WINNING!

So, I guess now it's official, and I can finally share our big news; we WON THE LOTTERY!!!!!! Our last-minute ticket frenzy paid off, and we won!  We'll be splitting it with two other winners, but still - one third of $640 million is a lot of money! We've already contacted a lawyer and have our payout all set up and will be receiving $119 million after the lump sum and taxes.  Wow. I still can't believe it.  I am in total shock......

Yeah, yeah, April Fool's.  I know, it's not a very great one this year, but I didn't have much to work with.  I was going to go with the standard "I'm pregnant" line, but as I just found out that's incredibly true at the moment, I had to scramble for something else.

For the record, we actually did win the lottery - a whopping $9!  We only paid $6 for the tickets, so I'd say a $3 profit is not too shabby, considering the overwhelming majority of the tickets sold were worthless.  Anyway, sorry for the lame joke.  I'll come up with something better next year.  Or am I getting to old for this?  Perhaps.  

Life in Review

It's been a while, so I thought I'd update you all on the big changes in the She's Gone Rogue community:

1. I just bought 3 Mega Millions Lottery tickets.  The jackpot is up to $640 million and growing, so naturally, I had to be a part of that.  Also, I am fully aware that by tomorrow I won't be $640 million richer.  The government takes half, so I'll just be around $320 million richer.  In which case, I will go ahead and purchase this little ditty.  (On the off-chance that deal doesn't go through, please see No. 2.)

2. We found a new apartment!  It's in Lincoln Square, which appears to be a cool/young/fun/hip/awesome/glorious/safe/interesting/studious/German-food area, so that should be a good time.  We actually haven't spent much time there, other than looking at a few apartments, and it's not actually much of a better commute for Matt, and I don't actually know why we're doing it, but whatever.  It's gonna be greeeaaaaaattt.  At the very least, we'll have 2 bedrooms, a balcony, a (working!) fireplace, a bonus attic room, and laundry.... for freeeeeeeeee!  So, we'll pretty much be living the dream.  Also, we decided that in lieu of a car, I will just get an Iphone to help me wander around the streets of Chicago.  Bang!  Game. Changer.

3. We went to Denver, and we actually came back! I know, I was pretty shocked myself.  Denver is glorious.  The mountains are glorious.  The elk are glorious.  The turkey fights are spectacular.  It was pretty fantastic to see all our old friends, and I made sure to mention (more than once... with tears in my eyes) how happy I was to be reunited with all my buddies again.  Some people were embarrassed.  I was not... but I am a little bit now that I think about it.

4. I did some temp work the last couple weeks downtown.  I think I worked like a total of 8 days, and it was heavenly.  I am ashamed at how entertained I was by doing data entry for 20 hours.  I wouldn't want to make a career out of it... but I probably could.  I'm that good.  Plus, it paid for my new Iphone that I have yet to purchase.  But that's neither here nor there, as I have the winning lottery numbers clutched in my sweaty palm.

5. We will be gleefully attending a charity pub crawl tomorrow afternoon/evening/early Sunday morning.  We are very excited.

6.  I got a new Food and Wine magazine with some sweet new recipes I can't wait to try.

7.  I started running outside again.  It is muy bueno.  I can go much farther outside, which is good for the ol' waistline/thigh circumference.

8.  That is all my news.  Word to your mother.  

Talking Time, Thinking Time, Moving Time

First things first, to clarify:  the title is in reference to Matt and his older brother's nerdy, ahem, adorable practice of having a "talking time" and then a "thinking time" before bed. They shared a room.  And bunk beds.  Gods, that is sweet.

Now, to get on with it: In case some of you don't know, (and you probably don't because we haven't told anyone... except most people we speak to regularly... and our neighbors... and that guy at Jewel who asks me for money and tells me I have a beautiful smile so then I give him the money), we're probably moving in May when our lease is up.  We've started looking, and think that we found the perfect place today.  Please let me know your opinions, as this is a huge decision.

 

Cray-eyed Matt with his 5-sticks-of-butter-cake I made him.  Hey, the recipe is from Food and Wine, which makes it okay.  (Cray is the new "crazy".  Spread the word.)

Also, thank you to everyone for making our birthdays so special this year! My birthday marked one year to the day of leaving Baroda for good. Bang!  (It's the new boom. Tell all your friends.)

 

Old Baby Cait with her two mini pies!  Needles to say, we are now on a diet.  

Now, before I go, I'd like to leave you with a little something that will brighten your day and leave you smiling far into the weekend... even if it means Matt kills me. It's probably worth it.  At some point over the past few weeks, this happened:  

 

Bang. So hip. Amazing how now that we know what hipsters are, we can emulate them at will.   

