Hey Lolla

Posted in Tunes by

So excited, we got our Lollapalooza tickets for next weekend in Chicago. Will be going with the hubby, my sister, and a few friends. Most looking forward to seeing The Black Keys, The Racounteurs, Rage Against The Machine, and Lupe Fiasco. Can’t wait!

Allergy Hell

Posted in All About Me by

Oh man, my allergies are KILLING me! I woke up this morning with instant itchy, watery eyes and a constant sneezing and runny nose. I have so far gone through a half box of tissues and have taken two Alavert and a Zyrtec with no change at all. I think that there must be some flower/plant/tree that grows here that is not in Ohio because I haven’t been like this in years and years! I think that I need to find an allergist here. Ugh.

101 things in 1001 days

Posted in 101 Things by

After some inspiration from a friend and fellow blogger, I have decided to participate in 101 things in 1001 days. To to quote my 101 mentor, “Life’s about the journey right? So it’s good to shake shit up here and there.”

And that, folks, is what I am trying to do. As you all know, I am a list making maestro, so I am hoping that this will challenge me to expand and explore my horizons a bit and help me figure out what I “want to do” in the next phase in my life. I have decided to work on this list and will promise to record my triumphs and failures. If you are interested in making a list of your own, check out the above link for ideas.

Here is a copy of my list, but I have also added a “to do list” page to keep it a bit easier to keep track. My deadline is April 11, 2011. Wish me luck!

MUSIC
001. Organize CDs
002. Organize and back up itunes library
003. See four local concerts a year (0/4 for 2008)
004. See four concerts in Chicago a year (0/4 for 2008)
005. Go to a classical concert with Roz.

ART/CREATIVE
006. Relearn Photo Shop
007. Join the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art
008. Take a pottery class at Lakeside Pottery Center
009. Log minimum of 10 hours a week doing art in some form
010. Enter an art show
011. Post artwork on blog
012. Learn how to knit
013. Go to the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art and The Chicago Art Institute twice a year.
014. Scan parents photos and make into album for myself and siblings
015. Collect recipes from family and organize into one cookbook
016. Refinish dresser that is a Mom’s house
017. Repaint vanity
018. Make new skirt for vanity
019. Figure out sewing machine
020. Take a cake decorating class
021. Make t-shirt on cafepress.com
022. Buy a good camera and learn how to use it
023. Make one item of clothing that I can actually wear out
024. Organize, scan, frame photos

HEALTH
025. Find an optometrist and have eye exam
026. Work out a minimum of 3x a week
027. Finish a 5K
028. Go down 2 clothing sizes (0/2)
029. Take vitamins every day
030. Get a massage

FINANCIAL
031. Put $5 in savings for every task completed and $10 for every one not completed
032. Open a CD
033. Open a separate savings account for long-term savings
034. Start contributing to our IRA each month
035. Get a safety deposit box
036. Update homeowner’s insurance with valuables
037. check our credit reports twice a year
038. Pay off all credit cards by Dec. 2009

READING/WRITING
039. Read 5 "classics" (0/5)
040. Use Middleton Library
041. Organize book collection
042. Write a letter to a magazine about an article I read
043. Read 10 books recommended from others (0/10)
044. Read 50 books each year (0/50 for 2008)
045. Update Shelfari account
046. Send a postcard once a month to a friend (0/8 for 2008)
047. Write a letter once a month to a friend (0/8 for 2008)
048. Read the Sunday NYT, every article, cover-to-cover

ENTERTAINMENT 
049. Go to a Bears game
050. Go to a Cubs game
051. Go to The Hideout again
052. Go to 8 movies a year (0/8 for 2008)
053. See a movie at an IMAX theatre
054. Go to Lollapalooza
055. Go to Six Flags Great America
056. Go camping
057. Take each sibling out to dinner – separately (0/3)
058. Go check out the DeJope Casino
059. Watch 100 movies from Netflix (0/100)

GIVING BACK
060. Donate 1 million grains of rice on freerice.com ( 0/1,000,000)
061. Find local non-profit to volunteer
062. Make an effort to compliment someone at least once a week
063. Hand make a gift for someone
064. Commit 50 random acts of kindness (0/50)

FOOD/WINE
065. Try out one new recipe a month
066. Keep track of wines I like
067. Start wine collection
068. Can tomatoes
069. Bake something once a month
070. Organize recipes and copy on disc
071. Make pasta from scratch
072. Host a cookie exchange
073. Learn how to make Mom’s pie crust

TRAVEL/ADVENTURE
074. Try out 10 new restaurants in Madison a year (0/8 for 2008)
075. Visit a country I’ve never visited before
076. Explore 5 new places in Wisconsin (0/5)
077. Go explore alone: Middleton, Madison, Chicago . . .
078. Plan a road trip
079. Plan a girls weekend getaway
080. Go to DisneyWorld
081. Go back to Mexico
082. Go to the zoo

