...my good friend john b. gave me a book for christmas on the slow food movement which gave me the idea of starting our own slow food gathering...for those unfamiliar with what the slow food movement is, here are their general principles...i was most interested in the community aspect of making and sharing food from scratch the old-fashioned way, as opposed to the microwaved plates of ready-made food that's become the norm for so many of us these days...i personally have been known to go for days on nothing but luna bars, oyster crackers and veggie chili, but i have married into a family of siblings who actually enjoy taking time in the kitchen to use the stove and oven rather than simply nuking a prepackaged meal...so 2 of our sibs (dave & lauren) and our friends john and jon joined teddy & me & cadence in our kitchen saturday...we started at 4:30 pm on a meal of potato gnocchi with homemade tomato sauce, a salad and banana muffins...my contribution to the evening was buying all the ingredients and scooping baked potato flesh...i mainly attended to cadence and watched these skilled chefs at work...our kitchen was a flurry of activity until we got to sit down and eat finally at 9pm...talk about SLOW...but it was fun and worth the wait...food always tastes great when you're famished...we'll probably do this again, hopefully with fresh locally grown produce sometime soon when the midwest finally thaws out...

...on sunday, we took cadence to her very first chic-a-go-go taping...it was also our first chic-a-go-go taping come to think of it...our friend miss mia is the lovely and talented host for this local cable access show/kid's rock 'n' roll dance party that has a cult following among chicago kids, hip parents, indie rockers and freaks alike...this happened to be their 400th episode, and international rock stars shonen knife who are an all girl band from osaka were flying in early for their north american tour just to be on this episode...also, jon langford (of mekons fame)and the waco brothers who are a local favorite were playing as well...i guess we picked a great show as our introduction to the quirky world of chic-a-go-go...for the occasion, i dressed cadenc up in her rock 'n' roll tshirt and decided she also needed a bandana to round out her badass look...so i cut up a piece of my pajamas that i was gonna throw out and tied it on her head...i gotta say, bald heads look great in a bandana...this one was made like half an hour before we left, so no real hems or anything, but i think i'm gonna make some bonafide bandanas for the little one for future outings...

...there were a ton of kids dressed up in all kinds of costumes...some of them had parents that were dressed more outrageously than they were...there were also a lot of your 20-something indie hipsters looking to shake some booty as well as excited shonen knife fans thrilled to share the dance floor with those cute japanese rockers...from the moment we stepped into the hospitality room of the studio where the show is taped, cadence was just bugeyed at all the goings on...she was so excited she wouldn't even eat when i tried to feed her before the show...probably worried she'd miss something...

...it was pretty crazy during the taping with so many kids there as well as all the parents and indie hipsters and bootyshakers...jon langford who is a dad himself was a lot of fun...i've seen him do 'i wanna be your dog' w/ alejandro escovedo at a kids show @ the hideout a few years ago, and he got the kids to sing along, who thought it was funny to wanna be someone's doggy...shonen knife were just adorable...they came out in identical outfits that i think one of the members designed...miss mia gave them a plaque for traveling the furthest to be on the show...

...i can't say whether cadence had FUN during the show or not, but she was definitely captivated...i'm hoping to take her to more chic-a-go-go tapings in the future, and i can't wait until she's old enough to dance on the platform...i just know she's gonna be a kick-ass bootyshaker!

i love my family...

best buddies!

i just love this photo of cadence & her daddy...don't they look like such good friends? we took this at the lucky platter, a neat little diner in evanston that i haven't been to in ages...i had monday off for president's day, so we went out for brunch w/ uncle dave after ted took his subaru to the evanston subaru dealer...the lucky platter is just around the corner from the dealer, so it worked out pretty well...after brunch, we went up to the downtown area for coffee & hot chocolate at the unicorn cafe...it was kind of weird because there wasn't any music playing, and i'm not used to a coffeeshop environment without some tunes spinning in the background...go figure...

in other news, i just joined this yahoo group called APandWOHMoms which is for moms who practice attachment parenting and work outside the home...that would be me! i was surprised at how active the group was, and it seems like a really great support network for moms like me who have to be away from their children because of work, when what they want most is to be there with their children and partake in daily moments...it'll be good to have a forum of like-minded moms where i can ask questions and just share as cadence grows up...

anywho, dinnertime!

