Kerri's Useless Junk

Happy Birthday Marli

2009-02-09T22:34:00.003-06:00

We celebrated Marli's birthday by having dinner at my parents' house with Kristi and the kids. Marli decided we should have pizza from Beggar's for dinner so that everyone would enjoy it and get what they wanted. The ice cream cake from Schwann's was so good and rich! Vanilla and chocolate ice cream between layers of chocolate cake with fudge icing and mini-chocolate chips... soooo yummy! Of course Dad couldn't wait for candles and singing before he got his piece. That's why there is a piece already out of the cake in the pictures.

HAPPY 14th BIRTHDAY, MARLINA!!!

A Day with Gavin

2009-02-09T22:25:00.006-06:00

I was lucky enough to be available to babysit my cousin's adorable little man, Gavin. He is just happy all the time. Now that he's on the move, it definitely took a lot more work than watching him when he was a little baby. We got a kick out of him. It's nice to get that baby fix once in a while since my baby just turned 14!!

Another day of Chicago Winter fun!

2009-01-14T11:02:00.003-06:00

It's a Winter Wonderland outside my window today.

I had to take some pictures from my porch because I was definitely not going out in that mess until I absolutely had to.

At 8:30 this morning there were 5 inches of snow on my grill. Now at 11:00, I can't see the end of my porch. It blends right in with the rest of the snow, so I'd guess we have at least another inch or two. And it's still snowing!

Isn't winter fun in Chicago?

Christmas Time

2008-12-27T12:00:00.008-06:00

Here are some pictures of our Christmas preparations and celebrations.

Putting up the tree and decorating at my parents' house is always a 2-day affair. There are stacks of totes full of ornaments, figurines, candles and all sorts of miscellaneous Christmas crap. Getting the angel in position and hanging ornaments on the top of the tree requires a very tall ladder. Marli was in the Christmas spirit this year, complete with Santa hat!

These are just a few of the decorations we put up around the house. The big toy soldier gives me the creeps sometimes. It always scares me into thinking there is someone else in the house with me when I'm there alone. I know, it's childish, but I'm not the only one who gets the feeling. My child does too!

On laundry day, Marli made pretzel treats with Hershey Kisses and M&M's. They were tasty and everyone loved them on Christmas Eve.

This is my mom's tree on Christmas Eve after everyone opened all their gifts. I love Christmas Eve. I love the Christmas decorations at Mom's house. The only thing missing was a fire in the fireplace.

We went to Mom's house for coffee cake and leftovers on Christmas Day. That is when we exchange gifts within our immediate family.

Marli got an iPod from Kristi and family. She was really excited! Can you tell? We gave Tyler gift cards to MLB.com so he can buy Cubs tickets or Cubs stuff. Marli wrapped it, in several boxes, using a whole roll of wrapping paper! Lizzie was thrilled with her bathrobe from Grandma and Papa. Emily thought she was hot stuff with her credit card. All the kids got Visa gift cards from Grandma and Papa. That happy look on my parents faces is due to the gift certificate from Merry Maids that Kristi gave Mom. Smart gift idea to give a woman who works full time an hour from home. I gave her useful stuff - gloves and slippers.

We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and send warm wishes for a happy and prosperous New Year!

Concert in the Cold

2008-10-17T09:33:00.003-05:00

Who could resist $6 concert tickets? No matter that it was 50 degrees outside. No matter that half the crowd was there just to see ZZ Top. No matter that the aroma of not-so-legal smoking materials wafted in the air. It was a fabulous concert! I had a blast!

Rodney Atkins was great! He should be headlining his own shows!

Brooks & Dunn were amazing!

ZZ Top still rocks after all these years!

What I did today

2008-07-31T21:15:00.003-05:00

I spent the day hanging out at my sister's house with my nieces, and their pets. They swam, they ate, they argued, they Easy Baked some interesting concoctions that were supposed to be a cake, brownies and cookies. They made a mess of fingernail polish. They pierced my eardrums more than once with screeches of pain, anger and delight. I did my laundry, for free, in air conditioning. It was a little slice of heaven.

Here is the "day spa" which involved Emily and Lizzie painting Marli's nails some interesting shades.

This is the final result of the nail painting.

This is Barkley. She's the best dog on the planet. She's also a little camera shy.

This is Sugar. She's older than dirt, but the sweetest, most lovable cat ever!

This is Cookie. He squawks anytime the girls' start screaming.

This is Hope, the newest addition to the family. She doesn't like to be held, she's a huge fat cat and she is the daughter of the cat that has adopted my dad at work.

At the races... Yeehaw!!!

2008-07-18T08:45:00.008-05:00

After torturing me for 2 days by text message and email about the fact that they were at the NASCAR races at Chicagoland Speedway, Jen and Mo begged an extra ticket from their hosts and invited me to the Sprint Cup race Saturday night. Needless to say, I was out the door in a heartbeat!

The traffic was much better than I anticipated and parking was not bad at all. I was a little worried given all the rain we’d had over the previous couple of days. Jen and Mo met me at the entrance to the infield and we headed over to the Expo area to spend some money. While I was waiting for them, I spotted Jamie MacMurray and Kasey Kahne being driven around on golf carts. On the trek over to the Expo area, Richard Petty passed us. You couldn’t miss the guy in his signature black hat, but of course, Jen and I noticed and Mo missed it completely.

It must have been fate that the first trailer we encountered was a Newman trailer. I got shirts for Marli and me and a sticker for the car. We wandered a bit more, I got stuff for the other kids and then we headed back to the infield. I had no idea what to expect and boy, was I surprised with my first view of the track!

