Category: Uncategorized (Page 7 of 207)

After a late night of music and dance and talking, we slept in Saturday morning. Once again, desire for lunch got us out of the hotel and into an uber, whisking us to downtown Chicago. We had lunch at Nando’s. Ben and I had a great meal there when we came to Chicago a few years ago. The service was terrible and the food a little cold by the time everything came out. Still pretty tasty!

Next we walked through Millennium Park to spend a couples hours in the Art Institute. We breezed through the impressionists to study the interior furnishings gallery. I made a point to see my favorite piece from my last visit, Meekness by Eustache LeSueur. It’s quite stunning. I’d love to get a print of it with gold foil so it shines like the original.

I saw several young women I suspected of being fellow nctizens. I approached this group in the architecture gallery to compliment their photocard keychains. They lit up like Christmas lights and eagerly gushed with me about the concert. They were from Buffalo, NY and quite impressed I had come from Colorado. We talked about NCT Dream and other groups have seen live, or wish we had seen live. They were so cute, I’m glad Amanda took a secret picture of us.

I ducked into Uniqlo and indulged a few pieces – so sad that the Uniqlo in Denver closed! Then we took a car to the Magnificent Mile for dinner at Sayat Nova Armenian Restaurant. We almost walked into the gay bar next door, but a friendly stranger re-oriented us just in time (would have been fun!). I’ve never had Armenian food, but it was similar to other Middle Eastern fare. The food was plentiful and delicious. My star item was a simple lentil and carrot soup – so good!

We walked a few blocks to Eataly for dessert. I was enticed by the chocolate truffles and fancy candied fruits as well, taking some home to enjoy later.

Stuffed and exhausted, it was time to return to the hotel. We had early flights the next day so we couldn’t stay up all night again.

I had such a fun trip! I’m so happy Amanda and Jason came with me to the concert and guided me around Chicago. I see why Amanda loves to travel with Jason. I really hadn’t spent much time with him before. He’s a delightful travel companion and conversationalist. All in all, it was a fabulous mini-vacation!

Two weeks ago I got to take another weekend excursion for k-pop, friends, and city wandering. This time we got to see NCT Dream. Amanda and Jason tagged along as cultural observers. Originally we planned to see a show at Lookingglass Theater the same weekend, until they unfortunately ended the show run early. So sad! Even so, Chicago had more than enough activities to fill a day.

Thursday night Amanda and I took an evening flight out of Denver. Our hotel was very close to the airport and the arena, so we easily checked in and had a good night’s sleep. Friday we chatted and watched k-pop while wearing our crowns (because why not??). Jason arrived midday. We continued visiting at the hotel until forced to adventure out for lunch. I found a unique place nearby called Jibarito Time. They claim to be a Chicago specialty, making Puerto Rico style sandwiches on plantains instead of bread. I love sandwiches, local specialities, and enthusiastic employees who are proud of their food, so this was a total win for me.

Back at the hotel, we took a short rest. I walked next door to Target for some toiletries and gawked at the enormous line outside the arena that had already formed for GA tickets and early merch booth. I forced Amanda and Jason out of their naps for some concert prep – temporary tattoos! They stopped for dinner at the Naf Naf Grill on our way to the show.

We joined the line for seated tickets and admired all the outfits by fellow concert-goers. I love how everyone dresses up for the shows! Once inside, I found a merch booth and bought a T-shirt (with free photocard!). The crowd seemed to skew younger and more predominantly female than the other k-pop concerts I’ve attended. They were polite and excited and friendly, passing out lots of freebies. I picked up a bracelet, fake photocard, and banner while standing in line.

Time for the show!

Hmm, this was a fun show, but I had to admit that Seventeen are far superior. As I taught Amanda and Jason in my pre-trip messages, NCT Dream are a weird group from a weird company. The members are very young and I don’t think they were very good at working a live audience. The dancing and singing were EXCELLENT, as expected. The sound mixing wasn’t great. I had a hard time hearing the music compared to other shows. Overall kind of muffled (but still blaring loud – earplugs required!). Still, the music was great and they performed almost all my favorite NCT Dream songs.

Once again I got a lightstick for the show and it was so fun. Being a part of the light show is such a great way to enhance concert experiences.

The dancing was really good. I expected them to cop out on some of the harder choreo, but they did My First and Last full out! They got serious air on all the jumps in Trigger the Fever – I was so scared for them slipping on the confetti, but somehow they danced that one to the max as well.

They took a group selfie and I spotted the three of us. Open full image in a new tab to see. They also posted some official photos taken during the concert, and I found us there too!

I had a fabulous time. I love seeing and talking with the fans, interacting with other people who love this music as much as much as I do. I love sharing k-pop with friends and showing them this weird slice of culture.

기다렸어 어서 와 I’ve been waiting, come on
어디든 we’re coming together Wherever we’re coming together
아무 걱정 하지 마 don’t worry about anything
잘 될 거야 hello future It will be fine, hello future

Continuing our streak of plumbing disasters, the morning after we returned from Seattle, Ben found a large puddle/mini floor in the basement.

We couldn’t see an obvious source for the water. We always suspected there was a drain in the floor, so I started slashing away the carpet. Nothing. Just ancient vinyl and a concrete floor. I slashed farther, trying to find the dry borders. Not the walls, not the fridge, not the boiler-room…we had no idea where it came from. We set up fans to dry the room and puzzled on the source.

