ChiTown Girl

Random

2012-01-24T21:36:00.007-06:00

This morning when I got to school, I looked into my school bag to get something, and I saw something odd. What's that?
Well, look at that! Someone left a little note on my water bottle!AND on my book!Must be some residual effect from last week's anniversary. tee hee! When I got home from work, I found one more inside my laptop, on the screen. I know, I'm making you sick. Sorry.

Yesterday after school, I drove out to my brother's. My sister and my parents had been there all day, hogging up all the babyness! I picked up my niece, and Stud met us there after he got out of class.

I looked out my brother's balcony and saw all our cars parked in a row. I couldn't help but laugh when I realized that the two on the ends, my sister's and Stud's, are the same color, and the two in the middle, my parents' and mine, are the same color. They're ALL just different shades of gray/silver. I never realized how dull we were!I took a bunch of silly videos of my monkey. Thought I'd be nice and share one with you. :)

She's growing up way too fast!! She'll be walking before we know it. I love how it looks like she's actually standing on her own here. She almost is, really. My sister was just sort of balancing her. Ugh!! She's so darn cute!!!

How I've spent my Sunday morning...

2012-01-22T13:50:00.006-06:00

Ok, let me forewarn you - this post is not child-friendly.

Saturday one of my besties is having a shower and bachelorette party for her sister. The shower is at her house, and then the bachelorette party will be at our bar. I was honored when she asked me to make the cake for the bachelorette party. Specifically, the PENIS cake.

Now, I've never attempted such a cake before, so I was anxious to see what I could come up with. And, this is it:

Now, of course, this isn't frosted yet. I was just trying to get the...um...shape right. Truthfully, it's a bit shorter than I had planned. I used a bread mold for the shaft (I figured I would fill in the grooves with frosting) but I took it out of the oven a little too soon, and one end was still a little raw. I cut it off and put the tip on. Perfect! I was planning to make a yellow or white cake for Saturday, but since this was the practice one (AKA, the one I get to eat!!) I made a chocolate one first. :)

I think it's actually pretty good. What do you think? If any of you have any ideas, PLEASE share!! I have until Saturday to make the perfect cake for the party.

*8:25 update*
Hey, Jason and Mark! It just occurred to me that you two might be especially helpful! ;-) Seriously, give me some input, will ya!?

Equal Rights

2012-01-21T16:59:00.001-06:00

Borrowed from Pissed Off, who lifted it from someone's Facebook page.

This week is making me feel really old...

2012-01-19T21:21:00.005-06:00

21 years ago today, these two kids got married.
Who the hell are these two old folks?!How did those two kids end up with a son who's a grown man, IN COLLEGE!!??

By the way, I don't know what it says right now, as you read this, but as I typed this, my weather widget said it was 4 outside. Not 40, FOUR. It's about time.

I'm feeling a little weepy today...

2012-01-18T20:57:00.004-06:00

...because someone started college today. Oh, yes he did. And, just like on his first day of preschool, I insisted on taking his picture.
This is his "Mom, you are SUCH a dork!" face.The whole story behind this is yet one more thing that I had planned to include in The Post, but obviously I never got around to it. Maybe when I feel up to it...

On a related note, this is Monkey's "You talkin' to ME?!" face.
Oh my LORD, I can't stand how adorable she is!!!!! Is it just me, or does she remind you of another baby you've seen?
Well, except she's WAY cuter, of course!!

I need a little distraction...

2012-01-16T19:18:00.005-06:00

...from this and this. Here's another button I picked up today. Unfortunately, I don't even remember whose blog I stole it from. Sorry. If it was yours, please leave me a comment, so I can give you credit!
I've always had a "thing" for pits, and have always been of the school that believes their bad rap is SO undeserved. I feel even more strongly about it since my brother rescued his pit three years ago. If I ever get another dog, it'll absolutely be a rescued pit. However, it may have to raise itself because I've promised to jump off a bridge before I EVER get another dog!

Here are a couple cute pictures of my brother's dog, just to remind you how cute he is!

You may remember that my neighbor rescued her own pit this past summer. Here's an early puppy picture of Max. He's just about the same size as Pootz these days. I got the sweetest email today from my Bloggy Buddy, Debbie in Japan. Here's a little excerpt...

...okay....so, i was going through some pictures, getting a bit of organization accomplished when i came across this one and was wondering if i had actually sent it to you?? i honestly don't remember. ;-/
we were at one of our most favorite of stores and my youngest was like "you have GOT to see this" and drug me to another part of the store.

This was the photo attached:Can you even freakin' believe it?! Well, wait, some of you don't know this, but Deb is actually just as obsessed with flamingos as I am with penguins. You may remember that she sent me the coolest package a few months ago LOADED with penguin goodies. She freakin' rocks!!! A few weeks later, she sent me another prezzie.

My reply -

Are you freakin' SERIOUS?!?! You didn't stage that?? Awesome! I think it's a sign that we are destined to meet in person on day. :) Thanks for sending me the smile.

She emailed back -

right hand over my heart-left hand in the air swear that i did NOT stage that! awesome, right?!! even koji recognizes total coolness when he sees it!!! ;-D i'm not even really sure what the heck those two figures were doing together....but....i do recognize karma when i see it.....and yes...we WILL meet....someday!!!
have a fantabulous day/evening!!!
xoxo

It's still cracking me up!

Really?!?! AGAIN?!?!

2012-01-16T12:29:00.002-06:00

I was stunned to read this yesterday. I can't even believe it. I can't believe two people that I've had the pleasure of "meeting" through this awesome place we call the Blogosphere, and who I truly consider "friends," are both having to deal with such discrimination. It makes my heart break. And my blood boil.

I can't see my background picture anymore...

2012-01-14T12:35:00.004-06:00

I have this weird habit of lifting pictures/badges/buttons I discover and like from other blogs. Sometimes I share them right away, but usually, they just sit on my desktop, taking up space. I thought I'd put a bunch here today, so I can finally clean up my desktop a bit.

What a ride...

2012-01-11T19:23:00.003-06:00

I'm sitting here at my kitchen table, listening to the dishwasher, and checking in with all my Bloggy Buddies. Today's reading provided quite a roller coaster ride of emotions, from a sweet high to the lowest of low. Check it out if you have time.

This just in....

2012-01-10T22:18:00.003-06:00

(I'm watching the 10 o'clock news right now)
*This is the first year since 1939 that Shoreline Sightseeing Boat Tours have run in January.
*The animals at Brookfield Zoo where let outside today. The poor giraffes were confused because they normally have to wait for April for their spring run.

It was in the 50s again today. Jerry Taft just said it going to be 50 again tomorrow.

Apparently Mother Nature doesn't read my blog. The bitch.

Dear Mother Nature...

2012-01-07T11:25:00.005-06:00

Dear Mother Nature,

Apparently, no one gave you a calendar for Christmas this year. It's the only way to explain why the HELL it was 57 here yesterday. FIFTY-FREAKIN-SEVEN. I see that you are not aware that yesterday was January 6. As a matter of fact, it's been in the 50s here for almost a week. Again, it's January, NOT April. WAKE UP, LADY!!!

Now, in all fairness, not everyone here minds the 50s in January. Most of the people I saw out and about yesterday were walking around with big smiles and without coats. Naturally, there were even some running around in shorts and flip-flops. Despite the fact that you also chose to make it incredibly sunny everyday for the past week, I surprisingly didn't see anyone trying to tan, but that's probably because I didn't look hard enough.

Now, the folks down in Florida, who SHOULD have been tanning were dealing with 20s this week. What the hell is wrong with you?! Are you PMSing this week?

Let me guess - you're gonna send them our snow, too, right? I've given up on waiting for it around here. Thanks for NOT giving us a White Christmas. Nice goin', beeoch! You can keep it now. For some reason, I think you're saving it all up to dump on us all at once like you did last year. Should we be bracing for The Blizzard 2012? (Well, ok, truthfully, I wouldn't mind a few snow days like we had last year, but still. I'm fairly certain I'm in the minority on that one.)

OK, Missy, you are officially on notice. I want winter, and I want it now! Get off your lazy butt and get to work. And, please, ignore the rest of the people here who keep singing your praises and talking about how awesome this winter has been so far. They're idiots.

Sincerely,
Sweating in ChiTown

~*~*~*~*~

Thank you so much to all my Bloggy Buddies who left comments and have been emailing me and asking about my daddy. I can't tell you how much your caring/concern/support/prayers mean to me. My Bloggy Buddies rock!!

I'm sorry I haven't really been back to update, and I didn't mean to leave you hanging. For now, Daddy seems to be fine. In the windup, they now think it wasn't a mini-stroke after all, but rather a bizarre incident related to his diabetes. They've taken him off his medication for now, but told him he may end up having to give himself insulin injections in the future. He's not thrilled about that. I think if it comes down to it, he'll have to get the pump, which would be the best thing for him. He is SO bad about monitoring his blood sugar levels, and he doesn't always watch his diet the way he should. The pump would monitor things for him, and dispense the proper amount of insulin when needed. He's already complaining because he has to check his blood sugar level several times a day now. We were lucky if he did a couple times a month! Argh! What are we going to do with him?

The weather here really has been nice. I'm going to try and make the most of my last weekend of Christmas break, before getting back to the grind on Monday. I wonder who I could convince to go to the zoo with me? Anyone? Anyone? Poop....

I think I'm going to try and get some quality kissy time with this little darling instead.

What a way to end the year...

2012-01-01T13:42:00.004-06:00

I had every intention of posting this weekend, and wishing all my Bloggy Buddies a very Happy New Year. I was even going to gush a little about how CSJ and I got to spend the first NYE together since before Stud was born, and how nice it was, etc...

Yeah, well, the best laid plans....

THIS is the gang just after midnight.

Yes, that IS a hospital room, and my daddy IS in a gown. We spent the entire day at the hospital. After about 8 hours in the ER, we finally got him in a room. VERY long story short, we were told he had had a mini-stroke. Happy fuckin' New Year, right? I'm not up to it today, but maybe I'll share details tomorrow.

One "nice" thing - my dad's room was on the 9th floor of the hospital. This was the view out his window. We had a lovely view of beautiful Oak Lawn. haha! We DID have a beautiful view, however, of the incredible fireworks that started at midnight and went for nearly 20 minutes. We could see firework both near and far, it was amazing. My niece was trying to capture the fireworks, and managed to take about 5 pictures like the one above. They're still pretty pictures, though.

My daddy had a corner room, and the hospital has a glass corridor that connects the East/West and North/South wings. We could see the corridor from his room. My niece went out to take pictures from there of the fireworks, and snapped this picture of me and Daddy watching them.

I'm too wiped out to write anymore, so I'll be back later. I'm off to go see my daddy.

You may need to brush your teeth after this...

2011-12-27T14:15:00.008-06:00

I was inspired by my dear friend, Snarky Marky*, to share this with you today.