They were in the new Turn 4 area of the infield and I think if I wanted to, I could have spit on the track from where we were. Holy cow! It was amazingly calm around there despite RV’s packed together like sardines in a can. Except for the spot directly across from us; it was empty. I really think Fate was on my side this weekend!

I thought it was loud in the grandstands. Man, was I wrong! It was so loud that we couldn’t hear a thing that was going on. I brought my radio and headphones figuring I could listen to the broadcast on US99 and protect my ears at the same time. No way that was happening. So really, we had no idea what was going on outside of our view, which while nice and close through turns 3 & 4, left a lot to be desired on the other side of the track. It wasn’t a terribly exciting race, no major wrecks, not a lot of bumping and passing. But it was an experience I’ll never forget, that’s for sure. I took pictures of several of the busses for my dad to look at so he can make his own. Though I think after having experienced the race from both the infield and the grandstands, my ideal way to spend time at the track is to camp out/tailgate in the parking lot, but watch the race from the stands.

After the race was over I hung out with Jen & Mo a while since I figured it was silly to fight all the traffic. We wandered all the way around the infield. We saw a bunch of haulers leaving, though none of the important ones (Newman). We saw a massive pile of tires and some of the most bizarre RV/bus setups you could ever imagine. One RV had a slide from the top to get down. A few slots actually had little pools to kill time in. And I saw more bean bags being thrown in one place than I ever have before in my entire life (I have to get a set of those).

Thanks Jen and Mo, I had a fabulous, once-in-a-lifetime night!

Click here for more pictures

More Fireworks

2008-07-06T07:19:00.004-05:00

It was another crazy day. We hauled ourselves up to Palatine for Jillian's graduation party. There was, of course, plenty of yummy food and drink and lots of family. Unfortunately we had to bow out early to get Chelsea home so we missed out on some of the fun, like cake, s'mores by the fire pit, and swimming.

We drove straight through to Bourbonnais to drop Marli and Chelsea off at Chelsea's house and headed over to Great-Grandma's. We visited with her for a bit while Lee did some work there. We made a few more stops, then pulled over to the side of the road to watch the fireworks. Actually, we pulled into a parking lot of a small plaza that would enable us to get the heck out before all the people at the mall swarmed the roads.

The show didn't start until after 9:30, but when it did, it started with a bang. I honestly thought they were starting with the Grand Finale. The show went on and on. I, of course, forgot the camera (story of my life), so Lee suggested I try to take pictures with my phone. Imagine my surprise when it actually worked! Not all that well, but they are not bad. Here are a few of the better shots. Those lights at the bottom, that is Northfield Square Mall. They light them off from behind the mall every year. The show went on for so long that we actually got bored and left early. We were probably 5 minutes out of town when I saw what I assume was the Grand Finale out the back window of the car.

Independence Day

2008-07-05T08:02:00.005-05:00

We broke tradition this year and actually went to the park to see the fireworks. We dropped the van off in the parking lot at the park in the morning with the chairs and coats. We walked back later in the evening. I'm so glad we did that. By the time we got there around 8 the whole area was a madhouse. We met up with Marli and her friends on the walk to the park and that was about the last I saw of them until the fireworks were over.

After the fireworks show we went to my parents' house. From their deck you can see all the fireworks you could ever want to see. We usually go to their house for the fireworks because you can see the shows from at least 4 different towns, not to mention the assorted pyromaniacs in the area. The fireworks were too far away to get pictures of, but Marli and Chelsea made interesting enough subjects!

When we got home, Lee's ex-wife called that they were taking Nate to the ER, so Lee and I hopped in the car and headed down. He's all good now, but it was a LONG night. So you will please excuse me as I head back to my bed for some more shut eye. There will be more fireworks pictures posted tonight or tomorrow. Bradley is doing their fireworks tonight and since we will be in the area anyway, I have decided that we will stay and watch them too!

Abigail, Olivia and Keara

2008-06-29T21:14:00.005-05:00

These are some pictures from our trip to Olney to visit the new little bundles of joy! Abigail and Olivia were born Friday, June 20. They are the first twins to ever be delivered at their local hospital, and they have become quite famous. People stopped is in the aisles at Walmart to ask if they were the babies they read about in the paper. It was pretty fascinating to get all that attention from strangers, but the people in Olney are all very friendly.

These pictures are in no particular order since putting pictures in blogger is about as difficult as doing calculus!

Marli took a little nap with Olivia on the boppy on Saturday afternoon, and there she is holding Abigail when we first got there.

Keara is a great big sister. She loves to hold and kiss the babies. They are so tiny that they are just the perfect size for her little arms. I think she has dolls bigger than those girls! :)

The girls love their boppy pillows. They snuggle right into them to sleep. That's Abigail there by herself. When they are together, it's Olivia on the left, Abigail on the right. We can tell because Olivia's skin is a little darker, and Abigail's face is a little rounder. They have different personalities already too. Abby is always happy, eats like a pig, from the bottle or nursing, and sleeps really well. Olivia loves to be held, gets a little gassy, prefers her meals in a bottle and is usually the first of the two to wake up.

No, that's not a huge crib, it's just a tiny baby. They don't have a whole lot of fat on them yet, but they do have lots of extra skin. Look at those little skinny legs! Keara and Marli had a blast out on the Slip & Slide Friday and Saturday... that was $20 well spent.

