Winter Projects

We're having more winter storms in Chicago. It snowed pretty much the whole day on Saturday, which makes leaving the house less desirable.

What better way to use a snow day then to be productive and busy indoors?

Knowing that we have projects we've been meaning to do in the house, Ruben and I set out to freshen up our bedroom with a fresh coat of paint. Originally the room had 2 walls lavender and 2 walls cream. We decided to paint one of the cream walls with the remaining lavender paint mainly because the wall was filthy and we already had the paint. We're also trying to get ready for a visit from Leslie and family, Dakota and Mason. (This will be the first time for us to have a baby in our house! Time to child proof!)

Working as a team, which we do very well, Ruben and I tag teamed the wall. He does the trim with an angled brush and I paint the wall with the rollers.

And what were the dogs doing? Staying out of the way and chewing on a bone in their rooms. :)

Nikon definitely goes after it! :)


After the wall was done, we then decided to paint the trim around the window and the bedroom door. We've been wanting to do this for years, and finally took the opportunity to do so. The trim in our place is old, beaten up, and looks like it has been painted over a 1,000 times! Oh well, whats one more coat? At least it covers up the ugly.

Here's Ruben working away as I take the moment to snap a picture.

Here's Ruben taping the doorway.

And here's me rolling it. I love rollers, they cover very well and fast! Ruben uses paint brushes, one of the ways we work differently, but together. :)

Looks better already!

Later that evening, once the wall was dry Ruben hung up a large light box frame that we were given. Our friend Sarah O used to work in the visuals department at Nordstrom. They were going to throw away these huge light box frames, and she called us to see if we wanted them. We did, and drove downtown to pick them up. We have plans to put some of our own photography in them, but for now they're cool on there own. But they're really heavy!

Here, Ruben found the studs and mounted the brace.

Then together we struggled to get it up from the basement. It is huge and heavy, but we did it! Luckily we lift weights. Ha!

After a bit, we had it up and plugged in. It took the lights a while to warm up, but it's really cool!

Now our room will be easy and breezy with a large lit palm tree!

Here it is the next morning. I love the difference! The room is much fresher, and nice to make it different.

We still have more work to do. After the pipes were replaced in our basement, we spent quite a lot of time down there trying to clean it up. It was a complete mess! Our goal is to make it a comfortable living space (it is where we keep our TV and video games, as well as my computer and craft supplies,) as well as storage and boxing gym.

This is the view from the steps going down.

You can see the new heater we got after ours died last weekend. The heater guy hasn't finished and for some reason it's draining water into a bucket. Hope he comes back soon to finish. It's a nice heater, though.

Here's our TV room.
Behind the computer you can see another light box. This one has a beautiful pink flower. We're planning on hanging it up down stairs.

It will forever be a work in progress, but it's getting there.

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day!

Valentines Day wouldn't be the same with out the Valentine sent from Valentine! It's my favorite Grandad tradition! Every year Grandad drives out to Valentine, TX to send his loved ones Valentines. It's a simple, yet heartfelt gesture that makes my Grandad unique and irreplaceable!

Ruben and I have had a wonderful day!

Friday night, Ruben gave me my gift, a beautiful pair of earrings that he found in Lima, Peru. I love them, they are just my style!

Today, Ruben and I set out for a Chicago adventure! I did an Internet search for free things to do in Chicago for Valentines day. What I found was the Skokie Sculpture Park. Which is a free public park that is 2 miles long and features large sculpture pieces. We decided to head out there in the morning and check it out. Skokie is a Northern suburb of Chicago, only about 30 mins. from our house. Despite the fact that it was cold, and has snowed a bit this morning, Ruben and I head out.

We really had to bundle up, but it was a nice day, and the sun eventually came out. A river runs along side the park, as you can see below it is frozen today.Ruben and I took turns reading the guide book about the pieces and photographing them. One would read, and the other would click. It was a lot of fun. Below are some pics of the sculptures we saw today.



Ruben took this shot of me.

I liked this one. It was made of tractor parts and painted John Dear Green.

I also really liked this one, sort of a woven basket of chains.

I really liked the pine cone collection that has acquired over time.

As we approached this piece, Ruben was reading from the guide. He explained to me that this piece represents the ass kissers of the world, and that in order to get ahead in this world everyone has to do some ass kissing. I was shocked! And then skeptical...."let me see the guide" I say, "where does it say that?"

