Sorry. I have had a hard time pulling my shit together these days and keeping all of my plans straight.
Yes, I plan on coming on Friday as long as I remember it. It keeps slipping my mind. Please don't take it personaly. I think grad school adjustment is taking its toll on me.
I don't know what I am bringing.

(((((kitten))))) I hope we'll see you Friday - some soothing sangria would certainly help a frazzled brain.

No turbomann this time - he's decided to go play with his BFF in MI and go camping.

herrrumph...I might not be getting to the party until after 8, as I guess my coworker wasn't able to switch shifts with me. Not sure if he decided not to do me a favor, or if he had a previous obligation, but I thought I had given him enough time to decide....anyway, I might still be able to get off earlier if there are no late appt's.

*crossing fingers*

at least there won't be anything stopping me from making Oreo balls.

*knock on wood*

I'll text you kitten to help remind you!

humanist, just make sure to bring your balls!

i think i'm going to make a taco salad and bring some chicken. i'm stuck on chicken for some reason. ask crazyoldcatlady. i was having dreams in montreal about chicken. don't ask me why?

the guy and I will be there. did we settle on a time? we may be doubled booked that evening but our other plans will likely be after 9pm.

don't know what I'm bringing - maybe something sweet. I certainly can't compete with humanist's balls, though.

ETA: I see now that it was already clearly stated - 7pm - sorry for flakiness (mmm - makes me think of pastry)

prophecy, shindig is at 7pm.

Mmmm....I remember your taco salad, star. It is gooooooooood. I'm so glad everyone will be able to make it! YAY! I was gonna grill up some chicken, star, so don't feel like you have to bring 2 things.

mmm these Oreo balls are turning out even better than I expected. The first batch is more like Oreo "lumps", but they're still friggin tasty! I took polly's suggestion in softening the cream cheese a little first, but that just made the mixture way too soft-so definitely leave the cream cheese cold. I highly suggest just consistently having around the house a mixture of Oreos and cream cheese. blended smoothly in a food processor. It's good to just eat with a spoon, like cookie dough. I promise I'm not eating from the batch with a spoon though

Thanks Ladies! I had such a great time last night. The food was soooo good. Although I think I ate too many as my stomach was less than pleased today. Ah well, totally worth it.

So, is anyone free to join me on Wednesday morning for the Pushing Daisies Touch of Wonder Tour? There will be free pie!

it was so great to see all of you yesterday!! those oreo balls were fantastic, humanist.

Ooo, free pie. Too bad I have to work

Yes, it was a delightful evening- Turbo, you wouldn't mind sharing the recipe for the chicken marinade? It was really good. It really reminded me of the marinade they put on the chicken at the Ginza Festival. The secret ingredient in that is actually Mogen David- who'da guessed?

Polly, you will LOVE this marinade recipe - it comes from a bottle! hahaha! Its "Soy Vay Island Teryaki" - I get it at Whole Foods, but I've seen it at Dominick's too, as well as TJ's. Good stuff. Can't go wrong. Its really best when you let the chicken marinade for 8 hours, but in a pinch, an hour will do. Its really good stir fried with veggies over brown rice, too.

Thanks for coming over last night, everybustie! As usual, it was a wonderful evening, and I needed an evening of relaxing company! And it is SO fabulous to have Star back home!!!

I had a great time last night! Thanks for all the tasty grub, ladies!
Are your hands okay from the wheat, Turbo?
I took some to work today and everyone was in wuv with me : )

Oh, I actually think I have some of that in the fridge! I've only used it in stir frys though. I'll have to do chicken next time!

Excellent, polly!

Well, I had two blisters on my hands when I woke up yesterday (and a headache and bellyache), but this morning, I've got about 15 blisters - d'oh! Little buggers itch like crazy, too! Oh well, it was worth it. And now, I'm off to go do the North Shore Century ride (though I'm doing the metric ride - 62 miles). That should burn all of that nasty wheat out of my system!

I need some Chicago Bustie advice- LeBoy and I want to switch banks. We are with LaSalle, which became Bank of America. I got a letter saying that in October, they're going to require a $750 daily minimum balance and they're going to charge me a maintenance fee for not having my paychecks set up on direct deposit (I'll have to check with my cousin/boss on the reason, but I don't think that's an option at my job)....anyway, it's f-ing ridiculous, I hate BoA. To make matters worse, our mortgage is/was through Countrywide and they're also being bought by BoA.