I can't wait to go back, hopefully sometime in July. If only they didn't live so far away!

The Newest Webkinz

2008-06-24T14:55:00.002-05:00

This is what happens when you send Marli into her room to clean:

See that black animal between the monkey and the bear? Yep, that would be our guinea pig, Licorice. He is apparently the newest addition to her Webkinz collection. Oh, to be able to understand the mind of a 13 year old girl.

They're Here!!!

2008-06-24T12:19:00.003-05:00

Well, not here exactly... but the twins have been born!

Abigail Elizabeth was 4 lbs. 15 oz and Olivia Jean was 4 lb.s 14 oz. The girls aren't giving their parents much of a chance to rest, but they are doing well. Keara is loving being a big sister so far and is really gentle with them. Tiff still can't tell them apart yet, but she will before too long. She said Olivia is a mommy's girl, very affectionate and lovey. Olivia is more alert and looking around at the world all the time. Marli and I just might have to go visit them on my day off. It's too bad they live so far away!

Summer time is baseball time

2008-06-19T23:50:00.003-05:00

Tonight was Tyler's playoff game, and since we haven't been to any yet this summer I figured it was now or never. So we loaded up the camera and tripod and headed over to the fields. They played a great game and it was close right up to the end, but they lost 10-9.

And while Tyler was hard at work on the fields, the girls found all sorts of ways to amuse themselves. There is even a video (too long for here) of Emily and Lizzie playing "Webkins Idol" with their stuffed animals, complete with judges and lines of animals waiting for their turn to audition.

Strawberry picking

2008-06-17T18:51:00.003-05:00

We went out to Garden Patch Orchard in Homer Glen today to pick some strawberries. Marli and I went there a few years ago in the fall to pick apples and get our Halloween pumpkins. They have a really nice facility. The strawberries are absolutely delicious; juicy and sweet and perfect right off the plants! The apples aren't ready yet, as you can tell by the pictures. But I will definitely go there again in the fall for some apples!

Twinkle Toes on Stage

2008-06-17T18:35:00.002-05:00

Marli has been taking a hip-hop dance class every Tuesday night since September. All of her hard work culminated with a recital last weekend. She did a fantastic job. Here are some pics from the dress rehearsal (no photos allowed during the show).

The Names

2008-06-17T09:51:00.003-05:00

They are done, they are being mailed tomorrow. I can't wait to see what they look like hanging on the wall over the girls' beds. And it sounds like they may be here soon! Tiff is at the hospital right now! Hurry up girls, I want to meet you both!

Crazy Summer Storm

2008-06-04T21:53:00.005-05:00

It hasn't rained a drop, but there have been thunderstorm and tornado warnings from here to Indianapolis. Tornado sirens went off in Bourbonnais, sending Chelsea's family to the club house while she's here visiting us. I took some video of the lightning. It is lighting up the entire sky. Check these out!

Here's another one facing the other direction :

Hope you all weather the storm well and stay safe and sound!

Emily's Birthday Party

2008-06-02T21:26:00.003-05:00

Emily's birthday party was Sunday at My Party Palace in the Trolley Barn in Frankfort. These girls had a blast! Every 5 minutes there was a high pitched squeal from somewhere in the place. They all got to wear cute little robes like they were at a spa and got their hair put up. They got their nails done while soaking their feet.

They danced and sang karaoke.

They got facial masks and they all laid down for a little relaxation complete with plastic cucumbers right out of the fridge.

Then it was time for cupcakes and the singing of "Happy Birthday"

After the cupcakes was the all important "opening of the presents!"

Every opened gift caused a chorus of squeals from the guests and looks of amazement from Emily. After it was all over, it was just too much for Emily... she just fell right over the chair from all the excitement.

The party was a huge success and I took tons of pictures for Kristi to print!

It was a busy weekend!

2008-06-02T20:41:00.006-05:00

Wow, I'm exhausted! We had 4, count 'em, 4 kids here this weekend! And that doesn't even include the one who lives here. We went to the Fort Frankfort and the Splash Park in the afternoon. Katie and Nate had a blast playing in the water while Marli and Jaimee played in the park. They took videos and everything.

After Katie was done with the water, we headed over to the park. Nate just kept on playing at the Splash Park.

Here is a video that Marli took while she and Jaimee were being pushed on a tire swing.

After the park, we went to The Creamery for some ice cream! YUM!

Right after I snapped that picture of Nate, he dropped the whole thing right in the grass! But all in all we had a great day!

Graduation

2008-05-29T07:33:00.006-05:00

Poor Lee. Both of his girls graduated this year. Ashley graduated from Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School this past Friday. Jaimee graduated from Bradley Central Middle School on Tuesday. He said he was OK after Ashley's graduation (I couldn't go), but on our way home from Jaimee's he got a little teary-eyed about his little girls.

Lee was responsible for taking pictures of Ashley's graduation. Photography is definitely NOT one of his talents. Here are a few pictures:

OK, so he didn't take the last picture, and my camera is on the complicated side, so we'll cut him a little slack. There were over 400 graduates in Ashley's class. It was a long ceremony. That's Lee's dad, Herschel, with them in the last picture.

I took pictures at Jaimee's graduation. Well, I started to anyway. Then the batteries died. I felt like such an idiot for not having charged them during the day Tuesday. You can bet I won't make that mistake again. So, I missed the all important getting-the-diploma-shaking-the-principal's-hand shot, but we got some batteries on the way back to their house so I got some decent after-grad shots.