My beautiful Monkey got her ears pierced a couple of weeks ago. Her mommy and daddy took her to get her ears pierced and then to see Santa. First, though, they stopped to see my sister at work. She looks pretty happy for a baby who just had her ears pierced a few minutes before this picture, doesn't she?
I don't particularly care for this picture with Santa. I would have liked to just see a close-up of Monkey and Santa, not the whole crazy scene around them.
This is the picture my brother sent me that night, before I knew any of this had happened. The subject line simply said, "Notice anything different?"My brother had Monkey on Christmas Eve, which couldn't have worked out better, since THAT'S the day of our big Italian celebration (The Feast of Seven Fishes) Naturally, Monkey's mother sent her without a headband/bow in her hair, so my mother went into her craft room, and made this one to match her dress. :)
I have this silly app on my iPhone and iPod that lets you play with pictures you've taken. I thought this was too cute.
All the grandkids on Monkey's First Christmas. *sigh* It seriously seems like a month ago that Stud, the oldest grandchild, was propped up on the same couch for pictures on HIS first Christmas.
All my pretty nieces.
I took this the other day while visiting my Monkey. I just threw it in as an added "cuteness" bonus.

*M, can you believe I came up with that all by myself? ;-)

Oh no, she di-in't!

2011-12-26T13:06:00.004-06:00

My sister, who makes SO much fun of me for my crock pot obsession, got me this little cutie for Christmas (bringing my total to 14!). LOVE IT!!!(She and Stud spend hours making fun of me. HOURS! She even makes fun of me with her friends at work. They've decided I "need to open a Crock Pot museum." Charming, aren't they? I know it's all done with love, though, so I let her live.)

Observations

2011-12-23T18:57:00.006-06:00

I'm sitting in the parking lot of the VERY crowded mall near my home, and I felt I needed to share a few things with my friends before I headed inside. (By the by, I'm actually posting this from my new phone. Santa came a little early to La Casa de ChiTown )

First, as I was circling the parking lot for the 42nd time, I stopped to let a mom and her daughter, who looked about 4 or 5, cross in front of me. Now, the temperature displayed on my dashboard currently says 33. Neither one of them had a coat on, and the daughter was drinking a slushy. Now THAT'S how we do it around here!

For about a week or so, the weather forecasts have been causing havoc around here because it's been unseasonably warm, AND we were told we would NOT be having a white Christmas. I mean, WTF, seriously?!

Well, as I was driving around, looking for a spot, and enjoying some SNC on my CD player, look what started:

Ok, now I'm off to fight the crowds. Thankfully, I don't think much could ruin my good mood now.

**Update**
Ok, it's about 2 am, and I'm just getting a chance to check emails/blogs. Apparently, I don't really know what the hell I'm doing yet with my new phone, cuz this never posted! And, the video wasn't attached. I fixed it, I think, but I don't think the video is very good. :(

Oh, and that's about all the snow we got. There's not one single flake hanging around. :(

I couldn't help it...

2011-12-22T19:50:00.002-06:00

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

For some reason, this doesn't seem to be showing the whole video, at least not on my computer. The right side looks cut off, right? If it's happening on yours, too, try this link instead.

Feliz Navidad

2011-12-22T09:27:00.002-06:00

Bestest Friend sent me this amusing little tidbit. Enjoy!

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Today's Highlights

2011-12-19T21:06:00.003-06:00

I was working with some 1st graders today who I'd never met before. While I was working in a small group with some babies during reading, one of the girls randomly came over to me and whispered in my ear. "You're so pretty."

Then later, while we were taking our afternoon bathroom break, a different little girl got out of line, walked over to me and pulled me down to her, then whispered, "Mrs. ChiTown, you're so beautiful. You're beautiful like a princess." I seriously almost cried.

Was Frosty here?

2011-12-17T19:26:00.003-06:00

Stud went out before me this morning to clean the cars off, and this is what he did with the snow from the cars. =)Just in case you can't tell how small this is...I love that he put this right outside the backdoor, so I see it every time I go in or out. It makes me smile every time. Maybe tomorrow he can give it a face. I think I have some baby carrots in the fridge. =)

Do you see what I see?

2011-12-17T09:08:00.001-06:00

So far, it's been an AWESOME morning. I really slept in, which I haven't done in I don't know how long. I only woke up because I was about to wet the bed. I felt around for my glasses, then looked at my alarm clock and saw it was 9:02. 9:02!! A smile crept across my face. Then, I looked out the window and saw this.

" Smile" doesn't even begin to describe what that caused! You know who else was happy, right?

(Wow, you'd think I'd be too embarrassed to keep showing you pictures/video of my hillbilly backyard, huh? Just ignore all the summer furniture that never made it into the garage, ok?)

Unless you're new around here, you might want to skip this one...

2011-12-16T21:40:00.007-06:00

I'm warning you now, this is a mushy post about CSJ. I'm gonna blame it on the fact that I'm hormonal this weak. Yeah...that's got to be it...

Last night, as we were driving home from a nice dinner out (without the boys!) CSJ started to have a coughing fit. I've been on him to go see a doctor about this cough he can't shake, and he, of course, hasn't yet.

I was frustrated with him, and said, "You know, I just got you back. I'd like to hang on to you for a while!"

He kind of snorted, then said, "Just got me back, huh? Babe, you've had me since I was 20 years old!"

All together now..."awwwwwww!"

Since you're already feeling the "awww," here's another picture of my Monkey. I couldn't find it on my computer the other day. I wanted to share it because it was one of my favorites from that night.She's either yelling, "I'm here!" or she just finished a cheer. =)

Are you ready for some CUTENESS?!

2011-12-11T22:32:00.002-06:00

Meet the newest Chicago Bears Cheerleader!
Her silly daddy forgot the matching booties that her auntie bought her. He's such a dork!

"Yes, I DO know I'm the cutest cheerleader ever!"

I love my cousin!

This would have been so much cuter if Niece #1's eye wasn't covered by that flower. :(
I know I had mentioned last week that I was returning the Johnny Jump Up that I bought for Monkey because I was going to look for the Jenny Jump Up. I ordered it online the other day, along with another bouncy seat thingy, so I told my brother to bring the Johnny Jump Up and the other bouncy seat with him when he came to my mom's, so I could return them. As we were chatting about how much we think she's going to love her Jenny Jump Up, my brother decided he would just keep the Johnny Jump Up at my mom's, so Monkey would have one there. My niece and I quickly put it together and set it up. As predicted, Monkey loved it!

:)

2011-12-10T17:22:00.005-06:00

When I got up to drive Brian to school to take an ACT test this morning, my car said it was 11 outside.

This is what I woke up to yesterday:

Talk about a happy penguin!! It's almost shocking that we had to wait so long for our first snowfall. (Pfft...I'm not even sure this deserves to be called a "snowfall" but whatever!) I'm not quite sure who's happier, me or Buster.

I got to see my little Monkey last Sunday. When I walked into my brother's condo, he said she was still in her carrier because she was sleeping. This is what I saw:

Don't you just want to eat her with a spoon?!?! AND, do you see the flower headband?! AND, do you see that it's PINK?!

It only gets better. I unzipped the cover and saw this:

SHE ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE A BABY GIRL!!!

And those are just a few of the things that have made me smile this week.

Yes, I'm whining AGAIN...

2011-12-09T22:09:00.003-06:00

...cuz I'm just so tired. This morning, I planned out a lovely little post in my head, taking pictures and everything, but somehow, it's after 10 PM, and I've been home for about a half hour.

I had an appointment straight from school, and then it ended up lasting 3 hours. I then headed out to the bar, because Stud was cleaning, and somehow ended up being there for a couple hours. I stopped on the way home to pick up something for us to eat, then finally headed home after 9. CSJ had texted earlier to say he was going to be home between 9:30-10. He literally pulled in right behind me. As I was shifting into park, there he was. It was a nice way to end a LONG day.

We just finished eating, and it's time to hit the sack. I have no idea how he's even conscious, since he was up at 3:30 this morning for work. Stud is already in bed, since he said he was exhausted from cleaning the bar. We are such a bunch of dorks, don't you think? Whatever. I'm too tired to care what you think.

Do you have a few minutes...

2011-12-07T21:51:00.001-06:00

...for some completely mindless sophomoric humor?

Griping

2011-12-05T19:14:00.003-06:00

Ok, I didn't bitch about this Saturday when I noticed it, but now I just have to. As we were driving from my in-laws Saturday afternoon, I noticed a freakin' chip in the windshield of my, I mean Stud's, new car. ARGH! I was just so annoyed!! I knew it had to be fixed ASAP, especially because our temperatures are supposed to plummet this week, down to the 20s. (My happiness about this is a whole separate post!) I didn't want to take a chance on waking up to a huge crack across the windshield

We got home and all started getting ready for the concert. While I was showering, etc., CSJ called a few local places to get prices and so on. We wound up making an appointment with a place just a few blocks away from the house. They said they'd be out Monday morning. Great! "We'll call in the morning when we're on our way." Super!

This morning, CSJ stayed home to wait for them. They had told me on Saturday that they would be there between 8-8:30. Well, 8:30 came and went, no call. 9:00, nothing. By 10, CSJ started calling them. It was a series of phone tags calls, which really pissed him off, especially because he blew off work to wait for them. It's nearly impossible for me to do anything from work because a)I'm busy TEACHING and b)I couldn't get a signal on my phone even if I wanted to call someone.

I called home when my class went to lunch and spoke to Stud. "Did they ever show up?!" "Yeah, about 5 minutes after Dad left for work." Ugh!! Whatever, they made it. I just hope they did a good job. I had left cash for Stud to pay for the repair - $80. Um, yeah, don't even get me started!

Well, if all that wasn't aggravating enough, when I got home from work, I checked my email, as usual, and almost screamed when I opened my Groupon email. One of the deals today was - ready? WINDSHIELD REPAIR!! Oh, and the BEST part? The deal was for $19!!! We paid FOUR times that! AARRGGHH!!!!

There was one teeny tiny thing that made me feel a little better, though. One of the other million emails in my inbox was one from the car dealership. It was a survey about our overall satisfaction with our experience last week. Well, they just happened to catch me at a bad time. Boy, did I unload!

My top four complaints were this:

1. While test driving the car, CSJ noticed the brakes were a little wonky. We were assured they were going to fix that before we left. Not so much. As I mentioned last week, I still felt something weird when I drove home that night.

2. As part of our "negotiations," CSJ got our sales guy to agree to sending us home with a full tank of gas. Instead, we had 1/4 tank. I didn't know CSJ made that deal, and since I drove the car home, he didn't know it wasn't taken care of until it was too late.

3. The fact that it cost us another $90 for a spare. (Bullshit, I say!)

4. The fact that we now had to spend another $80 to fix the windshield.

The last thing on the survey was a box where they asked what they could do to make your experience better. I wrote, "Reimburse me for the $90 key, and the $80 windshield repair." I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens, right? If nothing else, I was able to get it off my chest.

Triple Poop?

2011-12-04T22:09:00.003-06:00

No pictures with Santa today. That's all I'm gonna say, cuz I don't want to whine and rant tonight.