Later I showed the kids the problem and noticed a slightly raised portion after it had dried out. I dug into the spot and lo, a drain! Huzzah! The concrete had been blended into some kind of subfloor, maybe gypsum board, to make a level surface over the drain.

We had a plumber snake the drain, as well as the main line leaving the house. We decided to repair the floors ourselves. It took a long time, devoting an afternoon here, a morning there, to each step of the repairs.

I’m very happy to have the project done, 7 1/2 weeks after the flood. We’re happy to have the drain uncovered and waterproof flooring around it. Curses to the previous homeowners who thought covering a drain is a good idea!! Idiots!

Last weekend we went to Salt Lake City to have a fun day with our friends, Nate and Miranda. No other reason, just that I missed them and asked for us all to get together for a short trip.

SLC is such a cute city. We went from cafe to shop to restaurant all day. Lots of catching up and laughter with good friends. I had a great time. Only it made me miss the days when we could hang out casually all the time.

The kids did very well taking care of themselves and the cats while we were gone for 48 hours. Amanda kindly stopped by to check on their health and safety, before taking them to throw axes and eat donuts. What a good aunt!

Tonight I attended Jack’s winter concert. This was his first concert playing the cello. He did excellent! No surprise, given that he was recently awarded the first chair position. I took videos, sorry if they are blurry from the low lights.

We emerged from the school into our own snowy woods, with fat wet flakes falling fast. At home, Jack enjoyed a Blizzard ice cream that Ben brought him to celebrate the concert.

Jack has been working hard on his science fair project for the last month. He had a difficult time coordinating with the school schedule to get data from fellow orchestra students, but in the end he put together a really great project. He measured the decibel levels of the orchestra stringed instruments to see which was the loudest.

Recently Sam’s class had another Makey-Makey STEM unit. They built talking boards. He immediately came home to make his own. He noted how great it was that I had cardstock and even metal brads in our office supplies, and Scratch Jr coding already on his home chromebook – it helps to have a crafty mother and nerdy father.

He demoed the board to Ben, and then he lost the data on his computer before I could see it. Poor guy was disheartened. Kids these days rely on auto-save too much! Meanwhile, I had been 3d printing cases for the classroom Makey-Makey sets. When I got a new printer bed (it had cracked), I made a case for Sam’s Makey-Makey out of special glow-in-the-dark PLA filament.

That gave him the motivated he needed to rebuild the code. Once complete again I had him give me a full tour of his project:

I turned 41 this year, woot!

I had a fun day with lots of love from family and friends. The kids made a birthday banner and cards, and together with Ben they showered me with presents. I met Amanda and Becca for lunch and we had a nice, long visit. I quickly frosted my cake, checked on the 3D prints, and went to Boulder for my usual class. The instructor took my playlist requests, so I got to do my favorite dances. I ate tots and nuggets from Birdcall on the drive home, where I ended the cake with cake and a chorus of smiles from my boys. A great day! (I wore the crown to lunch and to the dance studio. It came off after the warm-up song so I could shake freely!) The best part was that r throughout the day I got texts and calls from loved ones 🥰 Birthdays are great.

Sam bought a sewing kit in Seattle for one of his souvenirs. He was so excited to start making it when we got home. He did and amazing job for a first sewing project!

He learned so many of the fundamental skills with this kit. I upgraded some of the supplies and gave him some tips that weren’t in the instructions. He was doing most of it by himself by the end of the project. Look how great it turned out!

Jack went on an overnight winter camping trip with the deacons from church. He wasn’t keen to go, but I encouraged him to try it at least once, and to be a good example as the group’s youth president. He ultimately decided to go, and it was definitely a learning experience.

The camping part was cold and uncomfortable for him. He texted me that night “Never been able to understand Bilbo’s misery in the Hobbit more.”

He said the fishing part was fun. They went ice fishing at Pine Valley, near Conifer. He was the first to catch a fish, and the only kid to catch two fish! Here he is with his first trout:

And here’s his other catch, where he was more hands on:

It was a rough night that I’m sure “built character.” The adult leaders said he was a great kid, he set a mature example, and he was helpful and fun.

He’s back at home this morning. After getting clean and starting laundry, I’m letting him enjoy the comforts of home. I think he’s been playing Hogwarts Legacy nonstop – his latest game obsession.

Last night Sam “babysat” himself for the first time at night while Ben and I saw Ant-Man Quantumania at the Alamo with friends. Meh movie, but nice to get out for a change, and always good to see friends. Sam did great on his own.

Today I’m trying to get some 3D prints to work after not printing anything for a year or two. It’s a project request for Sam’s class from the teacher. I’m semi-successful so far.

I also dashed off to Boulder for a hip hop class. Today’s piece was set to a classic anthem by DJ Khalid:

Tonight we’re getting Indian take-out for dinner, and maybe Ben and will I start a Chinese drama series.

I finished Sam’s sweater this week. Now I need to decide whether to finish a pair of socks next, start a new pair of socks with my Seattle yarn, or start Jack’s sweater. I should do Jack’s sweater, but I have to do maaaaath the start. Ugh. At least I have Sam’s sweater measurements to base it on.