I made Ashley put on her graduation gown when we got back after Jaimee's ceremony so I could take some pictures of them together. This is what hit Lee right in the gut I think.

It's hard to believe we'll be doing all of this next year for Marli and Tyler. Time goes by too fast!

Field Trip downtown

2008-05-23T06:48:00.002-05:00

Wednesday was the 7th grade field trip downtown. We spent a couple of hours exploring Navy Pier on our own then met up with the rest of the group for an boat tour down the Chicago River. Tyler's class went the day before and he warned Marli that the tour was exceedingly boring. I think they enjoyed it though. I know I certainly did. It was really cool to see the buildings from that perspective and to learn about their history at the same time. The only bad part of the tour was the hispanic couple sitting next to us who could not keep their hands or lips off each other. I took over 150 pictures! As soon as the boat docked, we got right on the buses for the ride home. We got back to the school about 10 minutes after school let out. It was funny how worried they all were about that. We got off the buses at school and the kids all jumped on their buses which were all full of kids waiting for us to get back. My very strange child decided to take the bus home instead of riding with me.

Here is a sampling of the pictures I took. Marli took a bunch of her own too, but I could only put 30 pictures in a slide show. ;)

Ashley's Senior Pictures

2008-05-20T23:42:00.002-05:00

Ashley and her mom asked me to take some pictures of Ashley for her graduation announcements. We went out to Perry Farm today and took a ton of pictures. The weather didn't cooperate with us. It was chilly, windy and the sun hid behind the clouds all day long.

Here are a few of her favorites:

If you click on this little picture, you can see all of the pictures we took on my photobucket account. The guest password for the album is "smiley".

Visiting with Gavin

2008-05-19T11:16:00.002-05:00

Gavin brought his dad and grandma over to visit at my mom's yesterday so he could meet his very excited cousins! The kids fell in love with him in an instant. Gavin was very patient being handed around and held by so many strange pairs of arms. He just yawned and looked around like all this adoration was all in a day's work for him. He is such a good baby. And all of the kids had a wonderful time getting to know him and hold him and kiss him.

Jaimee's Last Concert

2008-05-19T08:41:00.002-05:00

Jaimee has decided not to continue with music in high school next year, so this was her last concert ever! They did a great job. She received her awards during the concert for performing in the solo and symphony contests during the year (that picture didn't turn out at all!). We're all very proud of her!

Gavin James

2008-05-02T22:25:00.002-05:00

We finally got to meet Gavin today! He was born May 1 at 12:30 am by cesarean section. He was 7 lb. 13 oz and 20 1/2 inches. He is the cutest baby ever! Jimmy and Amanda did good! He is going to have so many people to love and take care of him. It was a constant parade of people in their room from the minute they checked in Wednesday morning. They should be home late tomorrow or Sunday.

Kristi and I went to visit this morning for a couple of hours. It was so relaxing to hold a new baby. I could have done it all day long. He is just happy and calm and peaceful, until it's time to change the diaper.

I know Jim and Amanda will be great parents; you can already see how dedicated and caring they are. I'm so proud of Jim! And can't wait to cuddle little Gavin again!

Last Weekend

2008-05-02T21:29:00.005-05:00

It was a busy weekend for Lee's kids. Jaimee and Nate both had activities and we got to participate. Nate's cub Scout pack was in a parade on Saturday and then they went on a camp out. On Sunday, they had a fishing derby and the dad's were invited to come help.

After Nate's parade, we hurried over to watch Jaimee perform with her band at a contest. They did 3 songs and sounded wonderful! Jaimee is the first chair in the flute section. She changed out of her uniform before we could get any pictures of her, but she has another concert in a couple of weeks so we will make her take pictures then.

This weekend is Jaimee's 8th grade dance and Ashley's Senior Prom. More pictures to come (I hope).

Is it going to be another one of THOSE seasons?

2008-04-14T07:45:00.003-05:00

He started on the pole. He led the way in practice. He was in front for quite a few laps. It was a perfect night for racing in Phoenix. Then this happened:

Yep, there went the engine. Ryan thought they could get back out on the track; his crew chief thought differently. And it was another disappointing DNF for my man, totally out of his control. It's a shame that such a good driver is at the mercy of so many other forces that seem to not want him to win. Am I ever going to see a race that he does well in? Maybe I should start just listening to the races on the radio. The last time I did that, he won Daytona. Am I bad luck? I'm starting to get a complex.

Turning a new something

2008-04-11T21:34:00.002-05:00

I'm not sure if it's a leaf or a page or what, but I'm making a conscious change in my life. I joined a health club / gym. So far (two weeks) I've gone regularly, only taking a couple of days off. I'm walking on the treadmill, riding the bike, doing the weight machines and sweating my butt off. I am shocked and amazed that I am actually enjoying it. I just plug the headphones into the machines to watch TV or into my mp3 player to listen to some music. I go into my own little world and the time just flies.

I've decided to quit Weight Watchers and try and do this on my own. The monthly rates for WW is exactly the same as the membership for all 3 of us at Cardinal Fitness. It seems to me the $40 a month is better spent on all of us than just on me. I am surprised to see and feel results already. I broke down and bought a scale, something I swore I'd never do. I stepped on it earlier this week, then again this morning. There was a difference... and entire 2 lb. difference... For the better too! I was ecstatic, thrilled, tickled!

