I opened up a store on cafepress today, mostly because I was bored.  I am selling t-shirts, buttons, and bumper stickers that say "i (club) huckabee" on them.  It was too easy, really.  Anyway, my profit margins are low, so that the prices are also low(ish)... so you should all buy something :) 

here is the link: http://www.cafepress.com/iclubhuckabee

I am late in posting this entry; I could make excuses about how I have been extremely busy, etc., but largely it's because I haven't really known what to say.

Billy Wirtz, the husband of my grandmother, Ittie Wirtz, was a great man, a wonderful grandfather to me... it is hard to believe I will never see him again.  He filled the room with energy and laughter, always working to spread the happiness he so obviously felt to everyone around him.  He would not tolerate moping; Billy demanded that everyone around him have a good time. 

When I think of Billy I usually think of him urging me to get into his swimming pool or jump into Lake Michigan... there were no excuses.  If you forgot your bathing suit, he almost certainly had one in your size lying around the house.  He did not allow you to be self-conscious.  He wanted you to swim and dive and splash and laugh, and then come inside to the kitchen and devour an ice cream cone. 

I think of Big Bad Bill commanding the Amtrak,  Bill's BBQ in the Bahamas, his Christmas and Thanksgiving parties.  I will always remember his generosity;  the countless hockey games, ice shows, and concerts that he took me, and my friends and family, to.  I remember his slightly dirty jokes, the way he played with his dogs, his gruff voice, his smile, and his twinkling eyes, the obvious love he felt for my grandma, and the rest of our family.

I am very lucky to have known him; I hope that I can live a little more by his example.

If anyone would like to join me, I am thinking about attending "Past Times" at Illinois State University.  This is a combination art/history exhibit, celebrating ISU's 150th anniversary, that my sister (Katie) is co-producing; it will be her last exhibit in the midwest before she leaves to attend Brandeis.  The opening is Tuesday, Aug 21, 5-7pm (Central time) at Illinois State University's galleries 2, 2.5, and 3.

There will be walking tours, photographs, and viewmasters (!). 

Unfortunately, Aug 21 is also my first day of classes; I have statistics until 4:15pm (Eastern; 3:15 Central).  As the exhibit starts at 5pm, and it is a 2.5 hour drive, timing will be tight.  Still, it is something I'd like to go to, and it would be nice to have other people join me.  If you're interested, please respond, send me an e-mail, call me, write me, telegram me, etc.

Our lab just got funded. I am so happy/relieved. I no longer have to make cannnulas from needles; nor do I need to worry about buying the expensive non-latex gloves (that don't dry out your hands!) Plus Kim, Mary Ann I get summer salary (a good thing, especially for Kim who can't get it by TAing), almost any research project funding I want, I get to go to Colorado at the end of July (or perhaps California in August, depending on which I decide to go to), and Paris in July of '08 (now it is definate, unless Bush decides to take away the funding before we actually get a check... but no negative thoughts right now)... Plus, if Kim is holding up her end of the deal, I get a Macbook for grad school. Which I'm totally looking forward to.

Sweet. Life=good in the Kinzig lab.

I'm not even going to attempt to list everything that's happened since my last entry... but here's a highlight reel:

-the Bears were robbed of the Super Bowl title.
-Dan and I went to San Francisco, saw priceless works of art, ate pancreas... ok no, but amazing fish, delicious desserts, fantastic wines... It was a lovely time.
-I turned 24; I am one year closer to 1/4 century. Scary.
-Mary Ann and I saw Champions on Ice with my Grandmother Ittie.
-Dan and I have attempted still more beer brewing.
-My sister, Katie, graduated from University of Illinois and is going to be attending Brandeis in the fall.

I guess that brings us up to date. Right now I am cooking some microwave palak paneer for lunch, and then it's off to cutting rats open! I will have pictures posted someday, but not yet.

Red Label Records, 1985
Music: B. Daniels, L. Barry
Lyrics: R. Meyer, M. Owens

Chorus
We are the Bears Shufflin' Crew
Shufflin' on down, doin' it for you.
We're so bad we know we're good.
Blowin' your mind like we knew we would.
You know we're just struttin' for fun
Struttin' our stuff for everyone.
We're not here to start not trouble.
We're just here to do the Super Bowl Shuffle.

Walter Payton
Well, they call me Sweetness,
And I like to dance.
Runnin' the ball is like makin' romance.
We've had the goal since training camp
To give Chicago a Super Bowl Champ.
And we're not doin' this
Because we're greedy.
The Bears are doin' it to feed the needy.
We didn't come here to look for trouble,
We just came here to do
The Super Bowl Shuffle.

Willie Gault
This is Speedy Willie, and I'm world class.
I like runnin' but i love to get the pass.
I practice all day and dance all night,
I got to get ready for the Sunday fight.
Now I'm as smooth as a chocolate swirl,
I dance a little funky, so watch me girl.
There's not one here that does it like me,
My Super Bowl Shuffle will set you free.