Funny little story from last night - Stud has heard this story before, but we were talking about it again last night. I attended my very first concert ever with CSJ, about 2 months after we started dating. I'm still shocked my parents let me go, quite frankly. I was 17, and we went to see ZZ Top with another couple, who were good friends of CSJ's. We were celebrating CSJ's 21st birthday. The concert was interesting. I heard/saw/smelled things I had never before experienced. Let's just leave it at that. But, that's not the meat of the story.

That night, I wore my favorite pair of black jeans, and 6 inch stiletto heels. Oh, yeah, I was smokin' hot, let me tell ya. Well, as we were participating in the mass exodus from the Rosemont Horizon, I slipped on some beer that was spilled at the top of a flight of stairs. My left foot/leg slid straight out and down, while my right foot/leg somehow went behind me (picture the splits) and I fell (slid?) down a complete flight of stairs. As if that wasn't humiliating enough, CSJ and his friends couldn't stop laughing at me. Of course, as they were peeing their pants laughing, they were making sure I was ok, but still, I was so embarrassed. Over the years, he's teased me about it many times, saying different things all the time, ranging from I was drunk, to I had a contact buzz, to I couldn't walk in those shoes, etc. For the record, THERE WAS BEER ON THE FLOOR!

Ok, so ever since Stud heard that story, he and his father have had more than a few laughs about it. TSO was playing at the same venue yesterday, but it's is now called the Allstate Arena. So, naturally, as we were driving to the concert, the story came up again. CSJ kept talking about what I was wearing just to tease me. "You should have seen your mother. She was poured into these black jeans, and she was wearing these crazy-high black heels. She couldn't walk in them, which is why she fell down the stairs." blah, blah, blah. He thought he was SO funny.

I said something like, "Wow, that was 26 years ago. Where did the time go?" We both started commiserating about how old we are now, and he suddenly looks at me, gives me the once-over, and says, "Yeah, Stud, your mom went from black jeans and spiky heels to stretch pants and orthopedic shoes!" All I could do was laugh my ass off, cuz it was totally true!!!! God, I'm so pathetic.

Well, I guess the only thing that matters is he doesn't care, and he STILL thinks I'm pretty cute. As my niece would say - "That's a big D-U-H, DUH!!"

Hrumph...

2011-12-04T09:00:00.002-06:00

I've been looking out my window since 7 am, waiting for the sun to make an appearance. It's now 9 am, and it's even darker than it was at 7! Yesterday, it was unbelievably sunny all day, with temps in the 50s. I had such high hopes for a repeat today, since, like I mentioned yesterday, we're supposed to be taking Monkey to see Santa. What I didn't mention yesterday was that Santa is going to be in the quaint little town square in the "downtown" section of where my brother lives, and all the festivities are outside. Poop. Maybe the temperature will cooperate, even if the sun won't. As I type this, it's 48 outside. If it's warm enough, we'll still go. Well, if it doesn't start raining, that is. Double poop.

Family Outing - The Follow Up

2011-12-03T21:39:00.004-06:00

The evening was delightful, despite the fact that this year's show couldn't hold a candle to last year's. We didn't hate it, it just wasn't as good. CSJ enjoyed it, though. He has a true appreciation for the musicians, and their level of talent.

My one complaint about the show isn't even about the show, per se. It's about the damn seats at the venue. Holy crap, were they SMALL!! I have never been that uncomfortable in my life. Even CSJ was shocked at the teeny seats, and he's a thin person. Stud and I were smooshed! Actually, we had Stud between us, and the two of us basically sat sideways in our seats, draping ourselves over Stud's shoulders. The poor baby. These seats made the folding chairs we sat on last year seem like Lazy Boy recliners!

We went to dinner at a place that Stud and I have never been, but CSJ had mentioned before to me. We weren't disappointed. Stud got some kind of killer 3-cheese mac 'n' cheese, with chicken. It was delish! I completely annoyed him by taking several 'tastes' of it. I order chicken piccata, which was served on a bed of angel hair pasta (my favorite!), and CSJ had a Philly cheesesteak sandwich which looked pretty tasty.

I had planned to have a picture of the three of us taken tonight so that I can finally make my Christmas cards, but that never happened. (I actually didn't take one single picture or video tonight, thanks to our cramped conditions) I'm starting to think I might have to use the half-crappy one we took on Stud's birthday. I was really hoping to get a picture tonight, so I could order the cards online, and have them ready by tomorrow. I have NEVER waited this late to send my cards. My mom even called me today to tell me that one of her friends called her to ask if I was ok because she didn't get my card yet.

I may or may not have mentioned before that I have always been one of "those people" who has her cards done and mailed by Thanksgiving. Actually, the routine has always been to put the cards in the mail at the post office on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and then everyone would get them on the day after Thanksgiving. I kind of took pride in the fact that mine was always the first card most people received. Apparently some people actually look forward to it, since they worry when they don't get it. I send a LOT of cards (approx. 125) so I always try to start right after Stud's birthday. Actually, I always try to take a nice picture on Stud's birthday to use for the card. It's usually not too hard to get a cute picture of the two of us on his birthday, since we're usually smiling and happy anyway.

I know there's going to be quite a few confused people this year when they get a card with the THREE of us on it. That hasn't happened in, what? About 17 years? Tee hee. I'm kind of amused by that. I'm anticipating a flood of phone calls in the week after I mail them. :) Not all the questions will be about CSJ,though. I also plan to put a cute picture of Stud and Brian, that I took on Stud's birthday, on the card.

I suppose I'd better hit the sack. I plan to fall asleep watching SNL. I need my beauty sleep because I have a very busy day tomorrow. I'll be going with my brother to take Monkey to see Santa. I can't wait!! I think she needs to wear the cute little "Santa Baby" outfit her favorite auntie bought her for Christmas.

Ok, I'm off to put on my penguin jammies! Hope your Saturday was a good one, too. And, don't worry, I'll be posting plenty of pictures of my little Monkey and her visit with Santa tomorrow.

Family Outing

2011-12-02T22:39:00.005-06:00

Some of you may remember the gift I gave Stud last year for his birthday. (If not, click here.) Well, we're doing it again tomorrow. This time, Dad will be joining us. I'm really excited about the whole thing. We've never all gone to something like this together. I can't even remember the last thing we did like this as a family. I'll venture to guess it was the circus when Stud was 2.

Just like last year, we'll be going to the 3:00 show. The plan is to then get some dinner after the show.

Funny little side story-when I got the email from Ticketmaster about the concert, I first checked to see if CSJ wanted to join us this year. Then, my next phone call was to Bestest Friend to see if she wanted to join us. Well, it turns out she already had tickets for the same show! She's going with another friend of ours. Unfortunately, we won't be sitting anywhere near each other. They'll be on the main floor, which is where Stud and I sat last year. Which is also why we'll be in the balcony this year! It was too close to fully enjoy the show. Plus, I'm so darn short, that I couldn't see a thing on the stage. EVERYONE on the main floor stood for most of the concert, which completely blocked my view of the main stage. I wanted to be able to take it all in this time, so I picked seats in balcony.

I'm hoping Bestest Friend, and our other friend, will want to join us for dinner. Even if they don't, I know it's going to be a nice evening together.

Tomorrow morning we're supposed to be getting Stud a new phone. He desperately needs one, even though he doesn't want one. His phone is way past it's prime. He's dropped it so many times, it hardly even works. He can't hear who he's talking to, and we can't hear what he's saying. Plus, it won't hold a charge for more than an hour or two. Now that he's driving around by himself, I really want him to have a phone that works. I'm one of "those" moms who expect him to call when he gets there, call when he leaves, etc...

Today, he gave me a mini-stroke because he was AWOL for most of the day. The plan was for him to get an early start on the day. He was going to go to the pet store for Buster's freakin' prescription dog food (ugh!) then he was to go to his grandma's to see if she needed anything, then he was to make his way to the bar to go clean. Around 2, my brother texted to ask where the hell his nephew was because it was so late. Well, that freaked me out, since I thought he had gone there earlier in the morning. My brother said he did, indeed, call my brother at about 9 only to have my brother yell at him for waking him up. (yeah, he's a charmer, that brother of mine!) But then, he never heard from him again. Naturally, his phone was dead, so we couldn't get in touch with him that way, and he wasn't answering the house phone. Now, there was a part of me that thought maybe he had gone back to sleep after he texted my brother, which ticked me off. But, the other part of me thought he was dead in a ditch.

Long story already too long, turns out he went to the bar, and he was there cleaning the whole time. My brother ended up driving over to check and see if he was there. We were both more than a little annoyed that his phone was dead. So, bottom line, he's getting a new one, like it or not. Besides, I have a feeling he's gonna like it. I went into an AT&T dealer yesterday to get some info about switching him over to my plan (he currently has his phone plan through his dad's phone) and the salesman told me that right now they're offering the iPhone 3 for $1. Yes, I know it's the "old" one, but hell, it's still way nicer than what he has. I may even get one for myself for a dollar! He could also choose a new Android phone for free, which is the incentive they're offering for adding a second line to my plan.

I know you'll all be waiting with baited breath to find out what he chooses, so I'll try and update you as soon as he decides. You're welcome.

Ugh...

2011-11-30T21:58:00.004-06:00

...this kid is costing us a fortune!! Because the "new" car is used, we were only given one key last night. No big deal, we thought, we'll just go get a copy made. We were pretty psyched that the key didn't have one of those chip-thingies on it, so we figured it wouldn't be more than a few bucks. Yeah, well, we were wrong.

We went to the local Ace Hardware this afternoon, and it turns out that there is, indeed, a chip. It's in the plastic "head" of the key. So, in the windup, the spare cost us another $89! So help me God, if this kid loses a key, I'm gonna take a limb!

From Ace, we went to the store and got seat covers, air fresheners, and looked at mats and scrapers. I decided to get the mats and scraper at Sam's Club, since I like what they had better. Last month I had bought Stud a really nice emergency car kit at Sam's, in anticipation of the new car arriving by Christmas. It even has an emergency shovel, which my fellow Chicagoans know is a vital part of a ChiTown winter.

While we were at the store, I picked up a couple of containers of cotton candy for Brian, since he loves it. When Stud saw it, he had the unmitigated gall to ask, "You didn't buy ME anything?" I had to remind myself that he sometimes has a dry, twisted sense of humor, so I wouldn't punch him right in his mouth!!

CSJ surprised me this afternoon by leaving work early, planning out the errands we had to run, and fitting a nice dinner and some alone time into the plan. I guess there are some advantages to him still having an apartment. ;-) It's kinda hard to have meaningful alone time when there are always teenagers in the house. It was a really nice evening. But, now I'm completely exhausted, and I need to hit the sack. I'm not sure how many more of these long days I can handle. By now, most of you know what happens when a certain little penguin doesn't get her 8 hours of beauty rest for a few nights. For those of you who don't, let's just say - it ain't pretty!

It's over...

2011-11-30T15:33:00.001-06:00

Wednesday, November 30, 2011
What did you learn from doing NaBloPoMo?

