Deep Thoughts

Almost Done!

2009-02-23T22:06:00.003-06:00

Today, the tile was laid in my bathroom. I am so happy to have my bathroom nearly complete! At the last minute, I changed my mind and ended up going with a traditional, darker grout for this type of tile. In addition, I would really like my condo to be clean. I feel like I have been wiping dust, dirt, and grime for weeks. I cleaned a few things tonight, but am waiting until the quarter round is installed and a few other things are completed on Wednesday before doing a final, thorough cleaning.

Gym dandy!

2009-02-17T21:41:00.002-06:00

At the end of January, I finally made the decision to get up off of the couch and get moving. I ended up joining the fitness center at Loyola University Hospital in Maywood. I had been procrastinating for some time on the whole exercise thing. Recently, I began going to a new doctor. Fortunately, all of my levels, counts, etc. are in a good place and I want to keep that momentum going. Plus, my doctor wants me to work out a few times each week. He refers to it as my 401K for my body-everything I invest into myself now will pay off in the future. So that is what I am now working on. As of tonight, I have already walked 28 miles this month. That is a far greater distance than I would have attained had I not gotten off of the couch.

The bathroom saga...

2009-02-16T22:16:00.005-06:00

Well, Laura, you will be happy to see my return to blog spot. I just felt the need to blog today. Throughout the last week, I have been dealing with the saga of my bathroom. Back in December, my downstairs neighbor mentioned that her bathroom ceiling had turned brown. My immediate reaction was that my radiator had to be leaking. Well, that was the case indeed! The short term solution was to turn off the radiator. The long term solution, which occurred last week, was to fix the leak. The boiler/radiator guys thought they could fix the leak from Bonnie's condo, but that couldn't have been the case. The ended up having to take up part of my floor and knocking a hole in my wall. For a week, I lived with this mess:

The two positives of the situation are that the leak was far into the wall which makes this an association issue and that I get a new floor.

Picking a new floor ended up being the next chapter in the saga. I was down to the two tiles below. I chose the one on the left. I really liked the black and white and had it in my head that I wanted old fashioned black and white tile in the bathroom. Let's hope it turns out well!

This morning, the guy who is doing my repairs, Shawn, came and cemented the hole in the floor. He also mentioned that the tile may not work out because of the thickness and uneven nature of the grout on the floor. So, now I have undertaken a new project. I am attempting to pull up the tile and chip away at the grout. You can see how far I have gotten so far.
I have to say that I got a little irritated while I was working on this tonight. I understand that a person may not appreciate the noise at 9pm, but it was still only 9pm. Our noise ordinance doesn't go into effect until 10pm. Also, if you have a problem with the noise level, I would really appreciate it you would come downstairs and knock on my door like an adult. I feel like banging on a wall or floor is something that you do in college or if you have no social skills. It may have ticked you off that I was making noise, but I didn't bang on your ceiling when you walked around for hours with heels on the other day. Ugh, neighbors. Let's see how they like it when I keep the project going!

The old grey Fern just ain't what she used to be...

2008-11-16T20:30:00.005-06:00

Sometime around my late 20s, I noticed I was getting older. My knees started to hurt when I sat cross-legged (or less PC-Indian style). Throughout the ensuing years, I have noticed some other changes. Last night and this morning, I rediscovered that my body does not recover as quickly as it used to from alcohol consumption and staying out way too late. I have to say, though, that I am not sure if my body was more miserable from staying out until 4am or the vast quantity of cider and wine I consumed (not necessarily a great combination). I am not sure how cider and wine work with that whole beer then liquor never sicker thing. I will tell you I didn't feel great. I think everyone was hurting this morning. The one thing I didn't have, amazingly enough, was heartburn. That started in the last year or two. Aging really rocks. I had a really great night out in the city with Kim, Meagan, Katie, and Sarah, gals from middle school and high school. Here are some pictures to prove it!

President Obama

2008-11-04T22:08:00.002-06:00

I knew at some stage in life, this moment would come. I never dreamt that it would come so soon. The biggest part of me really wanted to have our first female president, but I am also so pleased that we have our first Black president. Obama has won and I am so happy I could just scream! I am fighting back the tears right now. Not only am I happy to have a Democrat in office again (finally!), but I cannot believe how momentous this step is for our nation. I am also going to have to find another way to spend my time now. I won't spend hours every night poring over political websites, etc. Today, I am proud to be an American. I am proud a good chunk of my days, but I am truly gleeful today.

Boy did we pack it in...

2008-10-05T20:58:00.009-06:00

This weekend, Tracy, Mike, Violet, and I took a road trip to Indiana. The main purpose of the trip was to go to the Vera Bradley Fall Outlet Sale. We also worked in an overnight stay at a hotel with a water park and a visit to the College Football Hall of Fame.

On our way to Fort Wayne, we stopped for lunch in Plymouth, Indiana. Considering we drove most of the way on route 30, the trip went pretty quickly. We took a brief break for Violet to run around as well. Violet was a terrific traveler. She slept almost all of the time we spend in the car.

We finally made it to Fort Wayne and to the sale. I was expecting piles of different styles and prints, but the sheer quantity of bags and people was staggering. Tracy and I both managed to do a fair bit of damage. I spent more than I needed to, but everything I bought was in the $5-30 range, which is pretty good considering all of the purses have list prices of $63 or higher. We will absolutely make this trip again, but probably in a couple of years.

After the sale, we headed to Shipshewana to stay at the WanaWaves resort. While traveling on I-69, we came across the town of Ashley. Who knew? We also learned that the only redeeming feature of Angola was gas that was $3.39 a gallon.

Our room had bunk beds. Violet is chilling on my bunk before swimming. She was clearly ecstatic. Mike and Tracy had the king bed. I guess we should have brought more friends since we had plenty of sleeping room.

Today, instead of swimming, we decided to make Mike really happy and go to the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend. It was actually really informative and interesting. I know the museum is in South Bend, but I felt there was a slight bias toward Notre Dame. I am sure there was a flag and pennant for Illinois, but I was unable to find either.

We all enjoyed the interactive parts of the museum. We got to try and kick field goals. None of us scored three points. Violet tried her best. There was also a part where you could do these short physical activities to see if you had the ability to be a football player. Not surprisingly, I am lacking the speed, stamina, and ability to make it on the field. And, after all, taking up football at 32 seems like a poor plan.

There was a section dedicated to the marching bands and Homecoming. For those of you who may not know, Illinois won the first Homecoming against the University of Chicago circa 1910. I make a lovely Homecoming Queen, don't I?

Toward the end of the display era, there is a section for each bowl game. This display brought back a few memories. I wish this one had turned out differently...

When we got home tonight, I watched Violet for a few hours while Tracy and Mike went to the Hawks game. I haven't seen Aladdin in years, but now I have seen it three times (except for the parts with Jafar and the Genie). We fast forwarded through all of those scenes.

I love cake, but not this kind...

2008-10-04T08:03:00.002-06:00

I just saw this picture in the Tribune and it made me both chuckle and cringe. This kimodo dragon was celebrating his or her 8th birthday with a particularly special cake. Now, I adore cake. I cannot imagine who even thought the cake was necessary in this situation. A cake garnished with dead mice is just a tad on the disgusting side for me.

What a cute picture...

2008-10-01T20:58:00.003-06:00

Leslie sent me some pictures of her little one, Lauren, and they were so cute that I had to post one! Lauren is such a cute and happy little girl. Next to her is Lauren's friend Noah, the neighbor with whom they nannyshare. What a cute fall picture.

Golfing...

2008-09-30T20:49:00.002-06:00

Over the past few weeks, I have started golfing again. Tracy, Mike, Michelle and I have been playing. I have decided that golfing is a really great way to spend a Sunday morning. One gets to be out in nature, which is always a great thing. A week ago, Tracy, Michelle, and I played at a course in Arlington Heights that we all like. The holes are super short, which makes it a little more enjoyable for me. This past weekend, we golfed Rob Roy in Prospect Heights and that kicked my butt. Most of the ladies tees were still 300-400 yard holes. I don't even want to know what my final score was, especially if I had counted every stroke and not stopped at 8. I seriously need to spend some quality time at the driving range over the winter. I lost about four balls this weekend and at least as many tees. Truly a depressing and lackluster effort. Mike may not want to play with us much longer. I fear we are bringing down his game.

Playing in the fog is a great way to guarantee a small crowd. Tracy and Michelle on the second tee.

Catching up...

2008-09-30T20:31:00.005-06:00

The second half of September turned out to be a busy few weeks. I haven't blogged in ages. My email has also gone by the wayside. It took a lot of patience and persistence, but my new center is now open and fully operational. I haven't been able to say that for very long. I have been working quite a bit because I don't quite have full coverage yet. Last week, Mike was traveling so I stayed with Tracy and helped chauffeur Violet to and from daycare. Let's just say that I have a new appreciation for working mothers!

A couple of weeks ago, Kim, Brianna and I went to the Illinois-Louisiana Lafayette football game and to the alumni basketball game. Both were a great time. That was the weekend of the torrential rains in the Chicagoland area, but Champaign stayed completely dry while we were there.

I know that I am biased, but you just cannot beat the U of I band at halftime!

Kimberlee and me at the game.

Our seats for the football game were just super, as you can see. We did move for the second half. We also sat on the east side, which is now evidently the pauper side of the stadium.

I laughed so hard I cried (not really all that difficult for me) when we got to our seats for the alumni basketball game. Yes, that is the top row of Assembly Hall in case you were wondering. Oh, and it was about a million degrees in the Hall. There were a number of alumni playing that night, including: gold medal winner Deron Williams, Dee Brown, Luther Head, Frank Williams, Nick Anderson, Kenny Battle, Kendall Gill (either Kenny or Kendall was injured and didn't play, but I cannot remember which one), and about two dozen more. It was really a lot of fun. They also played a ton of really fun clips overhead during the game.

After the game, they unveiled thirty jerseys that will hang in Assembly Hall all season long. They brought back a variety of players from the 40s and 50s and on. It was jam packed, Illinois day.

Purging...

2008-09-09T21:47:00.002-06:00

Clearly, we can tell I have too much time on my hands. I have had yet another day off today and another tomorrow. I seriously don't know what to do with this much time off. I am almost, although not quite, to the point where I am tired of reading. Today is Tuesday and I have already been to the library twice this week and read two books. Sometimes I feel like the characters in the books I read-like I have a life, but it is somehow a little empty or hollow. That is a depressing tangent.

I just cleared out almost 1300 emails from my inbox. I still have 2900 in there, though, so I still have a bit of work to do. I have no idea how they add up so quickly. I started a habit some time ago of saving emails from people and putting them in folders. I don't think I will be doing that much anymore, except for the emails from a few people. I heard or read once that instead of journaling or worrying that you haven't kept records, that a person should save his or her emails. This is so true if you stop and think of it. My life is pretty much recorded in emails-what I did over the weekend, how work is going, movies I saw, books I read, and so on. So, I will always save some of my emails, but I have to purge the vast majority because they are overrunning my inbox.

Democracy is disturbing...

2008-09-09T16:43:00.002-06:00

I just saw a news poll on the ABC news with Charlie Gibson. Obama leads by almost 20 points with voters who vote on issues. McCain leads by almost 20 points with voters who vote based upon attributes. My main issue here is what percentage of the country votes not based upon issues, but just about their feelings regarding someone. I just don't get it. And truthfully, it seems to me that Obama is the more charismatic of the two anyway. I am so frustrated with the election in general because I feel like we pick our leaders based upon empty promises and what we want to hear with no relation to the actual events going on in the world.

And the cake continues...

2008-09-08T20:46:00.003-06:00

Another busy weekend...This is a good thing, really. Because of zoning, inspections, etc., I have only worked 1 1/2 of the past 5 work days. A day or so off is great, but by Friday of last week, I was bored stiff. Thank goodness the weekend was busy. On Friday night, we had book club at Judy's. We didn't really talk about the book because only half of the crew had read it. Two really liked it and the other thought it was okay, but no one really had anything to say about it. I did not finish A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I always have such a hard time reading the book club book because I have so much else that I really want to read.

On Saturday, my parents came up and we shopped at Oakbrook and had lunch at Wildfire. A very enjoyable meal.

Yesterday, I headed to Tracy and Mike's for Violet's birthday party with Mike's side. I am enjoying my leftovers for sure. Tracy got the food from Olive Garden and it was yummy. Such a great idea. You can get their salad dressing by the bottle, too! I also had leftover cake today, which is not going to help the 1.6 pounds I lost last week. I walked for an hour today, though, so that should help.

I have a new shower curtain. And, it is the best kind---free! Tracy was going to sell her old curtain on ebay, but I took it instead. I would say it looks pretty great with the wall color. Always nice to have a change.

I think I am working tomorrow, but am not really sure. I cannot control it, so I am not going to worry about it.

Weekend round up...

2008-09-01T21:57:00.006-06:00

Without even trying, I have had yet another action packed weekend. Last week was a tad bit stressful. It was my last week at one workplace before moving to another. And since pretty much everyone who reads this knows where I work, I won't mention the specifics. On Friday, I had a crazy day trying to collect my last two accounts receivables, finish packing, closing out the books permanently, and moving the materials to a brand new center. I put in a thirteen hour day of moving and packing on Friday, which just made me tired.

On Saturday, I slept in and then met Kim, Brianna, and Kim's mom Lynn at the IKEA in Bolingbrook. We also got Culverized at Culver's after the IKEA experience. For the record, if you are making a choice, the IKEA in Bolingbrook is much less crowded than the IKEA in Schaumburg. I went to both this weekend, and I can speak from experience. Later that night, I met Jenny, Jeanette, Judy, and Sarah at the Stir Crazy at Oakbrook for dinner. Afterward, we went over to Judy's.

As many of you know, if I have an opinion or thought I will pretty much share it. One thing I have never hid is my dislike of large dogs. When I was in early grade school, my family got a cocker spaniel. Although he was a middle sized dog, I hated Scooter. He jumped on me and sniffed a lot and thoroughly made me uncomfortable. Truth be told, my mom and Leslie were about the only two people in the world who liked Scooter. From that time, I have abhorred the thought of having a dog jump on me. I NEVER make this a secret. I was less than thrilled to have my friend's 75 pound boxer jump up and scrape the crap out of my arm this weekend. It hurt badly enough that I turned around and hit the dog back. I almost cried, but held it together. The picture isn't fantastic, but you can see the 6-8 inch bruise that I am now sporting on my upper right arm. Public service announcement-If you know your company hates your animals, please lock them up.

On Sunday, I headed out for the official birthday party of Violet. Violet didn't get to finish her nap and thus had a hard time being perky. She eventually came around completely. Violet got to play a lot with her cousins and got some great birthday gifts. I had previously gotten Violet a Bitty Baby. For the party, I also got her the stroller. The unfortunate part of the night was that she opened the stroller second and was completely obsessed with her baby and stroller and not with opening presents. I was super excited to have purchased the hit of the gifts, but felt bad that she could focus on nothing else.

Today, Mike celebrated his birthday. We got up early and met Tracy's friend Michelle for golf. I stayed overnight because we had a 9am tee time in Arlington Heights. We golfed a great little nine hole course with each hole being a par three. That was great for me. It wasn't too long to walk and didn't wear me out. I basically sucked because I hadn't golfed in so long. My last shot of the day, though, was SO BEAUTIFUL. I sank a 30 foot putt. It was by far my best shot of the day. After lunch, Tracy and I walked to Schaumburgfest and went to the craft show. I went without any attention to purchase anything. I ended up purchasing a new arrangement for my front door.
For dinner, Tracy's parents took all of us out for Mike's birthday and then we had birthday cookie. I feel like I have eaten and eaten all weekend long. I think I need to detox from the sugar now.