...(update on 2/24/2005: well, my 11 minutes of fame are over...my photo on NPR has been replaced by the NPR intern's photo from wednesday nite's DC show...oh well...thank goodness i saved a copy of the webpage to my hard drive so i can show my grandkids someday!)...say congratulations to cadence's mommy cuz she's a bona fide photojournalist now, thanks to her friends in the detholz!! yes, it's true...see that photo of jim and andrew to the left that i took at the urbana show last week? well, click right here, and you'll see that same photo on the national public radio website (no longer true, but you read the editor's note above, right?)(http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4502847 in case you can't open the link)...and in very tiny letters you'll see my name (at least my maiden name) beneath the photo...being a huge fan of NPR, this may be one of my proudest moments as a photographer...and the added bonus is that you get to hear the show live for free this thursday on the npr website! granted, you can't replace the experience of actually BEING THERE at a wilco show, but i guess it's not so bad considering a) it's free; b) you don't have to step foot outside your home; c) you don't have to get dressed (up or at all); and d) it's free!

...speaking of music, here's cadence with her newest toy...well, it's not actually new...we've had it since october, but we didn't set it up until last week...it's called the step 'n' play piano...part walker, part musical instrument...she LOVES it!!! it's got a keyboard for her feet to walk on, as well as various other 'instruments' and toys for her hands...her favorite is the 'microphone' rattle, and she likes the crash cymbal pretty good too...her feet barely reach the keyboard, but she's been putting out some tunes, banging away and dancing to her own music...it's never too early to get started on the rock 'n' roll, i say...




...it's been a busy weekend in our household...auntie lauren came over friday night to spend the weekend with us...then josh came and visited for a few hours on saturday...he had to leave earlier than we'd thought, so it was a short visit, but i did get to give him his birthday card in person...saturday night uncle dave met up w/ us at the grind, and we got jimmy john's subs and watched cheesy movies on cable...dave spent the night too, and we all went out for brunch at brett's cafe in roscoe village this morning...so cadence has had a LOT of attention these past few days...i think she takes it pretty well...doesn't let it get to her head...she can be quite shy in public...except for the occasional teething pain episodes, she's been an absolute doll lately...cooing and singing and giggling and smiling away...she really is such a good baby, we feel totally lucky and blessed...

...ok...this here photo shoot's for uncle josh cuz 1) he taught me how to find mars and orion in the night sky; 2) his middle name IS mars; 3) he's out of this world, as in from a different planet...and he happens to be coming through chicago tomorrow! yippee!!!! yes, josh is a pilot and he flies bank checks all over the east coast and midwest...he's flying into midway early tomorrow morning and then he doesn't have to leave until 8pm, so he's gonna come for a visit...

...cadence seems to have begun teething, which means she's drooling like crazy and wants to chew on anything and everything, including her entire fist...the poor thing...it must hurt because she's been doing her 'owwie' crying the past couple nights...it's not the cranky 'i'm annoyed, change the channel' cry, but a much more heartfelt 'mommy, daddy, make it stop hurting PLEEESE' kind of a cry...it's so sad, if you heard it you'd cry too...*sigh*...

xoxo

"happy valentine's day, all you lovely folks out there!"

(...more photos from the stripes series right over here...)

...well, we did it, and we lived to tell about it...teddy & i drove down to urbana to see the dethoz! open up for wilco @ foellinger auditorium on the U of I campus...photos are right here...my mom & brother came over mid afternoon on tuesday to take over on the babyfront, and we left town around 3:30pm...despite heavy traffic on the dan ryan, we made it to urbana by 6:30pm and even found free parking just a block away from the venue...we had time for a lovely dinner at the bread company which was around the corner from where we parked, so we were totally set for the night...

...the lovely and talented derek becker had tickets waiting for us, as well as a photo pass for me...we went to the dressing room to say hi to the boys in detholz! and then i did some prepping in the auditorium for the photo shoot...elliot dicks, the drummer for the nerves and frequent empty bottle sound guy, was also there to do sound for the detholz! i don't know how many the auditorium seats, but it was a sold out show, and the kids started streaming in...it was weird being among the oldest in the crowd...most of the audience was probably not even of legal drinking age...i have to say that the kids doing "security" for the show were sweet...one of them even tracked down ear plugs for me & teddy...

...i have never seen the detholz! play on such a HUGE stage...even from the very front where i was taking photos, they looked so small because they were arranged on the back of the stage so that they could be behind the overhead stage lights...as always, they played a very tight set, and they were well received by the youngsters, who esp. enjoyed their version of johnny cash's 'ring of fire'...this was the first of seven shows that the detholz! are playing with wilco, which is a great opportunity for them to get some well-deserved exposure...it was nice to see the band after my almost 6 month hiatus from the music scene..in fact, the last show i saw before having cadence was the detholz! show @ the hideout, the night i saw jeff tweedy and forgot his name like the bumbling fool of a fan that i am...