So now since I don't have to answer to the WW scale anymore, I think I will answer to you, whoever reads this rambling uninteresting blog (hi Jen and Mo, as I think you 2 are the only ones who do). I won't put the actual weight numbers up, that's just far too embarrassing. But every Monday, I will post the change, for better or worse. I will gladly accept your e-applause and virtual pats on the back or kicks in the butt, depending on the results. Now you just have to remind me that my exercising is not an excuse to eat worse, since I am working harder. I'm still going to lay off the McDonald's fries and Lays Sour Cream and Onion potato chips. There will be no Double Stuff Oreos in this house! I will not allow the other 2 humans in this house to sabotage my efforts. I will, however, allow the guinea pig to influence me. He has to eat lots of fruits and veggies, so I will too. Yogurt instead of ice cream, low-fat cottage cheese instead of pudding, carrots and fat-free dip instead of Ruffles and French Onion. I've even cut back on my beloved Diet Pepsi, one wake-me-up in the morning and perhaps one later in the day, but other than that it's water water water, or some milk. 100-calorie packs are my friends, usually.

WISH ME LUCK!

This is what I did this week

2008-04-05T09:57:00.002-05:00

The baby shower is today. I finished the book at 9:00 this morning. Nothing like waiting til the last minute. Though in my defense, I did spend 2 nights at my sister's hanging out with my nieces and nephew while my sister and her husband went to California for business. Man, that takes a lot out of you when you are used to just taking care of 1 child. Anyway, here's the book. And while none of it was actually my idea (I bought a kit and just followed the directions) I did add some popdots to add some dimension. :)

Our girls

2008-03-28T20:24:00.003-05:00

I never have to worry about these two needing something to do. Left to their own devices they sure come up with some interesting activities. They've spent a good portion of the afternoon and evening in the basement on rollerblades with the digital cameras and a tripod trying to make funny videos of themselves. They deleted most of them before we got to see them, but this one made them laugh so hard at themselves that they shared it with us. I copied it onto the computer, but I doubt that they know why. Well, this is why.

They don't say anything, it's completely silent other than Marli's snapping. I guess knowing a former clown/amateur magician has some good points, other than the balloon animals of course.

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T20:40:00.001-05:00

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Spring Shopping?

2008-03-19T10:48:00.006-05:00

OK, I know. It's supposed to be Spring Cleaning. But you know me, I hate cleaning. Why clean when you can just buy new? I'm kidding of course, but it was time for a new comforter. My boring old beige one was just yucky and boring and I hated it. Did I mention it was boring? I saw this one in the Target sale paper on Sunday and decided I needed it. Really, I just needed new sheets, the comforter still covered the bed and it was warm. But damn, this is cute and fun and contemporary and way more my style than plain old boring beige! And it looks fabulous on the bed. You probably can't tell from the pictures, but the light color in the circles is actually a light lime color and the darker colors are chocolate and brown. So now I just need to get some new curtains to match. The red/khaki curtains hanging in there now just don't do it. And given our east-facing windows, I think I'll invest in some that will actually block out the sun so I won't be forced awake at 6:00 am on Sunday mornings when all I want to do is stay all comfy in my bed til, I don't know, 7:00 am. Well, I have some eggs hanging out in hot water cooking away. I better go get them into the cold water to stop cooking before they turn to rubber. Not that anyone will really eat them, but it's a good thought anyway. At least they will be all decorated and pretty when they get turned into egg salad or tossed in the trash next week.

I'm so proud of me

2008-03-16T21:21:00.006-05:00

I WENT SCRAPPING!

Yes, you read that right. I went scrapping. Amy and I went to a Scrap for a Cure benefiting the American Diabetes Association. It was held at the Quality Inn in Bradley and the hostess did a fabulous job organizing eve. There were quite a few people there that I recognized from my days working at Archiver's, which was pretty fun. I actually accomplished things too. I know it doesn't look like much, but what you're looking at represents more than 10 hours worth of work. I did more pages yesterday than I did all of last year. A couple of them need a little more work. I brought a lot of my supplies with me, but I couldn't possibly bring it all.

Now if I could just keep up the work. I'm not sure I will, but I have so much stuff, I really need to just haul it all to Archiver's once in a while and get some pages done with the added benefit of getting a little time to myself.

The Adler Planetarium

2008-02-24T08:13:00.002-06:00

We took Nate to the Adler Planetarium yesterday. I hadn’t been there since high school. Lee, Marli and Nate had never been there, so it was a great day for everyone. The weather was absolutely perfect, the sun was shining, there were no frigid windchills to deal with. Do you know how awesome it is to have an aunt who works at the Planetarium? It’s nearly $100 awesome! She gave me the inside scoop on the shows and left my name at the desk so we didn’t have to pay the admission and show fees. They just gave us our tickets, we forked over $2 for a locker, and we were off. There was so much too explore and it was amazingly uncrowded for such a beautiful weekend day. We checked out the “Shoot for the Moon” gallery first, which was chock full of pictures and displays and information on the Apollo and Gemini missions. Then we wandered into the gallery with the display of the original Gemini 12 spacecraft. It was amazing to see the actual piece of history that was flown to space and back. They showed a movie in that gallery explaining the mission and it’s return. I would have stayed longer checking stuff out in there, but we moved on. The next room had lots of hands on stuff for the kids to do. There was videogame-like simulator for landing a spacecraft on the moon. Marli and I crashed big time, but Nate nailed it on his 3rd try. There was a spot for the kids to write down what they would take to the moon in their own survival kit and post it on a wall. Nate would bring a PB&J sandwich; Marli, my little teenage girl, would bring hair stuff, makeup, food and water. Then we pressed on into “The Solar System.” The kids really enjoyed this section, learning about the planets and checking out all the hands-on activities they had in there. We took a break and ate lunch in the café over looking the frozen lake. After lunch we wandered downstairs and found the Atwood Sphere. That was really cool. We sat in this little cart that pulled us into a not that big sphere and it closed us in, then the night sky came to life and we learned a little about the night sky over Chicago. We wandered around the galleries down there until it was time for our first show, which was all about black holes. I love their shows! This one was pretty interesting, but the one we went to right after was even better. Night Sky Live was in the Sky Theater. For about 15 minutes before the show there was a guy in there answering any questions people could throw at him. He really got everyone involved. This show is really neat. They show the sky that we see over Chicago on that day. He showed all the constellations, and then put line drawings up so you could see why they chose those figures for each star cluster. I think that might have been my favorite part. I want to stay in there for hours and learn more about it all. We spent way too much money in the gift shop and headed home. I think I scared Lee with my “city” driving. But I just don’t have the patience for his “country” driving in the city, it makes me crazy. The kids have been talking about the day since we got home, so it appears that the trip was a success!

