Best of 2009: Album of the Year

December 10 Album of the year. What's rocking your world?

The album that rocked my world this year actually came out in 2005, but I am just now discovering the awesomeness of Sufjan Stevens. His album Come on Feel the Illinoise was the first album I heard of his, and I think I listened to it non-stop for several months. I am in no way, shape, or form a reviewer of music, so i will let the words of Amanda Petrusich of Pitchfork.com do it for me:

"The best travel writers skew their journeys into pointed narratives, writing the story of the landscape by seizing all the weird, awkward bits that make it distinct. Sufjan Stevens' latest installment of state-based chamber-folk, Illinois...validate East Coast stereotypes of tough Midwestern values: This is earnest, hard-working music, morally rooted and technically precise."

After hearing some of his other albums, he has fastly become one of my favorite artists, and I currently have his Songs for Christmas on rotation in my house. :)

Best of 2009: Article

So I decided to hop on the Best of 2009 Blog Challenge brought to you by Gwen Bell. I thought this was a great challenge for me because I have been away from the blogging world for quite awhile as I got kidnapped by grad school (see how I like to blame someone else for my misery when it was indeed myself who decided to obtain a master's degree??) and this would be a good way to get back into the swing of things. Without further ado....

December 3 Article. What's an article that you read that blew you away? That you shared with all your friends. That you Delicious'd and reference throughout the year.

"Bob Waldmire’s farewell tour: The artist and his love affair with the Mother Road"

The article that blew me away this year was actually something that I read rather recently. As part of my job, I work with the Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway organization that works to preserve the "kitschy" nature and the history behind the Mother Road. Bob Waldmire is a man who has dedicated most of his life to the preservation of Route 66. Before I read this article, I didn't really get why people were so obsessed with Route 66, but now I do. And for those of you who have seen the move Disney movie Cars, the VW Bus character was based off of this man.

I guess the neat thing about Route 66 as a whole is not just historic preservation, but the preservation and remembrance of American heritage. When you see some of the attractions along to the road, you are reminded of a time where drive-ins, mom and pop shops, and road side attractions equaled a family summer vacation. While I could have chosen an article that are is more important and relative to the times we are facing that I could have chosen, I just think this article is pretty darn neat. Fun Route 66 Pictures, all courtesy of illinoisroute66.org:

Wishing Well Motel, LaGrange, ILGiant Brooks Catsup Bottle Water Tower, Collinsville, IL

Launching Pad Drive in and Giant Gemini Statue, Wilmington, IL

Oh Em Gee it's Thanksgiving

I am the cook in the family. I don't know how I inherited the talent, but starting in about high school I set out to learn how to cook, and I succeeded. In my life now, cooking serves as a stress reliever. In fact, John can tell when I have a paper looming or a final to study for because he will come home to either a slew of baked goods or a beautiful meal.

So...around the holidays that makes me fairly busy. My mom does the turkey and stuffing, and people usually show up with something like rolls, but I basically take care of the rest of the family favorites. We stay pretty traditional. This year on Ray's menu:

• Paula Dean's Green Bean Casserole. Now, is green bean casserole something I usually would be caught dead making? No. But to many (including me) it's just not thanksgiving without it. Paula's recipe uses fresh green beans and fresh mushrooms which really liven the dish up. I forgo the cheese on top because that is just ridiculous.
  
• My mashed potatoes. I boil Yukon golds with a few bay leaves which really adds a little something. I then mash with criminal amounts of heavy cream, butter and salt. Screw it, it's the holidays. I do not whip my potatoes ...I like texture.
  
• Cranberry sauce. I buy a bag of fresh cranberries and boil them down with sugar, a little water, and some orange juice/zest. This year I think I will add ginger because I'm crazy that way.
  
• Pumpkin pie. I don't mess with this too much and tend to use the recipe on the inside of the canned pumpkin. However, when it is nearly done, I go ahead and throw a mixture of brown sugar, butter, flour and pecans on top to make a crunchy topping. Because we haven't consumed enough fat yet today.

What are your holiday favorites that you just can't live without?

Relief

I a writing this post with a great feeling of relief...as I have secured full time employment and classes are coming to an end in early December, for like, ever. I am so excited to be in this new position, and I really think it is going to be a blast. I will be working to promote tourism in the Chicagoland area through social media and other marketing tools which works out great for me because a.) I am a lover of social media and b.) I am a lover of Chicago.

Grad school has been a crazy and (SOMETIMES) wonderful ride, but I won't be sad to say goodbye. It is time to start living my own life with my own agenda...not an agenda that someone else sets for me. And I'm THRILLED!!

Update

I have been captured by grad school. They are demanding copious amounts of research for my release. Please send in Starbucks. And Tomato Head pizza. I think I will graduate and be a useless zombie because my brain will have turned to cottage cheese...all of this time wasted.

Just because I need to waste more time, here are some of my favorite comics from http://www.phdcomics.com/. If you have ever been/thought about going to grad school, these comics are hilarious. Because there is nothing more annoying than a grad student who takes themselves too seriously.

enough to make you lose your lunch...

Sometimes, I love my husband so much, I just want to squeeze his face off.

But of course I couldn't do that, I would miss his face too much.

Sometimes, I find myself so busy that I forget to stop and think how lucky I am to have a partner by my side.

To help me at the laundry mat, make me lunch, tolerate cubs games with me, and love me unconditionally even though I make huge messes that I don't always clean up right away.

It's good to feel thankful.

Job? Bueller? Bueller?

I don't tend to blog about work too much on here for the obvious reason that blogging about works usually = epic fail. Just go read why Dooce lost her job. But today I am breaking my little rule to bitch.

I am currently working as a graduate intern with a local government in the Chicago suburbs while I finish my master's degree. I have been here the entire time I have been in the program, plus a year while I was an undergrad which gives us a grand total of three years put in AS A FREAKING INTERN. That's right, I have been someones bitch for THAT long. This would cause most people to lose their mind. However, I have handled things quite well considering. I believe in serving your time, and I think I have done that pretty well. I have got glowing reviews and have learned a lot during my time here.

Unfortunately, as we are all well aware, the economy took a massive shit of epic proportions. This means no money in the budget to hire me on as a full time employee. Not that this is completely devastating...I would much rather work in a different community. It would be better than no job at all, however.

This also means that I am graduating into a NASTY economy. Ideally I would like to continue working in local government because this is what my degree is in, but there are literally NO JOBS. None. Not a one anywhere to even apply for, and I am not even joking. I have started applying for federal government jobs as a next choice, and those are limited as well.

Bottom line: I am just really discouraged. I have looked forward to starting my career in public service for so long and now it seems like I will never land that ideal job. I know that a large portion of America is going through the same thing, but when the effects of the struggling economy hits so close to home, it just really stings.