You've probably been thinking: "What did Jenny do for Christmas this year?!"
Well, relax, I'll tell you.
The long holiday weekend started early, with me being sick. Thursday I woke up not felling well. I'll spare you all the details, but I spent some quality time with my bathroom that morning. I then proceeded to sleep...all day. Not exactly sure what was wrong, but I didn't get my appetite back until Saturday evening, so I have decided to call it a "Christmas Diet"!
After a long Thursday nap I was feeling well enough on Friday to venture out and finish my Christmas shopping. I visited Room Service in Ohio City, the new shops on East 4th Street and Big Fun in Lakewood. Then I stopped by the grocery store to pick up ingredients for a dip I wanted to take to a Christmas party that evening. The recipe included cream cheese and pepper jelly relish all mixed together in one bowl of yumminess. However, I blanked on the ratio of relish to cream cheese, so once I mixed it together it came out bright pink. And I mean pink as in Pepto-Bismol pink. Or as in kinda scary looking to eat with a cracker pink. I was running late, so decided to still take the dip and hope for the best. The party was a great time. It was a gathering of the Hunt Club Pool Rats - a group I managed to sneak my way into during college when I met my good friend Rachel (aka: Moose). She brought me around enough that the Hunt Club friends she grew up with couldn't get rid of me. I should also note that one of the Pool Rats, Ryan, managed to earn 1,000 From Chalk With Love bonus points by mentioning my blog a gazillion times throughout the night.
I then spent Saturday-Monday in Columbus where my sister Susan and her family live. The rest of my family met up there for the weekend, too. We laughed. We ate. We rationed Great Lakes Christmas Ales. My dad made some repairs to my slowly dying car. My 2-year old niece taught me that the word "mine" can be used to answer just about any question. And I was given the new nickname of "butter pockets" (I can't remember exactly why, but it was funny).
For Christmas I got several great items, including a crockpot and pink leopard print mixing bowls that I'm sure I'll eventually use while wearing my apron. I got Tina Fey's book "Bossypants", which I've heard a lot of good things about and can't wait to dig into. I also got Shel Silverstein's newly released book "Every Thing On It", and as I've previously stated - I love Shel Silverstein - so this was especially exciting.
All in all, it was a great weekend (minus the opening Thursday sick-nap scene). I hope you all had a great holiday weekend, too!
Now that the Christmas weekend is over it's time to focus on planning a 2012 NYE celebration for this weekend! I know I'll be with some good friends downtown, but need to pick the place(s), the props (like last year's drink hangers), and the outfit.
Are you ready, 2012?
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
I love...pizza.
This week I got an email, but it wasn't just any email.
It was an email about pizza, but it wasn't just any email about pizza.
It was an email letting me know that I had won a gift card to Little Caesars!
You see, over the weekend I stumbled upon a contest on Metromix.com where you had to write about your favorite pizza topping and then every week they would choose a winner. It was as though they were asking me to spell my name. So I entered and several days later I received my pizza email.
If you know me, then you know that receiving that email was an exciting moment, because: I.love.pizza.
The dough. The sauce. The cheese. How can you not love it? It's great fresh & hot or leftover & cold. Dress it up or keep it plain. The options are endless.
It's pretty difficult for me to turn a slice down, which is why several years back I went on an accidental pizza crawl in Cleveland. I believe it was a Saturday during college football season, so some friends and I had ventured out early in the afternoon. Around lunchtime I opted for a slice of pizza from Panini's. Then around dinnertime some friends and I got a pizza at a little shop on West 6th Street. Then around bedtime I had a pizza nightcap at Guy's Pizza on Coventry Road. It was a delicious day (and in my memory it was a "no calories" Saturday).
Now I live in Tremont, where Edison's (a pub with a pizza kitchen that is open late into the night) is just a quick walk from my apartment. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but I know it's a delicious thing.
So I am eagerly awaiting my pizza gift card and planning my next pizza purchase. If you're wondering what I listed as my favorite pizza topping: banana peppers! I explained that just when you think pizza can't get any better - BAM - it's banana pepper-tastic.