That I'm a pretty boring person, who tends to bore her readers with the boring details of her boring life. However, I also learned that my Bloggy Buddies are totally awesome, and they keep coming back anyway. :)

The Newest Member of Our Family

2011-11-29T22:38:00.003-06:00

I just drove this little puppy home from the dealer. It's technically MY car, although we bought it for Stud. This kid has no idea how lucky he is. At least I don't think he does. But, he needs a car to get back and forth to school, and hopefully a job soon! Actually, he's been working at the bar, cleaning, for a couple of months now. My brother is hoping he'll be able to start coming 3 days a week now. That should be just enough pay to cover car insurance and gas.

This car is so freakin' cute!! I'm seriously thinking about keeping it for myself, and giving Stud my truck. Yeah, he's thrilled...

One more...

2011-11-28T20:07:00.004-06:00

Sorry, I'm sure you're all sick of looking at pictures of my gorgeous niece. However, today's prompt from NaBloPoMo is, once again, a dud (what is up with the sucky Monday prompts?!) so I'm going to post a picture!

My brother actually had a handful of pictures of his baby in the dress she wore to the party last Sunday. This is the photo I used to make the Thank You cards. She's such a doll!!!

Why, oh why, did I have to check my email?

2011-11-27T18:03:00.005-06:00

One of my besties just sent me a link to this article. VERY interesting, yet infuriating, reading.

Why so much disrespect toward teachers?

Smiley Sunday

2011-11-27T12:21:00.007-06:00

Monkey's First Thanksgiving!

How cute is she?!

Monkey giving Stud a little tickle under his chin.

The oldest and the youngest of my nieces.

Monkey and her handsome daddy.

It's really too bad her mother insists on dressing her like a boy! When my sister showed a picture of Monkey from Thanksgiving to her friend, the friend said, "Oh, my NEPHEW has that same outfit." WTF?!? For over 4 months now, her mother has been dressing her like a boy, and it drives us nuts!

Monkey and Grandpa

Monkey and Grandma

Monkey and Auntie

I swear I wasn't drunk here!

We tried to get a family picture, but it didn't go so well. I have two really crappy ones, and I wasn't even going to post them, but they kinda make me laugh, so I figured, what the hell! My niece should have a few on her camera, so when she sends them to me, I'll see if they're better. If they are, I'll post them later.

Stud's making a silly face here, I'm letting all 15 of my chins show, and Monkey started to cry.
Take 2 was just as bad. Monkey was screaming at this point, so my dad's looking at her instead of the camera, and my mom was saying something, probably "wait, don't take it yet!" Poor Brian was trying to take the pictures, with everyone's camera, of course. Like I said, looking at these makes me laugh because it takes me right back to that absurd moment!My sister brought this silly headband with her because she thought we might be able to get a cute picture of Monkey so my brother could make his Christmas cards. Too bad she had a (boys!!!) Thanksgiving outfit on, huh?

Like I said last night, I got to spend most of the day with my baby yesterday. Once again, she was dressed completely in BOY'S clothes. Literally. The jeans she was wearing were the EXACT jeans I saw the day before at Target, that had a tag that said "boys." I'm sure the striped shirt with the big frog on the front was also a boys shirt. The ONLY thing that saved her was that her mother FINALLY put a headband on her. How freakin' adorable is this baby?!

(some of these were taken with my iPod, which is why they're such poor quality. Sorry. However, her cuteness still comes shining through, don't you think? tee hee)

Ok, that's all you get today. I wouldn't want you to get spoiled or anything. I've got 3 minutes before I have to take the chocolate pound cake out of the oven that I'm making to bring to my girlfriend's in a while. Today is her baby's baptism. I'm just going to have to suffer through another day snuggled up to a cute baby. Ahhh....someone's gotta do it....

Soggy Saturday

2011-11-26T23:49:00.004-06:00

It's been raining/drizzling/pouring here all day today. It really didn't matter too much, though, because I spent most of my day with my little monkey. Ugh, she's so damn cute!!! I will share a few pictures tomorrow.

After her mommy picked her up, I had an awesome dinner with my brother and CSJ* at this great little Mexican place my brother likes. Then, CSJ and I spent some time walking around in the rain at a car lot looking at cars for Stud. We actually just spent about 2 hours looking online at various sites. We have a list of cars we want to check out this week.

Now, I'm completely exhausted, and we're gonna hit the hay. I hope your Saturday was as enjoyable as mine. :)

*Karen suggested, in a comment she made the other day, that I may need to change these initials. I was trying to think of something else that would fit those initials (Cute Silly Jerk?) but I'm not having any real luck. Anyone else have any suggestions?

11/25/11

2011-11-25T21:08:00.008-06:00

Friday, November 25, 2011
Do you like to buy presents ahead of time or right when you need to give them?

I prefer to buy gifts ahead of time. I used to be one of those people who would be finished Christmas shopping, with all gifts wrapped and stashed, before Halloween. I would shop all year long, grabbing things when I found them, usually on sale. Now that the kids are older, there's almost no point in even shopping. All 3 of the teens prefer to receive cash these days.

Thankfully, this Christmas will be a little different, now that the baby is here. Actually, I spent several hours today shopping for her. Well, I guess maybe it was more for my brother. I picked up a really cool bouncy seat that vibrates and has a toy bar across it. It's a jungle-themed seat, and has a cute little monkey hanging from the bar. I don't remember if I mentioned it, but pretty much everything the baby has is monkey-themed. It's what her daddy wanted, and we are having tons-o-fun with it.

I also got her a Johnny Jump Up. I can NOT wait for her to try it out. She has been trying to stand up since the day she was born. I'm not even kidding. She stands up now every chance she gets since, apparently, she doesn't know she's only 4 months old! This thing is gonna be right up her alley.

Naturally, I had to get her a bunch of cute outfits, including one with the most adorable little penguin shirt (it says "I love dancing with Daddy"),and these cute jeans, with the ruffles at the cuffs and pockets.
I couldn't pass up this adorable little dress (It says "Santa Baby" in the middle),
or this cute Christmas-y outfit.

There was NO way I was leaving without this ornament. I mean, seriously?! A monkey ballerina?!

This one is for my oldest niece, The Diva. I tried 10 times to post a picture of the ornament I got for her sister, but Blogger is being a bitch. It's just a sterling silver initial, studded with crystals.

There are a few other goodies that I picked up today, but since I'm not sure who may or may not read this, I'm going to keep those under wraps for now. ;-)

Thanks

2011-11-24T09:47:00.005-06:00

My sweet Bloggy Buddy, Debbie, sent me a lovely little Thanksgiving note today, along with this adorable video. She said it made her think of me. I can't imagine why. ;-)

Happy, happy Thanksgiving to all of you. My friends, both bloggy and IRL, are high on my list of things I will be giving thanks for today. I hope your day is spent surrounded by loved ones. Oh, and food. Lots and lots of food.

Oh, that's nice...

2011-11-23T22:15:00.005-06:00

Ahhhh....is there anything better than a 4-day weekend? Well, ok, yeah...a 5-day weekend, which is what the kids have, but hell, I'll take my 4-day weekend! I still feel like I'm trying to catch up from this past weekend. I'm actually STILL washing dishes and yes, crock pots, from the party.

We had left everything at the bar on Sunday, since it was so late, and we were all so incredibly tired. The plan was for Stud to go to the bar on Monday to clean, and then bring my stuff home. But, he ended up getting sick at the end of the night Sunday, and basically threw up all over the bathroom at the bar. (God bless him, he actually cleaned it all up himself!) Monday, he still wasn't feeling well, so he didn't go clean. I had a meeting to go to yesterday, so I didn't have to really work, so I drove him out to the bar to clean, then went back to get him. He and the other kid who cleans the bar loaded my truck full of all the nasty, dirty dishes and crock pots so I could take them home.

Hoooey! Talk about nasty! I had to drive with the windows down in the backseat because the smell was so overwhelming. I told Stud that as soon as we got home, I wanted him and Brian to unload the car so I could start washing the dishes. Well, when we got home, it was pouring rain, so he said they would get the stuff out before they went to bed.

Yeah, well, I bet you can guess how that went. They completely forgot. Truthfully, I completely forgot, too, until I got in the car this morning to go to work. Holy crap, my car was ripe!! Naturally, I was running late, so I didn't have time to unload anything. THEN, my car sat outside all day, with the sun beating in the windows. I can't even tell you what my car smelled like when I got in it after school.

I used my triple crock (spinach artichoke dip, buffalo chicken dip, BBQ cocktail weenies), my big 6 qt. crock (some incredibly awesome cocktail meatball recipe from a friend of my sister), and my 1 1/2 qt. crock (chocolate fondue to go with dessert) at the party. Needless to say, I'm still washing things. Thankfully, I'm not cooking anything for tomorrow, so I can finish in the morning. The really smelly stuff has been washed, thank goodness!

On a related note, I was at my favorite store last night, and saw what I want Santa to bring me. I seriously almost melted in the aisle. Right up until I saw the $69 price tag. (And Walmart's price was way less than the $99.99 on the Crock Pot website!) Poop. Guess I'll just have to wait until after the holidays, when everything goes on sale.

I hope all my Bloggy Buddies have a wonderful Thanksgiving tomorrow. We are planning a very low-key day. I'll probably tell you a little about it tomorrow, just to be sure I fulfill my NaBloPoMo commitment. See you tomorrow!

Lather, rinse, repeat...

2011-11-22T21:07:00.003-06:00

Tuesday, November 22, 2011
What is the luckiest thing that has ever happened to you, and why?

Again, I feel like I've answered this before. Several times, even. Let's recap - the luckiest thing that ever happened to me was working on Thanksgiving morning, 1985. That's the day CSJ walked into my life at 7:30 am. The reason I say it's lucky is because without that event, Stud Muffin wouldn't be here.

Let me take a moment to wish CSJ an early 26th "anniversary." Here's to our 27th Thanksgiving, babe. Glad we'll be spending it together. Again.

Enough already...

2011-11-21T21:27:00.005-06:00

Ok, I'm done with these stupid Monday prompts from NaBloPoMo. For some reason, they're always tied to Ricki Lake. I'm not even posting today's.

Instead, I'd like to show you a bunch of pictures from the bash yesterday. There's only one problem. I didn't take any.

I know, I can't believe it either. But, I was just so busy running around, playing happy hostess for/with my brother, I never even took my camera out of my purse. I'm kinda pissed at myself. I'm hoping my brother took some good pictures. If he emails me some, you KNOW I'm going to share.

This was the ONLY picture my sister sent me of the baby from yesterday.
Not the best picture of either of my nieces, but both of them are pretty cute anyway, don't you think?

Can you hear that?

2011-11-20T23:51:00.003-06:00

It's the sigh of relief coming from me now that this day is finally over. I'm just spent. I can't remember the last time my back hurt this much. But, I'm finished complaining because every bit of my blood, sweat and tears was worth it. Today was a wonderful day, and we were able to celebrate my beautiful niece. It was so nice having the family all together. I'd love to tell you more, but I have to be up in a few hours. I just hope the spasms in my back stop by then. :(

Is it still only Saturday?