I have tomorrow off as well. So exciting!!! Now I have to figure out what to do...

Look who's one...

2008-08-24T21:31:00.007-06:00

I had another really nice weekend. Our little Lauren will be one in a few hours, but her birthday was celebrated over the weekend. We all descended upon Kankakee for a 1st birthday party and baptism. Mark (of Karen and Mark from Ohio) coined a new phrase that I absolutely love: a Kancation. So much better than a vacation really. On Friday night, I met Kim for dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings. We had a really good time. We then headed to Barnes and Noble (the hotbed of nightlife in the Kank) where I purchased by book club book-A Tree Grows in Brooklyn-and we killed a little time before Kim had to pick up Bri from a birthday party.

On Saturday, I arose early and had breakfast with my dad and Blue's. We then went to the farmers' market. Afterward, we took flowers to my aunt in the nursing home. At noon, we headed across the street for Lauren's birthday party. Nabil's family had all come from Iowa. Karen and Mark attended with Matthew and Jackson. Amy also came with Izzy and Brady. The kids were all super cute. They had a good time swimming and playing in the sprinkler. Lauren donned three outfits during the party. They were very smart and had Lauren in a swimsuit for the cake portion.

Lauren's cake from Cakes'n'Lace was delicious!
WOW! They call it a smash cake for a reason!

My mom and dad got Lauren a Bitty Baby for her birthday. She was absolutely crazy about it! She also holds onto it by the shoulders, which is really adorable. She calls is a "ba."

After the party, I went to Wal-Mart to acquire my birthday gifts to Jenny, Jeanette, and Judy. Let's just say I am really happy with my $5 gifts this time. Phyllis and Roy came over as well and we played cards. As usual, I really sucked it up. I seem to never win at cards. I guess it is a good thing I win at other things or I might really develop a complex.

This morning, we made it to church early for Lauren's baptism. Afterward, we had an enjoyable brunch at the Bon Vivant. All of the Lauren related festivities were quite enjoyable and it was great to see everyone!

Judy, Nabil, Lauren, Leslie, Jenny, and Tom

Mom, Lauren, me, and Dad

The weekend was capped off by Monical's at Phyllis and Roy's house along with watching the Olympics on their new HDTV. Super exciting. Do I now see a new TV in my parents future? They were having some serious TV envy.

My new bag...

2008-08-24T21:27:00.003-06:00

Leslie and George took their honeymoon at the end of July/beginning of August. I was very excited to receive a souvenir from their trip! Leslie brought me back a bag from Italy. It is very cute and fits a lot, which I always LOVE. The newlyweds (see wedding post from March) did a 14 day tour of Europe. While they were gone, I enjoyed following them daily via their itinerary. I am so jealous! They had a great trip. I cannot wait to see the pictures and have Leslie there to tell about each one. Well, maybe not each one since she took over 1,200 pictures, but a very large portion of them!

Now I can stop watching so much Olympic coverage...

2008-08-17T18:23:00.002-06:00

I, like so many others, have been watching quite a bit of the Olympic coverage. In general, I am a person who likes to watch the Olympics, both summer and winter. I LOVE to watch swimming and have been completely obsessed with Michael Phelps. I could seriously watch swimming every day. Last night, Michael won his eighth gold of the Olympics and I almost cried I was so excited. Sometimes you truly feel like you are watching an amazing feat and watching him swim all week has truly been like that.

While we are at it, I would also like to give a shout out to Dara Torres. The fact that she is forty-one and a mother and won silvers and a gold during the Olympics is just incredible. I will watch some track and field and diving as the week progresses, but it is all downhill from here.

And the winner is...

2008-08-17T18:08:00.004-06:00

We have a winner in the 2008 Suburban Pool Tour! This weekend, Tracy, Violet, and I went to Rainbow Falls in Elk Grove Village.

Rainbow Falls wins in all categories. While it is the most expensive of any pool I have gone to this summer ($14), it has the most and cleanest amenities. Unfortunately, I didn't get to go down any of the slides, but the pools and lazy river were enjoyable. The locker rooms were super clean and they had 4 family changing rooms, a great feature I am now aware of after going to the pool with Violet.

Poor Mike was supposed to go with us, but ended up staying home all day with the guys who are building the deck. There were some major tree root issues. After we got home from the pool, the four of us went to Sweet Baby Ray's restaurant in Elk Grove. Definitely one of the better barbecue restaurants I have been to and very reasonable. We all agreed we would go back. After dinner, we watched some Olympics before Tracy and I went to the movie.

Tracy and I saw Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. We saw the first one a few years ago when we were in Florida for vacation. I have read all four of the books (I used to teach junior high English so I actually had them on my shelf). The second book is actually my least favorite of the four. The movie was so-so. I cried a lot more than I expected considering I didn't expect to cry at all. I really enjoy America Ferrara and Amber Tamblyn. I always liked Amber when she was Emily on General Hospital. She later starred as Joan on Joan of Arcadia, which was a truly excellent show. It suffered the curse of most really good television shows, though, and was cancelled after a couple of seasons. After surviving what felt like a marathon day, I got way too much sleep.

An amoosing family outing...

2008-08-12T20:10:00.004-06:00

This past weekend, I went home to visit my parents. I had a dentist appointment which I needed to go home for. I also got to spend some time with my friends Kim and Karen. I also visited my aunt Phyllis in the nursing home. The major highlight of the weekend was our visit to Fair Oaks Farms in Fair Oaks, Indiana. I have heard a lot of great things about the farm and suggested to my parents that we go. They were both up for the idea. The farm is HUGE and we learned a lot about the dairy world.

The farm has a birthing barn. During our visit, we saw three calves being born. I have to say that childbirth has never looked like a ton of fun. Well, birthing a cow doesn't look so super either. The farm, in ten separate locations, has 30,000 head of cattle. There are approximately 90 births per day, of which about 10 occur in the birthing barn. Only 5% of the births need assistance. I think all of the births in the barn are for show.

After our experience in the birthing barn, we took the bus tour. They take you, via air conditioned bus, to one of the ten farms where the cattle are held. There are barns for the majority of the herd as well as separate areas for calves and for non-milking cows. The most impressive aspect was the milking barn. As you can see in the picture below, there is a carousel that holds 72 cows at a time. It takes 8 minutes to go around once, during which time most of the cows will pump completely. If a cow hasn't finished, they will chain the back and the cow will go around again. Each cow has a GPS collar that tracks feed quantities, milk quantities, and more. After the milk leaves the cows, it goes to a cooling area. You can feel the pipes with the milk before and after it is cooled. Fresh milk is over a hundred degrees. It is cooled to 32 or 36 degrees for transport. Each cow is milked three times per day. In order to milk 3,000 cows, they milk for seven hours straight and then clean the area for an hour. This is done three times per day.

We went back to see the babies that were born earlier in the day. Very cute, as far as cows go.

Another great part of the day was the dining area. After our tour, we had grilled cheese sandwiches-mine was Havarti. We topped that off by homemade ice cream. So smooth and yummy. We also sampled a lot of the cheeses that they make on site.

Some dairy facts:

Cows consume almost 100 pounds of feed per day

Cows drink 25-50 gallons of water per day

Cows are milked for 10 months after giving birth

Cows produce 25 pounds (45 cups) of milk in one milking.

Cows produce 22,500 pounds (300,000 cups) or milk in one year

Also, all of the cows have sand bedding which prevents the spread of bacteria and also helps to alleviate pressure when the cattle are laying down.

Overall, it was a really interesting experience and one I would recommend to all. In particular, the dairy has a lot of activities for kids, so it is a good family activity. It is also a great place to take your parents. It was super interesting and I am glad I went.

The Olympics are a comin'...

2008-08-05T21:39:00.004-06:00

I was perusing the NY Times website and came across these pictures of the National Stadium in Beijing where the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics will be held. At night, the building is simply stunning. It truly looks like a piece of art and not like a sporting arena.

During the day, however, the stadium is not quite as beautiful. Still very interesting, but it definitely loses a little of the glam.

And the suburban pool tour continues...

2008-08-04T21:31:00.004-06:00

My tour of suburban public pools continued this weekend. I am definitely taking the poor man's country club route to life. I have to say, though, that going to the public pool is really not all that cheap. It cost me $9.25 to go to the pool on Saturday and $7 on Sunday. It certainly makes the season pass a far more promising aspect, if only I actually ever swam in the town in which I reside. On Saturday, I went to the Forest Park pool with my friend Jenny and her three year old son Donovan. The weather was gorgeous and we had a fun time. Donovan is super fun at the pool! I really have to give the FoPo pool some props. It was incredibly nice. I know it is a hometown loyalty, but I am still giving Splash Valley in K3 my top rating. The Forest Park pool was almost comparable, but Splash Valley wins it on the cleanliness of the locker rooms and on the extremely conscientious lifeguards.

On Sunday, I went over to Tracy and Mike's. We didn't end up going to the pool until after Violet's nap. We went back to Atcher Island and had a fine time. Violet LOVES the water. I wanted to get some more color, but I will survive.

This is one of the play areas at Atcher Island. The one problem that Violet has is that she does not care for the spraying water. Plus, the water was so cold it was awful.

The drop slide at the pool was an interesting experience. There is truthfully no graceful way to come out of that one. Just a big ol' plop into the water. Maybe I can swim some more next weekend!

Book sale '08!!!

2008-08-01T22:41:00.002-06:00

Tonight, my friend Jenny and I went to the annual book sale put on by the Friends of the Oak Park Library. This year was another rousing success. I got 16 books for $17. They raised the price of hardbacks to $2 this year, so I only got one. As you all know, I am CHEAP. Considering that ALL of the books that are sold were donated, I am not completely sure why they raised the prices. I was also completely flummoxed by the fact that so many people cannot smell themselves. It is summer, people. Wear some deodorant and take a shower! And, the books only cost a dollar. Pick it up and buy or get out of my way, but don't sit there like we are in the cafe section of Borders. There are hundreds of people trying to get through the three feet aisles. Get out of my way. One wouldn't think that a book sale could incite such rage, but just give me a chance. Actually, though, it was less crowded than usual and I had lots of nice chats with people while looking for books. Super excited to read my new finds.

A third post!!!

2008-07-23T20:56:00.003-06:00

I got a new quilt this week. You see, I had a little problem. My bedroom is hot! With no central air and window air conditioners in my living and dining rooms, my bedroom never cooled down enough. So, I had to remove the duvet I normally use and have been on the hunt for a quilt for weeks. The icing on the cake is that this red and orange quilt was on deep discount. Fantastic! I thought it was bad feng shui to have red in my bedroom, but I will say that it was really comfortable sleeping last night. Plus, I finally got to sleep in my own bed last night, which was also fantastic.

Cincinnati

2008-07-23T20:49:00.003-06:00

This past weekend, Kim, Brianna, and I headed to Cincinnati to visit Karen and Chris. Clarissa also flew in from New York City. We had a really nice time all together. For the most part, we ate a lot and swam a little. We also spent three hours watching Gene Simmons' Family Jewels (I am sure you are sorry you missed that, Claire!). I have to say I really enjoyed that show a lot.

A picture of Karen, Kim, Clarissa, and me at Ault Park in Cincinnati

Brianna and Kim

Chris, who is a Cincinnati radio personality, hard at work

On the four hour road trip, I also played Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? on Bri's Nintendo DS. Sometimes I am smarter, but not as often as I would have liked! I also have to say that those questions are not things most fifth graders would actually know.

Swimmin'

2008-07-23T20:43:00.004-06:00

A week ago, Tracy, Mike, Violet, and I went to one of the public pools in their town. We had a really nice afternoon. Violet absolutely loved swimming and could barely be gotten out of the pool. I am, as usual, obsessed with being tan in the summer. I have been using 30 SPF this summer and still have a great tan. So exciting!!!

What a weekend...

2008-06-23T21:32:00.006-06:00

Well, it was a busy and exhausting weekend. On Friday night, I, along with Jenny and Jeanette, celebrated Sarah's upcoming nuptials with her. We had a great dinner at Caffe de Luca in neighboring Forest Park. My dinner was fantastic. I have only been there one other time for Sunday brunch, which in no way compared to how great my dinner was. One could also point out that they have a fantastic martini menu. I tasted twelve different martinis (and no they weren't all mine) and they were all terrific. Three martinis at dinner probably wasn't the best way to start the night. After dinner, we went to a couple of different bars within walking distance.

While at the bar, we played darts. Not surprisingly, Sarah had her own darts when she was in college. She did not have them with her, though. I think we played three games and, if I am not mistaken, won them all. I have not played darts since college. It brought back a lot of memories of R & R's and Legends.I am not really sure what Jenny is doing in the picture, but the Marcel Marceau aspect of is amusing.

On Saturday, after a very slow morning, I headed down to Soldier Field to meet Kim and a few other people for the Kenny Chesney/Keith Urban/Leann Rimes/Gary Allan concert. The weather ended up being terrific and the concert was awesome. My favorite performer was Keith Urban. He totally rocked it out. Everyone was quite good. I got home late, but not as late as the party bus that Kim was on. They didn't get home until 2 am and at least three people threw up on her trip home. I will take the very foul smelling man I sat next to on the train coming home over vomit any day.

Our seats were dead center, which was great. I couldn't get a good picture of Kenny Chesney because the stage was too bright.

Yesterday, I ended up attending a youth soccer game for the first time in my life. My cousin Randy's son Nick had a game about five minutes from my house. So, I met them for the game and then the six of us (Jennifer, Jake, and Josh as well) went for dinner and ice cream. Even though they don't live far, I don't see them all that often, so it was great to spend time with them. I may invite myself over to their house soon as they are getting Rock Band for their Wii.

Odds and ends...

2008-06-11T20:35:00.006-06:00

Once again, I have been off for a while. Here are a few random pictures from the past few weeks.

A few weeks ago, Violet and Lauren had a play date and Leslie, Jenny, Tracy, and I had a nice walk and meal in Andersonville. This picture was taken after we got back from dinner.

I got a new rug for my entryway. I have to say that I really like having a rug at my front door. I still need to get a rug pad.

Tracy and Mike's basement is finally finished. The picture above is Violet's play room. Tracy came up with the carpet tiles and did them all herself! I helped pick the paint color. The room turned out super cute. This picture was taken before we loaded the room with toys.

This is a picture of the main room in the basement. I also helped paint all of that room as well during a marathon painting day.

Birthday greetings...

2008-05-22T19:10:00.003-06:00

Over the past two weeks, I have received many cards and well wishes for my birthday. Today, I got two belated birthday pictures from Zoe in Lafayette. I have featured them below. In particular, I really enjoyed all of the Pet Shop stickers. I also added a picture of Zoe for you all to see.

Where to start...

2008-05-19T21:05:00.013-06:00

The last week and a half have been very busy. I have been on a two part trip, as many of you already know. The first part of my trip was to Washington, D.C. with my friend Kim. Kim had a conference in DC and had asked if I would like to come along. There are few things I love more than traveling and free stuff, so I was totally game! The free parts were the room in DC and basically everything I did there. That is one of the things I love so much about DC. You can go into a museum and leave after five minutes if you don't like it. So great!!! Kim and I had a really fun time. I spent a lot of time on my own, but we also got to do quite a bit together.

Here are the things I did/saw while in DC:

Tour of the Capitol and the Rayburn legislative building

The Library of Congress

The Supreme Court

Arlington Cemetery

National Gallery of Art

National Archives

Air and Space Museum

Washington Monument

WWII Memorial

Korean War Memorial

Vietnam Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

White House (the indoor tour did not pan out, as I had feared)

Georgetown

As you can see, I really got around in two days! I love the Metro in DC, too. There was never a time when I smelled urine in a car. I did see one crazy person, though. Such a different feel from our "L".