Ok, so it didn't mean that at all, but I thought that Rubens interpretation was right and decided to step up and practice my ass kissing. HA!

Here's us another view from a tube.

The park is about 2 miles long and broken up into 4 sections. We decided only to visit one section today, and save some for another time when we can bring Canon and Nikon. (And when it gets a bit warmer...it was starting to get chilly.)

We then decided to head down to the southside of the city and check out some of our favorite thriftstores. They didn't have much for us today, but we thought while we were down south we would search for the Worlds Finest Chocolate. (Rubens favorite.) We asked some people in the neighborhood, and they guided us to the store where we could get some.

Felt like a goose chase, but we found it! So, Ruben, for Valentines Day got a box of his favorite chocolate bars. They ran out of the ones that said "I love you," so I had to get him "congratulations" instead. He didn't mind, "I'm not going to eat the rapper." he told me. :)

After that we went in search for one of Chicago's best pizza joints. Another southside favoritie; a mom and pop place called Home Run Inn. We indulged in our favorite meal, ceasar salad and pizza.

Tonight, we're going to stay in and avoid the craziness of the city. It was a really great day, and I hope that all of you have had the same!

I love you!

Life at Lyric Opera

Greetings from Lyric!

It has been a little over 6 months since I got my position here as the Admin. Assistant for the Technical Department.

This job really has been a huge blessing for me! It was exactly what I had been praying for. I wanted a job where I could use my backstage knowledge from Writers' Theatre and my admin. knowledge from the Chicago Symphony.

How I got the job was quite amazing! While working backstage at Writers' I was put into one of the plays as a bartender. As it turns out, my old boss (from Lyrics Rehearsal Department) Marina, was in the house for a performance and recognized me. This lead to a reunion lunch, and me discussing my goals for the future. She was the one who let me know of the open position at the Lyric and passed along my resume. A few weeks later I was given a job interview, and offered the position! Marina was the angel who made it all happen!

So now, here I am! In my very own office!

This is the view as you enter my door.
I have created a Wall of Fame (or Shame, as some have called it.) They are some candid photos behind the scenes. Apparently no one has ever posted photos like this before, and it is a great hit. In my opinion, it's good for moral, and when you work so hard (for such little money) it's nice to have some moral boosters. :)

This is a photo of my desk and decorations. I've been told my office is homey. It should be! I'm here more than I am at home!

I have a whole wall to display photos and art. Lots of pictures of Canon and Nikon.

(I don't have kids, I have dogs. )

When I leave my office this is my view. It's the kitchen/copy area. I'm required to fix any minor copier issues. Ofton from my desk I'll here, "Shannon, HELP!"


The offices are directly connected to the opera house, separated only by a door.

It is the lit door way in the photo. You have to have a security badge in order to open it.
All very official. :)

Here is a photo of the house from the lower balcony.

The orchestra is warming up for a rehearsal.

Here's a view of the rehearsal from the main floor.

They are rehearsing Cavalaria Rusticana, which will open Saturday, February 14.


This is a photo of a break in rehearsal. I'm sitting at the Tech tables. You can see the lighting designer working on his computer.

This is a photo of back backstage. It is where they store the set pieces of the other productions being done at the same time. The pink tower and building are from Wagners' Tristan und Isolde which is performing at the same time.



A big part of my job is to take the set and costume archival photos. It is one of my favorite parts of my job! Below is an example of a production photo that I have taken this season. This is a scene from Pearl Fishers.

This is a pic of me taken by an Assistant Stage Manager while I was photographing the Madame Butterfly costumes.

No matter what, when a camera is out, people will be silly. That was the whole reason I started my wall of fame. I was always catching people doing funny things. For example, here is a photo of famous opera star Patricia Racette posing for me in her costume. Usually people just stand there, but she wanted to give me something a little different.

She did eventually give me a "normal" pose for my paperwork.


I also catch great moments like this one, our star tenor, Frank Lopardo, almost lost a button!

We can't have that!!! Here is John, his dresser, saving the day!



Unfortunatly, I don't have pics of all the departments that I work with, such as, wigs and wardrobe, and the rehearsal department. It's such a large company, and a truly wonderful place to work!