2011-11-19T23:37:00.002-06:00

Today was a LONG day of running, running, running and then running, followed by a little more running. My brother and I spent the day trying to get ready for the party we're having tomorrow for my beautiful niece's baptism. It's been a long time since I've been this plumb tuckered out. I just got home, and I was shocked to see SNL on the TV. Sadly, I still have a few things to do before I can hit the sack. Then, it's up bright and early to start making all the dishes I'm bringing. I'm afraid tomorrow is going to be an even longer day.

11/18/11

2011-11-18T21:43:00.003-06:00

Friday, November 18, 2011 What has been the happiest moment of your life thus far?

Seriously?!?! How many times has this prompt been used?!

I don't think I'm even going to bother with it. Tell ya what. YOU answer this one for me. What do YOU think is my answer? I have a shiny new dime for you if you get it right. While you're typing, tell me - what's YOUR answer?

On a completely different topic, guess who went to the groomer today. G'head, guess. Nope, it wasn't Stud Muffin. It was this cutie patootie!He got a bandana from the groomer because he was such a good boy. Hard to believe he's going to be 15, huh? Sheesh, that's 105 in dog years!! He doesn't look a day over 70.

Why is this going to be a great day?

2011-11-17T20:00:00.000-06:00

Because when I turned my computer on, my weather widget said 28. Yep, 28. I believe the weather guy just said our wind chill factor is actually at 18. Can you see my smile from there?

**8:00pm update**
This is going to have to serve at today's NaBloPoMo post, cuz today's prompt is too stupid! BTW, it was snowing on my way home from work. JOY!

11/16/11

2011-11-16T20:14:00.004-06:00

Wednesday, November 16, 2011
What is the moment that you leave childhood and enter adulthood?

At first, I thought the answer was "the moment you get married," since at the time, I thought it made me a grown up. I was moving out of my parents' home and into a home with my husband. But, the more I thought about this, the more I realized the real answer is "the moment your first child is born." That moment was joyous and terrifying at the same time. I mean, who the HELL decided I was capable of taking care of another human being?! I was still trying to figure out how to take of myself half the time! Now, I was responsible for the well-being and happiness of child. MY child. Talk about having to grow up quick!

Add to that the fact that the moment my son was born, I took a back seat to him when it came to my family. The minute anyone would walk in the door, or I walked in their door, the first thing they wanted was the baby. I was merely the one who brought him. My aunts and uncles wanted to fawn over the new baby now, not their niece. Huh?!

Yep, that pretty much makes you a grown up.

11/15/11

2011-11-15T23:48:00.003-06:00

Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Describe a favorite place. Focus on how that place affects your sense of taste, touch, sight, sound, or smell.

OK, I thought I could do this now, but I'm so freakin' tired, I can hardly keep my eyes open. I just got home from a hair appt., (which most of you know means a LATE night for me) after a really long day. I'll try and give you an answer tomorrow. I just couldn't bear to miss posting something, and blow NaBloPoMo for a second month in a row!! I don't like screwing up, you know.

Happy Birthday to my Bestest Friend, and my favorite uncle today!!

11/14/11

2011-11-14T21:02:00.006-06:00

Monday, November 14, 2011
I was terrified to go on DWTS, but facing my fear and overcoming it has been an incredible experience. Have you faced fears and overcome them?(Guest Prompt by Ricki Lake, who can be found on Facebook or Twitter @RickiLakeShow)

I think this has been answered by me before. Truthfully, I think it may have even been a NaBloPoMo prompt before. I'll spare you all the trouble of having to read it all again, and just give you the short answer.

The biggest fear I've faced, and then overcome, came right after I made the decision to throw out my husband. I had a 1 1/2 year old baby, a big mortgage on a house that we hadn't even been in a year, and NO JOB, since I quit working about 6 weeks before this to stay home with my baby. What is it they say? We make plans, and God laughs? Boy, that must have been a real knee-slapper for Him, huh? Obviously, my fear was about how the hell was I going to take care of this baby. Well, here we are, more than 16 years later, and in the big picture, my life is pretty darn good.

I think that's all I need to say about this one. Again, most of you have already read the long answer. If you missed it, I'm sorry. Feel free to dig through the archives to find it. Frankly, I wouldn't waste my time.

Sweet Sunday

2011-11-13T22:24:00.003-06:00

Today was just one of those lovely, relaxing, enjoyable Sundays. One of Stud's besties spent the night last night. Who knows how long they were up playing a new video game Stud received for his birthday last week. When I got up this morning, I made cinnamon rolls for the boys, but waited until I thought they were stirring before popping them into the oven. Right before I did, my eldest niece called me to see what I was doing. I asked her if she wanted to come and hang out. When I told her Stud's friend was here, she gave a resounding "Yes!" I hung up with her, and about a minute later my phone rang again. This time it was her little sister. They crack me up. It's like they don't even live in the same house!! I asked her if she was going to come over with her sister, and of course she didn't know what I was talking about. But, she said she was going to get dressed and come over.

The girls ended up spending the whole day here. Niece #1 spent some time downstairs hanging out with the boys (they're all the same age) while Niece #2 sat upstairs doing homework. Then they both watched some classic tv with me (Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, Bussom Buddies, Dick VanDyke, I Love Lucy) Ok, we didn't actually veg out in front of the tv that whole time. We were watching in the kitchen, while the girls did homework, and I prepared dinner. Niece #2 and I also played a few rounds of Words with Friends.

At some point, Niece #1 went in the other room to call my brother. (I had been bugging him all morning about how only 2 out of my 3 nieces were over, and why wasn't he bringing #3 over, etc.) and she never came back. I kept calling her, but no answer. I finally went into the living room to get something and found her passed out on the couch. She was at a sleepover last night at a friend's house for her 18th birthday, so I imagine there wasn't a lot of sleeping going on. Anyway, we let her sleep, thinking we'd just wake her at dinner time. Well, yeah...that didn't happen. This kid sleeps like the dead. Try as we might, she would NOT wake up! We just let her sleep while we ate the kick-ass chili I made for dinner.

Around 6ish, my father called to see if we all wanted to take a ride over to their house. Actually, I forgot to mention that Niece #1 had already called my mother several times earlier in the afternoon, begging her to come over for dinner. They didn't come, obviously. So, then my dad called, to see if we wanted to come over there instead. My aunt was there visiting, and she had birthday gifts for Stud and Niece #2. In the windup, just the two birthday kids went to my parents', since Niece #1 was still sleeping, CSJ was very involved in watching the Bears game, and I was busy cleaning up from dinner. Have I mentioned yet how great it is to have a kid who drives?

A couple hours later, my sister called and wanted me to wake up Niece #1, and send her home. By this point, Stud had come back home, but left Niece #2 at my parents. We figured Niece #1 would just pick her up on her way home. It took a while, but I finally got Sleeping Beauty off the couch. I heated up her dinner (spinach and 3 cheese ravioli - she's a vegetarian so chili was out) and we visited for a little while more while she ate. Then, oops, my sister called again. As soon as we saw the caller id, my niece ran out the door. It was pretty funny.

Now, all is quiet around here. Stud is downstairs playing his game, Brian is in the shower, CSJ is in the kitchen doing paperwork, and I'm snuggled up in my bed, boring you with the mundane details of my life. I've been suffering with a chronic stiff neck for about a month now, so I have this awesome heatable neck wrap on, which feels great. (It's one of those wraps you heat in the microwave. I think it's filled with rice, and a bunch of essential oils and stuff, for aromatherapy. It smells pretty great.) After rereading this, I'm having a hard time keeping myself awake. You should be sure to bookmark this page to use the next time you have insomnia.

I hope your day was as uneventful and relaxing as mine was. :)

I survived

2011-11-12T18:56:00.001-06:00

Well, I gotta tell ya, that stress test was a bit more difficult than I had expected. I ended up having to go alone to the hospital, as my brother ended up having a bit of an emergency. A few minutes after I hit publish for the post below, he called to tell me that he wasn't going to be able to pick my up after all because his girlfriend just called, and she thinks she lost her wallet at the bar last night. Actually, she thinks she may have thrown it out by mistake. She was making some table tent inserts last night, and was trimming the papers on a table. My brother told her he remembered seeing her wallet on the stack of paper trimmings, to which she replied, "Well then I must have thrown it out with the garbage!"

My brother rushed over to the bar to check the garbage. As he was driving, he realized he was going to have to check the dumpster because the garbage cans get emptied every night by the staff. As he pulled to the back of building, he remember is was garbage pick up day. Sure enough, the truck was in the strip mall next door, and headed his way. He quickly grabbed a bunch of black trash bags out of the dumpster just as the truck pulled up. Thankfully, after he explained to the garbage guy what was going on, he waiting while my brother started ripping bags open. Unbelievably, he found the wallet!!

He called me just as I was parking in the tower at the hospital. I told him not to worry about coming, but he told me he would be there in 15 minutes. I went in and got registered at the out-patient desk, then headed over to cardiology. I was there about 5 minutes when my brother walked into the waiting room. About a minute after that, though, they called me back and had me change into an oh-so-stylish gown. It turns out there was some delay with the person they were testing ahead of me, so my brother was able to come back where I was and sit with me for about 20 minutes before they took me back. We actually got a lot of things accomplished for the baby's baptism party next Sunday, so that was good.

The test itself took about an hour from start to finish. There was a lot of preliminary stuff, like checking my vitals and getting all the electrodes attached. That was a bit weird, to tell the truth. First the nurse had to swab most of my upper body with alcohol to make sure there were no body oils that would interfere with the electrodes sticking to my skin. Then, she had to use these little pads that felt a bit like sandpaper to "rough up" my skin in all the contact spots. It wasn't the most comfortable experience, I must say. Then, finally, she attached the electrodes. She then also taped over most of them to make sure they didn't come off. Did I mention that in order to do that she had to keep lifting my big, floppy breasts out of her way? Oh, I didn't? Yeah, that was probably the best part. I had to completely undress from the waist up for the test. That meant (gasp!) no bra!! It wasn't pretty, let me tell ya.

The next thing that happened was that Fred, the tech, came in and did a resting echocardiogram. They needed to establish a baseline. Finally, we were ready for the hard part - the treadmill. Sweet Mary, my nurse, explained to me that they were going to have me start slow, on a slight incline, and then they would increase the speed every 3 minutes until I hit my target heart rate. She told me that my target would be 180 bpm. That sounded pretty darn high, especially since my heart rate while I was sitting there was about 70.

Well, as it turned out, I only had to walk for about 6 minutes before I hit the target. Actually, I hit 187, which she said was 105% of the target. She kept telling me how great I was doing. All I kept thinking was, "Where the hell is the oxygen tank!?" When I hit the goal, they had me very quickly jump off the treadmill and lie back down on the bed so they could do another echo.