So, we are looking for a new bank and wondering if anyone could recommend one. My requirements are that they have lots of locations so there's one near our house and in between home and work for both of us (I can do the legwork on looking for that), they have a free checking program with no minimum balance and hopefully no fee for lack of direct deposit. Also, I'd like to hear that they haven't had any major fuck-ups with your money. And if there's any banks you wouldn't recommend, let me know!

I don't understand why they'd charge money for having to manually deposit your paycheck. If I were getting paid on a daily basis, I can see where that would get excessive. But I get 2, maybe 3 checks a month, and isn't that their job, to let me deposit my checks?

polly - we've been with wamu for a little over a year and have been pretty happy with it. Of course, they just got bought out by Chase, so I don't know what that will be like in the future. Anecdotally, I've heard positive things about Chase and I do know that they have the most branches of any bank in the Chicago area (wamu was 2nd or 3rd, so now that they're combining, that's even more branches and ATMs). I don't know anything about Chase's account options, but wamu's free checking does not require direct deposit. Banks view paper checks as a liability - they have to wait for the check to clear and there's the possibility that it may bounce, whereas direct deposit is an EFT, so the money is there instantly. Our best banking experience ever has been with a credit union, though they tend to be inconvenient in terms of branches and ATMs, but if you or leboy have access to one and it's not a hassle to bank there, that would be my recommendation.

Haven't stopped by this thread in a while, so a belated thanks to turbo for hosting another lovely bustie gathering. It was great to see everyone!

Polly, we've been with Chase for 10 years, and as far as large banks go, we like them. Like PG said, they have a ton of branches in the chicago metro area, and with the acquisition of WaMu, I can imagine that will expand their ATM network even more. They definitely have free checking, and their online banking is very nice, and I haven't paid a bill by snail mail in many many years. I think on the free checking accounts they limit you to something like 2 teller visits per month, but again...I can't remember the last time I even needed to see a teller. I prefer ATMs.

Oh, and when my identity got stolen last year, and my bank account emptied, Chase was extraordinarily helpful in getting things squared away. The money was returned to my acct immediately (I caught it 6hrs post theft because I compulsively check my accts every morning), and even called the credit bureaus for me to place security warnings on my files so that no one would be able to open an acct. without valid ID. I think that was actually the last time I needed an actual banker.

Good luck on switching banks!

i've been happy with chase as well. i was sore when i had to open a BoA account in Boston so i could have a bank to cash checks. BoA is service charging happy. They charge for ordinary services. I'm so glad I use that account very little. i love chase because there are alot of atms around chicago.

BoA & Wells Fargo are total bastards when it comes to being charge happy.

It's funny, I knew WaMu was gonna eat it years ago back when I had a straight job. It's too bad, they were a pretty good financial institution as financial institutions go.

I don't know if this site has been updated since all the problems recently, but it's incredibly useful.
http://www.bauerfinancial.com/btc_ratings.asp


edit: I just checked and it has been. I also just remembered there is a credit union in Chicago that is rated pretty high, and I believe has all the features you were looking for, I'm just not sure about the locations. It's called MB Financial. Credit Unions are fantastic.
Good luck finding a new bank!

Hmm, Chase & Harris both have fees for non-direct deposit. I'm still checking on Fifth-Third. MB Financial looks good, but there's just not enough locations.

Anyone up for doing something on October 25th? I really want to get out of going to a 2-year-old's birthday party that day and a Bustie get-together is a perfect excuse!

Sure Polly. Use us at your discretion.


I can make myself available that day. I haven't been to heartland in forever. We usually get shitty service there though. M.Henry's is a good one too.


Either way, you can count on me to be up for something.

Yeah, I was thinking of the Heartland and also that restaurant we talked about going to, but never did- The Fireside. I looked at the menu and it looked tasty.

And I take back what I said about Chase- if you make 5 or more purchases a month with your debit card, there's no fee. I'm pretty sure I can handle that :-)

I love M. Henry's and Fireside but would pick Fireside first b/c M. Henry's is small and crowded. Esp. for agroup our size.

i think turbo and i ended up at the Fireside when all ya bitches ditched us.


they have a great bloody mary bar on sundays. and the food was yummy. just tell me where to go and i'll be there.


am i easy or what? don't let that info get out....