The two things I enjoyed the most was touring the Capitol and the Library of Congress. I had arranged my tour months ago with my House Representative's office. I had a great tour. I never had a seventh grade trip to Washington (thanks to my brother's class), so I had never been inside before. In addition to the House chamber and all of the other assorted areas, I was able to visit the offices of a couple of different congressmen, which was really a cool experience as one was a very senior member of Congress.

At the last minute, I also decided to visit the Library of Congress and Supreme Court. I LOVED the Library of Congress. The building itself is simply beautiful. It was interesting to learn of the history of the library-let's just say that books and fires do not go together. The LOC owes its existence to Thomas Jefferson, for the most part. The colors used in the LOC are so vibrant and the artwork is extraordinary. I also have to love a building that pays tribute to so many great authors and poets. I would love to go back and spend more time.

Main hall of the Library of Congress

Fountain outside of National Gallery of Art

Washington Monument and Reflecting Pool

World War II Memorial with Lincoln Memorial in background

The new national seal I created at the National Archives.

Not a great picture, but I saw the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights at the National Archives.

After a couple of days in DC, I flew to Florida and spent some time at the beach with my parents. The time was incredibly relaxing. I got a great tan and was able to read a lot, so a great time overall. Below is a picture of the sunset from the beach outside of the condo.

Alas, now I am back to the real world. Tracy picked me up from the airport on Saturday and then, along with Mike and Violet, took me to dinner for my birthday. And now, I am back to the real world of work, commuting, etc.

After a prolonged absence...

2008-05-03T21:11:00.002-06:00

I have been slacking lately. I have been thinking about blogging, but cannot seem to get around to it. For the past six or eight weeks, I have not had wireless internet. I am planning to replace the wireless modem, but the $80 it will cost still seems slightly better in my bank account than with AT&T. As you can see from the photo above, my computer setup is less than ideal. Using one's computer while sitting or laying on the floor is not exactly the most comfortable arrangement. Hence, you might see why I have been able to shed my computer addiction just a little over the past few months. But, as most of you already know, I am incredibly cheap and will not be able to do the new modem for a while. Plus, since I have the internet, it is really hard to justify the expenditure. I really miss the wireless, though. I just looked on amazon.com and it appears an ethernet cable can be purchased for under $10. A longer cable could just be my answer!

I am an excellent babysitter...

2008-04-14T22:07:00.005-06:00

I am an excellent babysitter. I have been babysitting since I was twelve or so, and I am just going to tell you that I am responsible and fun. I was thinking of coming up with a book containing great babysitting tips. I spent some quality time watching Violet over the weekend (Tracy and Mike were finishing up painting the basement) and I came up with a few tips.

1. It is very important to keep an eye on your charge(s). I find that a very convenient way to do so is to confine them. In this scenario, Violet thought playing in a laundry basket was "fun" while I saw it as an excellent way to keep tabs.

2. It is always important to entertain your charges. As you can see, I am so much fun that Dudley and Zoe didn't know how to contain themselves. Dudley and Zoe would appreciate it if you forget you saw this picture, as they are not allowed on the furniture.
3. Regardless of how hard you try, one cannot amuse a charge all of the time. For instance, sometimes they don't like to have their picture taken. At other times, they may resent being forced to watch A Room with a View on Masterpiece when instead another fantastic episode of Wonder Pets could be viewed. At this time, it is important to remember that food and beverage can alleviate a lot of this stress. When in doubt, find the crackers.

I really think I could be up to something here. This could really be my way to become published.

Fries no more...

2008-04-07T20:27:00.003-06:00

I was reading an article online today about the worst foods for you in twenty different categories. Surprisingly, the chicken burrito at Chipotle was the worst Mexican food for you. Over 1,000 calories altogether. Not so surprisingly, though, is the worst food on the list. The Worst Food in America is the Outback Steakhouse Aussie Cheese Fries with Ranch Dressing. I have had this delicious concoction more than once. It falls in at 2,900 calories, 182 g fat, and 240 g carbs. There is never a time when I thought this was a healthy treat, but I could have never guessed it was that terrible for you.

Another point to the article was that as Americans, we grossly underestimate quantities and fat when we eat out at restaurants. Celery sticks and water from now on...

A full day...

2008-04-02T22:19:00.006-06:00

It has been a full day folks. This morning when I awoke, I hurriedly tried to get ready and get to my car by 8am so I wouldn't get a ticket. As I was walking to my car-conveniently parked almost three blocks away from my house-I could see the dreaded orange envelope. As I got further along, however, I began to ponder why I had a ticket and NO ONE ELSE did on the same side of the street. Fortunately, there was a very nice man out by his car who gave me the explanation. My town has a lovely double standard where cars can be parked in front of condos or apartments overnight, but not in front of house. On that particular half block in the middle of my zone, there is the side yard of a house. And there lies the reason I got a crappy $30 ticket. Normally, this would have made my day start off a lot worse, but it didn't bother me all that much today.

And the wallet=sieve comparison continues in my life. The wrath of the potholes has taken it's toll again.

Today, I had to officially acquire tire number two of the winter. I had to laugh because the tire place attempted to upsell me with a new air filter, new wiper blades, and some sort of cleansing for an additional $130. What my cars really needs is realignment, but they didn't even peg that one! Gracie (my car) needed a new tire. It appears that when a tire begins to form a bulge on it's side, it needs to be replaced.

After working 11 1/2 hours today (actually a pretty good day, though) and running to Borders to get my book club book, I finally got home and had a snack. I then powered on the computer and got awesome news-Friday Night Lights was renewed!!! There will only be a 13 episode season, but that is so much better than nothing. I could really weep with joy at that one.

Another wedding come and gone...

2008-03-30T20:39:00.008-06:00

Yet another busy and happy weekend has occurred. This weekend, my good friend Leslie got married. There have been some recent posts on the shower and bachelorette party. I had a lovely day off on Friday (thank goodness!). Jackie, Jamie, and I left the suburbs around noon and headed to Central Illinois. Leslie lives about four hours from Chicago. We made it in plenty of time for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. All went well. There were a few times when I felt like an old woman this weekend. One of those times was when I was asleep by eleven on a Friday night. Below is a picture of the bridal party at the Elks-location of the rehearsal dinner.

Saturday was an early day and a long day. I got up around 7:30 so I could get to my hair appointment. The day really went by quickly. We did all of the pictures before the wedding, which was splendid. The ceremony itself was really extremely lovely. I have truthfully never cried so much at a wedding. I cry easily in general. I laughed a ton this weekend and cried numerous times from laughing too hard. The ceremony was emotional at times, too. Leslie's mom, Sarah, passed away this past June after a very quick fight with cancer. Her dad was extremely emotional when he walked her down the aisle, as were a good portion of the people on the bride's side of the sanctuary. I cried during the ceremony a few more times as well. The minister really did a great job. He shared remarks Leslie and George had written back in the summer. They were funny, sweet, and so appropriate. I cried again when Leslie and George lit the unity candle and then lit a memory candle before giving George's mom a rose and placing a rose in the empty seat for her mom. I know I have bias, but I think it was one of the best wedding ceremonies I have ever been to.

me and Leslie

Leslie and George

Then, of course, it was time to get our food, drink, and groove on! The reception hall was across the street from the church, which was super convenient. There was good food and a good time. I have to say that I felt old when I started yawning at 9pm. I danced the Electric Slide, the ChaCha Slide, and the Chicken Dance. I drew the line at the YMCA and Come on Ride the Train. I know for some of you, you would have drawn the line well before that. I am making a bold statement, however, and there will be no Celebration, We Are Family, Brick House, chicken dance, hokey pokey (not played at this wedding, but about which I have strong feelings), and one slide, but not both, at my wedding, if it should ever actually come to fruition before I am old and dead!

In addition to feeling old because of the yawning, I also felt old and pathetic when I had to stop drinking because I was getting heartburn. These things seriously would have not occurred in my twenties. Oh, Cher, if only I could turn back time.

me, Shannon, Leslie, Jackie, Kristen

All of the bridesmaids were able to pick a dress of our choosing, as long as it was pink. I was worried about how the shades would go together, but I have so say they turned out quite well.

I love this picture, but I cannot remember what was occurring that made Jamie and Jackie make these faces. This could have been around the garter/bouquet toss time.

I would just like to point out how completely disinterested I am at this part of the reception. I completely hate the bouquet toss. I unwilling participated. I had a glass of champagne and a camera in my hand for this one, so I clearly wasn't planning to catch it. For the record, George's cousin in third grade caught the bouquet. I was kind of hoping to have that Sex and the City moment where the girls step back and the flowers just fall on the ground.

And the favorite Ashley statement of the weekend was when I stated on Friday that, "I just don't have time for all this mediocrity." That was a real gem!

Back home again...

2008-03-24T21:17:00.004-06:00

Another very full weekend...On Thursday, I had coffee and dessert with my friend Claire. She was in for the long weekend from New York City. We went to this great coffee shop in my town. On Friday, I had dinner with a former coworker Christine and her daughter. So, mostly, as you can tell, I ate my way through the weekend. The other Friday excitement was going to the new Wal-Mart Supercenter. I do have to say that I love a good deal at a big box store! While at Wal-Mart, we purchased some Easter candy. Now, most people purchase Peeps. I was, however, really intrigued by the marshmallow pigs. Not as good as Peeps, though.

On Saturday, after being bored stiff at my parents, my mom and I went shopping. I am passionately attempting to get my parents to purchase another tv for their house. It really frustrates me when I visit and I have to sit in my bedroom because my dad is watching nonstop sports. This weekend, the NCAA tournament was not my friend. Here are my new shoes, though, which I am so in love with!

I will be wearing these to Leslie's rehearsal dinner on Friday. I also got new pajamas from the Easter Bunny. There may be a point where I am too old for all of that, but who doesn't like a good gift?!

After eating a ton of food yesterday, I was happy to get back home. I did something I rarely do yesterday, though, and that is to forget something. I forgot my toiletries at my parents. $25 later, I had replaced the things I couldn't live without before my parents can send my my stuff. Ugh.

Black and blue...

2008-03-19T21:23:00.002-06:00

For those of you who don't know, I heart Charlie Rose. His show has been one of my favorites for quite some time. In my dreamworld, I am interviewed by Charlie, who is wowed by the profundity of my thoughts. His interviews are the best. I feel like I learn so much just from watching him. Last night, I was watching the show and doing my normal internet business (I know you are thinking porn, Jenny, but clean your mind up!) when I actually looked at the screen. Charlie is sporting a bandage and a black eye. I say go on with your bad self, Charlie! Many prima donnas would have let these very visible blemishes keep them from the television screen, but not my Charlie. He is a trooper. From what I read on the internet, by the way, he fell while walking in New York City on Monday and hit the pavement in order to save his Mac. If I had one of those computers, I would have taken the hit to save the computer, too.

A little of this, a little of that...

2008-03-17T21:34:00.002-06:00

I was super excited for this past weekend. It was the first in quite a few when I didn't have to work on Saturday. On Friday night, Jenny, Jeanette, Sarah, and I ordered Chinese food and played games. The food was delicious. The games were a riot. We were supposed to play Rock Band. The Xbox gods were not with us, alas, so we ended up playing Acquire. Acquire, for those of you like me who had never heard of it before, is a stock market based game. It really involved a lot of thinking for a Friday night, but was a ton of fun. Jeanette kicked serious tail. It turns out that in Acquire, as in real life, the person with the most stock in the most valuable company seems to come out ahead at the end.

On Saturday, I went to Tracy's and we took Violet for Easter pictures. Although she is hilarious and usually happy, Violet does not always care to perform on demand. She has no use for standing on red dots and doesn't always want to look at the camera. Tracy has another appointment next weekend.

Today, I ache in places I didn't really realize I had. Yesterday, I painted ALL DAY long at Tracy and Mike's house. We, along with another friend of Tracy's and her husband, painted an entire basement. Very impressive, or so I think. I wasn't really expecting my legs to be as sore as they were today, either. I guess in the end that it is better than laying on one's couch and reading a book all day long. And now we are off on another week. What fun!

The montage and other musings...

2008-03-06T21:39:00.003-06:00

I was flipping through the channels last night and saw that Baywatch is on the ION channel. I have to say that I was actually excited for a moment. I am embarrassed to say that I used to really like watching Baywatch, even though I knew it was a crap show. Paula (my friend and college roommate) always had a lot to say about this, and, in particular, she always made fun of the video montages. Well, I watched for about five minutes last night and saw not one, not two, but three montages in that amount of time!!! Baywatch really did suck. I cannot believe that I ever watched it.

In other musings, I got home at 5:30 tonight. It was like a slice of heaven! I made fantastic meatloaf. Then, I walked to the library and got a few new books. I seriously overestimated how warm it was outside, but I survived anyway.

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

2008-03-02T20:30:00.004-06:00

It has been a full week, folks. I got back from St. Louis and quickly thereafter suffered from a clogged toilet. Now, in four years, I have probably had to plunge my toilet fewer times than that. This clog, however, could not be plunged. So, two days later, the plumber was able to fix the issue. And believe me, people, I have no problem discussing bodily functions and they were so NOT the cause of the issue. I imagine that is going to cost me $75 or so. Then, on Wednesday, my modem broke. After forty-five minutes with tech support, I discovered a new modem would be necessary, which is another $80. After multiple days without the internet, though, I am back on!!!!!!!! I could weep with joy. Tracy and Mike had an extra modem. And, after about thirty minutes on the phone with tech support tonight, it is usable!

The other joy of the week is that the potholes have finally gotten the better of me. Today at breakfast, Jenny noted that my passenger tire had a bulge the size of a tennis ball. Evidently, that isn't normal. So, another $80 later, Gracie (my car) has one new tire. I am done with $80 expenses this week.

Onto more exciting things. On Thursday night, I met Tracy at La Boudin for dinner, which is kind of like Panera, but nicer and better. At the end of the night, since we were still there, we got free loaves of sourdough since they don't believe in throwing their bread out. Sourdough is not my favorite, but it was seriously delicious.

On Friday night, we had bookclub at Sarah's. We read the Red Tent. Let me tell you, there was a lot to discuss. As most of it involves menstruation and the like, I will not do so on this blog.

After working yesterday, I met Tracy, Mike and Violet for dinner. The joy there was that I knocked my water over with my breast while I was sitting down. It was a good thing the room was a little dark. This way, it didn't look so much like I had wet myself. Later at their house, I introduced Violet to YouTube. It's never too early my friends. She loved the music videos I pulled up. Then, Tracy and I went to see Penelope.

I actually thought it was pretty cute and would recommend it. It had a very fanciful premise and story, but I kind of dug it.

Today, I had breakfast with Jenny, Jeanette, and Judy at Egg Harbor. They have great Swedish pancakes! Then I got a new tire and went to Target. I am currently making homemade chicken salad, which is one of my favorite things.

Today, I also watched the movie Broken Trail, which was an Emmy-winning AMC miniseries. I thought it was excellent. It was a very different kind Western. Thomas Haden Church and Robert Duvall play a nephew and uncle on a horse drive. They acquire five Chinese girls who have been sold into prostitution. It was such a unique point of view and the characters were such moral, decent human beings. If you like a good Western, I would recommend this one.

Boy, after days without the internet, I really have a lot to say!

Bachelorette weekend...

2008-02-24T19:00:00.004-06:00

I have made my return. Six hundred miles plus later, I have returned from the St. Louis area for my friend Leslie's bachelorette party. I had such a fun time! I picked up Jackie, Leslie's roommate from college, and we headed on our way south, which took forever. In Springfield, we met our friend Leslie and her fiance George for dinner at Darcy's Pint, where I had a delicious ponyshoe. Yesterday afternoon, we headed to the spa. Leslie had a massage and I had a facial. It was pretty darn relaxing. I wish I could have services like that done more often. For dinner, six of us went to the Melting Pot somewhere in St. Louis.