After that, they just told me to lie back and relax while my heart rate returned to normal. Apparently, it was taking a little longer than normal to get that rate down. I was there for quite a while. At one point, another nurse poked her head in to make sure everything was ok, since I was there for so long. Mary assured her that she was just waiting for my rate to go back to normal, but that I did so well, and I hit 105%, blah, blah, blah. I gotta tell ya, I was getting nervous. I kept watching the monitor, which I'm sure made things worse.

Eventually, Mary said I was done, and sent me to get dressed. She said the doctor was going to check out the results while I was changing, and to wait for her in the waiting room. A couple minutes after I sat down, she came in and gave me two thumbs up. Yay! I survived!

Of course, my darling brother insisted on taking me out to breakfast when we left. We ended up spending the rest of the day together, hitting Sam's Club, and doing some work at the bar. It's about 7pm, and I actually just got home. Perfect timing, as CSJ arrived about 15 minutes before me, after 2 days in Wisconsin for work. I missed him. Yeah, so sue me.

Dinner is ready and on the table (don't get too excited, it's just reheated leftovers from last night, but last night's dinner was awesome!!) so I'm going to go enjoy it with my honey. I hope you're all enjoying your Saturday night, too.

Reason #647 why I love my brother

2011-11-12T08:51:00.004-06:00

He is insisting on coming with me this morning to my stress test. He even switched his visitation day with his Baby Mama so he could come, despite my very loud protests. I would so much rather have him spending the day with my gorgeous little niece than sitting in a waiting room, by himself, being bored. But, there was no talking him out of it. CSJ had to go out of town for work, and I drove Stud, Brian and another friend downtown this morning so they could attend an open house for Columbia. I was fully prepared to go by myself, but me brother wouldn't let me.

He can be a persistent little pain in the ass. But, I guess that's why I heart him.

11/11/11

2011-11-11T13:52:00.005-06:00

Friday, November 11, 2011
It's 11/11/11, make three wishes.

Hmmm...only three, huh?

1. I wish for my family and friends to always be healthy and never have to suffer from any kind of medical issues.

2. I wish for my family and friends to always be happy and their lives to be problem free.

3. I wish for my family and friends to always have enough.

Is it selfish to include myself in those? Is it technically a fourth wish?

Thank You, Veterans, for all you've done and continue to do to protect this country's freedom.

Holy Snowly!

2011-11-10T15:20:00.004-06:00

My throat is hurting right now because I just spent the last 5 minutes SCREAMING. Screaming because, as Stud and I were cuddled up in my bed, playing Chess with Friends, I happen to glance out my bedroom window and saw --- SNOW!!! I took video for you on my iPod, but for some reason stupid Blogger isn't letting me upload it. Damn Blogger. I'm so geeked up right now, I can't control myself. I feel like doing cartwheels, but I don't feel like spending the night in the emergency room, seeing as tomorrow is a holiday, and want to enjoy this long weekend sans broken bones.

--ok, I'm trying it again. Now, I know it's only a few flakes, but they're big, fat, fluffy flakes. Those are my favorite. Actually, in the time it's taken me to put this stupid post together, the snow has already ceased, and the sun is brightly shining. But, that's ok. I'm still happy cuz, hey! It snowed today!!

--Oh for Pete's sake. I just watched this through the published blog, and it's really crap. I promise, it was snowing more than what I managed to catch with my iPod. Whatever. I'm still smiling. :)

11/10/11

2011-11-10T08:58:00.004-06:00

Thursday, November 10, 2011
What is your secret (or not-so-secret) passion?

I know most of you won't be surprised by this one. My passion, on a personal level, would be my son. On a professional level, it would be working with the babies. The younger the better. I am getting closer all the time to my dream of working with preschoolers. It's really very exciting. I just hope it happens before I retire! ;-)

11/9/11

2011-11-09T21:50:00.005-06:00

This makes me wish I lived 5 minutes from O'Hare, instead of Midway. Amusingly enough, right around this time, Stud said he thought it was snowing outside, but I told him I thought it was just drizzle. Things that make you go hmmm...

Wednesday, November 9, 2011
When was the first time that you realized that your home was not like other people’s homes?

I was pretty young when I realized this one. It was mainly because every single one of my friends always LOVED to come to my house. Anyone who's ever spent any time around real Italians understands this one. Our house was always the one where everyone was welcome. You could barely get in the door before someone was hugging you and shoving something delicious in your face, yelling "Mangia! Mangia!". There was usually music playing, and people singing and/or dancing. There was always laughter, LOTS of laughter.

I'm not at ALL saying that my friends didn't come from loving homes of their own. They were just different, that's all. You often hear kids who say, "I wish I could live at so-and-so's house." Well, we were always the "so-and-so" in that sentence. None of us ever said that, that's for sure.

11/8/11

2011-11-08T19:55:00.008-06:00

Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Has anything traumatic ever happened to you? Describe the scenes surrounding a particular event

Wow, I'm not sure where to start with this one. There have been many, many traumatic things that have happened to me in my life. Maybe I could bullet-point a few of the most traumatic? (I realize that what might be traumatic to me might not seem traumatic to others, but this is MY blog, so just deal.)

My grandpa passed away when I was 16 after suffering for several years after a massive stroke. I miss him just as much today as I did when he died 27 years ago.
I suffered through two miscarriages before Stud was born. There was another after he was born.
I lost one of my favorite uncles (one of my dad's brother) to cancer about 6 months after I was married. My wedding was one of the last "good days" he had. He ended up in the hospital the day after, and suffered through many agonizing, painful, horrible months before he died.
In February 1994, my daddy has his first massive heart attack. This was probably the single most terrifying day of my life. He had another 2 years later which is when he had his quadruple bi-pass surgery. He later had another, a few years after that, which lead to his 3rd angioplasty.
On New Year's Eve 1995 my brother-in-law (CSJ's brother) killed himself, after shooting his girlfriend and killing her. This was about 3 months after CSJ and I first separated, and played a big part, I think, in our inability to fix our marriage at the time.
In 2000, at the tender age of 30, my cousin was diagnosed with cancer. That same year my sister's marriage ended, as did my uncle's (my mom's brother). That was also the year my brother called off his wedding about 2 weeks before it was to take place. He and his then-fiance had been together for 5 years. The year 2000 was not a good one for my family.
In 2003, that cousin lost his battle with cancer at 32. A month after that, my grandma lost a leg due to complications from her diabetes. Six months later, my grandmother passed away.
As you know, my brother had a baby this summer. However, the baby's mother is NOT his beautiful girlfriend of the past 12 years. Yeah, that's probably more traumatic for her, but trust me, this has been a source of untold angst and trauma for me, and my family. This is definitely one of the topics in The Post I've been promising for the past 3 months. (As traumatic as this situation may be, of course I love my gorgeous little niece to pieces, and I absolutely know what a blessing from God she is.)
There has been a very traumatic event here recently involving Stud. (Some of you may have picked up on that when reading the Love Letter.) I'm not ready to share just yet, but the heartache and sorrow I've been feeling these past few weeks have been unlike anything I've ever experienced. I can't remember the last time I've cried this much, or been this utterly sad. I've been trying with all my might to focus on the future, and tell myself it'll all work out, but it's not really working.

That last bullet point started the water works again. Time to go cry for a while. I'm starting to hate NaBloPoMo.

11/7/11

2011-11-07T19:18:00.005-06:00

Monday, November 7, 2011
Making family time is important to me. How do you balance your children, relationship, and work life?

Well, all of us know - it's not easy! Most of you know I've been doing it on my own for the past 16 years, which adds another layer of "tough" to the works. I know how much I've had to do, and sacrifice, to do it for ONE child. I'm completely in awe of those single mothers who have more than one. They are my heroes.

All I can really say is that my child and my family have always come first. Always. I have, at some point, told every one of my bosses, "I am a mother first, and a teacher second, and I will never apologize for that."

Most of us, I think, somehow just figure it out as we go along. I think we just "do" it, and don't really stop to think about it. At least in my case, I know that if I had stopped to think about how crazy my life was, I probably would have just froze with fear, and then nothing would have gotten done. Some of you will remember that not too long ago, I was working 2 jobs and going to graduate school, while raising my son. Once I graduated, I took on a 3rd job, mostly because I then had tuition to pay for my son's private school.

Thankfully, since then, things have slowed down a bit for me. More than you guys even know. (I know, I know, I still owe you a post. I'm an assbag.) That being said, I have a whole host of new things causing me stress in my life right now. Truthfully, I feel more stressed now then when I was working 3 jobs. I just take it one day at a time these days, and try to go with the flow. What else can I do really?

Little side note - I will be going for a stress test on Saturday. I probably should have done it years ago. Whatever, I'm doing it now. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous. Part of that nervousness stems from the fact that my aunt had her first stress done when she was just 2 years older than I am now, and less than a minute into it, she coded and dropped dead right on the treadmill. Thankfully, they were able to shock her back to life. And, thank God, she was having the test done at the hospital, as opposed to at her doctor's office, so she was able to get immediate treatment. However, it turned out that treatment was a quadruple bi-pass surgery. Yeah...not how I'm hoping MY test goes. Feel free to put out some positive vibes, good thoughts, prayers, whatever you have to give, for me this Saturday.

I don't want to end on a negative note, so let me just say, there are also lots of great things that are happening around here, too, that are making me very happy. Let me just say this - Good or bad, there's never a dull moment around here.

A little taste of cuteness...

2011-11-06T12:31:00.003-06:00

I was able to find just a few photos of Stud as a baby. There were only a few envelopes of photos in the first drawer I checked, and they’re all from his first year. I spent too much time looking at them that I’ve now put myself hours behind schedule. I can't look for any more because I have a house full of family coming for dinner in a few hours, and I still need to go to the store before I can start cooking. Eesh!

I came across this photo of my brother and Stud on his first Christmas. Stud was 7 weeks old, and my brother was the same age Stud is now! He looks like such a baby. Stud is wearing an official Chicago Bulls Starter warm-up suit that my dad’s boss gave him for his 1st Christmas. He also received a pair of Air Jordan’s from his godfather, but I don’t think he’s wearing them in this photo.

These are a few of my favorite pictures of Stud. He’s about 9 weeks old here. These were taken in the bathroom (obviously!) of our old apartment.

I LOVE this picture of Stud and his grandpa. He’s 12 weeks old here.

These are from Stud’s 9 month photo session. He was just SUCH a happy baby! I also took some of him in a Sox outfit for his daddy, but since Mommy is a Cub’s fan, I’m only posting these!

These are a couple of shots from his 1 year photos. I could just eat him up!

OK, time to get OFF this computer and get moving. How does oven-roasted chicken and potatoes, caprese salad and a tossed salad sound? Grandma’s making pasta salad, and Dad ordered an atomic cake from his favorite bakery. If you’re in the area, stop by!

Love Letter

2011-11-06T10:51:00.002-06:00

My Beautiful Baby Boy,

Oh my good Lord. How is it even possible that you are 18 today?! How did the last 18 years just fly by in the blink of an eye?