Is there more that I can say about pizza? Sure, but it's best that I stop now, because all this pizza talk only makes me want to eat this blog post.
It was an email about pizza, but it wasn't just any email about pizza.
It was an email letting me know that I had won a gift card to Little Caesars!
You see, over the weekend I stumbled upon a contest on Metromix.com where you had to write about your favorite pizza topping and then every week they would choose a winner. It was as though they were asking me to spell my name. So I entered and several days later I received my pizza email.
The dough. The sauce. The cheese. How can you not love it? It's great fresh & hot or leftover & cold. Dress it up or keep it plain. The options are endless.
It's pretty difficult for me to turn a slice down, which is why several years back I went on an accidental pizza crawl in Cleveland. I believe it was a Saturday during college football season, so some friends and I had ventured out early in the afternoon. Around lunchtime I opted for a slice of pizza from Panini's. Then around dinnertime some friends and I got a pizza at a little shop on West 6th Street. Then around bedtime I had a pizza nightcap at Guy's Pizza on Coventry Road. It was a delicious day (and in my memory it was a "no calories" Saturday).
Now I live in Tremont, where Edison's (a pub with a pizza kitchen that is open late into the night) is just a quick walk from my apartment. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but I know it's a delicious thing.
So I am eagerly awaiting my pizza gift card and planning my next pizza purchase. If you're wondering what I listed as my favorite pizza topping: banana peppers! I explained that just when you think pizza can't get any better - BAM - it's banana pepper-tastic.
Is there more that I can say about pizza? Sure, but it's best that I stop now, because all this pizza talk only makes me want to eat this blog post.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
I love...the snooze button.
You know the saying: "The early bird gets the worm"?
Well, the thing is, I've never been a fan of worms.
I have a long-standing relationship with my snooze button. I can find it in the dark, with my eyes closed, during an indoor snow storm full of snooze button-defending unicorns* (*if snooze button-defending unicorns existed). I'll hit that button so many times that eventually it gives up on me and turns itself off.
Five more minutes of sleep? Yes, please. Five more minutes of laying here with my eyes closed thinking about how I should just get out of bed already? Yes, please.
As much as I love that little button, I'm starting to wonder if our relationship has gone too far? Perhaps bordering on 'unhealthy'? For the past couple weeks I've been willing myself to get up early (or even just 'on time') and work out. But every morning that alarm has gone off and -BAM- I can't get enough of that snooze button. The first week it was purely BEEP, snooze, BEEP, snooze, BEEP. The second week my mind was on board with the plan so I didn't actually fall back to sleep after hitting snooze, but my body still wasn't playing along. So though I was awake, I didn't actually step out of bed right away.
Now, here I am, typing it out. Maybe this will help - I'm breaking up with my snooze button. It's not you, Snooze, it's me, seriously. Maybe we can meet up again on a Saturday or after a random nap. Until then we'll always have our happy memories of 6:52 a.m. ...and 6:57 a.m. ...and 7:02 a.m.
Oh, I should also note that this doesn't mean I'm going to be going after any worms, the early birds can still have those. I'm cool with being the early Jenny who gets the coffee and oatmeal.
Well, the thing is, I've never been a fan of worms.
I have a long-standing relationship with my snooze button. I can find it in the dark, with my eyes closed, during an indoor snow storm full of snooze button-defending unicorns* (*if snooze button-defending unicorns existed). I'll hit that button so many times that eventually it gives up on me and turns itself off.Five more minutes of sleep? Yes, please. Five more minutes of laying here with my eyes closed thinking about how I should just get out of bed already? Yes, please.
As much as I love that little button, I'm starting to wonder if our relationship has gone too far? Perhaps bordering on 'unhealthy'? For the past couple weeks I've been willing myself to get up early (or even just 'on time') and work out. But every morning that alarm has gone off and -BAM- I can't get enough of that snooze button. The first week it was purely BEEP, snooze, BEEP, snooze, BEEP. The second week my mind was on board with the plan so I didn't actually fall back to sleep after hitting snooze, but my body still wasn't playing along. So though I was awake, I didn't actually step out of bed right away.