Shannon, Kristen, Jackie, Leslie (the bride), Ashley, Erin

Erin is a co-worker and the rest of us are the bridesmaids.

We had a ton of fun at the Melting Pot, which is a fondue restaurant, although it took forever. Our reservation was for 8:30. We finished our meal at midnight!!! I am glad we weren't rushed, but that is an insanely long time to be at dinner. We then went to a bar next to the restaurant for a little while.

This morning, we got up and had breakfast and then Jackie and I headed home, which was an almost six hour trip. Now, I just plan to watch the Oscars and relax, which sounds like a little slice of heaven.

Happy Friday!

2008-02-22T13:35:00.003-06:00

I had the day off today, which is so exciting. It was also slightly annoying, though. First of all, I had to take a lot of time yesterday getting everything ready for the weekend. I also had to get things together to leave for the person covering for me today. That took about an hour. Then, this morning, I had to spend about thirty minutes coming up with a solution for that person to get into my workplace. It appears that the key someone (not me) made for her did not open the door. My bosses suggestion was that I go and open the door. In much nicer words than what I was feeling, I told her that I would NOT be making a two hour trip to open a door on my day off. Alas, it all got resolved in the end.

After that resolution, my friend Leslie came over with her daughter Lauren.

I hadn't seen Lauren since Christmas, so I was pretty anxious to see her. She is almost sitting up on her own-without falling over. Lauren has an unbelievable amount of hair for a baby her age, too. She is very cute and a lot of fun.

In about an hour, I am off to the St. Louis area for a bachelorette party. I will have stories (sorry-no strippers) and pictures after the weekend.

How did I miss this?

2008-02-14T20:59:00.002-06:00

This morning, I was eating my cereal and flipping through the channels on my television. I actually watched a good portion of the interview with Jane Fonda and Eve Ensler (writer of the Vagina Monologues). How did I miss, then, the part when Jane Fonda broke out the "C" word? I really think it may have been appropriate considering they were talking about female mutilation, rape, etc. I think what is hilarious is how quickly Meredith Vieira had to apologize for it. The "C" word isn't my favorite word, but I really doubt it would have offended me.

Space dust...

2008-02-14T20:43:00.002-06:00

According to the Chicago Tribune and NASA, this is space dust. I am not fully sure of what that means, but pretty cool.

I am waiting for the 9pm news to start so I can watch some coverage about the campus shooting at Northern Illinois University. So very sad. The last few weeks have been so disturbing as there has been so much random violence in the Midwest-the killings at the Lane Bryant in Tinley Park, Illinois; the killings at the town meeting in the St. Louis area; the killings at the Louisiana Technical College; now, the killings at NIU. There seems to be nowhere a person can be safe anymore. I was in a bad mood (yet again) today. Reading the articles on the internet reminded me that I have it pretty good, though, so I should stop complaining. And so I did.

Happy Valentine's Day, all. Seems like a bit of a non sequitur there at the end.

Back from the edge...

2008-02-12T22:50:00.002-06:00

I received an email today from Laura (One More Thing) telling me to get back on my blog. I hadn't realized that it had been so long since I had posted. Shame on me. I guess I haven't done much or had much to say. I did come to an interesting conclusion over the last week. My body is like clockwork. If it is February, then I have the blues. It is inevitable. I am frustrated by work. I am tired of snow. I ready to be outside. I could go on and on. I also just read that the best way to not be depressed is to think positive things. That one isn't working so well for me. I saw a little while ago on the news, courtesy of Tom Skilling, that we have had 51 inches of snow so far this season. Today was the 30th day with measurable snowfall. There are typically only 15 per season. This winter sucks and I am done with it.

I will work on that positive thing tomorrow.

And the tour continues...

2008-02-04T21:49:00.000-06:00

This past weekend, I went to visit my friend Leann in Lafayette, Indiana. Leann and I worked together many years ago (I taught 7th grade and she was the guidance counselor) and have remained friends. I try to get down to Lafayette at least once a year and they usually visit once a year. I made it down with no trouble, which was great considering the horrible weather we have had lately. On Saturday, after being woken up very early by Zoe, we ran errands and went out to lunch. On Saturday night, Leann, Lee (Leann's husband), and I went to Buffalo Wild Wings and met up with some of their friends. We played Buzztime trivia and I had a great time! I am both sorry and excited to say that I won every game that we played. I even set a few high scores. Even for me, I had a particulary good night at trivia. They also has Woodchuck on tap, which is always a great thing. Yesterday, the big adventure was the Wal-Mart Supercenter. When you live somewhere that isn't trashy, Wal-Mart can be such a nice place to go! By my house, however, Wal-Mart is trashy and disgusting and a particularly painful experience.

This is Zoe, age 5. On Saturday, she woke me up by standing over me and saying, "Ashley, are you awake? Do you want to play?" I then spent the next two hours brushing out the hair on her Barbies, which Zoe does not like to do.

Anthony, age 3. Anthony, like most three year old boys, is obsessed with cars, airplanes, dinosaurs, and bugs.

The picture above is Leann and below is me. Zoe took both of these on her own. Not too bad for a five year old.

In other news, I think I finally decided who I am voting for tomorrow. I have gone back and forth, but the deal is now done.

Long day, busy day...

2008-01-27T22:38:00.000-06:00

Today was a long and busy day. I started out early by heading to Schaumburg and IKEA. Mike, Tracy, Violet, and I went to buy a new bookcase for my house. For some time, I have been wanting a new bookshelf. I have a ton of books shoved anywhere I can put them. While there, I also decided to buy a sofa table. Mike helped me put everything together. I am sure that all of these years ago when Mike took Tracy as his wife, he never knew that he was getting me as well. Tracy and Mike have helped me out with a lot of things along the road and I really appreciate it. So, hundreds of pieces later, I now have complete furniture. The new bookcase in my dining room.
The new table in my living room.

This is an already owned bookcase that I moved from my dining room to my living room.

I had really hoped to get rid of this bookcase, but needed the additional space.

All of my books are now liberated from cabinets and underbed storage. I truly own far more books than any one person needs. I cannot wait until the book sale in my town this summer. I can purge my books at that time. Of course, I will probably buy new books, so it will come out a wash.

100K and counting...

2008-01-24T23:22:00.000-06:00

Tonight was a big night. My much loved vehicle, Gracie, rolled over 100,000 miles tonight. I loved my first car, Bessie, but she has never compared to my Honda Accord Coupe in Satin Silver! By the way, I calculated the other night that at approximately 26 miles per gallon, my car has gone through about 3,850 gallons of gas. At an overall average of $2.50 per gallon (over the past 7 1/2 years), I have put almost $10,0o0 of gas in Gracie. Ain't that unbelievable!!!

In other news, Tracy and I saw Juno tonight. I LOVED IT! I highly recommend the movie. I now get what everyone else has gone on about. This movie is smart, sweet, and funny. I laughed so hard I cried. I cried a few other times, too. See it if you can.

Gaz guzzlin'

2008-01-23T21:36:00.001-06:00

There was an interesting article in the Tribune today. The aforementioned discussed what types of car each of the presidential candidate drives and his or her stance on transportation issues.

Hillary Clinton
Mercury Mariner Hybrid
John Edwards
Ford Escape Hybrid and Chysler Pacifica
Barack Obama
After catching slack for criticizing the auto industry and driving a gas guzzling Chysler 300C, Obama traded it in for a Ford Escape Hybrid.
Mitt Romney
2006 Ford Mustang and Chevy pickup
John McCain
Cadillac CTS
Mike Huckabee
2007 Chevy Tahoe and 1995 Chevy Silverado

The most amazing thing to me is this little tidbit: the 1908 Model T Ford got 23 miles per gallon! How is it that in 100 years, we have not been able to improve upon that. Truly staggering.

Ah, the Midwest tour...

2008-01-23T20:54:00.001-06:00

For the past two weekends, I have been doing a tour of the Midwest. Riveting, you say. Don't I know it! The weekend of the 11th, I made a four hour trip to visit my friend Leslie in Jacksonville, Illinois. Below, you will see a picture of me and Leslie. Oh, and Jesus. He also attended the wedding shower. Leslie is getting married in March. So exciting! This past weekend, I picked up my friend Lisa in Champaign and then we headed to Indianapolis to visit her brother/my friend Eric and his partner Juan. Our primary activity over the weekend appeared to be eating. Mexican for lunch, tapas for dinner, ice cream for dessert, and deli for breakfast. In addition, we also saw the movie Atonement. I completely expected to love this film since I get a real kick out of period pieces and British film. The combination should have been bliss. This movie, however, was drivel. I have not disliked a movie this much in a long time. It was beautifully filmed, but I was so upset at the ending. I would not recommend this movie at all. The Oscar people are wrong. My only hope is that it doesn't win. Before we left, we went to Eric's work. He works for an advertising firm in Indy. More specifically, he works on the Steak'n'Shake account. His work is housed in an old elementary school that has been completely redone. I have included some pictures because I thought it was so cool. I absolutely love that this space was saved and so beautifully put to use.

Me and Lisa with the old stage in the background

A view of some of the space in what formerly housed classrooms

Eric, Juan, and Lisa in the cafeteria

A view of the cafeteria and how they mixed new and old

A story a student told me...

2008-01-14T22:13:00.000-06:00

So, today, one of my students told me this story. It was one of those stories that makes you laugh and grosses you out, and as an responsible adult, you have to scoff at. My student, who is a high school senior, partook in an eating contest over the weekend. He and his friends purchased 200 burgers from White Castle. The whole point was to see who could eat the most and then follow that by drinking something that would make them throw up. Each person put in $10 and the last person to vomit got all of the money. My student was the next to last to puke, so no money. I truthfully cannot believe the things that people do!

Ol' man river

2008-01-10T22:11:00.000-06:00

This is a picture from my hometown newspaper. Everyone I know is on "River Watch" right now. Thankfully, my brother moved over the summer because his old house is currently under water. He has water in his basement now, but just a little. Some of his friends have much more water in their homes. Another friend of mine is a grade school principal. Her school may or may not have water, but she cannot get to it because the roads are closed in Iroquois County. The above picture is a bridge about five minutes from my parents house. I knew the river was high, but I cannot believe that the water is reaching the top of the bridge. Let's hope it stops snowing and raining so Central Illinois can dry out.

Trees and such...

2008-01-07T22:22:00.001-06:00

Well friends, it seems unbelievable to me that last Monday was New Year's Eve! Good grief but time flies. Last week, I thought blogging every day should be my goal for 2008. By day three, however, I realized that I had nothing to say. At least, not as much as usual. I am not sure if you could ever really call this having something to say. Random comments and rants may not really qualify in this lifetime for profound musings or earth-shattering news.

I think it is time to take my Christmas decorations down, but I didn't get home from work until 9 tonight, so it didn't happen and most likely won't before the upcoming weekend. I dread schlepping that stuff back down to basement storage. Here are my two trees. My new camera did an excellent job of photographing them without a glare. Ain't the ISO setting fun!!!

In March, my friend Leslie is getting married. I am lucky to be one of her bridesmaids. Below is my dress. I got it when I was in Miami in December. We got to pick whatever dress we wanted as long as it was pink. I had a little trouble finding something I liked, but am super excited about this one. Also, I am super excited that I got it on sale! This dress only cost me $220 less than the dress for the wedding in October!

In a random musing, I think Tyra Banks is truly one of the worst people out there. Joel constantly makes fun of her on The Soup and she completely deserves it. I just watched a clip from her show on the Huffington Post and literally cannot believe the stupid things come out of her mouth. Why can't I have a TV show? I have much more insightful things to say. I mean, I also got bangs in 2007, but unlike Tyra, that was not the biggest event of 2007 (as she stated in People magazine). The proliferation of stupid people in the media is just staggering. I try not to wish ill will on people, but the people at TMZ could fall off of a cliff. That is another pathetic excuse for television. Enough. My rant is done. For now....

It's been shipped...

2008-01-02T20:25:00.000-06:00

My new camera is on it's way!!! Last night, I ordered a new camera on the internet (for $70 less than at Best Buy). I got an email this afternoon that it has shipped. I just cannot wait to have a camera again. I became quite enamored with this model after looking at while at the store. For some reason, I wanted another Kodak, even though the one I have now broke. I just think the ease of use and uploading of pictures with Kodak cannot be beaten. I hope to have pictures up by the end of the week!

In other news of the last twenty-four hours: My Illini got clobbered. I didn't really expect to win the game, but we really didn't even show up to play so much. It was disappointing. I watched the entire game, unlike many other people I have spoken to. I have recovered, though. Maybe we can be better next year or get into a lesser bowl that we are more likely to win. That may be the wrong philosophy.

Another year gone, auld lang syne, and all of that...

2008-01-01T11:40:00.000-06:00

Another year gone. It isn't really surprising, but it does creep up. I thought I would take this time to reflect on the past year and set goals for the future year. I am just not that into it, though. I wanted to stay positive, so I thought I would think about the things that I did do this year.

Travel:

I visited my friend Emily in Arizona in late February-early March.

I went to Florida in May with my parents.

I went to Nashville in September with work.

I went to Miami in December with Tracy and Violet to visit Paula.

Not sure what my travel plans will be for 2008. I have to start figuring that out since vacation time doesn't grow on trees. I may have more days off this year since February marks five years at my job and a higher number of vacation days accrued per month (or so I believe). I am planning a trip in July to San Diego to attend a wedding. That's all I have so far.

Books:

I read 46 books this past year. And yes, I do write them all down and have for years. It is kind of fun to go back over all of the books that one has read. My goal for every year is to average a book a week. I guess I will try to make it this year!

Technology:

This was the year of the blog for me. My goal in 2008 is to blog more consistently. I have slacked off during the holiday season. I feel like I have leapt into a whole new world. My camera broke and I have to go buy a new one today. I resisted going beyond $7.95 basic cable for yet another year. I have refused to adopt any other new technology. I have continued to love my iPod in a way that just isn't right.

Personal:

Yet again, I have really pushed myself to not exercise and lay on my couch a lot. I am superb at this. I may change this habit in the new year, but no resolutions because that is certain failure, really.

Entertainment:

I got sucked into Friday Night Lights. It has been the most rewarding show I have watched in years. I may pick up some other shows on the internet soon if this writer's strike doesn't get settled soon.

Those were really some pretty deep reflections. Hope everyone has a healthy and happy new year.

Lastly, Illinois plays in the Rose Bowl this afternoon. Go Illini!!!

Truly touched

2007-12-19T22:02:00.000-06:00

I have been a teacher for many years. Now, as a middle school teacher, you rarely get Christmas gifts. As a teacher in low income areas, this is especially true. So, I am not really used to getting Christmas gifts. Today, I got a gift from a family that I love and was so touched. They gave me a $50 gift card to Macy's. It was truly above and beyond what they needed to do and I really appreciate it. Some days, I get really crabby. Other days, I take a moment and realize that what I do is really important and, even though I don't always feel like it, people appreciate and value what I do. I have to tell you, that made me have a pretty good day.

Sorry. How about thank you.

2007-12-15T22:34:00.001-06:00

Today, I had an experience for the second time in two weeks. Both times it really upset me and I think it is because I feel that our society is losing common sense and decency. Maybe that is a little overly dramatic. So, two weeks ago, I went to Costco and bought a book and a pot pie for book club. The book was $8 and the pot pie was $16. When the clerk told me the total and took my money, I pointed out that he had charged me incorrectly. He actually charged me for the book twice and not at all for the pot pie. So, I had to go to a different counter and be checked out correctly, which ended up costing me more money, as I pointed out to the clerk. The response of the clerk was, "Sorry." Now, in my opinion, the proper response should have been thank you. As in, thanks for correcting my mistake even though it means you will have to pay more. Thanks for being honest and restoring my faith in humanity. So, maybe that is a little over the top, but I really think thank you is the proper response for that situation.