Circle of Life

Today, I looked out my window and saw a hawk eating another bird.  Probably a pigeon.  There are feathers everywhere.  No blood, but so many feathers!

Seriously?  This is eerily similar to my bird eating lizard post of 2010.

Maybe the universe is telling me something again?  Like get out of America?  It has been close to a year since my last jaunt outside the usa. And I have been working really hard on my job searching.  I've been on six interviews now and have sent out at least a hundred applications (none of which has come to fruition... yet)!  I think I deserve a vacation.  If you're picking up on a weird sense of entitlement here, then you are spot on.  I'm not sure how I got like this, but I think traveling the world for free might have played a part.  Also, being the baby of the family always comes with a greater sense of privilege.  To further underscore my point, consider this: if I'm ever going to get a job working within an international community, I'd better get some more experience in.  Don't think of it as a vacation, think of it as "market research".  



Also, it's snowing outside.  Sooo... I'd like to get out of that situation.  

Holiday Wrap Up

So, I guess I missed posting about my big Amurcan Holiday Season this year.  Suffice it to say, we were very busy running around visiting family and ringing in Thanksgiving, Christmas AND New Year's all over the country!  A few highlights in photo form:

 

Spent Thanksgiving at the Correnti household, where Matt was immediately put to work hanging Christmas lights.  

 

Later, we went to Oregon to check up on Ruby's.  Matt felt the need to show off his skills, so we spent several hours hanging these Christmas lights, only to have none of them work because we got them from the thrift shop.  Imagine that.  

 

After that, we returned to Chicago and visited the German Christmas Market downtown. It was pretty authentic, as far as Christmas Markets go, except it was small and as you can see, there were about 10,000 too many people there.  

 

Then we decorated our apartment, for the first time since 2007!

 

For Christmas, we drove to Arkansas with a pit stop in Missouri to collect our gifts (lots of camo) and stir  up some excitement.  

 

Mason methodically tracked Santa's route with a map and an Iphone. 

 

These kids cleaned up! (As in, they got a lot of toys.  They didn't actually clean anything up.)

That's about it.  I don't actually have pictures to prove I rang in the New Year with the Correnti family, but I did.  It was similar to my 2011 New Year's Eve, filled with drinking and game-playing, only a lot more awesome.  

Now we're finally back home, and I'm ringing in this Friday the 13th stuck inside in the middle of a massive snow storm!  Okay, it was only 6 inches, and it actually snowed yesterday, not today, but still.  Six inches of snow and 20 degree weather deters me from venturing outside.

A word about the New Year:  Last year, I completed at least one of my resolutions for 2011 - I ran 10 kilometers continuously!  Actually, it was more like 12K because I was trying to run 11K to mark 11-11-11, but I got confused.  Still, I can check that one off the last.  I don't really know about the rest of my resolutions because they are a little harder to quantify... except that song from Stepbrothers.  I didn't learn that.  Oops.  This year, in the spirit of fulfilling a resolution (because it feels so damn good!) I resolve to run at least 10 miles continuously.  Also, I will find a job and decide what I want to be when I grow up (those are in no particular order).  Bring it on 2012.

As you may have guessed, I still have no job.  Surprised?  Me either.  Never fear, my diligent followers, for I am making the best of this dismal situation.  As I believe I've previously mentioned, I'm making lemonade out of the rotten, putrid, stinking lemons I've been given, and I'm taking this time off to try my hand at cooking and baking.  As a tribute to Rachael (who, along with 80% of the blogosphere, is always listing her cooking adventures... and who is a far more accomplished cook than I), I will now list a few of my greatest achievements:  fancy gumbo (only fancy because I had to stir the roux for 25 minutes continuously until it turned "the color of chocolate"), ravioli from scratch (Katie and I went on a friend date to a ravioli-making class, which was only slightly awkward, due to the fact that everyone else in class was on a romantic date), gooey raspberry granola bars (those didn't actually turn out, but they sound good), and (as of last night) my very own homemade granola with cranberries and sunflower seeds!  Also, I bought a muffin pan two or three months ago, and have yet to use it. Boom.  Chef.

Shameless

There are a few reasons I'm shameless today.  The first, and arguably most damning is this:  I have spent approximately one hour researching velvet camo blazers online trying to find a photo of the one Brad Paisley wore last night at the 45th annual CMA Awards.  I am ashamed to admit that I couldn't find a picture of the exact one, but I think this one comes close.  Brad's was velvet, therefore inherently better, but I'm pleased to note that I could indeed buy a camouflage blazer if I wanted.  Also, in my vast research, I came across an amazing Christmas gift that I would like to receive, should anyone like to get it for me:

 

This is from a website called Camo Formal. The sash comes in several different colors, including Hunter's Orange.  I am partial to the red because I think it's more Christmassy.  

