December Girls Dinner: Sunda

 Nancy chose Sunda (one of those restaurants for the pretty people where I feel they are being nice to me by letting me in) for our monthly dinner. Our reservations were for 7:30, but we weren’t seated until close to 8:00, then we had to wait too long for our wine order to be taken. Now, there are some people who get cranky when they are hungry (like me!), then there are groups of women who get REALLY cranky when it takes too long for their wine glasses to get filled (like us!). It took a long time for our server to take our drink order, lucky for us, December’s dinner also includes a gift exchange so we got started on that while we were waiting to order and get our food.

Susan and Jodi

Jodee and Heather

Bethany and Nancy

The seven of us had a nice time opening and stealing gifts from each other. I have to say that Sunda is one of *those* restaurants that is a bit loud and makes it difficult for a group to converse easily. I think in addition to the ‘*stars*’ restaurants receive for their food, they should also get ‘!!exclamation!!’ points for the noise level of the joint.

My food was very good. I really enjoyed the fritters, and everyone else really liked the shrimp. Sunda has Asian cuisine and many people ordered sushi and sashimi, but they have ‘regular’ dishes in addition to sushi, so making a decision is difficult. I have to say, that everything I ordered and tasted from other peoples’ plates was very good.

It is a good thing that Sunda has good food because their service kind of sucked. Like I mentioned earlier, we had a long wait to be seated despite having reservations, and we had to wait too long for our order to be taken. In addition, there were some errors with our order, and then with our bill. But, the icing on our nonexistent chocolate cake was when we tried to pay our bill. There were 7 of us, and 5 of us needed to pay with a credit card, and we were told that there is a limit of 4 credit cards per table. So, after having to wait too long, receiving an incorrect bill, and having a 20% gratuity added to our crappy service, they would not allow us to pay with 5 credit cards. We scrambled and came up with the extra cash and gave them 4 credit cards. Some of us had planned to stick around after dinner and belly up to the bar, but after all was said and done, we just wanted to get out of there.

Aimee was sorely missed from dinner.  I guess her excuse was valid.  She was still down the street in the hospital.  You see, she received the best Christmas present of all.

Hanna Juliet

5 minutes (#reverb10)

Reverb 10 is an annual event and online initiative to reflect on your year and manifest what’s next. Use the end of your year as an opportunity to reflect on what's happened, and to send out reverberations for the year ahead. With Reverb 10 - and the 31 prompts our authors have created for you - you'll have support on your journey.

Prompt: 5 minutes. Imagine you will completely lose your memory of 2010 in five minutes. Set an alarm for five minutes and capture the things you most want to remember about 2010.


Author: Patti Digh

 witnessing my nephew, Cooper’s, enjoyment at seeing Billy Elliott

 seeing my Uncle Rich and being shocked at his resemblance to my father both physically and his mannerisms

 my AZ trip with the girls

 my outings (movies and dinners) with girlfriends

 deeper relationships with the above girlfriends

 my deepening desire to create (photos, a movie, etc)

 new relationships/friendships created through Mondo Beyondo

 2 fantabulous dinners at Girl and The Goat

 delicious sunrises over the lake

I feel like that is kind of lame list, but I really couldn’t think of much else. Let’s hope that 2011 is much more exciting.

action (#reverb10)

Reverb 10 is an annual event and online initiative to reflect on your year and manifest what’s next. Use the end of your year as an opportunity to reflect on what's happened, and to send out reverberations for the year ahead. With Reverb 10 - and the 31 prompts our authors have created for you - you'll have support on your journey.

Prompt: Action. When it comes to aspirations, its not about ideas. It's about making ideas happen. What's your next step?


Author: Scott Belsky

Thanks to some common sense advice from my friend Laura, my brilliant next step is to turn off the TV and get my 11 things to get rid of done.

A few years ago, I went to visit my friend, Jessica, in Berkeley, California. I went the entire week without watching television, so when I arrived home, I thought, what the hell, let’s keep it up. I went a whole month without television. I accomplished a heck of a lot.

I think it’s time to drastically reduce my television consumption and to start taking action.
Look out world!

body integration (#reverb10)

Reverb 10 is an annual event and online initiative to reflect on your year and manifest what’s next. Use the end of your year as an opportunity to reflect on what's happened, and to send out reverberations for the year ahead. With Reverb 10 - and the 31 prompts our authors have created for you - you'll have support on your journey.

 

Prompt: Body integration. This year, when did you feel the most integrated with your body? Did you have a moment where there wasn't mind and body, but simply a cohesive YOU, alive and present?

Well there were certainly times when I did NOT feel integrated with my body this year.  There was the time when I said "shut the f*ck up" under my breath to my spin teacher and then there was the time when I was crying during PiYo (pilates/yoga) class; definitely not my finest moments.