That leads us to today. While at the grocery store, I purchased two books of stamps. The clerk handed me three. I promptly said that she gave me an extra. Her response was, "Sorry." Once again, the response in my opinion should have been, "Thanks for pointing that out. Sorry about that." I would think that at some point her drawer wouldn't even out and it would have been a problem. Who knows if they even make the checkers at grocery stores accountable for their drawers balancing. I would have loved the extra stamps, but I didn't pay for them and taking them, to me, would amount to stealing.

It isn't that I want gratitude for doing the right thing, but I guess saying sorry like it is some sort of inconvenience bothers me, too.

I just watched two Hallmark movies with a lot of prayer and religion in them, so that has made me keep thinking about these things. I am sure I will be over them by tomorrow.

More rants...

2007-12-15T22:23:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, I had a work meeting. As you have probably noticed in past blogs, work is not my favorite thing right now. Two things in particular made me upset yesterday:

A conversation arose about changing our voice mails for the holidays and one of my colleagues from another location asked if she should say "Merry Christmas" or "Happy holidays." My comment was that she should say "Happy holidays" because it is not specific to religion. It appeared that no one else agreed with me. Our regional manager, who was attending our meeting, made the statement that Christmas is a secular holiday. My response was that any holiday which is based upon the birth of Jesus Christ is not a secular holiday. It may be commercialized, but let's not kid ourselves that it is secular. Am I missing the boat on this? I am really open to comment. I feel I am right, but am really open to other viewpoints.

The other thing that made me so very upset relates to part-time employees and the law. It recently came to my attention that our policy of expecting employees to be ten minutes early but not paying them is a little thing we like to call illegal. So, like an employee who is tired of getting spoken to for bringing up things in meetings and not beforehand, I sent my bosses an email about this about ten days ago with the suggestion that they double check. Well, guess who didn't double check. Also, I was truthfully appalled that in the interest of keeping labor down everyone thought it was better not to inform our employees of this. One person stated, "If it ain't broke, then don't fix it." I am so not okay with this. First of all, my integrity is fairly important to me. Second of all, I believe in doing the right thing. Third, if my superiors are willing to screw over our part-time labor, then it doesn't make me feel so good about my standing or that of anyone else.

Oh, back again...

2007-12-14T22:02:00.001-06:00

Does anyone remember this toy? I was searching for a picture of Snoopy, who I love for whatever reason, and found this item. I think that one of my friends had this. It shaved ice and then you could add flavoring. Amazing it isn't around today, huh?!

So, I am back from Miami. It was a good trip, but I was glad to get home, too. I finally got a good night of rest last night. While in Miami, I shared a room with my friend Tracy and her daughter Violet. Violet was sick, unfortunately, and did a lot of coughing throughout the night, which both wake me up and worry me. Now, I am also trying to recover because I caught her cold. So, we went to visit Paula. We spent a day at the beach, a day at the Miami Children's Museum, and a day at Dadeland Mall. The great part at the mall was that I got my bridesmaid's dress for Leslie's wedding. The weather was sunny and in the lower 80s. I decided I officially hate Miami, though. I need my personal space and I like to hear more English. I hate feeling that way, but I do.

In other news, my camera broke on the trip, which is why I didn't post any photos. For some reason, the shutter will open. I need to take it in somewhere and see if it can be repaired or if it needs to be replaced. I sound like an old person, but let me tell you that my Vivitar and Canon SureShot 35mm cameras never had troubles. This newfangled digital age is for the birds!

Now, I am back in Illinois. I am currently house and dog sitting. Tonight, I finished making and addressing my Christmas cards. They can go out tomorrow. One more job done!!! I am off to Christmas shop tomorrow. More gifts to buy with money I don't have for people who need nothing. Whoopee!!!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

2007-12-06T21:48:00.000-06:00

It is currently snowing yet again in Chicago. This is snow number four in six days. I know it is pretty early in the winter, but I am done with it. I am already tired of worrying if it is an odd or even day and if I am on the correct side of the street, especially coupling that with the already annoying no parking 8am-10am on different sides of the street. I guess I can learn to cope and adjust, although that isn't my strongest point.It isn't snow, but polar bears make me think of winter, too. They are just so darned cute! I would not want to meet one in the wild, though.

In exciting news, I am off to Miami on Saturday. Hello warmth and sun. I am so ready. Yippee!

Ah, the weekend...

2007-12-02T19:53:00.000-06:00

After a busy, chaotic week, I finally made it to the weekend! I was counting down for sometime. I always think of that one song, "Everybody's working for the weekend." That is totally me. On Friday night, I hosted book club. Here is my table set and ready for company.

Our book was Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. The menu included brie with apricot, vegetables and dip, chicken pot pie, and a family favorite called pretzel salad. We had a great time. We realized that this was our second anniversary of the book club. I have to say, I really enjoy being in a book club and have enjoyed the past two years of outings. I am really looking forward to many more years.

On Saturday, I slept in and lounged around. It was fantastic!!! I read for a while. While I was reading for an hour or so, it snowed almost an inch! The weather was a real bummer this weekend. I headed to my friend Tracy's house. We shopped a little, finished making our Christmas cards, made dinner, and watched a movie.

This is a picture of Violet eating and feeding the dogs (Dudley is pictured). It seems that one of Violet's favorite things right now is feeding the dogs. I haven't seen Violet in three or four weeks. She is truly fantastic. V is constantly smiling, walking and playing, and saying her one word, "bye-bye."

Today, I went to visit my friend Leslie and her daughter Lauren. I was also happy to see my friend, Jenny, who is Leslie's sister. I grew up across the street from them. I hadn't seen Lauren in about six weeks and that is a ton of time in the infant world. Last time I saw Lauren, she was mostly still sleeping. Now, she wakes up and smiles and sits up. Her hair also lies flat now, which is actually a little disappointing. I loved that it stood up before. This will be far less embarrassing for her as she ages, though. Below is Jenny with her niece Lauren. Leslie was putting up her Christmas tree while we took turns holding Lauren.

Kindle, I think not!

2007-11-27T20:44:00.000-06:00

I feel like every time I turn around lately, I see Jeff Bezos somewhere. For those of you who don't know him, he is the man behind amazon.com. Bezos is planning to revolutionize "the book" with his new gadget, the Kindle. I am just not feeling this particular item. There are some technological creations I can get totally behind-the laptop, the iPod, the digital camera, the microwave-and a some I cannot-flat screen TVs (think they are beautiful, but that they have no place in my life) and now, the Kindle. One can purchase a Kindle for $399. Then, you can put books, magazines, and more on the Kindle. The books are cheaper and average $9.99.

Now, for the average reader, it seems that the initial cost of the Kindle would be cost prohibitive. Even more than that, however, is the joy of reading a novel. For some of us, there is something visceral about holding the book and turning the pages. Although I recycle, use cloth grocery bags, and more, I am completely willing to use trees to make books. I want to collect books, keep them on shelves, organize them, take them off of the shelf and thumb through them, reread the well-loved novels. I could go on and on about how much I love books, which at some point would make me out to be the nerd I so clearly am. Needless to say, I will not be asking for a Kindle for Christmas. I will be looking forward to getting Barnes and Noble gift cards so I can go enjoy the experience of the bookstore and then take my paperback book home and hold it in my hands as I enjoy it.

We're Done with Round One

2007-11-23T22:29:00.001-06:00

I was thinking the other night. I know, I know. That is one of those comments that leaves a person wide open to snide remarks. Well, I was thinking about how the night before Thanksgiving used to be the biggest going out night of the year. Each year, everyone would plan to return home and meet at the bar by a certain time. TJ's was often the locale of choice, but we moved as the crowd moved, too. It was always fun to see people who you didn't regularly talk to, but didn't dislike. It was also fun to make rude comments about people from high school who you couldn't stand. Not that I was ever necessarily a party girl, but I have always been game for going out and having cocktails, especially because they are comparatively cheap in my hometown.

This is the second year in a row, though, where there was no going out. I have to say that I was actually totally thrilled to go home to my own house and have a pleasant, quiet Wednesday night reading. I think I was in bed by 11. I have found this to be mildly troublesome, but I am learning to cope and adjust with it.

I have also survived round one of the Thanksgiving feasts. I made it to my parents shortly before dinner on Thanksgiving (that is the fancy lunchtime meal for those of us who were raised on Sunday dinners, which is different than supper). My mom made a delicious spread and we were joined by my aunt, my other aunt and uncle, and my cousin. We also played a LOT of Tri-Bond. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that game-mostly because I usually win. I did not win every game last night, though, which was okay, but disappointing. We had a lot of fun and my brother even played and he never plays anything!

Round two occurs on Sunday. I think I will need to detox and start fasting on Monday. I just heard on NPR that fasting one day a week is actually really good for you. I am going to take their word for it, but there will be no fasting for this girl. I just realized that I may be prematurely geriatric since this post is mostly about sleeping and eating. Is this all my life has become???

Movie Sunday

2007-11-11T21:33:00.001-06:00

It has been a big weekend, folks. That might be slight exaggeration. On Friday night, I went to a party at my friend Jenny's house. It was a hootin', hollerin' good time. On Saturday, my mom drove up and we went Christmas shopping. Yep, you read that correctly. Many might find it slightly bizarre, but my mom and I go together to purchase many of my Christmas gifts each year. This results in gifts that I like and no returns. My mother, like me, likes to be done or nearly done with her shopping by Thanksgiving. It makes for a much more relaxing December. I had all of these grand plans for last night, but I ended up falling asleep on my couch at 7pm. My main question is this-When did I become an old person??? Asleep on the couch at 7pm on a Saturday night. That makes me a little sad. I had a great night of sleep, though.

Needless to say, I woke up well-rested and refreshed after thirteen hours of sleep. I had a bit of a headache from too much sleep. Here is an interesting phenomenon. On weekdays, I have to snooze for almost an hour and can barely drag myself out of bed. On Saturday, I woke up on my own at 7:30 and this morning started waking up at 5:30. That may, perhaps, be a reflection on how much or how little I want to go to work each morning. After all of the television watching, errands, cleaning, etc. that I did today, I watched two movies.

First, I watched Year of the Dog. This movie got a lot of favorable press and reviews when it came out. It was, from what I recall, supposed to be heartwarming. It was offbeat to say the least. I cannot necessarily say that I would recommend it, but you could definitely find worse ways to spend two hours. Molly Shannon plays a woman whose life basically turns south when her beloved dog, Pencil, passes away. There are some very odd characters in the movie. Really just so-so.

After Year of the Dog, I watched After the Wedding, a Danish film. This movie got excellent reviews and was nominated for the Foreign Language Oscar. It lost to The Lives of Others. This movie wasn't at all what I was expecting, but I have to say I liked it a lot. If you like foreign films and don't mind subtitles, I would highly recommend this movie.

Crabby again

2007-11-07T21:15:00.000-06:00

I was very, very crabby earlier today. I was actually extremely angry, which led me to be very crabby. One of the things I dislike about myself is that when I get really upset, I usually cry. I was at a work meeting today and got super angry. I did not cry, but not doing so was a challenge. Some days my job really pisses me off. Actually, most days my job really pisses me off. I just try to focus on the two or three hours per day that are satisfying and disregard the rest. The crappy thing, though, is that I am typically at work 9-10 hours per day, so there is lot of BS in the meantime. I really wish I could just quit, but homelessness has never been one of my aspirations. So, I guess I will keep on showing up until something better comes along. I got home early and spent hours on the computer. I have also been watching the Country Music Awards and that has helped to make me happier.

The trick, Lucy, is to balance crabby with funny so people don't get sick of you. I mean, I know you are a cartoon and all (written by a now dead man), but take my advice on this one.

Can I please have the last 2 1/2 hours of my life back?

2007-11-03T22:20:00.000-06:00

I just watched Babel. Even going into the experience with low expectations left me bitter and disappointed. First of all, as a movie, you need to be fantastic if you are going to exceed two hours. I could have easily shaved a good half of an hour off of this movie without losing much content. As a matter of fact, I did start to fast forward toward the end because I couldn't take the insanity of this movie any longer. I fully comprehend that people make poor decisions in this lifetime. I get that a person can set a series of events in motion by doing something seemingly innocent. I get that there is a lot of senseless violence in this world. Do I need it all combined? NO! Time after time, bad decisions were made and the worst always happened in every situation. By the end, I hated everyone but the emotionally detached girl in Tokyo. This blog has been cathartic because now I can be over this drivel and reclaim my evening. All that is left, though, is watching Saturday Night Live, and that may or may not be worth my time.

Booze, strip clubs, and AMEX just don't mix!

2007-10-31T19:24:00.000-06:00

I read an article on cnn.com the other day and the more I think about it, the crazier I think it it. Apparently, some guy went to a strip club in Miami to celebrate his graduation from Georgia Tech. The problem arose when his dad got the credit card bill----for $52,000. The dad appealed to American Express and lost the appeal. He has now filed charges against the strip club for fraud and who knows what else. He claims that only the first receipt for alcohol matches his son's signature and that the rest are fraudulent.

So, here are my issues. One-What is the family dynamic when you go to a strip club and charge your expenses to your parents? I have never been to a strip club, but I can guarantee you that if I did, there is no chance in hell I would charge it to my parents. Second-Who has that kind of limit on their credit card? Third-If you happen to have an American Express with a 100K limit or no limit, even, is that the card you give to your 22 year old son? I am evidently in the wrong family. My parents taught me fiscal responsibility and the good sense to keep them from knowing certain things. So silly.

I came, I saw, I carved...

2007-10-29T19:19:00.000-06:00

It has been an overly busy weekend of pumpkin carving. Is carving pumpkins three times in four days a bit excessive? Of course it is! I went to a bar, The Yard, on Thursday night to carve pumpkins with all of the proceeds going to St. Jude's. The return on my donation was fantastic. I WON the carving contest. I, like an idiot, forgot my camera at home, though, and didn't get a picture. It really rocked. I won one of those bag chairs that seats three. I think there are some beer logos on it, but that makes me love it all the more! I also ended up with two Blue Moon t-shirts. What a lucky day!

On Friday night, Jeanette and Jenny came over and we carved pumpkins after I made a great dinner of brie and apricot, followed by meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Our pumpkins are featured below. On Sunday night, I went to Tracy and Mike's house to carve pumpkins. This has been a tradition since 2002, as we figured out last night. We also had some delicious Papa John's. I get so excited to have Papa John's because I don't live near one and I love that uber-healthy garlic sauce. The pumpkin on the far right is mine. I put it outside the door of my building last night. When I came home from work a little bit ago, the windows and the ghost were gone. I am not sure if I blame the squirrels or some prepubescent boys from the middle school a block from my house.

I always have to include pictures of Violet!

The other big even of the weekend was that my momma and our good friends Phyllis and Lisa came to visit. I basically ate nonstop for two days. My favorite meal was the ribs at Gale Street Inn. They are so great. I love ribs and au gratin potatoes. I cannot believe I wouldn't eat them until a few years ago (didn't want to get dirty!) and now I love them so. We also went to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on Saturday for Lemony Snicket and the Death of the Composer. I was happy to go to the symphony as I hadn't been to Symphony Center in a few years. I also didn't want to shop two days in a row. I was so pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this particular show. I was expecting music and nothing else. Well, surprise, surprise, but Daniel Handler actually narrated the story which he had authored. He writes the Series of Unfortunate Events novels. I also read the book Adverbs which he had written. A little offbeat. The composer was there, too. Handler was an incredible narrator. The story was engaging and hilarious. A great time at the symphony. That probably isn't a sentence many people utter! This picture of Handler is a little offbeat, but it seems fitting.