HOME
083. Blinds for the entire house
084. New bed, king size – and new bedding
085. Get kitchen table and chairs
086. Get office furniture
087. Get a grill for Shawn
088. Patio furniture

SOCIAL
089. Contact and old friend that I’ve lost touch with
090. Do not get angry at strangers for being stupid
091. Have a party
092. Make new friends in Madison

MISC.
093. Attempt to earn Italian
094. Get a bike
095. Make a blog post for every finished goal
096. Buy and external hard drive
097. Figure our Airport Extreme and hook it up
098. Send a postcard to postsecret.com
099. Get another tattoo
100. Take earrings to get new backs from jeweler
101. Send a to-do list to todolistblog.blogspot.com




The Art of Failure

Posted in Art by

I just watched a great art documentary on HBO called The Art of Failure: Chuck Connelly Not for Sale. It follows the rise and fall of a major art talent from the 1980s art world. Connelly was a contemporary of Julian Schnabel and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Though he was extremely talented with a profitable collection of work, he ended up alienating every collector and gallery owner he worked with. The documentary was shot over the course of six years and explores a painter’s passion for his work, despite being his own worst enemy.

One of the parts that I found most interesting was how Connelly rages against what he sees as profit-hungry tactics of dealers and gallery owners, who buy paintings in bulk to get the greatest return on their investment. With over 3,000 paintings in storage, Connelly could be paid a huge sum to clear out his studio and sell his entire collection. Though this would make him rich, Connelly would never agree to sell in bulk because each individual painting would be priced "dirt cheap."

The documentary also touches on how Martin Scorsese was looking for an artist who could be a model for his film, New York Stories: Life Lessons. (1989)The artist played by Nick Nolte was based on Connelly and all of the artwork shown in the film was his own works. I think that will be added to my Netflix queue quite soon.

Chuck Connelly, Self Portrait 2008, oil on canvas, 30 x 24 inches.

Tra-la-la la-la-la-la, Tra-la-la la-la-la-la

Posted in Pop by

I love having satellite television, just for the simple fact that I have found that the Banana Splits show is out there, waiting for bring me back to my childhood days of running inside to watch this and then the Monkees. Truly, there is no real plot to this show other than the Splits driving around in there Banana Buggies (Dang, I want one of those!), bumping into each other, and introducing mediocre cartoons such as The Arabian Knights and The Three Musketeers. Don’t even get me started on Danger Island. . . However, you can’t help but smile and laugh whenever you here the theme song.

Here is a link to the video and the words so you can sing along!

Tra-la-la la-la-la-la, Tra-la-la la-la-la-la 
Tra-la-la la-la-la-la, Tra-la-la la-la-la-la
One Banana, Two Banana, Three Banana, Four
Four Bananas make a bunch and so do many more
Over Hill and Highway the Banana Buggies go
Coming on to bring you the Banana Splits Show
Makin’ up a Mess of Fun
Makin’ up a Mess of Fun
Lots of Fun for Everyone
Tra-la-la la-la-la-la, Tra-la-la la-la-la-la 
Tra-la-la la-la-la-la, Tra-la-la la-la-la-la 
Four Banana, Three Banana, Two Banana, One
All Bananas Playing in the Bright Warm Sun
Flipping like a Pancake, Popping like a Cork
Fleegle, Bingo, Drooper and snork
Makin’ up a Mess of Fun
Makin’ up a Mess of Fun
Lots of Fun for Everyone
Tra-la-la la-la-la-la, Tra-la-la la-la-la-la 
Tra-la-la la-la-la-la, Tra-la-la la-la-la-la 
Two Banana, Four Banana
One Banana, Three
Swingin’ like a Bunch of Monkey’s
Hangin’ from a Tree.
Hey there Everybody
Won’t you come along and see
How much like Banana Splits
Everyone can be.
Makin’ up a Mess of Fun
Makin’ up a Mess of Fun
Lots of Fun for Everyone
Tra-la-la la-la-la-la, Tra-la-la la-la-la-la 
Tra-la-la la-la-la-la, Tra-la-la la-la-la-la 


Lotsa Happening

Posted in Uncategorized by

Sorry for the long break in the postings, but July started out a bit hectic. The Torto family had a situation that needed everyone to band together, but all is getting better and things are slowing returning to normal.

A highlight of the past few weeks was that my sisters and nephew came up to MSN to visit. So much fun having us all together and laughing a lot. Went to the local pool for a few days with was great. I was sad to see them go home and am already looking forward to another visit.

Fourth of July was also a bright spot as well, although Mom and Dad were in CA, the rest of us got together at The Ponderosa for some good times. Highlights included swimming, a beetle invasion, good tunes, and of course, fireworks courtesy of Uncle Pyro (aka Shawn) which were fun, but held to a minimum in deference to Sylvia’s concerns of her house being consumed in flames while her and dad were gone.

Now that all the dust has settled, I am looking forward to getting back in to a routine here at the house. Need to get back to the gym and also get cracking on digging out those art supplies.