to see David Sedaris at the Chicago Theatre a few weeks ago. If you don't know who David Sedaris is, will you PLEASE spend some time looking over some of these essays? One of my favorites EVER is this one. Anyway, he did readings of some of his older material, then he read some of his new stuff, and by the end Danny and I were clinging to each other, wetting our pants. I worship at this man's feet. He is the funniest person on the entire planet.

The highlight of the evening was probably when Danny and I set out to look for some food after arriving in the city and parking. We wanted to stick close to the theatre, as we only had about an hour before the show, and the place I'd been salivating over since getting out tickets in February closed early because it was a Sunday. I knew it would probably be fruitless to try and find something open at 7:00 p.m. in the Loop, but we started walking anyway. It was cold and my new shoes hurt and there was nothing...NOTHING...open as far as we could see, yet we kept walking. Finally, saw commotion up ahead at Daley Plaza, and when we realized what it was, I whooped with joy. Was it tasty food, fresh and hot? Oh no. Even better. It was the Halloween celebration put on by the Parks and Rec Department that the Real World cast members worked at last year. You know, they had to write and perform a bunch of plays? I'm sorry, you missed this landmark television event? Well, then, you are not my people. We're breaking up.

"TONYA!" I screamed at the crowd while Danny hurried past me, mortified. "CARA! KYLE!" My feet were numb and I was afraid I was going to have to eat Kentucky Fried Chicken for dinner, so I was a little looped out. "PLEASE WON'T YOU PERFORM 'BLOODY MARY'!!! PLEASE!!!" By this point, Danny was almost a block ahead of me, so I had to give up and trot after him.

We ended up taking a cab to Portillo's, scarfing down a hot dog, and taking a cab back just in time to claim our 3rd-row seats and listen to a tape of his book "Barrel Fever" being read in German, which was his before-show entertainment.

It was a pretty good night.

Even if I didn't get to see Tonya and find out why she and Justin broke up.

Next entry: Andy and Quinn on a camel at the pumpkin patch.