Being a true Arkansawyer, I know my fair share of people who have gotten married in camouflage dresses, and needless to say, if I had a do-over for my own wedding, I would surely jump on that bandwagon.  As it stands, I will wait until someone gifts this little ditty to me, and then I'll wear the hell out of it.  That is a promise.  

My second round of shamelessness is actually not my doing, but that of my friend from high school.  She is launching her very own print magazine and without an ounce of shame in her very being, asked me if I'd like to blog about it.  While I fully support everything she is doing, and am beyond proud of her accomplishments, I am simultaneously falling down into a pit of despair as I compare her life to my own and see all the ways in which I do not measure up.  However, I'm not one to let a little despair, or the fact that no one in roughly 100 miles of her area reads my blog (with the possible exception of my father), come between me and helping out my homies, so here you go:  

DEITRA Magazine, everyone's favorite community-supporting, video-sharing, local-artist-sponsoring online journal, is hosting a launch party for their first ever print edition.  Music lovers everywhere, as well as those fond of reading while holding tangible objects, can finally delve into the heart of magazine magic as they flip open the glossy cover of DEITRA to find pages jam-packed with news articles, CD reviews and interviews with a diverse group of local artists.  Hipsters nationwide will shake their heads with disbelief as their previously hidden gems of the music scene are suddenly thrust into the spotlight, thanks to DEITRA's steadfast support of undiscovered bands.   

DEITRA Magazine invites everyone - in every time zone, and every country - to come share in this momentous occasion on Thursday, December 8th, at 9:00 p.m. in the Outland Ballroom in Springfield, Missouri.  Come early to pick up your FREE print copy of the magazine, and secure your spot in the front row to hear popular Springfield-based bands such as Assembly Line Gods, VideoVamp, Ewag3, SPiNRaD (featuring Yellville musical legend David Styer), and many more.  There is a $5 cover.  Ain't nothing in this world worth doing is free anymore.  "There is an incredible population of artists in local communities, including musicians, writers, photographers, actors, comedians and more," says the magazine's editor,  "and DEITRA magazine wants to bring those talented people out from the underground and put them into the spotlight." Those not in the area should check out DEITRA Magazine online.  It's the very least you could do.  

Lastly, I'm shameless because I've had this song stuck in my head for the last four hours.  Something about the CMA's always brings out the Garth Brooks in me. 

   

This is Halloween!

 

First pumpkins in at least four years!  Mine's the gruesome evil one. Matt's is the jolly snowman face one.  

We finally got to go all out dressing up for Halloween this year, and in true She's Gone Rogue style, we chose to go the comedic route rather than horror or slutty (although slutty was a close second for Matt.  I had to reign him in).  Anyway, for our re-entrance into American Halloween culture, we worked diligently for days on our costumes, making sure every detail was perfect.  And then we scrapped it the night before when we came up with something better:  Allstate Mayhem Commercial Guy.  I'll attach links to the youtube clips so you get the idea, but even if you don't, I'm confident you'll still find our costumes rock so much harder than most.  Matt was the "hot babe out jogging":

 

 He's out making sure this a ten.  Click here for his commercial.

Pretty close, right?

Katie was the toddler:  

 

Click here for her commercial.

And I was the "raccoon hiding in your attic":

 

"I'm the smartest raccoon I know."  Click here for my commercial.  (It's de best one.)  

In any case, we were all very excited to dress up better than we have in previous years.  Case in point:

 

Halloween 2009 Dushanzi:  Matt is the character Apache played by the late Patrick Swayze.  So sad.  I am Brett Michaels of Poison fame.  

 

Halloween 2010 Baroda:  An Asian couple in love.  Maybe not the most politically correct costume, but we had nothing else.  

Halloween 2011 Chicago:  Allstate Mayhem.  A vast improvement.  

In other news, I signed up with a staffing agency today in hopes they'll be more successful at finding me a job.  I went to their office downtown today and spent about three hours taking tests and filling out papers.  I felt very urban and professional by the time I was finished.  Then I went to the restroom in McDonald's and immediately dropped my phone in the toilet.  A public toilet.  In McDonald's.  I was tempted to just leave it, but then I thought better of it, as I have no car and my phone is about the only thing that connects me with the outside world.  So I dove in there and plucked it from within the recesses of the septic system.  Not really.  It was just in the toilet bowl.  Still, it was pretty gross.