The Jonas Brothers

2008-02-23T21:53:00.003-06:00

Last Sunday was the concert. We loaded up the car and headed south to Peoria. It wasn’t a bad trip at all. The weather cooperated completely. We got down there in plenty of time. The Peoria Civic Center is a fabulous place to see a concert. They had a great set up for a show that was sure to attract kids of all ages, and their parents. While we did not spend the time waiting there at the facility, when we went back we checked out the digs. There was a Parents Room set up with a bar and TVs and comfy chairs everywhere. We got a kick out of listening to all the girls scream every time they started a new song For a teeny-bopper boy band, the concert lasted a long time. It was definitely worth the money to take them down to this concert. After the concert, we waded through all the people to buy the requisite t-shirts and hit the road. We found the one restaurant still open at 10:15 on a Sunday night, waited 20 minutes for chicken fingers and fries and headed north. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find an open gas station at 11:00 on a Sunday night in the boonies? Once we finally found gas, I went to sleep. I had to be at work at 6:30 the next morning. We dropped Jaimee off in Bradley and headed home. It was almost 2:00 am when we got home. Needless to say, I was pretty useless at work the next day. Oh well, it's the boss' fault for scheduling me to open when he knew about the concert.

He Totally Did It!

2008-02-18T16:45:00.003-06:00

Daytona, baby! Newman won!! Yes, I know he got some help from his friends, but what are team mates for if not to push you across the finish line first! Unfortunately I didn't see it on TV, but I did hear it on several radio stations on the drive to Peoria. I yelled and jumped around in my seat while driving down I-74 in the snow. So exciting! Whoo hoo!!!!!!!

Tonight's the Night!

2008-02-17T06:00:00.002-06:00

It's time for the super cool, Mom-you're-the-best Jonas Brothers concert in Peoria. The weather forecast was scary at first, with predictions of a snow storm to hamper the 2 1/2 hour drive. But now it appears that we will only be dealing with a lot of rain, a little bit of snow and some wind. I'm a Chicago girl, I can handle that! This is what the weather looked like at 6:00 am when I left for work. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Chicago Radar Loop

Marli's Birthday

2008-02-12T13:19:00.000-06:00

Marli's birthday was on Friday. Her 13th birthday! Egads, when did I get old enough to be the mother of a teenager? My mom had the fabulous idea of leaving a bunch of balloons here for Marli for when she got home from school. My sister brought them over and put them right in front of the bathroom door. If you know Marli, you'd know that the first thing she does when she gets home is head for the bathroom, tossing her coat on the floor in one direction, and her bag in the other. It was perfect!

She and her friend Nicole went to a dance at school that evening so we didn’t do cake until later that night. Boy oh boy was that a yummy cake! Even Nate said he liked, which is high praise coming from the pickiest 10 year old I’ve ever met. I took more pictures, but the camera lens was dirty so they looked awful! Thanks, Jennifer, for pointing it out to me and fixing it!

The cake was so good that by 10:30 Sunday night, when I got home from work, they had very generously left me a 1 inch by 1 inch square in the pan.

On Sunday, Mom took Marli shopping for her annual wardrobe revamping. We returned some of her Christmas clothes, then hit the clearance racks. That girl came home with 2 bags full of the cutest bargains we could find in one afternoon. Next Sunday, she and Jaimee are going to see the Jonas Brothers concert. That was her gift from us. She is beside herself with anticipation. She said this was the best birthday ever. Though, she says that every year. She’s pretty easy to please.

Snow Snow Snow

2008-02-07T21:39:00.000-06:00

Boy did we get some snow! Boy do I miss my camera! While normally I would have taken tons o’ photos of the kids playing in the snow, I was stuck using Marli’s little point-and-shoot which I have yet to sit down and play with much, so I took a few half-hearted pictures of some snow-play before the Superbowl. Did I mention I miss my camera?

Marli's Birthday Cake

2008-02-07T21:02:00.000-06:00

No store-bought, lard-laden, sugar-coated confection for my little girl’s entry into the ranks of “teenager”. No way, Jose! Jennifer showed me a website she found with an amazing recipe for chicken wings and I was sunk. I have been reading this blog for a solid week. I get so easily sucked into these things.

The Pioneer Woman Cooks

Anyway, the pictures and recipe made this seem like a cinch (and quite yum-a-licious) so I figured I’d give it a try. Yes, I baked a cake from scratch. No boxes involved! Flour, sugar, vanilla, cocoa, and waaaayyy to much butter only. It was so much easier than I ever figured baking from scratch could be! I’m quite proud of myself, actually.