Mike Singletary
I'm Samurai Mike I stop'em cold.
Part of the defense, big and bold,
I've been jammin' for quite a while,
Doin' what's right and settin' the style,
Give me a chance, I'll rock you good,
Nobody messin' in my neighborhood.
I didn't come here lookin' for trouble,
I just came to do The Super Bowl Shuffle

(Repeat Chorus)

Jim McMahon
I'm the punky QB, known as McMahon.
When I hit the turf, I've got no plan.
I just throw my body all over the field.
I can't dance, but I can throw the pill.
I motivate the cats, I like to tease.
I play so cool, I aim to please.
That's why you all got here on the double
To catch me doin' the Super Bowl Shuffle.

Otis Wilson
I'm mama's boy Otis, one of a kind.
The ladies all love me
For my body and my mind.
I'm slick on the floor as I can be
But ain't no sucker gonna get past me.
Some guys are jealous
Of my style and class,
That's why some end up on their -,
I didn't come here lookin' for trouble,
I just get down to The Super Bowl Shuffle.

Steve Fuller
They say Jimbo is our man.
If Jimmy can't do it, I sure can.
This is Steve, and it's no wonder
I run like lightnin', pass like thunder.
So bring on Atlanta, bring on Dallas,
This is for Mike and Papa Bear Halas.
I'm not here to feather his ruffle,
I just came here to do
The Super Bowl Shuffle.

Mike Richardson
I'm L.A. Mike, and I play it cool.
They don't sneak by me 'cause I'm no fool.
I fly on the field and get on down.
Everybody knows I don't mess around.
I can break'em, shake'em,
Any time of day.
I like to steal it and make 'em pay,
So please don't cry to beat my hustle
'Cause I'm just here to do
The Super Bowl Shuffle.

(Repeat Chorus)

Richard Dent
The sackman's comin', I'm your man Dent.
if the quarterback's slow,
He's gonna get bent.
We stop the run, we stop the pass,
I like to dump guys on their -.
We love to play for the world's best fans,
You better start makin'
Your Super Bowl plans.
But don't get ready or go to any trouble
Unless you practice
The Super Bowl Shuffle.

Gary Fencik
It's Gary here, and I'm Mr.Clean.
They call me "hit man,"
Don't know what they mean.
They throw it long and watch me run,
I'm on my man, one-on-one.
Buddy's guys cover it down to the bone,
That's why they call us the 46 zone.
Come on everybody let's scream and yell,
We're goin' to do the Shuffle,
Then ring your bell.

William Perry
You're lookin' at the Fridge,
I'm the rookie.
I may be large, but I'm no dumb cookie.
You've seen me hit, you've seen me run,
When I kick and pass, we'll have more fun.
I can dance, you will see
The others, they all learn from me.
I don't come here lookin' for trouble,
I just came here to do
The Super Bowl Shuffle.

(Repeat Chorus)

Hey all! I haven't had much opportunity to post lately. I guess this is a theme! I'll try and post at least once/month!

Anyway, the holidays were nice. Before Christmas we went to Anderson to visit Dan's family. Everything was wonderful, but I didn't feel very good. I got some sort of sore throat which I took care of with copious drug use (the over-the-counter kind). I didn't want to be sick for Christmas! Anyway, Dan's family was very generous to me. I got an awesome paisley pan, some really pretty earrings, some awesome shoes, a scarf... the list goes on. I totally didn't expect them to buy me things, so I kinda felt bad just baking stuff.

After the pre-Christmas festivities, we headed to Chicago to see my family. While there, we hosted the White Elephant party (which is this annual thing that my Chicago friends and I do where we find funny junk gifts, wrap them, and give them away!) It was sad without Kira there (she was lost in the snow in Colorado) but it was most excellent to trade gifts with Rach, Ben and Evelyn, and then to see Betsy and Jaina later on. Anyway, Dan and I gave fruitcake and this weird creepy jewelry holder victorian lady thing that my grandma gave me. We recieved: a pillar that Rachael made in like 5th grade ceramics class, plush chili peppers, and a turkey candle. Haven't lit it yet... don't know if it is scented :). Evelyn also brought a yak necklace from China, which ended up going to Ben. For whatever reason, a lot of the gifts ended up going to fairly appropriate people... Rach actually LIKED the creepy thing.

On Christmas Eve we went to Church and listened to my mommy sing. She did a great job :)

On Christmas morning, we opened our loot. And when I say morning I mean like... 7am. Jenny still does the early-rising thing. Hopefully by next year she'll have grown out of it, as she's 15 now (scary!). I got an Alton Brown book, Amy Sedaris's "I like you: hospitality under the influence" which is hilarious, and a metalsmithing book. I also got a Dremel, Grey's Anatomy (season 1), a jewelry box, a cast-iron grill, a pasta maker for my kitchenaid, more kitchen supplies, and some clothes. Dan got me TWO robots!!! A Scooba and a free red Roomba! I need to name them!!! Help me come up with awesome names, please!