...the wilco set was sweet, and teddy was as excited as i was to see glenn kotche drumming live...he is definitely one of my favorite drummers to see live! they did a lot of songs off their latest album, a ghost is born, but they surprisingly also did a lot of songs off of summerteeth, including via chicago, which is one of my favorite songs...i didn't take any photos of their set, even though i technically had a wilco photo pass...i could've for the first 3 songs, which is what they generally allow, but i chose to just stand back and enjoy the show...

...we left as they began their encore because i wanted to make it back home to our little one...all in all, this little trip took 10.5 hours, and it was totally worth it, even though teddy had to work at 7 am the next morning and cadence still woke up at 6am ignoring the fact that her mommy and daddy hadn't gotten to bed until 2am...

...just another exciting night in our rock 'n' roll lives...next shows i'm looking forward to are radio4 (the detholz! opening up) @ the empty bottle on march 2, lungfish on march 26, and bob dylan the first week of april...YAY!

...one of the joys of being a new mommy has been introducing the little one to some of my favorite music...bob dylan, bill mallonee, gillian welch, rosie thomas, damien jurado, denison witmer, sufjan stevens, iron and wine, johnny cash, the innocence mission, etc...i've also started singing and playing songs on guitar for cadence, and that'll capture her attention for a while...unfortunately, the only song i know how to play by heart is 'via chicago' by wilco, and i was thinking that maybe a song that starts out with the lines 'i dreamed about killing you again last night/and it felt alright to me' might not be the best song to be singing to my baby every night...so i've decided that i am going to learn me some new songs...i'm shooting for about 3 a month...i don't learn too fast (my brain reached information overload about 4 years ago) so that's about what i figure i can handle...right now, i'm learning 'one little song' by gillian welch, which i played on repeat on the cd player for a few hours for cadence as she slept yesterday...so by the end of the year, if i keep this up, i should have a few dozen songs under my belt, and by that time, maybe cadence will even be singing along! and playing her red monkey rattle! or the drums! won't that be fun?!

...speaking of wilco, looks like the first show i'll see post-baby is gonna be the detholz!/wilco show @ u of i urbana...interestingly enough, the last show i saw before i had cadence was the detholz! show at which jeff tweedy was present which got the 'holz their current mini tour of seven shows with wilco...thanks to the lovely lovely boys of the detholz! and to derek becker of satellite booking, the nicest and best dressed booking agent in town...i've been an utter failure trying to get wilco tickets in the past, so it's nice to be able to get in on the guest list...and teddy too! that was an added bonus! now i don't have to drive all by my lonesome to and from urbana...

...in other news, watchers are playing with the eternals at the fireside bowl on thursday night...yeah, they still do shows there every now and then, but it's not all ages any more...i probably won't go but i think ted's going...if it had a restaurant attached to it, we could both go and take turns, but oh well...i think we're gonna try that at venues like the empty bottle, schubas, abbey pub--all the ones that have restaurants with no smoking sections so we can bring cadence too...

...yeah, the overall feel these days is that i'm ITCHIN', baby...itchin' for the outdoors, itchin' for live music, itchin' to do some street photography, itchin' for seattle...itchin', itchin', ITCHIN'!!!

happy birthday, miss mia!

"whutcha lookin' at, daddy?"

born to be wild!

...so last night was miss mia's birthday party...we showed up early cuz we knew we couldn't stay too long with cadence, and also cuz we knew it was gonna be a smoky party as the night progressed...the party was in the motorcycle shop that's in the building where mia lives, and teddy's eyes got big when he saw all the cafe racers that were being rebuilt in there...he's been watching shows like american chopper and southern steel just about every night on the discovery channel...i swear, those are the only shows they even air now on that station...anywho, it was great to be able to say happy birthday to a chicago rock 'n' roll icon like miss mia...she inspires me to keep on rawkin' out, and i know she'll do the same for cadence...and it was cool to get those photos of our little shorty on a racer!

...so did i mention it was an absolutely beautiful day here in the windy city yesterday? it felt like the middle of spring...cadence & i went for a long walk in the neighborhood over to lincoln square...yup, i'm a mommy with a stroller now! i have to say, it was a little difficult maneuvering that minibabySUV through the narrow aisles of laurie's planet of sound, so i had to park her in the store window behind the country section...which was just fine with me because i decided it was high time i picked up gillian welch's 'soul journey' which has been out for almost 2 years already...sheesh...that was just pure laziness on my part...anywho, after thinking about the good ol' days when i'd spend saturday afternoons at reckless records, it was nice to browse through an indie record store again, and even if it's not as big as reckless, they still sell the good stuff there...AND they sell buttons at laurie's! i picked up a bob dylan button of the blonde on blonde cover...i love that photo of him...he's so..YOUNG...