And I didn’t even make a horrible mess. But I am leaving the dishes for someone else to do, darn it!

All that’s left to do is decorate the cake. Marli loves that part, so I may just leave that for her to do when she gets home from school tomorrow.

Licorice

2008-01-15T11:44:00.000-06:00

Introducing the newest member of our family: LICORICE. Yes, he is a guinea pig. I know he's not like any guinea pig you've ever seen before. Have you ever known us not to be unique and different? So of course we have to get a unique and different pig. He's cute as can be, and since he's still a young pig, he does like to nibble on us a little. He eats tons of fruits and vegetables, even green peppers if you can believe that! He is a pooping machine, but not too messy, unless he decided to treat you as the bottom of his cage while you're holding him (yes, I'm speaking from experience). I'm sure we have more pictures somewhere, but this was all I could find. His eyes look a little bit crazy in photos, but really they are not nearly that bright.

It's my birthday!

2007-12-02T16:10:00.000-06:00

Unfortunately I had to work today, but that's OK. The chicks in the pharmacy got me a cake. It was delicious! And then I came home to great presents and a big banner on the wall. Now we get to go out to dinner or something and I'll be officially 35 years old.

It's Time!

2007-11-30T22:17:00.000-06:00

It's a work in progress to say the least, but we're starting on it. We got all the Christmas junk from storage today. 6 big tote bins, one giant tree box, the box with Lee's village, and the wrapping paper box... wow, way too much I think, yet every year I add at least a couple of new things. What you see there is only half the tree. The whole tree doesn't fit in my tiny apartment. We just put the top pole in the tree stand and viola... apartment-sized tree. As you can see from all the junk laying around, we are nowhere near finished, but it's a start. We'll finish the tree tomorrow and dig out all of my other Christmas stuff. When Lee gets home from work he'll put up the village. I'll post completed pictures when we're done

Tasty Oven-Fried Chicken and Potatoes

2007-11-17T20:52:00.000-06:00

Bad picture, but delicious meal!

1 cup corn flakes, crushed to about 1/3 cup

1/3 cup Italian style bread crumbs

4 medium russet potatoes, unpeeled, each cut into g4 lengthwise wedges

1/2 cup Italian salad dressing

1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

3 to 3 1/2 lb. cut -up frying chicken, skin removed if desired

Coarse ground black pepper, if desired

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line 15 x 10 x 1 baking pan with foil (we used cookie sheet). Spray foil with non-stick spray. In shallow bowl or pie pan, combine crushed cereal and bread crumbs; mix well.
Place potatoes in large resealable food storage plastic bag. Add salad dressing. Seal bag; turn to coat. Place potatoes in center of pan; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Add chicken to salad dressing in bag; turn to coat. Remove chicken from marinade; coat with crumb mixture. Arrange, skin side up, on short sides of pan. (Chicken can be close together.) Sprinkle chicken and potatoes with pepper.
Bake at 400 degrees for 45-60 minutes or until chicken is fork-tender and juices run clear, and potatoes are fork tender.

Courtesy of Pillsbury Easy Meals

I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts, and Kraft Fat Free Zesty Italian dressing. The breasts were really large so I cut them into tender-like pieces before the marinade or coating. I improvised a bit on the bread crumbs and potatoes. We only had regular bread crumbs so I doctored them up a little with garlic and onion powder, Italian Seasoning and "Onion Onion " from Tastefully Simple. I used red potatoes rather than Russets. Didn't seem to make a difference. It was absolutely delicious!

Tigger Makes His Bed

2007-11-17T20:40:00.000-06:00

This little hamster is too funny. We bought him a package of soft bedding once and he loved it. When Marli cleaned his cage yesterday we were all out, so we improvised with cotton balls (do you sense a cotton ball theme?) He really liked those cotton balls. He shoved so many in his pouches that he could barely fit up the tube to his bedroom! He's a cozy and snuggled in his cotton filled bed now.
Sorry I couldn't make them go all in a row across. What a pain!

Surprising Skeleton

2007-11-11T09:29:00.000-06:00

I have the strangest friends. See the things they send me!

I get to go shopping!

2007-11-09T00:05:00.000-06:00

That sounds much more fun than it really is. The reason I get to go shopping? I SPLIT MY PANTS AT WORK TODAY! I bent down to put a bottle of shampoo on a shelf and I heard that awful, gut-wrenching, 200 decibel noise..... RRRRRIIIIIIPPPPPP! Granted, the pants were old (like 5-6 years old) but dammit, I was thrilled to wear them. I've lost 20 pounds so far since I joined Weight Watchers and that pair of pants finally fit again! Oh well, I guess I should look at the bright side. At least when I go shopping I can buy a smaller size than the last time I shopped.

Halloween Pt. 3 - The Pumpkin

2007-10-31T21:49:00.000-05:00

Marli carved her own pumpkin this year, with no pattern or anything. It's been years since we've not used one of those books. Unfortunately, I missed this little piece of the holiday also. But it still turned out pretty well! I came home and cut the lid (can you believe Lee has never carved a jack-o-lantern before), but Marli did the rest of the work. I took a couple of pictures of it lit up tonight. I was going to take daytime pictures, but apparently Marli cannot cut inside the lines because there are marker lines all over the silly thing in the daylight.