You, my sweet boy, are the single greatest thing that has EVER happened to me. I never knew what true love was until you came along. I didn’t know my heart could hold that much love.

Raising you has been the most important job I’ve ever had. Most of the time, I feel like I’m doing a piss-poor job. But then, I remind myself that you are your own person, with your own thoughts and opinions, and your own very strong will. That’s what makes you the awesome person you are. And, I love that person.

I know these past few weeks have a been a rollercoaster of emotion for you. They have been for Daddy and me, too. But, we’ll get through this, as a family, and we’ll all come out stronger for it. I can only imagine how you’ve been feeling about yourself, but there are some things I want you to remember. YOU are a good person. You are funny, kind, generous, compassionate, witty, helpful, and so many other wonderful things. Don’t even get me started on how smart you are. You have no idea how strange it is raising a child who is smarter than you. And, I mean light years smarter!

Everyone makes mistakes. We all make poor choices from time to time. The key is to learn from those mistakes. It’s these life lessons that form us into the people we become. Please hold on to these lessons and learn from them. Do NOT let your mistakes define you. Learn from them and move on.

I see so much greatness in your future, my love. So much. I know right now you must feel scared, lost, confused, sad, angry, etc. But, believe me, you will come through this. Your future is yours to decide. I’m confident that you will make better and better choices as time goes on, and you’ll continue to learn from those “not so great” choices, too.

It breaks my heart that you had to learn such a harsh life lesson at such a young age. However, I know you’ll learn from it. Just, please, don’t forget what you’ve learned. Keep it in the forefront of your mind. Let it help guide your future choices.

I want you to know how very, very much I love you and adore you. Yeah, yeah, I know I tell you all the time, but I can’t help it. Sometimes I think my heart is going to burst from the love I feel for you.

Happy Birthday, my sweet darling. You are my joy, and I love you more than you’ll ever know.

Love,

Mommy

November 6, 2011

2011-11-06T08:57:00.003-06:00

Ok, I've been trying to stop crying long enough to post today, but I'm just overwhelmed with emotion. My long-time bloggy buddies probably aren't surprised by that, since I'm always an emotional wreck. It's just who I am, I guess. Excuse me while I go blow my nose...

Great way to end a LONG Saturday...

2011-11-05T23:15:00.002-05:00

...watching Maroon 5 on SNL :)

Friday, Nov. 4, 2011

2011-11-04T23:30:00.004-05:00

Friday, November 4, 2011
When you are writing, do you prefer to use a pen or a computer?

I hate to sound wishy-washy, but I like them both. I can definitely type faster than I can write. That comes in handy when I'm writing papers for school, or blog posts. ;-) However, sometimes, I just need to put my favorite pen to paper. I find that I'm much more emotional when I'm actually writing. Or is it that I pick up a pen when I feel emotional? Chicken or egg? I always write a novel in birthday/wedding/anniversary cards. I've written some pretty freakin' awesome love letters in my time.

So, I guess that's the answer. If I'm writing with emotion, it's a pen. If it's for "function" it's the computer.

11/3/11

2011-11-03T20:40:00.003-05:00

Thursday, November 3, 2011
Can you listen to music and write? What song did you hear today?

Absolutely! Truthfully, I work better when there's music playing, or at least some background "noise." Right now it's the TV, because Grey's Anatomy is on, and I'm the Queen of Multitasking.

I'm not sure why the second part of this prompt is here. I heard more songs today than I can list. Silly question, don't you think?

11/2/11

2011-11-02T08:49:00.003-05:00

Wednesday, November 2, 2011
If you knew that whatever you ate next would be your last meal, what would you want it to be?

Well, I'm not sure if I can think of an exact meal, per se, but I know what key ingredients would have to be there. There would definitely have to be some kind of cheese involved. Goat cheese, bleu cheese, buffalo mozzarella, fresh ricotta, brie, Havarti, super sharp cheddar, oh good Lord, I could just go on and on!

If there was also some great rustic, crusty bread to go with that cheese, all the better! Oh, and fresh tomatoes are a must. And, an olive or two (or 20!) wouldn't hurt, either. I wouldn't be completely opposed to a few slices of prosciutto or soppressata or capicola.

Well, no matter what the main meal is, I KNOW it has to end with something chocolate. A Nutella-filled croisant, perhaps, or just a few squares of fine dark chocolate would be perfect. Molten Chocolate Lava Cake, anyone? Chocolate Espresso Pots de Creme? Hell, I'd be happy with a couple of Hershey kisses!

All this talk about chocolate has my mouth watering. I think I'm going to go smear some Nutella on a crusty slice of Italian bread for breakfast. Or, I'll just eat it out of the jar with a spoon. Whatever.

Day One NaBloPoMo

2011-11-01T19:25:00.004-05:00

Tuesday, November 1, 2011
What is your favourite part about writing?

Expressing my thoughts and feelings, but getting to edit it until it's exactly the way I want it to be. Unless, of course, I'm too tired to keep editing, or even think straight, which happens pretty frequently. Like right now, for example. Just sayin'...

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T19:10:00.000-05:00

Is it wrong...

2011-10-30T08:02:00.000-05:00

...that this makes me a little jealous?

I'd like to thank my brother for making me cry at work today...

2011-10-28T16:42:00.001-05:00

...when I opened up an email from him, and saw this:I have no words, only tears of pure joy.

Email of the Day

2011-10-28T14:11:00.001-05:00

Two best friends graduated from medical school at the same time and decided that, in spite of their different specialties, they would open a practice together, to share office space and personnel.

Dr. Smith was the psychiatrist and Dr. Jones was the proctologist. They put up a sign reading: "Dr. Smith and Dr. Jones: Hysterias and Posteriors."

The town council was livid and insisted they change it.

The docs changed it to read: "Schizoids and Hemorrhoids."

This was also not acceptable so they again changed the sign: "Catatonics and High Colonics" - No go.

Next, they tried: "Manic Depressives and Anal Retentives" - thumbs down again.

Then came: "Minds and Behinds" - still no good.

Another attempt resulted in: "Lost Souls and Butt Holes" - unacceptable again!

Sighing, they tried: "Analysis and Anal Cysts" - not a chance.

"Nuts and Butts" - no way.

"Freaks and Cheeks" - still no good.

"Loons and Moons" - forget it.

Almost at their wit's end, the docs finally came up with: "Dr. Smith and Dr. Jones - Specializing in Odds and Ends." Everyone loved it!

Email of the Day

2011-10-27T18:59:00.005-05:00

An Italian MaMa

Mrs. Ravioli comes to visit her son Anthony for dinner.

He lives with a female roommate, Maria.

During the course of the meal, his mother couldn't help but notice how pretty Anthony's roommate is.

Over the course of the evening, while watching the two interact, she started to wonder if there was more between Anthony and his roommate than met the eye.

Reading his mom's thoughts, Anthony volunteered, "I know what you must be thinking, but I assure you, Maria and I are just roommates.''

About a week later, Maria came to Anthony saying, "Ever since your mother came to dinner, I've been unable to find the silver sugar bowl.

You don't suppose she took it, do you?"

"Well, I doubt it, but I'll email her, just to be sure."

So he sat down and wrote an email:

Dear MaMa,

I'm not saying that you "did" take the sugar bowl from my house ; I'm not saying that you "did not" take it.

But the fact remains that it has been missing ever since you were here for dinner.

Your Loving Son

Anthony

Several days later, Anthony received a response email from his MaMa which read:

Dear son,

I'm not saying that you "do" sleep with Maria, and I'm not saying that you "do not" sleep with her.

But the fact remains that if she was sleeping in her OWN bed, she would have found the sugar bowl by now.

Your Loving MaMa

Moral:

Never Bulla Shita you MaMa

So sweet, my teeth hurt!

2011-10-25T20:27:00.003-05:00

One of my favorite bloggers, La Roo, posted this over at her place today. I just HAD to share it with you guys.

Now, for a great big belly laugh, go see what my other bloggy buddy, Jim, posted over at his place tonight. TOO funny!!

I didn’t quite think that through enough…

2011-10-23T22:56:00.002-05:00

*This post is from LAST Sunday. I wrote it when the internet was out, not thinking it would be out for five freakin' days!! I just found the draft sitting here, and realized I never published it. Sorry. Truthfully, I don't think I actually finished writing it, but I'm not up to a big edit right now.

Stud just decided this past Wednesday night to accept an invitation to a costume party that last night. It was being held at the house of one of his besties other besties. (did that make sense?) His bestie, George, came with us Wednesday when we went to get our hair done at my girlfriend’s place. He used the ride there to convince Stud to go.

(Quick side note, here’s his finished ‘do. As usual, he’s THRILLED to have his picture taken by me!!)

Anyway, while my sister and I were getting our hair done, the two of them disappeared outside for a while. I went outside to check on them (because it was after 10pm, and they were outside in a big, empty parking lot) and Stud was on the phone with his wife. Turns out, he invited her to come to the party! They were discussing what they should wear.

They came up The Annoying Couple. You know that couple. They dress alike, the act alike, they talk alike, they act lovey-dovey every minute of the day. THAT couple.

On the drive home, we were trying to figure out what they could wear. They wanted to dress alike, and I remembered that Stud and I have matching pajama pants (you’ve all seen mine before because I live in them. Naturally, they have penguins on them!) I usually wear just a navy blue t-shirt with mine, and I knew Stud had one, too, so they were going to wear those. Ah, but then I thought, why not white t-shirts? Then, we could write something annoying on them, like “I’m with him ---->, <---- I’m with her” or “I love my husband, I love my wife” You get the idea.

After an INCREDIBLY long day out at the bar (because Stud cleans at a snail’s pace, but that’s another post!) we rushed straight over to his wife’s house, already 45 minutes late. Because of Stud’s turtle speed, we were SO late. I had left him cleaning earlier to go to the store and get the t-shirts, and the plan was I would make them while he was getting ready, then we’d go get the wife, blah, blah, blah. Well, we didn’t even pick up Wifey until the time the party was to start. Ugh! I HATE being late for things!!!!

I told Wife I hadn’t even had a chance to make the shirts yet, and the two of them were deciding what they wanted on them. After talking about the ideas we had had the other night, Stud came up with, “We should just write something on them that makes it so you have to stand together to read it.” Then it hit me – half-hearts on both shirts so when they stand together it makes a complete heart! We were cracking up.

We rushed home, Stud jumped in the shower, and I grabbed my paint markers and the shirts. As I was trying to get the hearts on the shirts, it hit me – write something in the hearts. Wife and I were so geeked up, I was having a hard time drawing. We couldn’t stop giggling. Here’s the idea we came up with.

Now, unfortunately, I didn’t think this through enough. I simply laid the shirts side by side, and drew. I didn’t take into consideration the depth of their bodies. Poop. I also didn’t take into consideration the fact that Stud is taller than his wife! Argh!! If I had to do them again, I know exactly how I’d adjust them. Sadly, there was no time to fix them, since they were already an hour late for the party. (George called every 5 minutes for that hour, by the way!)