The big wedding weekend...

2007-10-23T19:59:00.000-06:00

Well folks, it has come and gone. This past weekend was the big wedding weekend of my friend Karen. After eight months of planning, everything went off without a problem. I had a great weekend and enjoyed myself a ton. I was a little surprised at how emotional I was in the days leading up to the wedding. Karen and I have been friends since the fifth grade (that's about 22 years-scary, I know). I was pretty excited to finally be a maid of honor, too. I had worked really hard to make sure that everything was great for Karen along the way. I was a little stressed out about my speech/toast at the wedding. The speech/toast went over very well, though, and I was really pleased. I guess that is getting a bit ahead.

My friend Emily, another bridesmaid in the wedding, flew into Chicago on Wednesday. I picked her up at the airport and we spent the whole day together on Wednesday. I was so excited to see her as I typically get to see her on average of twice per year. On Thursday, we headed to our hometown and attended a bridesmaid luncheon at the country club. I did not leave hungry after this luncheon. That night, we all went back to Karen's parents for a dinner for her girls and the out of town family that was already in town. On Friday, we had the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. The rehearsal was so extremely stressful. Karen claims it was much less organized than usual because they were combining Jewish and Christian customs. I learned that it is bad luck in the Jewish faith to practice anything, so the only thing we practiced was walking into the temple. Dinner was a ton of fun that night, too! I love a good open bar!!!

Saturday was a big day. We started with hair at 10:30 and kept going all day. The weather was beautiful, although a little windy. We were able to take the pictures on the golf course, though, which was great. All of the pictures were taken before the wedding both at the club and at the temple. The wedding was at 6pm. Cocktails were 7-8 and and dinner/reception began at 8. The reception was a little more East Coast style with a course then speeches/dancing, etc. The entire evening flew by. Everyone had a great time. I am most happy that Karen was able to have such a great time at her own reception. So many brides really don't get to enjoy themselves. I wish I had pictures of us all dancing the Horah since we had such a great time, but I do not. That is enough description. Now for some pictures!

Emily, Kim, and me trying to be Charlie's Hot Angels

Karen and me in the limo on the way to the temple

Karen in front of the Chuppah. I love this picture because Kare is so relaxed and the flowers on the Chuppah are gorgeous.

This is Karen and Chris during the signing of the Ketubbah, which is the Jewish wedding contract. After the reading and signing of this, they were technically married. The Ketubbah itself was beautiful and made just for them. They will frame it and hang it in their house.

The cake. My piece was delicious with chocolate cake and an espresso layer. Unfortunately, I got up to dance and they took my piece away before I finished!

The Martini Bar!!! This was so fantastic! The two things Karen really wanted were mini hamburgers and a martini bar. I have to say that both were fantastic. I personally had two pomegranate martinis before switching over to White Russians.

Back row: me, Emily, Clarissa

Front row: Karen and Kim

I like this picture a lot. The Chuppah cover is also hanging behind us.

This is Emily polishing Katie's toes at the last minute. Katie is Chris's sister. One of the interesting things about Katie is that she is one of two Cinderella's at Walt Disney World! She helped to orchestrate their engagement, which occurred at Cinderella's Castle at the Magic Kingdom.

Farming is fun!

2007-10-14T19:55:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, I farmed! So, maybe that is slight exaggeration, but I did ride along with my cousin and uncle as they farmed. The whole day, I kept thinking of the poster above. My grandma and grandpa used to have this poster in the back entryway at their house. It made me a little nostalgic. I, along with my friend Kim and her daughter Brianna, traveled the thirty miles from my hometown to my relatives' farm. I hadn't ridden in a combine in a few years, so I wanted to this year. I learned a lot that I hadn't previously known. I grew up around farms even though I was raised in a city. There is so much I don't know, though. Now, we all get to know it!

This is the inside of the combine. My cousin Craig showed us how the corn goes from stalk to kernel. Basically, the stalk gets pulled through the head (pictured below) and the ear comes off of the stalk. Some other stuff happens that I cannot necessarily elaborate on. In the portion of the process pictured above, the shaking, etc. takes the kernels off of the ear of corn and spits it out. The kernels drop through the grates and somehow end up in the holding bin above. Maybe I should have gotten more explanation. I am thinking that John Deere would not approve of this mediocre at best explanation!

My cousin Craig has a new combine and this is the new eight-row head that goes on the front for the corn. There is a different head for soybeans and for wheat. The combine has GPS and you can literally see what row you are on, how much of the field has been harvested, etc. Also, the computer measures the yield (bushels per acre). This data is stored and can then be uploaded to the fertilizing equipment so the fertilizer can distributed in the field to the greatest advantage. I learned that most of the farmers in the area planted corn this year because corn prices are quite high.

After riding in the combine for a bit, I rode with my uncle Jim to the elevator. For those of you who aren't familiar with this, this is a farmer owned co-op where crops are stored before they are sent off to wherever it is that they go. This was a totally new experience for me and super exciting. We had to wait about thirty minutes to dump the corn, though, which wasn't super exciting. The tractor or semi also has to be weighed before and after to assess how much was deposited. In addition, they take corn from vehicle and test for moisture, etc. The picture above is my uncle's tractor while we waited in line. After dumping the corn, it goes up into the bins and silos for storage. Sometimes, too, depending on the moisture level, the corn has to be sent through dryers before storing.

My uncle Jim is on the right in the above picture. I really just think this is kind of amazing because I think most of us have some vague notion of where our food comes from, but to actually watch the process is intriguing. I also sometimes marvel in the changes in technology that have come along and how different farming is for my relatives now from how it was for my grandfather and great-grandfather.

This is a pile of corn near the elevator. There isn't enough room at the elevator for all of the crops, so some crops are just stored on tarps in an open field. Above is a pile of 400,000 bushels of corn. Eventually, this pile will have close to 800,000 bushels of corn.

In addition to visiting the far, I also spent the weekend at my parents. This morning, I made the bouquet for my friend Karen's rehearsal dinner this upcoming Friday. As maid of honor, it was my duty to save the bows from her showers and create a bouquet for the rehearsal. My mom whipped out her hot glue gun and the two us came up with this. I think it is tacky, but pretty cute for the type of thing it is.

Some things I love about fall, and one thing I am not so crazy about

2007-10-11T19:42:00.001-06:00

As I was driving home from work tonight, I was thinking about what I love about fall. It is truly one of my favorite seasons. I wasn't fully prepared to go from 85 degrees on Sunday to 50 degrees on Tuesday, but I have adjusted and am digging it. So, here are a few things I love (in no particular order):

1. Leaves. One great thing about fall is when the leaves turn and fall off of the trees. I lived in a town with a ton of trees and I get so excited when they turn. I also don't mind them falling at all because my building has lawn people, so I have nothing to rake! I love all of the leaves on the ground and the general feeling of fall.

2. Football. Although I haven't been able to make it to a game yet this season, one of the best things in the fall is football. My favorite is Illinois football. I actually love high school football, too, but that would be creepy if I went to those. Football and fall. Fantastic.

3. Carving pumpkins. I love to carve pumpkins every year with my friends. Each year, I usually have a couple of carving outings. The pumpkins below are those that Tracy, Mike, and I carved last year. I cannot remember whose is whose. Jeanette, Jenny, and Sarah also come over and we carve pumpkins. This is always a good time. I am a huge fan of traditions and I thoroughly enjoy this one.

4. Thanksgiving. Another tradition I love is Thanksgiving at my aunt and uncle's farm. It is pretty standard fare, but I love to be with my family and it doesn't occur nearly enough anymore. One year, my aunt got our turkey from their neighbors turkey farm. She subsequently chopped off the head and plucked the feathers. That was the best turkey I have ever had!

And now for the thing I don't love-I live in a very old building that has radiators. These radiators are normally fantastic and keep my unit warm and toasty. The one problematic issue, however, is that the radiators don't get turned on until it has been cold for so many consecutive days. So, on a night like tonight, I would love some head, but am settling for socks, a sweatshirt, and two blankets. Let's hope they get turned on soon, at which point I will start to melt. There is no happy medium.

I-L-L

2007-10-10T21:28:00.001-06:00

I-N-I
The Fighting Illini are 5-1! Could it get more exciting??? After some extremely lackluster seasons, we just may be BCS bound. It doesn't get much better.

Rantin' and ravin'

2007-10-10T21:02:00.000-06:00

I have a daily addiction that appalls me, but that I cannot stop nonetheless. Every day, at least once per day, I log onto http://www.people.com/ to see what is going on in the world. I justify this because I actually do read news magazines and watch PBS, but it is a teribble, terrible habit. Here is what I learned today:Michelle Rodriguez has to go to jail for six months. Now, I am not even sure what all she has been in. She looks like hell pretty much every time I see her. I think she has been in movies, but the only thing I know is that she was on Lost. My suggestion for Michelle, Lilo, Brittany, etc. is if you are going to do crazy quantities of drugs and alcohol, don't drive, and try to make it to your probation meetings. It isn't like these people work forty hours a week and have to manage their own schedules. Come on.

Bobby Brown evidently had a heart attack. That makes me a little sad. Not so much because I have any deep rooted love for Bobby, but because he is from New Edition. It makes me feel really old that members of New Edition are now old enough to have heart attacks. Also, Bobby really needs to find a new Whitney because it doesn't seem like he is going anywhere. Remember Bobby, Crack is Whack, but life with Whitney is even worse.

Also, Reese and Ryan's divorce was finalized today. If you don't know who this is, you should really be on the internet more.

J-Lo is supposedly pregnant with twins. This newsbit is according to US Weekly. My desire for celebrity gossip knows no limits.

The Hoff relapsed. Even as a relapsed alcoholic, he is still a better parent than his ex-wife. That is just sad.

I did learn some stuff on NPR today, but legal cases regarding Indian trusts are so much less exciting.

The weekend and more...

2007-10-08T22:48:00.001-06:00

Do you know the way to San Jose? This picture is actually pretty fantastic. I love all of the signs. It is also pretty great because sometimes I feel like I don't know where I am or where I am going, so I love the collection of signs.

Well, I am officially two weeks into a new television season and I have decided what I am and am not willing to commit to. I am OVERJOYED that my FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS returned last week. I really cannot gush enough about how much I love that show. There is so much angst and raw emotion that it moves me every week, often to tears. I also seriously lust after a few of the football players. I fell that is okay because in reality, they are all in their 20s, so that is totally legal! I am so over Grey's, although I will keep watching it. Both Grey's and Private Practice are just boring. I kind of dug Crazy, Sexy Money based upon the second episode. I do enjoy How I Met Your Mother, but can rarely make it home from work by seven. I also do not want to set my VCR (yep, that's right, VCR) for it. So basically, I only need Thursdays and Fridays and I could leave the TV off the other nights.

I had book club on Friday. It was fun, but I was so tired. Click on the BAMFs link if you want to read about book club. On Saturday, I had to work. I just hate working on Saturdays. They never end up being that bad, but just knowing on a Friday that you have to work on Saturday is such a downer. After that, I met Tracy and we went scrap booking. I worked on making my Christmas cards. It took me over two hours to figure out what my concept is going to be this year. Not sure if I love it, but it is what I am going with. Made with love, my friends, made with love. Yesterday, I cleaned, got my eyebrows threaded, returned some shoes, and went to the grocery store. I really know how to live it up! I wanted to make this post funny, but I am way too tired to do funny right now.

Tonight, I had a very nice evening at my friend Leslie's. Jenny, Tracy, and I went to her house and had dinner. We also got to play with baby Lauren, which is very fun. She has grown a ton, well take off a few zeros, since I saw her last. Very sweet. Now, I am going to watch Dr. Oz and have him gross me out a little bit before I go to bed.

Yukking it up in the Music City!

2007-10-02T19:58:00.000-06:00

Last week, I was in Nashville for a work convention. It was a pretty good time. I have never had a bad time at one of these deals, but I have to say that this is the first time I was ready to come home by Thursday. We didn't get home until Saturday, by the way. We had a rough time getting to Nashville. Evidently, a radar in Memphis was out when we were trying to get down there, so they also closed Nashville's airport for a while. We were delayed two hours. Then, we finally got to board and taxi to the runway, where we sat for an hour. We then had to return to the gate and acquire more fuel because we were going to have to fly over Missouri to avoid storms and did not have enough fuel for that. This also took an additional hour. The flight then took two hours when it normally takes about seventy minutes. We finally made it though. The bar we went to on Tuesday had Woodchuck on tap and had this absolutely fantastic raspberry Woodchuck concoction. It was spectacular!!!

The above is a photo of the entire group before our "Denim and Diamonds" night. That's right. I am still not even completely sure what that is, but we survived. They also served filet and lobster, which was impressive. They also brought out this Reba McEntire impersonator. Don't be dissing us or Reba with an impersonator, people.

This is my friend Armin, with whom I work. She is pretty much the only thing that keeps me sane on a daily basis. She is hilarious and inappropriate, which I love!

On one of our nights out, we went downtown Nashville and had dinner at B.B. King's. I had something I had never even heard of before, but that I loved. Those things that look like chips in this photo are fried pickles! They were a really good, albeit quite strange. They went over big time. We also had ribs. Yummy!

We are still at B.B. King's in this one-listening to music, having cocktails, and dancing. This one is me, Judy (former coworker and present friend), and Armin.

Who would have guessed we would have seen Elvis here??? I have been to Memphis and to Graceland. I felt like they make an even bigger deal out of Elvis in Nashville than they do in Memphis. I do not have a picture of it, but I later did karaoke in a country bar not long after this photo was taken. Not my finest performance, but so-so. This one also features Colleen (my boss!), Bill, and Jeanette.

The last night was a 20s theme. I did not dress up for this fete. I have to say that there were only about a dozen of us not dressed up. Quite truthfully, I was amazed by how many people did dress up considering people had to buy their own costumes. There was no way I was paying out of pocket for a flapper dress. I am a cheap person who doesn't like costumes to begin with. I had no problems with the open bar that night. The fortunate thing is that there will be no pictures of that on this blog!

On our last day, we had a couple of hours before our flight and walked over to the Grand Ole Opry. Judy and I looked really hot in these Minnie Pearl hats, right? Overall, a good time was had. I even think I remember all of it!

This is for the Heroes fans...

2007-09-24T09:04:00.001-06:00

Mo Ryan, The Watcher in the Chicago Tribune, had this posted on her blog last week. I don't watch Heroes, but I thought it was the most fantastic picture! I think they were doing press in Germany. There is nothing sexier than lederhosen!!!

Angela Lansbury used to be a hottie!!!

2007-09-23T13:06:00.000-06:00

I just watched this fairly crappy movie on PBS called Til the Clouds Roll By. It was the life story of the composter Jerome Kern (Showboat, etc.). Overall, it was a really bad movie, but was adequate background while I was reading. I kind of enjoyed trying to figure out the actors while I was watching. I totally pegged Lena Horne, Angela Lansbury, Van Johnson and Frank Sinatra (who looks about twelve in this movie). I missed Kathryn Grayson and Van Heflin. The thing that really makes me laugh about this movie cover is that none of these people are the stars and Judy Garland is the only one with more than five minutes screen time as she appears in three scenes. The other thing I found so shocking is how good Angela Lansbury looked in this movie. My first exposure to her was Bedknobs and Broomsticks and then, of course, a decade of Murder, She Wrote. I know that she is a Broadway actress with a few Tony's under her belt. I never knew, however, that she was pretty in her youth or could fit into a corset! That is good old Ang in the big red headress on this cover. Shocking, isn't it?