Halloween Pt. 2

2007-10-31T20:42:00.000-05:00

ok, so there will be a part 2. One of the girls at work asked if we were allowed to dress up. I said sure and figured she'd be dressed (she was excited about it). This morning I quick threw together a costume and headed to work. Boy, did I feel like a dork! She didn't dress up... no one did! I was all alone in my Halloween spirit. Anyway... here's a pic of me in my costume, such as it is. Keep in mind that I put it together 12 hours ago and it went through a long day at work (it was truck day... lots of hard work). Can you guess what I am? Highlight between the quotes to find out: " static cling " Happy Pumpkin Day!

Halloween

2007-10-31T18:50:00.001-05:00

Well, I missed it, but she was adorable. My little Marli was cotton candy for Halloween. We glued cotton fill to a garbage bag and spray painted it hot pink. A pink sweatshirt, white sweatpants (for the paper cone), an entire can of pink hairspray, and glow-in-the-dark pink fake nails completed the outfit. Of course she wasn't out the door 10 minutes when she started losing bits of herself, but she sure started out cute. Lee took a couple of pictures of Marli and her friend Nicole before they headed out.She made quite a haul. We'll be eating candy for at least a week.

Bowling

2007-10-26T07:19:00.000-05:00

We celebrated one year of hard work making our store one of the best and busiest in the area. We gathered at Thunderbowl in Mokena for a night of cosmic bowling, pizza and fun! Many of us stayed until the counterman was calling for us to finish up for closing time. I have fun with my co-workers every day at work, but this was beyond fun! It was also an unofficial goodbye to our Assistant Manager Josh, who will be leaving us this week to go to business school in Nebraska. I bowled unprecedentedly well the first two games, 145 & 163. The last game however, was HORRIBLE. That was probably due to the fact that my boss bet me $5 that he could beat me (he did by 6 pins) and I had 2 ½ drinks. The photos aren’t great because it was so dark in there and the flash was quite annoying. We definitely have to get together and do it again!

2007-10-14T16:38:00.000-05:00

This is how it should be, with Newman out front and everyone else following! :)

Another Heartbreak

2007-10-14T16:22:00.001-05:00

Well, it happened AGAIN! It was a spectacular race. Newman's in the lead on the last few-lap shootout of the night, shotgunned right past Gordan. Then BAM.... he blew a tire, hit the wall and finished in 28th. Will the man ever have any good luck during a race, or is he wasting it all on his good qualifying? Eh, I guess we can chalk another one up to almost.

Making Strides

2007-10-12T23:33:00.000-05:00

One of our pharmacists started a team to participate in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk at Orland Square Mall on October 21st. Marli and I are going to walk the 5 kilometers around the mall. It’s a great cause and a good excuse to do some window shopping. This Saturday we are having a bake sale at the store to support our teams donation goal. Marli is coming to work with me to man the bake sale table and take donations. She’s so excited she actually painted her nails pink. I baked a Tastefully Simple Almond Pound Cake and a pan of brownies. I cut them up and packed individual servings in plastic zipper bags. I hope our customers will be generous and help this worthy cause.

Check my Making Strides web page and make a donation if you can. Any amount will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Fall Colors

2007-10-05T12:01:00.000-05:00

I just love the colors of Fall. My friend Brian just spent a week at his family home in northern Wisconsin and sent me these amazing pictures. I thought I'd share them with you. Enjoy!

Absolutely Nothing

2007-09-30T19:41:00.000-05:00

I had an unprecedented 3 days off in a row and thoroughly enjoyed them all! We visited Grandma Dorothy, spent time with my parents, went to birthday parties and had a game night with Kristi and family. It was nice to be home with Marli and Lee and feel like I get to play a part in my own little world again. The only downside to the weekend? Ryan Newman had another DNF at Kansas due to engine trouble. But on the upside, the race itself was pretty good. Oh yeah, and I had some nasty sinus stuff going on Friday, but it’s all better now. I’ll post pics tomorrow night. Right now I’m off to watch Desperate Housewives then Brothers & Sisters. It’s been an awesome Season Premier Week.

Toby Rocks!

2007-09-17T20:03:00.000-05:00

I went to the Toby Keith concert with Amy on Saturday at the First Midwest Bank Ampitheater (aka Tweeter Center or The World). We had a blast!! The music was amazing, though the temperature was a little chilly. By the end of the concert we could see our breath as we were singing along. The opening acts were Flynnville Train (YAWN) and Miranda Lambert (ROCK ON GIRL!). I think Flynnville Train spent their youth fixing cars while listening to Motley Crue and now they think they can put out a country album. We saw the other Amy there, too. I couldn't stomach paying $30 for a shirt no matter how much I loved the show. The bathroom lines were long and the people watching was hysterical. We went to Texas Roadhouse for a delicious prime rib dinner before the show. The entire night was just what I needed. Can't wait to do it again. THANKS AMY!

Cicadas

2007-06-07T15:45:00.000-05:00

We went to visit Grandma Dorothy today. The nursing home is right across the street from a forest preserve so I brought my camera just in case there was some cidada activity in the area. We don't have many around our house and I couldn't miss out on the chance to photograph a little piece of history. THEY WERE EVERYWHERE!!! It was insane! The seagulls flying overhead snacking on those big ole bugs was an amazing sight. It was so loud and the bugs were so plentiful that we closed our windows just in case. After we ate lunch we took Grandma outside to hear the cicadas and one landed on the ground. I picked it up on a stick and brought it to Grandma. She studied that bug with such intent. She talked to it and pet it and everything. Enjoy the pictures!