This fall I started having Friday morning dates with my dog.  We would get up early and walk to the lakefront to see the sunrise.  Camel really appreciates a beautiful sunrise over the lake.  

Our Friday morning walks are amazing.  We start off walking in the dark, and when we get to the lake, the sun starts to rise over the lake.  It is such a peaceful walk because we start so early.  The lakefront is mostly ours.  The lakefront and Grant Park can be busy on a decent day.  Our early morning walks make me feel like the city belongs to us.  There is a quote I remember reading over 20 years ago that I say whenever I have my 'early morning tranquil feeling':  The early morning has gold in its mouth.  When Camel and I are on our sunrise walks, I usually end up saying that out loud.

So, I would venture to say that Camel and I both feel 'alive and present' our on 1.5 hour Friday morning walks. 

11 things (#reverb10)

Reverb 10 is an annual event and online initiative to reflect on your year and manifest what’s next. Use the end of your year as an opportunity to reflect on what's happened, and to send out reverberations for the year ahead. With Reverb 10 - and the 31 prompts our authors have created for you - you'll have support on your journey.

December 11 – 11 Things

What are 11 things your life doesn’t need in 2011? How will you go about eliminating them? How will getting rid of these 11 things change your life?

1. weight--I need to get rid of my excess weight.  I need to get rigorous about my exercise and eating habits.  I don't like feeling embarrassed of the way I look.  I hate the thought of seeing people I haven't seen in a few years; I'd rather eat glue, seriously, I'm that embarrassed.
2. clutter-- I am a pack rat and the clutter around me makes me anxious, and there is no reason I can't fix that problem.
3. obligation-- I always feel obligated to do certain things, and once I commit, I would never cancel even if I don't want to do something.  I need to get over it and only commit to participate in activities that I really want to do.
4. guilt-- I can feel guilty about anything.  I can feel bad for 30 minutes for getting ready to turn right at a stop light and having to stop suddenly for not seeing that pedestrian.  I feel guilty if I am gone too long and not home for my animals.  I feel guilty if I take all of the big dryers in the laundry room.  It's all little stuff that has no meaning.
5. fear-- I fear people I don't know, certain social gatherings, and I could break out in hives at the hint of conflict.  Come on, Nat, grow a pair, and stop being such a baby.
6. debt-- This one has been on my list to get rid of my entire adult life.  Just get it together, Natalie, would you?
7. laziness-- My alarm goes off at 4:55 am every morning.  I need to just get my ass up and get to the gym instead of laying in bed and having a fight with myself.  I mean really, was an hour of sleeping with the snooze alarm going off every 9 minutes really restful?  Also, there is so much I could/should be doing rather than watching TV.  I think my DVR has ruined my life.
8. relationships-- I feel like it's that time in my life where if a relationship doesn't benefit me in some way, there is no reason to work at it.  If there is no joy generated from a relationship, I just need to move on.
9. procrastination-- I have so many photography books and creative books and notes from e-classes and Rosetta Stone on my computer, and I need to dig in.  I mean really dig in.  Seriously, I think my DVR may have ruined my life.
10. recluse-ness-- My laziness, fear, and grief and made me a bit of a recluse.  I am perfectly happy to sit in my home for days, maybe weeks on end.  I am perfectly content to sit on the couch and watch TV instead of doing all of things I mentioned above.  Damn DVR.
11. grief-- I feel like the grief over the death of my father has paralyzed me.  The sadness I felt/feel has caused me to gain a lot of weight, buy a lot of unneeded things, and to stay inside my home.  On the other hand, I feel if I let go of the grief, I'll feel guilty for not holding my dad close.  (I realize this isn't a logical argument)

wisdom (#reverb10)

Reverb 10 is an annual event and online initiative to reflect on your year and manifest what’s next. Use the end of your year as an opportunity to reflect on what's happened, and to send out reverberations for the year ahead. With Reverb 10 - and the 31 prompts our authors have created for you - you'll have support on your journey.


Prompt: Wisdom. What was the wisest decision you made this year, and how did it play out?
Author: Susannah Conway
I've been thinking about this prompt for a few hours now, and nothing really life changing is coming to mind.  I mean, it was a great decision to quit smoking crack, but that's not really life changing (JOKING!).  And it's not like I had to decide which daycare to send my animals to or anything.  I did decide to lose 40 pounds this year, but it didn't happen, so umm, yeah, not such a great decision.  A great decision would have been to purchase 5 more pairs of red shoes, but it wasn't in the budget.  So, my 'wisdom' for the year might be a bit lame, but it's brought me some joy and fun throughout the year.
My best decision was to learn how to shoot in manual mode on my camera and to get the 50mm 1.8 prime lens (very affordable).  Both of those really changed the way I take pictures.  I've always loved photography and admired the emotions photographers can make me feel with their photos.  
I started the year with a short on-line class from Big Picture.  It got me away from shooting on auto and to take a bit more control with my photos.  Later in the year, I purchased the UNmanual from Mom*tog, and that was a great next step for me.

