the apple juice diet
Winter has finally reached out and placed a wet, sloppy kiss on Dubuque...the snow is falling hard and soggy, making for perfect snowballs. And with it comes the flu. I woke up at 4 am Sunday morning feeling nauseous...I spent the next twelve hours alternately vomiting and cradling myself against chills and sweats. I'm lucky...it's been several years since I've had the stomach flu (or "gastro-intestinal virus") but I haven't forgotten just how quickly it can lay me flat and helpless. Very humbling. Luckily, I have both family and friends to look after me when I am down for the count. I don't know what I would have done without them, except possibly be even more pathetic (which I'm not sure is possible!) Since I wasn't able to eat, my entire diet for the next twenty four hours was apple juice, the recommendation of the nice nurse on the other end of the phone. After throwing up all morning, it was the most delicious thing I could imagine.
My friend Kathy, her sister Liz, and Nicky have also contracted this virus within the last two days. Do yourself a favor. Stay home and read a book!
Which is exactly what I did. On Sunday afternoon, when I was feeling strong enough to get out of bed, I hobbled two blocks to the public library (I must've made quite the sight with my extreme bedhead and shaky gait) and picked up a copy of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which is being released in theaters this weekend. I'm halfway through the book and enjoying it immensely.
So Sunday was pretty much a wash. On Friday Nicky and I drove to Cedar Rapids, did a little window shopping at Photo Pro, and then met LeAnn and her daughter Maddie for pizza at Zoey's. Zoey's, for those of you who don't know, is a fantastic, unassuming little pizzeria on the corner of downtown Marion, just east of Cedar Rapids. The pizza comes in two varieties: Chicago and New York. I've never had the big apple version (thin crust, of course), but the Chicago style - wow. I know what you're thinking...every Tom, Dick, and Papa John does "Chicago style". Not like this, they don't. I'm not talking about an an overinflated pizza with extra crust. It reminds me of a piece of pie - crust and all ("Pizza pie" takes on a whole new meaning now). Of course, the fact that my stomach and large intestine were trying to forcefully deliver themselves out of my mouth a day later has soured me a bit on the idea of pizza for now.
On Saturday I drove back to Cedar Rapids to spend the day with LeAnn (yes, we're still pretty much a weekend couple - kinda frustrating, but there you have it). The weather was spectacular - in the low to mid-sixties, at least. At Maddie's request, we grilled hot dogs and made macaroni and cheese for lunch, with s'mores for desert. I impressed the ladies with my fire-making skills (sarcasm, people!).
After lunch we headed to the Cedar Rapids Art Museum, where we took in a Grant Wood exhibit (who else?) which focused on his residency in Cedar Rapids. Even though it's easy to grow weary of the Grant Wood-mania I have to admit that he is still one of my favorites, and I relish the opportunity to see his paintings up close and in person. I saw one this time around that I had not had the opportunity to see in person before - Parson Weem's Fable. What's creepy and fascinating about the painting is that Wood decided to paint the young George Washington with the old face of the Gilbert Stuart portrait we all know and love - powdery wig and all.
That evening LeAnn and I went and saw Jarhead, which we both enjoyed. I think I was slightly less taken with the movie simply because I've read the book and couldn't help but draw comparisons. Probably not very fair, because the movie is solid. But it's also a little toothless compared to the book, in my opinion - Anthony Swofford made some very strong anti-war statements that don't manage to find their way into the movie. And even though Jake Gyllenhaal does a good job, he doesn't elicit the sympathy that Swofford manages to capture in the book - the movie doesn't have that autobiographical feel to it. By all means, see the movie - but don't miss the book. Peter Sarsgaard, by the way, is fantastic in the role of Anthony's closest, well, "friend" doesn't really describe it. And talk about cognitive dissonance - seeing Dennis Haysbert, the friendly guy from the Allstate commercials playing a hardass Marine commander was just STRANGE. "Are YOU in good hands"?
My friend Kathy, her sister Liz, and Nicky have also contracted this virus within the last two days. Do yourself a favor. Stay home and read a book!
Which is exactly what I did. On Sunday afternoon, when I was feeling strong enough to get out of bed, I hobbled two blocks to the public library (I must've made quite the sight with my extreme bedhead and shaky gait) and picked up a copy of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which is being released in theaters this weekend. I'm halfway through the book and enjoying it immensely.
So Sunday was pretty much a wash. On Friday Nicky and I drove to Cedar Rapids, did a little window shopping at Photo Pro, and then met LeAnn and her daughter Maddie for pizza at Zoey's. Zoey's, for those of you who don't know, is a fantastic, unassuming little pizzeria on the corner of downtown Marion, just east of Cedar Rapids. The pizza comes in two varieties: Chicago and New York. I've never had the big apple version (thin crust, of course), but the Chicago style - wow. I know what you're thinking...every Tom, Dick, and Papa John does "Chicago style". Not like this, they don't. I'm not talking about an an overinflated pizza with extra crust. It reminds me of a piece of pie - crust and all ("Pizza pie" takes on a whole new meaning now). Of course, the fact that my stomach and large intestine were trying to forcefully deliver themselves out of my mouth a day later has soured me a bit on the idea of pizza for now.
On Saturday I drove back to Cedar Rapids to spend the day with LeAnn (yes, we're still pretty much a weekend couple - kinda frustrating, but there you have it). The weather was spectacular - in the low to mid-sixties, at least. At Maddie's request, we grilled hot dogs and made macaroni and cheese for lunch, with s'mores for desert. I impressed the ladies with my fire-making skills (sarcasm, people!).
After lunch we headed to the Cedar Rapids Art Museum, where we took in a Grant Wood exhibit (who else?) which focused on his residency in Cedar Rapids. Even though it's easy to grow weary of the Grant Wood-mania I have to admit that he is still one of my favorites, and I relish the opportunity to see his paintings up close and in person. I saw one this time around that I had not had the opportunity to see in person before - Parson Weem's Fable. What's creepy and fascinating about the painting is that Wood decided to paint the young George Washington with the old face of the Gilbert Stuart portrait we all know and love - powdery wig and all.
That evening LeAnn and I went and saw Jarhead, which we both enjoyed. I think I was slightly less taken with the movie simply because I've read the book and couldn't help but draw comparisons. Probably not very fair, because the movie is solid. But it's also a little toothless compared to the book, in my opinion - Anthony Swofford made some very strong anti-war statements that don't manage to find their way into the movie. And even though Jake Gyllenhaal does a good job, he doesn't elicit the sympathy that Swofford manages to capture in the book - the movie doesn't have that autobiographical feel to it. By all means, see the movie - but don't miss the book. Peter Sarsgaard, by the way, is fantastic in the role of Anthony's closest, well, "friend" doesn't really describe it. And talk about cognitive dissonance - seeing Dennis Haysbert, the friendly guy from the Allstate commercials playing a hardass Marine commander was just STRANGE. "Are YOU in good hands"?
posted by Mike Willis @ 7:17 PM
1 Comments:
At 1:17 PM,
LeAnn said…
You forgot to mention the star above the door in "Parson Weems'..." Does anyone know what the star represents?
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