If only I had a DVR...

2007-09-20T21:34:00.001-06:00

I have a little bit of stress. Global warming? The falling value of the dollar? World peace? Nothing so meaningful. I am completely stressed by premiere week. Although I am pumped that the shows all return next week, I also am having some issues. Next week, I have my annual work trip (this year is Nashville, by the way) Tuesday-Saturday. I am superexcited about this trip. I love country music AND traveling on someone else's dime. My dilemma exists, though, because I am still on VHS and have to whittle down what I can tape. I lust over DVRs, by the way, but cannot make the financial commitment to cable or DVR. Over the weekend, I am going to have to make sure that I can watch Grey's, Private Practice, Ugly Betty, and my beloved Friday Night Lights free on the internet when I get back. I will have to tape the Office and ER because they are not free on the internet. Not to mention I will miss a full week of Oprah. I will realistically max out at about six hours, so there is a lot to decide. Sometimes I stop and think-man, if I could devote this amount of brain power and time to something important, my life would be so different!

Bookclub and the rest of the weekend

2007-09-16T21:32:00.000-06:00

I wish I could say it has been a busy weekend, but it hasn't. It started out busy and then hit an absolute stop. Friday was a lovely day. I had the day off for a doctor's appointment and because I had to work on Saturday. So, I went to the doctor and then met my friend Tracy downtown (Chicago, that is) for lunch. Later that night, we had bookclub at a new to Berwyn restaurant-Wishbone. There are two Wishbone restaurants in the city, one by each of my old apartments. They make my very favorite breakfast food: Crunchy French Toast. I had never been there for dinner. I thought it was fine. I would most likely just go back for breakfast, though. Our server was somewhat questionable and there were a couple of food issues at the other end of our table. We all survived. Barely.

On Saturday, I worked and then I came home and read. I was really bored, but didn't feel great, so just laid around and read I Love You, Beth Cooper. I am loving this book. It is laugh out loud hilarious! I will cover more of it on the BAMFs blog.

The rest of my weekend devolved into misery. I try not to be, but I am a whiny sick person. I like to complain a lot while I am sick. The really unfortunate thing is that I have no one to complain to! I woke up this morning at 6am with a miserable sore throat and complete congestion. After some hot tea and Advil, I got back to sleep. I had to go out in order to get medicine. I was also out of Kleenex, which is the worst thing possible when you have a cold. So, I have blown my nose about 3,000 times. I have taken four naps. I have sucked on lozenges like there is no tomorrow. I have to say that I still feel pretty lousy, but better than I did twelve hours ago. Boy, I cannot wait to go to work tomorrow. I would love to call off sick, but I won't. Let's just hope that I can breathe in the morning. Otherwise, I may have to try a different medicine.

I'm back

2007-09-16T21:30:00.000-06:00

After five days of no internet service and 70 minutes on the phone with AT&T, I am back. Hallelujah! I felt like I lost an appendage. Living without the internet is just hard, people.

Bartender, I'll have another...

2007-09-09T20:34:00.001-06:00

It has been a busy weekend folks. Fortunately, I have had plenty of down time, too, and time to recover. On Friday night, I went to Hala Kahiki, a Polynesian bar in the Chicago suburbs, with Jenny, Jeanette, Sarah, and Judy. I had a lot of drinks. Enough, that by the end of the night, I couldn't remember what they were called. I will tell you that the Hawaiian Caress was mediocre. The Maid Maiden was terrific. The Volcano we all shared was fantastic, too. As always occurs when we go out, we did get some strange and/or nasty looks from people. I guess we could sensor ourselves, but that would be no fun. We a great time out and left the bar fairly early and went back to Jenny's. There, we preceded to sit around, play games, talk, and drink some more. You may well have already guessed that I wasn't feeling so hot Saturday morning. I had to get up and straighten/clean because not only was my house driving me crazy, but I was babysitting in the afternoon for Violet. This was the first time she was ever at my house, so I didn't want her to be appalled by the crap laying around.

This is the point where Violet decided she didn't care for my books. I wish I had a book shelf, too, but there is no need to throw them around. And she is pretty smart, but not quite ready for One Hundred Years of Solitude. Heck, I wasn't even ready for that book! She was an excellent charge, however, and we did very well together.

On Sunday, I went to visit my friend Leslie and her new daughter Lauren. I have know Leslie my entire life as our moms were friends in high school and our families lived across the street from one another. I was very excited to meet Lauren and she was very cute. And yes, she currently has a mohawk. Not many two week olds can claim a mohawk, but Lauren is totally ready to rock. The rest of the day was spent reading and on the computer. That isn't abnormal at all, is it? I do have to say that it is going to be difficult to find a husband and have my own babies if I am in my dining room blogging all of the time!

An ode to my two favorite men

2007-09-09T19:49:00.000-06:00

As I sit here eating my favorite food in the world, I thought it was time to pay tribute to my two favorite men: Ben and Jerry. These two men have made the world a better place. Oh, sure, they use BGH free products. They help the environment. They make donations to important causes. But, the most important thing these two men have done is create Phish Food. Phish Food is celebrating its tenth anniversary. Just think, ten years of ice cream bliss. I wonder where I was the moment it came out. I was in college and possibly listening to Phish, though, so that counts for something. Without these two men, I could be far thinner. I would be far less happy, though. Oh wait, if I was thinner, I might be happier, but I really do love this ice cream. Who couldn't love chocolate ice cream, ribbons or marshmallow and caramel, and little pieces of fudge shaped like Phish, I mean fish. This year, Ben and Jerry made the world an even better place because they replaced the frozen yogurt Phish Food with Ligthen Up! Phish Food, which is light ice cream and tastes like the real thing. My world will never be the same. Phish Food is also one of their most popular flavors, too, so I hope it avoids retirement. They got me hooked on One Sweet Whirled and took it away. That was not nice. Long live Phish Food!

I'm much too young to feel this damn old...

2007-09-05T18:37:00.001-06:00

I was attacked by The Beast this weekend and I have thankfully lived to tell the tale. Over the Labor Day weekend, I road tripped to Ohio along with my friend Kim and her daughter Brianna. We had to attend a shower for the wedding in which I am maid of honor. Kim is one of the other bride's maids. The shower was actually really nice and enjoyable, by the way. The real highlight for us, though, was a trip to King's Island. I went to King's Island once in high school and once in college on church trips. I LOVED IT!!! Until this weekend, The Beast has been my favorite roller coaster of all time. It is the longest wooden coaster in the world and is over three minutes long. Well, evidently my eighteen year-old body was much more able to handle this ride than my thirty plus year-old body. I was so miserable that I couldn't wait for it to end. I was sure I was going to have a concussion at the end. I included this particular picture because in the upper right where you can see the enclosed area is about the location where I was jostling so badly that my breast finally came out of my bra. I am no longer made for rides like these. I still have a couple of bruises and a burn from this ride, too. Now, I could blame the ride entirely for making me feel old, but I didn't enjoy most of the others very much either. I am not willing to concede defeat quite yet, though. I am totally up for a Great America trip in order to prove that I am not as old as I feel sometimes.

While I've been away

2007-08-31T08:19:00.000-06:00

I am not really that stressed out at the moment, but I liked the picture. I have been on a brief hiatus from the blogger world. The week has been hectic and isn't getting better. It started out on a crabby note with wedding crap. That's right, for the wedding that isn't mine. You got it! That has since blown over. Myself, my friend Kim, and her daughter Brianna are on our way to Cincinnati tonight for shower number three. I am hoping to ride some fantastic rides at King's Island on Sunday, so that should more than make up for all of this.

I have also been back and forth this week to my parents, which always adds extra excitement. My dad had another stroke this week and is supposed to be released from the hospital today. We are kind of playing the game of wait and see with this one. I think there aren't any physical changes from the last one, but he is having memory difficulties. Things like not being able to remember his address, people's names, a list of things, the year he was married, etc. We are hoping this will be getting better, but are cautiously optimistic. We are also worried that he may not be able to drive anymore, which would be a huge blow to his independence and to my mom's, who will most likely flip out a little when she reads this post since she doesn't like to reveal this much information. Not remembering things is also about my worst fear in life. Those who know me know how much crap is in my noggin'. Not being able to access that is truly a horrific concept.

The other thing that ticked me off was that I had a very long phone interview for a job in my company. I was fine either way about the job, but I did not get any further because I wasn't interested enough in sales. The position was a Quality Assurance job. I guess I was confused because I didn't think that was a sales job. What do I know. And remember, I work for an educational company, but sales are always key!

You should be watching this show!!!

2007-08-27T20:39:00.000-06:00

My name is Ashley, and I am a Friday Night Lights-a-holic. I could enter a twelve step program, but this is one habit I am completely unwilling to give up. If you haven't watched Friday Night Lights, you should. Through the beauty of free television on the web, you can catch episodes on nbc.com. On August 28th, you can also buy the first season. Once I started watching this show, I could not stop. I was literally watching 2-4 episodes per night until I had seen the whole season. Every episode takes me through a wide range of emotions and I love that I never know what to expect.

The more I read about the show (courtesy of The Watcher on the Chicago Tribune website), the more I love the show, too. The entire show is taped on three cameras from different angles so the directors can get a real conversation and not say a line, CUT. Next person say a line, CUT. The characters improv a lot, too, which leads to the authenticity of this show. I also love that they film in Austin, Texas. They have purchased a few pieces of property, but film most scenes in normal, everyday places and often use the real employees. For every episode, a different local high school band performs and earns money for their school. I really could go on and on and on and on about this show, but I won't. Please watch this show. I beg you. I implore you.

I was ready for some football...

2007-08-27T19:51:00.000-06:00

but now I am ticked off. I have been very excited this year because the stadium at my lovely alma mater, the University of Illinois, is being renovated. I love Memorial Stadium and I love Illinois football, but there is always room for improvement (and let us all hope that our record improves this year). So I was browsing and looking for some stadium pictures when I came upon the official Illinois Renaissance website. Here is a drawing of what the west stands will look like when complete:

So, basically, we are borrowing a page from Soldier Field and taking a beautiful, historic stadium and adding even more steal and glass. Fantastic. Oh, and adding luxury boxes, too. Because let's face it, having more seating for poor students is so overrated. The real clincher for me, though, is the list of things that can be named after you for a donation.

Naming Opportunities List
Memorial Stadium Pavilion: $ 10 million

Level 1 (77 Club): $ 2.5 million

Level 2 (Memorial Stadium Suites): $ 1 million

Level 3 (Media / University Use): $ 1 million

University Administration Suites

President’s Suite: $ 300,000

Chancellor’s Suite: $ 300,000

UI Foundation / Alumni Association Suite: $ 300,000

Director’s Suite: $ 300,000

Development Suite: $ 300,000

Colonnades Club: $ 5 million

Gated Entryways

Gate 1 (southwest): $ 1.5 million

Gate 2 (southeast): $ 1.5 million

Gate 3 (First & Pennsylvania): $ 1 million

Gate 4 (IMPE east): $ 750,000

Gate 5 (Irwin Drive): $ 750,000

Gate 6 (west): $ 2 million

Red Grange Statue: $ 500,000

Stadium Club: $1 million

Great West Hall: $ 2 million

Great East Hall: $ 2 million

Football Facilities

New Strength & Conditioning /

Personal Performance Center: $ 5 million – RESERVED

Locker Room: $ 1 million

Squad Room: $ 500,000

Sports Medicine Facility: $500,000 – RESERVED

Equipment Room: $ 500,000

Head Coach’s Suite: $500,000 – RESERVED

Recruiting Lounge: $500,000 – RESERVED

Memorial Stadium Academic Center: $500,000 – RESERVED

Position Meeting Rooms (8): $ 100,000 each

I get the whole underfunded, public university thing, but does everything in America have a price on it. Now when I enter the Great West Hall, it will be the Busey-Evans Bank Great West Hall or the so and so Great West Hall. Also, what is up with the fill-in-the-blank Red Grange statue. Seriously??? It isn't as if you go to the United Center and are instantly excited to see the such and such Michael Jordan statue.

I am personally voting for Tampax or Masengill becoming corporate sponsors. Wouldn't that be fantastic?! I am off to the Masengill Recruiting Lounge, then I am going to head over to the KY gate. Maybe I am just jealous. I know that if I had an extra $5 million laying around, I would totally be up for the Ashley Fern Colonnades Club. I have gone on long enough, but this kind of thing makes me disgusted. I know we can never go back to a time when college sports were pure and noncommercialized, but I can dare to dream and live in the past, can't I?

I also took this from the website. This is a picture of the stadium under construction. I think it is interesting that following completion of the project, the University hopes to earn Memorial Stadium the designation of National Historic Landmark, the highest national distinction available to historic structures. Yes, because all of that new glass and steal is extremely historic!

I likey ION

2007-08-21T22:00:00.001-06:00

For the past few nights, I have actually been getting home from work early like most "normal" people. I have rediscovered that the ION channel. I knew it played The Wonder Years (pretty sure Corky blogged about this). Well, it also shows Designing Women 6-7pm CST. It is like nirvana. This is also a good time to mention that I only have eleven television stations, so my options are limited. Who doesn't love those sassy, Southern ladies: Julia, Suzanne, Mary Jo, and Charlene? They just roll the one liners. Last night, in particular, was a very moving episode. Julia was protesting pornography and so-called feminists who objectify women. She had a monologue that was fantastic. It was also interesting to see Dixie Carter before all of her plastic surgery. I think her face is literally a different shape now. She plays somebody on Desperate Housewives. I don't watch that, either. Oh, look at me leaving not even remembering to mention Anthony. Who doesn't love lovable ex-cons? Just another instance of trying to keep the man down.

I have also discovered the joys of an entire hour of Who's the Boss? Really, who is the boss? I seriously love this show and could watch it maybe not all of the time, but a lot. Last night's episode was also feminist in nature as Angela kept going on an on about she led a successful, independent life. Later, she realized in a sitcom kind of way that she would be nothing without Tony. Wouldn't we all be nothing without Tony? That show was groundbreaking at the time. How do I know this? Because I have actually watched the THS on E! for this show. It is also excellent background for knitting. I am going to actually try to finish a scarf this year instead of just starting a bunch of projects and never finishing any of them.

And then there is Mama's Family. I have to say, I am not a huge fan of Mama. My own mama, Lou, loves Mama. I think she relates to that whole southern humor thing and having family members who all go by two names. Mama was really on a roll last night. She was doing stand-up at a local restaurant. Let's see if I can recreate the humor.

Mama: My grandson Bubba is in college. Do you know what he will be when he is done? Old.

I thought that was funny, sad to say. Tonight, she had Bubba's heavy metal college friends help out with the church social. This is profound stuff, people. They don't make tv shows like they used to. Really, that is okay with me because I probably wouldn't be watching them anyway.

This wasn't nearly as good as my original post, but I will have to learn to live with the disappointment, as will all of you.

Oh, I have been burned by Blogger

2007-08-21T21:58:00.000-06:00

I am despondent. I just wrote a witty blog and not only was Blogger unable to post, it, but it didn't save it either. What the hell is that about? I am going to try to recreate it, but I don't know if I can give it the same justice twice in one night. Woe is me.

If I eat any more fried food...