I try to include photos in my blogposts because there is a reason I am an accountant:  I ain't no writer.  So, my thought is that I can make my posts a tiny bit more interesting by including a photo.  

I also took Vivienne McMaster's You Are Your Own Muse this year in which I learned to turn the camera on myself and use things like remotes and textures.

 I am hoping to learn a lot more about photography and to exercise my atrophied creative muscles in 2011.  I may even take a real, live photography class.  What a novel idea!

party (#reverb10)

Reverb 10 is an annual event and online initiative to reflect on your year and manifest what’s next. Use the end of your year as an opportunity to reflect on what's happened, and to send out reverberations for the year ahead. With Reverb 10 - and the 31 prompts our authors have created for you - you'll have support on your journey.

Prompt: Party. What social gathering rocked your socks off in 2010? Describe the people, music, food, drink, clothes, shenanigans.

Author: Shauna Reid

2010 was a low key year. I don’t think there was anything that really knocked my socks off, but there were a couple of fun get-togethers, for sure. This morning, I scanned all of my pictures for 2010 and saw a few fun events, but I do believe my socks stayed on all year.

Notables:

Girls Weekend



JohnnyFest 2010



Chicago/Doobie Brothers concert





My low-key birthday celebration



I love this photo.  It was right after we saw Billy Elliott, and Cooper was demonstating a beautiful arabesque

I think 2010 was filled with Chicago activities: restaurants, festivals, concerts, and walks. The people, music, food, and drink were as varied as Chicago weather.

beautifully different (#reverb10)

Reverb 10 is an annual event and online initiative to reflect on your year and manifest what’s next. Use the end of your year as an opportunity to reflect on what's happened, and to send out reverberations for the year ahead. With Reverb 10 - and the 31 prompts our authors have created for you - you'll have support on your journey.
December 8 – BEAUTIFULLY DIFFERENT


Prompt: Beautifully different. Think about what makes you different and what you do that lights people up. Reflect on all the things that make you different-you’ll find they’re what make you beautiful


(Author: Karen Walrond)

I am a 5’10” vegetarian, pseudo hippie with naturally curly hair and size 11 shoe who laughs really loud, has furbabies instead of real babies, drives a scooter to work when weather permits, and wears red shoes whenever possible. I can perform a mean time step (thanks to 20 years of dance class) and say “I love you” in six languages, one of which being sign language which I am fluent (but a bit rusty).

This picture displays my big feet, curly hair, and my 2 cats and 1 dog all on the couch with me. You can also see a picture of me at age 2 with my curly fro in the background.

I am sure my mother would have a ton to add about how I am different.  She doesn't really understand where I came from.  If I only had a dollar for every time I heard her say, "Nat, where did you come from?  Whose daughter are you?"

community (#reverb 10)

Reverb 10 is an annual event and online initiative to reflect on your year and manifest what’s next. Use the end of your year as an opportunity to reflect on what's happened, and to send out reverberations for the year ahead. With Reverb 10 - and the 31 prompts our authors have created for you - you'll have support on your journey.

December 7 – Community


Prompt: Community. Where have you discovered community, online or otherwise, in 2010? What community would you like to join, create or more deeply connect with in 2011?


(Author: Cali Harris)

I may be late, but I am FINALLY joining the reverb party.

In 2010, I discovered a couple communities.

This year online I discovered Mondo Beyondo and the magic that is dreaming big. Through Mondo Beyondo,  I met some great friends like Laura and The Great Askini. I’ve also scratched the surface of my creative self with the help of Vivienne and You Are Your Own Muse.

Community does not come easy for me. I don’t know why that is, but as I get older I realize how hard it is for me to make new friends. Actually, as I get older, I realize how scared I am of people in general. That is so weird to admit.

For instance, I am in need of a part time job, but the thought of working someplace where there is even the slightest chance of having to deal with a disgruntled customer has me running for the hills. There is a new market opening in my neighborhood in a few months, and I thought I could apply there, but to be a cashier or other front line worker where someone might be displeased about something FREAKS ME OUT. I don’t know, maybe it is conflict that petrifies and not so much *people*. Nah, I think it truly is people. One on one is very difficult, I mean, what if I run out of things to talk about?

I have also made deeper connections with a few friends that I have known for over 10 years. It began last year and has continued this year. We’ve been getting together at least once a month for years, but finally, something happened, and my connection is deeper, better. And I am thankful, so very thankful for these friends.

As I look to 2011, I hope the new connections I’ve made continue to blossom, and the old connections I have continue to deepen. I am also looking forward to UNRAVELLING.