Now, here I am, typing it out. Maybe this will help - I'm breaking up with my snooze button. It's not you, Snooze, it's me, seriously. Maybe we can meet up again on a Saturday or after a random nap. Until then we'll always have our happy memories of 6:52 a.m. ...and 6:57 a.m. ...and 7:02 a.m.
Oh, I should also note that this doesn't mean I'm going to be going after any worms, the early birds can still have those. I'm cool with being the early Jenny who gets the coffee and oatmeal.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
I love...random short story Sunday.
What is "random short story Sunday"? It's a Sunday where I post one of the short stories that I've written.
When is "random short story Sunday"? It's today...right now! Random, huh? So grab your Snuggie, make some hot chocolate and curl up with this story about a porcupine & balloon animals.
Enjoy!
There was only one thing in the whole world that made Poppy-pop-pop angry, and that was...balloon animals.
Poppy-pop-pop's balloon animal hatred started when he was very young. For his 5th birthday party his parents ordered a clown to come and entertain the kids. The clown had a big red nose and crazy blue hair, he smelled of alcohol and couldn't say Poppy-pop-pop's name without hiccuping. All the porcu-kids loved him! The clown danced around in the backyard, occasionally falling over and making everyone laugh. After he'd been there a while, he pulled out a huge bag of balloons. All the porcu-kids gathered around him and he began to blow up the balloons and twist them into tiny animals...well, at first he only made snakes, which were the easiest to do as there was nothing to do except blow up the balloon. But after Poppy-pop-pop's parents had a stern talk with the clown and gave him an extra twenty bucks he began to get more inventive. One porcu-kid got a pony. Another got a giraffe. Then another got a bumble-bee. The party was a hit! Then it was Poppy-pop-pop's turn, he asked for a teddy bear. The clown twisted and turned the balloon and created the most adorable balloon teddy bear anyone had ever seen. Poppy-pop-pop was soo happy!
That night Poppy-pop-pop carefully placed that cute, little teddy bear next to him in his bed. He wrote an entry in his journal titled "Me & My Balloon Bear...Forever". Then he fell asleep. Unfortunately in the middle of the night Poppy-pop-pop rolled onto his left side and popped that cute little balloon bear. He burst into tears. The next day he buried the little balloon pieces in his backyard and vowed to never, ever love another balloon animal. The mere thought of another balloon animal made his quills boil. When he was old enough he did some research and moved to a town with no clowns or balloon animals. Since then he'd been only happy.
One Sunday, years later, Poppy-pop-pop was walking home from his jazzercise class when he noticed a sign on one of the lamp posts that read: "First Annual Balloon Animal Parade! Starts today at 11:34 a.m."
Poppy-pop-pop looked at his watch, it was 11:33! He began running towards his house, if only he could get inside then he could close his blinds and watch reruns of Saved By The Bell until the parade was finished. But it was too late and he was too tired from jazzercise, he ran right into the path of the balloon animal parade. There were porcupines everywhere holding balloon dogs, balloon elephants, balloon ponies. Poppy-pop-pop's quills began to raise up. He imagined himself spinning in circles and popping all of the balloon animals in his path just to get them out of his sight.
Just as Poppy-pop-pop was about to lose it, a small little porcupine walked up to him from the crowd, smiling and holding out an adorable little teddy bear balloon. Poppy-pop-pop was suddenly flooded with memories of that teddy bear balloon animal from his 5th birthday. He asked himself why he'd been holding this hatred for all other balloon animals - they were still adorable. He told himself he should give them another chance. So he reached out and accepted that adorable little ballon bear from the little porcupine. He smiled, and gently held it out in front of him as he looked it over.
Then he karate popped that adorable little balloon bear. He was too old for toys, what would he do with it?
Poppy-pop-pop skipped home, made some chocolate chip cookies, took a bubble bath and fell asleep...happy. He didn't hate balloon animals anymore! He was officially the happiest porcupine there ever was.