...hey, look at that! it's a photo without cadence in it! yeah, i took a few of those yesterday on our long stroll through lincoln square...still not as many as i would've back in the old days, but enough about the old days already...it was just so lovely to be outdoors yesterday in a hoodie instead of a big thick down coat, which is what you would normally wear on february 5th on any given year in chicago...pretty soon, it'll be spring, and when spring comes, cadence will be 6 months old...wow...you know, there's a BIG difference between 4 months and 6 months...and then come summer, holy schmoles, she'll be crawling and maybe even taking her first steps towards the tail end of summer...i can't wait to take her to the little baby pool in glenview at the big pool where teddy & i went last summer...i've already been looking at swim suits for her!

...so much to look forward to...you know, having a kid is about the hardest thing i've ever done...but oh, the joy! the joy, the everyday joy that is my cadence joy...even photos can't do justice to the joy i feel during so many little moments throughout the days that i spend with my little one...

...remember the good old days when i used to go to a couple shows a week (sometimes a couple shows a night) accompanied only by my trusty friend named Nikon so i could stare at rock star footsies? or when i spent saturday afternoons browsing the bins at reckless records, again accompanied by my trusty Nikon to and from the record store so i could capture the sights in and around wicker park? or the times i'd shoot off to places in rural illinois or wisconsin or seattle or new york or austin to see my favorite bands play? well, those days are over...

...or... are they? so i'm thinking that maybe we'll do a family vacation to some music festival this year...there are so many these days...i think SXSW would be too early (it's in march) for the little one, but bumbershoot in seattle won't be til labor day, and austin city limits is in september too i think...cadence will be practically walking by then and ready to embark on her life as a rock 'n' roll prodigy... and outdoor festivals are easier to get away from the inevitable drunks and cigarette smoke...although usually there are other kinds of smoke to contend with, but that's besides the point...

...i know that we have to go to new jersey for my cousin ben's wedding the first weekend in june, but i wanted to do a real family vacation...like maybe even involving a plane ride...i will admit the prospects of boarding the confines of a steel bird with a squirmy little one in tow is a daunting one at best, but it's done all the time, and i see no reason why we shouldn't jump into the action too...seattle...maybe a drive up to vancouver...or down to portland...oh, the pacific northwest is so beeeeyewtiful in late summer! *sigh*...

...can you tell i'm getting cabin fever? the temperatures hit 50 degrees today, and all i can think about is how much i need a vacation...and by vacation i mean a little more than shooting down to champaign next tuesday to see the detholz! open up for wilco...not that it won't be fun...but it'll just be a 12 hour get-away and i need a little more than that...

...so i leave my camera at home, and what happens? teddy takes some photos with the baby...i like this one...it's so cute, the way cadence has her head laying on ted's shoulder...yeah, i know, it's kinda hard to see with just a sliver of a mirror, but that's half the charm...it's like getting just a peek at a private moment between daddy and daughter...

...last night i came home with a migraine and a queasy stomach...i threw up the 3 bites of dinner i had as well as my lunch and basically couldn't get out of bed for the rest of the night...i felt so bad for teddy cuz i know he was really tired too, but i was so out of it, he had to put cadence to sleep by himself...so i was in bed by 8pm, and then i woke up at 11pm and was basically awake until around 1:30am...i'm working from home today, and i still have a remnant of a headache, so i'm going to try to limit my time on the computer as much as possible...i do have work to do, so i'll have to take frequent breaks to rest my eyes...ugh...i hate migraines...i totally understand how you-know-who from wilco could get addicted to pain killers because of his migraines...

...speaking of wilco, my friends The Detholz! are opening up for wilco downstate at UofI Urbana next tuesday, and they've invited me to take photos! i hope it works out...i'm game...i just have to make sure i've got enough milk pumped and that i've got someone to stay with cadence until around 3am that night...no, i don't plan on staying the night down there, not unless i have my baby with me...i'm hoping teddy can go to the show with me...for one thing, i hate driving, and 2nd thing, after reading that article on glenn kotche in modern drummer, he wants to see the show too...it's sold out though, so i'm waiting to hear if there will be room for him as a guest of the band...

...so as cadence gets older, she is showing signs of knowing her mommy and daddy...i can't describe the sheer joy of seeing the recognition in her face and actually sensing that my baby loves me cuz i'm her mama...maybe it's the boobs full of milk...maybe it's cuz i'm a warm body to cuddle up to...but maybe, just maybe, she can sense just how much i love and adore her, and she feels the same way...*sigh*...