2007-08-19T18:55:00.000-06:00

I may explode. It was a busy and exciting weekend folks. I made my jaunt down to the Illinois State Fair in Springfield. I was incredibly excited because it was my first time. And yes, I get very excited by fairs. While there, I had a pork burger from the Illinois Pork Producers "shed". I also had a funnel cake and shaved ice. The completely unbelievable thing to me is that I was unable to find a deep fried Twinkie. It is one of the few things I have never eaten and have always wanted to try. I was so excited at the prospect of having one, but no luck. I had deep fried Oreos at another fair last year. They were so-so. We also saw some diving show, walked through the midway, and went through a few animal areas. I saw baby pigs, cows, ducks, sheep, and goats. I also learned that cows eat 18 hours per day and poop 15 times per day. Also, horses are unable to vomit and can only exhale or inhale (can't remember which) through their noses. And, sheep are shorn once per year and produce 18 pounds of fleece. One pound of fleece will make 20 miles of yarn. Yeah, I am not really sure if I believe that. I bet some FFA (Future Farmers of America) member made that up!

Ashley, Leslie, and Jamie

I got to see the butter cow! It was really so exciting! It was so much more than a cow. There was a cow, a calf, a girl, a dog, a cat and so on. I wonder how you get that much butter into such a large object. That is a lot of butter. This scuplture is a huge attraction at the fair. How could it not be?

One of the other main reasons we attended the fair was to see the Martina McBride concert. I have always liked Martina. I don't like her like I love some other groups, but she can really sing. The opening act was Carolyn Dawn Johnson, a Canadian musician. She has had a few hits in America, but never totally broken through. She was a really great performer and I really enjoyed her.

We stood on the track of the grandstand during the concert, which was cool because we ended up being about six people back from the state. I did not have to zoom for these pictures at all. Martina sounded fantastic. I seriously have no idea how she holds some of her notes as long as she does. I try, but can never make it. I hope none of you is ever lucky enough to hear that, either. I wasn't digging the goth-ish look she was sporting. Martina was channeling Stevie Nicks. Not her best look.
In keeping up with the eating for the weekend, I had the most fantastic thing ever in Springfield. I stayed the whole weekend with my friend Leslie and her fiance George. They took me to a place called D'Arcys for a horseshoe. Has anyone ever heard of one? They are evidently a central Illinois thing. We didn't them in Champaign, though, so I had never heard of them. Basically, it is a heart attack on a plate. I had a buffalo chicken horseshoe, which is a slice of Texas toast with a fried chicken breast which is then covered with French fries. On top of all of that, they pour a white cheese sauce on the entire thing. It was also served with buffalo sauce and blue cheese. It was fantastic. I loved every bite of it. To wrap up the culinary weekend, we ate at home last night, had Applebees for lunch today (it was Applebeeriffic!), and I had Culvers on the way home. I had a great weekend and really enjoyed spending time with my friend. And now I am going to lay around in my food coma.

I am off

2007-08-16T21:26:00.000-06:00

That one is for you Captain! Make sure this is not the type of superhero you and Corky, Jr. become.

Tomorrow, I am heading off to the first runner up in The Simpson's movie premiere contest-Springfield, Illinois. As far as capitols go, it is so-so. At least some us (please take note Governor Blagojevich) actually know where the Springfield is. I will be attending the Illinois State Fair. I hope to have lots to report on when I return. Butter sculptures, fair queens, swine, and more! I will also spend the entire weekend with my dear friend Leslie and her fiance George.

In other news, I have been cleaning for two hours. Why is this so much work? I have worked so hard and you cannot even tell, unless you start opening my cabinets. Cleaning sucks. I know Jenny! would disagree since that is her OCD thing, but I hate it. Maybe someday I can afford a cleaning lady. Nah, I doubt it. I am also going to start my new book, the last book in the the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books. Yes, I know I am an adult, but the first three books were good. I used to teach junior high and that made reading young adult literature so much more acceptable.

Last night, I watched Mostly Martha, the German movie upon which No Reservations was based. I have to say that this was much better than the American version. The really weird thing, though, is that the American movie is verbatim to the German movie for the first five or so minutes, and then the rest is staged the same and all. It was honestly a little creepy. And, we are Americans. Have we lost all shreds of originality? I mean, clearly we have if you are watching Road Rules 17, Real World 23, America's Got lots of crazy and unnecessary Talent, The Singing Bee and that other musical lyrics show, Rush Hours 1, 2, and 3, Bourne 1, 2, and 3 (I know they were good, but original, no). I could go on and on.

Lastly, for some reason (who knows what train of thought I was on), I searched "crazy people" on google. This is what came up, my friends.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Happy Birthday Violet!

2007-08-13T19:16:00.000-06:00

If you hadn't already figured it out, I have no children (not that I wouldn't like them). Still working on the suitable husband thing! I do have my "niece" Violet, however, of whom I am EXTREMELY fond. Tomorrow is her first birthday! I was both ecstatic and sad when I fond out Tracy was pregnant. I was worried about how a baby would change our friendship. Based on a few of my friends, I think this is a pretty normal reaction. Having Violet around has definitely changed things, but not for the worse. I am always excited to be around her as she is the sweetest, most fun baby around. I am sure others would disagree and that is totally okay. I know all of your daughters, sons, nieces, nephews, etc. are exceptional too, I am just incredibly biased. It is also great to be around Tracy and Mike as the parent Violet. They are both fantastic parents and I am trying to pick up things as I watch them. I am posting a picture of V when she was a day old and one from last month. It is really amazing the difference a year makes, escpecially at this age.

Are you kidding me?

2007-08-13T18:44:00.000-06:00

So, I am just waiting to sue someone. It truly seems that people are absolutely crazy about what they will sue over. I was just reading a story online that came off of the TODAY show. Evidently, Leroy Greer of Houston is suing 1-800-FLOWERS for $1 million. Why, you might ask? Oh, because he sent flowers to his mistress and the bill was sent to his wife. Are you serious? His wife is evidently asking for $300,000 more in the settlement than she was before this incident. I will completely reiterate Meredith's sentiment: You got caught and you should face it like a man.

Also, you might want to get more clever Leroy. I used to work with a teacher, not the most trustworthy man mind you, who had two cell phones. One bill went home like normal. The other bill came to the school. It is always interesting when an entire school can know about the affairs of its teachers while the spouse is clueless. Leroy might want to take out a credit card that doesn't include his wife or list their common address as a billing address. Just a thought.

Weekend wrapup

2007-08-12T18:16:00.000-06:00

Hope everyone had a good weekend. Mine was good. Very relaxing and lazy. Friday night was bookclub as many of you know from other blogs. The conversation turned to inappropriate topics as usual. As usual, tons of fun, too!

Saturday, I picked up my $300 bridesmaid dress. It still makes me cringe every time I think of it. The good news is that it fits and needs no alterations. The bad news is that it cost $300. I am hoping to get over that sometime this decade, but I am totally not there yet. I also skipped the second of three showers for that wedding yesterday and after feeling guilty about it all week long, felt fantastic about that decision yesterday.

I later ended up having dinner at my friend's parents house. They grilled steaks for us. What a treat considering I usually eat crap like Kraft mac'n'cheese and Spaghettios for dinner. Then, Tracy and I went to see No Reservations. I am not really sure how I didn't expect to cry at any point considering it is a movie about a woman who has to raise her niece because her sister is killed. We liked it, though. The advertising and trailers for the movie didn't really do it justice. It isn't fantastic, but better than I was expecting.

I also read The Last Summer (of you and me) by Ann Brashares. She wrote the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. I actually really like those books. This is also the time where I have to remind myself that I am an adult. My review of the book will be on BAMFs blog, too. I am okay I read it, but not great. Wow, that totally seems to be the theme of the weekend. Lastly, I watched the movie Diggers. I watched a trailer on the apple website and added it to my queue. There were some funny lines, but not great. Paul Rudd stars and is very scruffy. I love Paul Rudd all the way back to Clueless. He is also an absolute riot in Knocked Up. I was surprised to see that the guy who wrote it, and also one of the main characters, is formerly of Veronica Mars. He also wrote that new movie The Ten.

Lastly, Merv Griffin died today. This doesn't affect me terribly, but without Merv, there would be no Jeopardy!, so let's take a little moment for Merv. I also just learned that he actually wrote the Jeopardy! theme and is credited for about a million movies because of that. Also, he is responsible for Wheel of Fortune. God bless him because if he hadn't created that show, my parents would have nothing to do at 6:30pm. They love them some wheel.

Five days until the Illinois State Fair! Woo hoo!!!!!!

And now for our fun game of the day...

2007-08-09T21:30:00.000-06:00

Which crack is it??? And I don't mean Whitney Houston "Crack is Whack" crack. Feel free to vote!

Birthdays and such

2007-08-09T21:24:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow is my friend Jenny's birthday. We went for dinner tonight at a local Mexican restaurant. Some in the party, not naming names, may have had too many margaritas. No one is complaining, though. A great time was had by all. I cannot dare to repeat any of the conversation or I may be seriously harmed!

Before and after...

2007-08-09T21:16:00.000-06:00

As previously posted, I cut my hair off. Here are before and after looks.

Before

After

Hot as hell

2007-08-08T10:18:00.001-06:00

It is hot as hell here in Illinois, folks. I think it is 57 million degrees. And with humidity, about 67 million degrees. So hot, my deodorant wouldn't even dry this morning. Gross, I know. Days like today I weep with joy that I don't have to ride public transportation like my girl Jenny!.

I am having a traumatic day, today, too, because I am cutting off my hair after work. I am ready for it to go, but am super stressed out about it. The crap thing is that because I have highlights, I cannot donate it. Yet another way I have screwed up in life!

More weekend events

2007-08-05T23:41:00.001-06:00

After a very busy weekend, I am thankfully at home. Why I am not asleep yet, though, I have no clue. I traveled to my hometown after the splendid booksale. I was super busy while home. I got up early to have breakfast with my dad, went to the Farmers' Market, went to the pool, visited a friend and her new baby, and played cards with friends. And, that was just Saturday. Today, I attended my family reunion. Not sure how many people still actually attend these in general. Our was probably the smallest to date. It was VERY HOT AND HUMID to be in a park district building with no air conditioning. The event was held in the town of ~300 where my dad grew up. I got to spend some time with my cousins and aunt and uncle, which was great. I have featured a picture of soybeans here. They are not my beans, but some random field. Ours were a little fuller. I also learned the necessity of an eight row head. And no, that isn't dirty. It is for harvesting and attaches to a combine (John Deere, or course).

When I got home, which took forty extra minutes because of traffic, I laid on my couch, talked to my friend Leslie, and then watched movies. I finally finished watching 9 to 5. I know that you are asking yourself why on earth I watched that, let alone put it on my queue. I read a book or saw a movie that had lots of references to the movie, so decided to watch it again. I think it was better in my memory. If you haven't seen it (or weren't alive when it came out), it is about three secretarys who basically have an ass of a boss. It involves attempted murder, kidnapping, adultery, and such hotbed topics as flextime, daycare, and being able to put personal effects on one's desk. The real kicker, though, was the 1980 technology. The Xerox machine was at least the size of a pool table. The other part I loved is that the boss (Dabney Coleman) only had a phone in his office. I really don't know how people did business before the computer age. I am just glad I don't have to deal with typewriters and the like. A blog free world is somewhere I don't want to be!
I also finally watched City of God. I have had this sitting on my DVD player for about two months. I kept procrastinating because it is over two hours long and is subtitled (it is a Brazilian film, and thus, one would assume, in Portuguese). The story primarily takes place in the City of God slum in Rio and centers around warring drug dealers and a character named Rocket, who is on the straight and narrow and wants to be a photographer. The movie was pretty violent and very interesting. Also, it was based on a true story. I am glad I finally saw it and would recommend it. The same would not be true for 9 to 5. At least I can move on to the next movies on my queue. Hope you all had a good weekend.

Are you a friend of the library?

2007-08-03T22:27:00.001-06:00

During the year, I look forward to many things. I love Christmas, for instance, as well as the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving. I plan ahead for all of these. I also plan ahead for the fall television season, but that is another post entirely. Another annual activity I plan ahead for is the Friends of the Library book sale. My town has this FANTASTIC book sale that occurs once a year. Basically, they take donations from residents and then hold a sale that fills one of the cafeterias in the high school and spills out into the halls. Hard cover and trade paperbacks are $1 and regular paperbacks are $.50. You also have to pay $5 to get into the school on Friday night. Each year, the organization raises about $50,000 for library programs, the purchase of new books, furniture for library, childen's story time, etc. It is awesome and crazy. People come with wagons, bags, boxes, and more and just fill up. There are book dealers there with scanners. There are tons of kids and parents camped out in the children's area. This drives Jenny crazy. I get more annoyed with that section because the kids books are in boxes on the floor and since I hit 30, my legs do not like to bend that much. I may go down, but I may not come back up. That sounded way dirtier than I meant it to!

My annual date night was with Jenny, Jeanette, and Sarah. We had dinner at Sarah's first, and then hit the sale. I spent the most, which isn't a shock. I paid $29 for 30 books. Jeanette and Jenny bought theirs together and spent $20, while Sarah spent $12.50. Where can you get that many hardcover books for that price?!?!?! I am already saving August 1, 2008 for the sale next year! And really, what more could I use in life but more books. The hundreds I have laying around arent' enough. At least I am not moving anytime soon because my friends were so over moving my boxes upon boxes of books.

And lastly, I learned on the library website tonight that the roof is a green roof. I just think that is awesome. I truly love my library.

Animal pictures of the day

2007-08-02T13:34:00.000-06:00

This is a three year old golden retriever surfing in California. How cool is that?! It is a sad day when a dog has more balance and coordination than I do.

And on a sad note:

This lamb was born in New Zealand with seven legs. This polydactyl (didn't we all now learn a new word today!) lamb was born with part of it's bowel missing, also, and will thus be euthanized. I never even knew such a thing could occur. I know people can have six toes, but animals with spare legs is crazy. A spare arm could be kind of handy!

A busy weekend of weddings and bachelorettes

2007-07-31T20:54:00.000-06:00

It has been an action packed weekend for AshleyFern, but I am back to the blogging world! Imagine the horns blaring and the angels singing on your own. I began the busy weekend by working late on Friday, but we won't talk about that. On Saturday, I sat for Violet. Tracy and Mike, her parents and my good friends, were both in the wedding of her sister. Thus, little Violet needed her Aunt Ashley to take care of her. We had a great afternoon of crawling around and playing with an assortment of Leap Frog toys before joining everyone at the church and reception hall. I also end up singing Backyardigans songs after we go somewhere. You can look forward to this too someday, Corky. Jenny may just play heavy metal for D.

Violet, Mike, and Tracy

Tracy and Ashley

As for the rest of the weekend, if that wasn't enough action, we finally had the three day bachelorette for my friend Karen. I planned this trip, with the help of my friend Kim, back in February. Yes, you read that correctly, February. There have been lots of phone calls, emails, etc. Even an eventful trip to the Pleasure Chest with Jenny and Jeanette. By the way, Karen loved the stuff we picked out there! All of my items were appropriately dirty. The naked playing cards were probably my favorite, though. My mom even contributed to the event by having someone she knows make chocolate candies shaped like penises and breasts. Our trip involved six girls including the bride. There were residents of four states (Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, and New York) in attendance. We all came from our various locales and headed north to the Osthoff Resort on Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The resort is only 45 minutes north of Milwaukee, which was a great distance to travel. Once we checked in, the only time we left for three days was to run to the Wal Mart Supercenter to grab some groceries. We drank, ate, swam, ate, layed out, ate chocolates shaped like penises, played games, ate, and then swam some more. We also swam in the lake which, as we learned on this morning's coffee cruise, is one of the deepest and cleanest lakes in Wisconsin. The trip was great. It was super relaxing and really fun. The resort was terrific, as you may be able to tell from the pictures. It is always fantastic when something works out well when you have spent so much time on it and feel the responsibility. So, for all of the fussing and stress, all went well and a good time was had by all.

Kristin, Ashley, Karen, and Kim