The End
When is "random short story Sunday"? It's today...right now! Random, huh? So grab your Snuggie, make some hot chocolate and curl up with this story about a porcupine & balloon animals.
Enjoy!
The Poptastic Poppy-Pop-Pop
by: jenny chalk
Once upon a time there was a puffy, purple porcupine named Poppy-pop-pop. Poppy-pop-pop was just about the happiest porcupine there ever was. He was happy when he fell asleep and happy when he woke up. He was happy when he stubbed his toe and happy when he got a cold. He was even happy when someone stole the wheels off his car - "Eh, I should do more walking anyways," he'd say.
by: jenny chalk
Once upon a time there was a puffy, purple porcupine named Poppy-pop-pop. Poppy-pop-pop was just about the happiest porcupine there ever was. He was happy when he fell asleep and happy when he woke up. He was happy when he stubbed his toe and happy when he got a cold. He was even happy when someone stole the wheels off his car - "Eh, I should do more walking anyways," he'd say.
There was only one thing in the whole world that made Poppy-pop-pop angry, and that was...balloon animals.
Poppy-pop-pop's balloon animal hatred started when he was very young. For his 5th birthday party his parents ordered a clown to come and entertain the kids. The clown had a big red nose and crazy blue hair, he smelled of alcohol and couldn't say Poppy-pop-pop's name without hiccuping. All the porcu-kids loved him! The clown danced around in the backyard, occasionally falling over and making everyone laugh. After he'd been there a while, he pulled out a huge bag of balloons. All the porcu-kids gathered around him and he began to blow up the balloons and twist them into tiny animals...well, at first he only made snakes, which were the easiest to do as there was nothing to do except blow up the balloon. But after Poppy-pop-pop's parents had a stern talk with the clown and gave him an extra twenty bucks he began to get more inventive. One porcu-kid got a pony. Another got a giraffe. Then another got a bumble-bee. The party was a hit! Then it was Poppy-pop-pop's turn, he asked for a teddy bear. The clown twisted and turned the balloon and created the most adorable balloon teddy bear anyone had ever seen. Poppy-pop-pop was soo happy!
That night Poppy-pop-pop carefully placed that cute, little teddy bear next to him in his bed. He wrote an entry in his journal titled "Me & My Balloon Bear...Forever". Then he fell asleep. Unfortunately in the middle of the night Poppy-pop-pop rolled onto his left side and popped that cute little balloon bear. He burst into tears. The next day he buried the little balloon pieces in his backyard and vowed to never, ever love another balloon animal. The mere thought of another balloon animal made his quills boil. When he was old enough he did some research and moved to a town with no clowns or balloon animals. Since then he'd been only happy.
One Sunday, years later, Poppy-pop-pop was walking home from his jazzercise class when he noticed a sign on one of the lamp posts that read: "First Annual Balloon Animal Parade! Starts today at 11:34 a.m."
Poppy-pop-pop looked at his watch, it was 11:33! He began running towards his house, if only he could get inside then he could close his blinds and watch reruns of Saved By The Bell until the parade was finished. But it was too late and he was too tired from jazzercise, he ran right into the path of the balloon animal parade. There were porcupines everywhere holding balloon dogs, balloon elephants, balloon ponies. Poppy-pop-pop's quills began to raise up. He imagined himself spinning in circles and popping all of the balloon animals in his path just to get them out of his sight.
Just as Poppy-pop-pop was about to lose it, a small little porcupine walked up to him from the crowd, smiling and holding out an adorable little teddy bear balloon. Poppy-pop-pop was suddenly flooded with memories of that teddy bear balloon animal from his 5th birthday. He asked himself why he'd been holding this hatred for all other balloon animals - they were still adorable. He told himself he should give them another chance. So he reached out and accepted that adorable little ballon bear from the little porcupine. He smiled, and gently held it out in front of him as he looked it over.
Then he karate popped that adorable little balloon bear. He was too old for toys, what would he do with it?
Poppy-pop-pop skipped home, made some chocolate chip cookies, took a bubble bath and fell asleep...happy. He didn't hate balloon animals anymore! He was officially the happiest porcupine there ever was.
The End
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