Then we went to Ittie's party, got more loot, including a feather choker (odd) some pretty candleholders, a charm for my bracelet, a jacket/sweater thing, and some makeup. The food was excellent as always, and Dan and I totally enjoyed the Taittinger champagne (who's high-rollin? we are, baby!).

We didn't have our usual Boxing day party, as my grandpa didn't come and my uncle Joe wasn't free, so that was sad. Instead, we hung out w/ Kira, Rach, Ben, Jill and Cameron for awhile, and played cat-pong (which is better than ping pong!). After that, we drove to Indiana.


New Years Eve Dan and I went to Brad's party where we watched bad movies. We left before the ball dropped, originally intending to go to Eight West, but being lame and going home, watching the ball drop on the computer, and drinking basically a bottle of Champagne (Blanc de Noirs!) together. It's been a sparkling wine month, it seems!

I've been a little lazy w/ work, getting in about 9:45. It will be weird having a schedule again, with school and everything... It's nice coming in and working whatever 8 hours I want.

I'm planning on signing up for a painting class at the Morton Center just to motivate me to get back into it. Since I'm not taking any college classes this semester, I should have plenty of time.

Anyway, it's been a fairly long entry anyway... I think I'll sign off for now.

I got my new Kitchenaid mixer. It is "merengue" colored. That means white for those with limited palettes. Anyway, it works (unlike Kitchenaid #1) extremely well. I am in love.

Last night Dan and I baked sugar cookies. I cut them out into cute little snowflakes. They were delicious, and pretty. I have some ideas for improvements (mostly aesthetic) for next time.

Today I baked bread. It was my first time making bread from scratch. I made challah with currants. Challah always makes me think of Jared's house in Wilmette... I remember Rachael and I were discussing the really good bread at some party Freshman or Sophomore year in high school. I think it was his birthday party freshman year, but I can't really count on my memory. In any case, challah is one of my favorite breads (along with whole wheat, sourdough, and great harvest's cheddar bread) so I looked up the recipe on the food network website. Anyway, I followed all of the traditions, even breaking the little olive-sized piece off, and burning it (Representing the temple... I'm not Jewish [if anyone reading this didn't know already], but it's a idea to attach a deeper meaning to food). Anyway, after hours of letting the dough sit and rise, then kneading it, then letting it rise again, the Challah is done. It's not perfect, but I didn't really expect it to be. I should brush more egg over the top of it next time. When I actually eat it I'll know what the real improvements should be.

I'm bringing all the food to Dan's house for Thanksgiving. If the bread isn't any good, at least the cookies are tasty.

I hope everyone else has a happy Thanksgiving.

Decided not to be appliance-racist (not to trivialize the problem of racism) and accepted the kitchenaid mixer as it was... figured it wasn't really worth the hassle of returning it.

Dan and I decided to make cookies. Put the softened butter in the mixer and turned it on to the lowest setting. It goes super fast! So we try again. Superfast still. Like, as fast as the highest setting should be. So we try putting it on a faster setting... maybe the lowest one is screwed up. It continues going the exact same (fast) speed. It sorta smells weird too, so we turn off the mixer, disheartened. Time to spend even more time on the phone w/ tech support. Maybe kitchenaid will upgrade me, since I don't really want this model anymore (as it can't even cream softened butter). Today is the worst day ever.

In order to start my holiday baking, I ordered a Kitchenaid stand mixer on amazon.com yesterday. I was super excited about it! Ask Dan or Mary Ann... it was going to be great. It was this very pretty blue called Juniper Berry and it had a 400 watt motor and all metal gears. I'm a huge nerd, if you didn't figure that out!

Anyway, all weekend I anticipated the arrival of this mixer. It was a fairly substantial investment for someone as poor as me, and I wanted it to be perfect. It wasn't. Apparently Juniper Berry changed to Blue Willow... or they were incorrectly labeled, and my mixer came as this greyish blue. It will not go with my kitchen at all! So I called Amazon, and talked to Vicky, a harsh, rude woman who did not speak much English, who told me that she would look into getting a replacement. Great, I think. She says she'll e-mail me in an hour.

2.5 hours later I haven't heard anything, so I call back. I mention my frustration and Angie, who was actually somewhat helpful, checks on their site and finds out that they are completely sold out of the mixer I want. Furthermore, they will never be getting any, because the mixer I want has been discontinued, and this was a refurbished model. Sad, sad, sad.

So Angie said that they'd give me my money back whenever I return the current mixer, and that she'd expedite my shipping for free if I choose to get a different mixer. I'm thinking of abandoning the pseudo-greek blue and white kitchen theme and adding some other colors to the mix... maybe all of my appliances could be a different color, or many colors... I'm not sure if I like it or not... I don't want it to look like a pride parade (despite my love for pride parades).

By the way, Amazon.com pretty much has the worst customer service EVER. And they don't post their # anywhere on the website... Here is the customer service number if you ever need it: 1-800-201-7575.

Anyway, the walls of our kitchen are a bright, but not light blue. Pretty much blue, blue. If anyone feels the need to throw in their 2 cents, they can go here
and check it out.