I think I can do the 25th! YAY! Any of the choices mentioned are certainly fine by me...YUM.

Do y'all have a copy of my school schedule or something?

As of right now that is the workday for a competition my school entered. I have 11 hours to put a frickin gingerbread house together. On THAT Saturday.

Siiiiiiigh.

Damn ava!!


Well, we can have a bustie get together to eat your gingerbread house...

Hooray! Maybe we can do an "off" time, like 2 or 3, and we'll have a better shot of getting in wherever we decide without too much hassle.

Ava, whenever you're done with that gingerbread house, you just stop by and we'll take care of it!

Or at least post pictures- we never get to see your creations!

Oh, this is not going to be eaten. I have decided it is going to win and when it does it is going in the Chicago Cultural Center. With my name on it. But I'll make y'all something else nice to eat.

And at some point I'll post some pictures...I'm in chocolates class right now..mmmm

*tiptoes in* Hi everyone! I'm totally alive! I need to start coming in this thread more.

Polly: I bank at North Community, which is local. I don't know if they're outside the city, but they do have a lot of ATMs in Chicago, very few fees and probably the best customer service I've ever experienced. I cannot imagine banking anywhere else. And they helped fund PAWS. I know it's not super practical, but I've been really happy banking with them for the past 8 years.

The 26th is my sixth wedding anniversary, so I suspect Martini and I will be up to shenanigans the evening of the 25th but I could probably make it (YES I COULD! I PROMISE!) to something around brunchtime. Fireside is totally awesome -- probably one of my favorite places in the city. The food is super yummy, it has free parking and pretty fab breakfast drinks. The patio is heated in the colder months and lit up really nicely with Christmas lights year round. It's pretty easy to get into, and they take reservations. Martini and I hosted a baby shower with 20+ people there once, and we had no trouble at all getting it for 11 a.m. on a Sunday.

Oh, Fireside sounds like a good place to go! Especially to celebrate October. The decor inside is cozy and very Fall. Aw. Now, I really want to go.

Brunchtime would be fine with me. Sounds like it's The Fireside, then.

Ava, let us know if it's on display at the Cultural Center- I'd love an extra excuse to go down there and see the newly restored dome. Is it a traditional-style gingerbread house or a fun theme?

Good News!

I can go!

The house is actually due on the 23, which means I am FREE the 25.

Yay! I don't think I've seen you since mouse came to town!

I'll be giving massages at a big convention that weekend : (

Ha ha, have fun with the Mensans. Bring a taser!

Yay! I'm glad you will be able to come! Call me if you need a ride.


Aw. Sorry Humanist. Just think of us when you are giving the rubdowns.


Is prophecygrl coming? And where has amywoman been? And Jane? Where are you Jane?

Prophecy told me in an email she should be able to go, but I'll let her give the official RSVP here.

I can make it! Just tell me what time.

Yahoo! Um, so what time are we thinking?

Anything between 10-2 to start is good for me.

Same here! I am probably walking or biking up there, so if we could move toward the 10:30/11 range, I am good.

Last minute, and it's a work night, but I'll throw this out there- my uncle is in town for business, staying downtown and my mom's looking for stuff to do with him.

Anyone interested in joining us for this tomorrow night?

Debate Watching Party at Quenchers

Looks like they have a big beer selection and yummy pub food (if anyone's been there before and it sucks, let me know!)

They ask for a $10 donation that all goes to the Obama campaign. No need to reply if you decide at the last minute- I think all the Chicago Busties know what I look like, so if you show up, find me!

Oh, you should probably RSVP on the Obama site at the bottom of the page- you can make your donation there.

thanks for the invite polly! sorry i couldn't make it. boo.

I'm always late to the game - I will mos def be at the 10/25 gathering. mmm . . . bloody mary

No problem. It was fun- it's a decent little corner bar. Good chili and we had the tator tot pizza.

Hubby just started hosting the monday night open jam at Quenchers. I fuckin love the tater to pizza there . it sounds gross but is so delish!

if anyone is up for it my band the Ditch Pigs will be performing as part of the Chicago Calling festival on Sunday Oct 12 at 7pm

here is a link to the site
http://www.chicagocalling.org/

enjoy the fall in chitown!
J

It was good, ladyj- a little marinara sauce, with bacon, green onions and a layer of tater tots. I think there was cheese over the tater tots too, to sort of bind them together. And some sour cream for dipping. Yum!