Sadly, because of my poor planning, the hearts looked more like a circle when they stood next to each other. But, they still looked pretty cute. Oh, and I forgot to mention the fact that I had matching shoes for them, too! (I really wanted to stop at a dollar store and pick up some cute reading glasses. I had planned to just pop the lenses out so they could matching glasses, too. But, once again, Stud was TOO DAMN SLOW!)

I think they still looked adorable. Wife had a great time, as did Stud. I figured they were enjoying themselves when he never called for a ride. I would have given him the car to drive them, but kids under 18 can’t drive past 11:00 on the weekend. I didn’t want them to have to cut their evening short, which is why I drove them. Stud kept trying to convince Wife that they should just leave before 11, and then come back here and hang out, just the two of them, for a while. I kept telling him to wait and see, because they just might not want to leave early, which is exactly what happened. (Sheesh, why are we moms always right?!)

In the windup, George, who turned 18 the night before, drove them back to our house (Thank you, George!) and then we drove Wife home. They weren’t quite ready to leave each other, but it was late, and I was exhausted. All the way to Wife’s house, Stud was trying to convince her to hang out today. I don’t think it’s going to happen. It’s almost 10:30, he’s still asleep, and she has to babysit later today. It seems they have they found the secret to a long-lasting marriage – lots of time apart! Hey, it works for MY parents!

Email of the Day

2011-10-23T22:23:00.005-05:00

A man wakes up in the hospital bandaged from head to foot.

The doctor comes in and says,"Ah, I see you've regained consciousness. Now you probably won't remember, but you were in a huge pile-up on the freeway. You're going to be ok, you'll walk and talk again, but your penis was severed in the accident and we couldn't find it."

The man groans, but the doctor goes on, "You have $9000 in insurance compensation coming and we now have the technology to build a new penis. They work great but they don't come cheap. It's roughly $1000 an inch." The man perks up.

"So," the doctor says, "You must decide how many inches you want. But I understand that you have been married for over thirty years and this is something you should discuss with your wife. If you had a five incher before and get a nine incher now she might be a bit put out. If you had a nine incher before and you decide to only invest in a five incher now, she might be disappointed. It's important that she plays a role in helping you make a decision."

The man agrees to talk it over with his wife. The doctor comes back the next day. "So, have you spoken with your wife?"

"Yes I have," says the man.

"And has she helped you make a decision?"

"Yes" says the man.

"What is your decision?" asks the doctor.

"We're getting granite counter tops."

Thanks, Sis. I needed that giggle!

Obviously my internet is fixed, but it's been a busy weekend. I'm just getting home from a delightful night with the family celebrating my niece's 15th birthday. I'll probably share a few pictures tomorrow, since I'm too pooped to download them right now.

How much longer!?!?!

2011-10-19T15:10:00.002-05:00

I had to come to Corner Bakery for the sole purpose of using their free wifi, so I figured I would say a quick "hello" to my bloggy buddies. I pray to God Comcast gets this problem fixed this afternoon! Ok, I'd better get back to what brought me here...

I only have a second...

2011-10-18T12:36:00.004-05:00

...cuz I'm technically stealing this internet connection. MY internet has been down since friggin' SATURDAY!! #$%@*@ Comcast!!!! I'm losing my shit here cuz I have no idea what's been going on with my bloggy buddies!! AND, I'm completely blowing NaBloPoMo for October! :( I actually have a couple of posts written and waiting to be published. Poop. Comcast is supposed to be coming tomorrow (yeah, I said TOMORROW!!) to fix the problem, so I guess you'll just have to miss me until then. Well, unless I decide to just pack up the laptop and go sit at a Starbucks or something tonight. Miss you!

Saturday

2011-10-15T22:14:00.006-05:00

I just dropped Stud and his wife off at a costume party. I made them costumes in the time it took him to take a shower. I will share tomorrow. Right now, I need to take out my contacts and go to bed. Oh, poop. I can't go to bed. I have to pick them up in a couple hours. Ah, the life of a parent...

TGIF

2011-10-14T18:27:00.004-05:00

Friday, October 14, 2011

Which was the best year of your life (so far)?

By now, you all know my gut reaction was to say 1993, since that's the year I was pregnant with Stud (Feb-Nov) and then, obviously, the year he was born. But, since that's such a given, I'm going to go with another answer.

Some of you may remember me telling you about my New Millennium Resolution, made way back on New Year's Day, 2000. Well, let me tell ya, 2000 was one hell of a year for ChiTown Girl. I had more fun that year than any other year I can remember. Most of it I can't write about here (sorry) but trust me, it was a great year. I finally started living, as opposed to sitting around wallowing in the misery of being alone. I recently discovered that CSJ reads this blog sometimes, so I'm going to just keep the details to myself for now. But, feel free to make up your own. ;-)

I started a new adventure today, and I just may tell you all about it over the weekend. Right now I need to go change my clothes and comb my hair, since I'm on my way out to dinner. Stud is at one of his besties' houses for a birthday party, Brian is downstairs playing XBox, so it's just the grown-ups. Or, as Stud likes to say, Date Night. Well, actually, my Bestest Friend is joining us, so not so much a date, as a Grown-Ups Night. Whatever. I'm still looking forward to it. Hope you're having a great Friday night, too.

10/13/11

2011-10-13T20:29:00.003-05:00

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Between your mother and your father, who are you more alike?

If you've been coming by here for any length of time, you already know this answer. I've been hearing for 43 years about how I'm EXACTLY like my father. Many of you have even commented on how much we look alike. My mother tells me ALL THE TIME how much I'm like my father. Of course, she usually talking about all the things that piss her off, but whatever!

2011-10-12T11:24:00.000-05:00

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

If your life flashed before your eyes, what are 5 moments you know would be included?

#1 - Hands down, the day my Stud Muffin was born, November 6, 1993

#2 - January 19,1991, my wedding day

#3 - All 3 of my college graduations (yes, I know that's THREE days, deal with it)

#4 - All 3 of my nieces' birth days (again, just deal)

#5 - Stud's graduation from 8th grade (this one will soon be replaced by his high school graduation. Dear Lord, how did THAT happen so soon?!)

Sorry, I can't help but share this...

2011-10-11T22:21:00.003-05:00

10/11/11

2011-10-11T21:59:00.005-05:00

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

What is your first memory?

Hmmm, this is a tough one. I have an incredible memory, and it's been the talk of my family for as long as I can remember. I've told my mom about things I remember that she swears happened when I was about 9 months old. I'm not really sure I can say what my "first" memory is, but I do have lots of old ones. I'll share one of my family's favorites.

I can remember being on a trip with my parents and my aunt & uncle. I was about 2 at the time. It was bedtime for me, and my mom was reading me a story. Well, she was sort of reading me a story. In between, she was talking to her sister and the men folk. I had to keep reminding her that I was waiting for my story. After a while, I became completely exasperated, and I finally yelled at her. "Are you gonna read me this God-damned story or not?!" (See, Suz? My potty mouth goes WAY back!) Needless to say, the adults all fell on the floor in hysterics.

Why don't you guys share YOUR earliest memories. I'd love to read all about them.

Damn you, Brachs Candy Company!!

2011-10-11T21:40:00.004-05:00

I wait all year to indulge in one of my favorite treats - candy corn! I've learned that there are two very clear groups of people when it comes to candy corn. Either you love it or you hate it. Obviously, I LOVE it!

I had to go to Walgreen's tonight to drop off some prescriptions, and pick up some medicine for Stud, who came home sick from school today. I dropped the prescriptions off at the window, then went down the cold medicine aisle. I still had some time to kill until the prescriptions were going to be ready, so I went down the Halloween aisle. Much to my delight/dismay, there was a big, giant display of candy corn. AND, it was on sale! Damn it!!!

There were some new and interesting flavors on this display. This one immediately caught my eye.
And, damn if it wasn't as good as it sounded!! I opened it as soon as I got home, and there's barely half a bag left. I made myself put it up on a shelf so I wouldn't finish it while I typed this!

Instead of "regular" candy corn, I got this Indian Corn. It has a chocolate stripe!!!
Oh, and this one sounded interesting. I hope it's as great a find as the caramel flavor.Hi, my name is ChiTown Girl, and I'm a candy corn-aholic.

Another new addition…

2011-10-10T19:07:00.003-05:00

My neighbor got the cutest puppy last month. His name is Max. He’s a rescued pit pup, and he’s about to be a dognapping victim. He LOVES Buster, and he’s actually given Buster a little pep to his step lately. You can see by the creative way we’ve fortified the fence, he’s been trying to dig under it to come play with Grandpa Buster.

He looks very much like another rescued pit pup we know – My brother’s dog, Pootz. Don’t you think? Well, except for Max’s ears, which make him look like a gremlin! hahaha! And, he doesn't have the white strip down his face, but still, they could be litter mates.

Kinda makes you want to go rescue a pup, now doesn’t it?

Why I love October...

2011-10-10T09:36:00.004-05:00

THIS was my breakfast! :) The first Affy Tapple of the season is ALWAYS the best! Thank God I only bought one, because I would have eaten as many as I had in the house. The pumpkin spice coffee has been starting my day for a few weeks now. Have I ever mentioned how much I love my Keurig?! No? I didn't think so. ;-)

This requires far too much thought for a Monday...

2011-10-10T09:16:00.002-05:00

Monday, October 10, 2011

What do you think happens after you die?

Wow, this was NOT what I was expecting for a prompt today. I don't particularly like to write about such "deep" things, so I'll keep my response short and sweet.

I think you go to heaven and reunite with all your loved ones who have passed. Everyone is happy, healthy and pain-free. You all get to spend eternity together. There is no pain, no illness, no sadness, only joy, joy, joy.

And that's my idea of what happens after you die. Yes, it sounds like an 8 year-old wrote it, but it's what I'm praying really happens.

She did it again!!!

2011-10-09T10:52:00.003-05:00

Because I was gone all day yesterday, and didn't get home until very late, I didn't get yesterday's mail out of my mailbox until right this minute. Look what was in there! ANOTHER gift from my friend Debbie! I wonder why she thought this was so perfect for me... ;-)

She better watch it, a girl could get very used to this kind of treatment. THANK YOU, Deb. Your generosity is astounding!

Is it still only Saturday?

2011-10-08T23:25:00.004-05:00

Holy shmoly, I'm tired. Stud and I left here just over 12 hours ago, and we spent the whole day with my brother. Stud went out to clean the bar, which I think is his new job now. This is the third weekend he's gone, and my brother has slowly been phasing out the kid who was cleaning for him. He was NOT happy with this kid, so it all seems to be working out for the best.

We spent some of that time enjoying lunch with my brother and cousin, and we ended the evening by having a quick bite to eat with just my brother at a restaurant across the street from the bar. While we were eating, our parents arrived at the bar, so we ran in to say hello real quick before leaving. Stud is wiped OUT! He came straight in the house, and went to bed. I'm about to do the same, now that I've fulfilled my NaBloPoMo obligation for the day. Good night!

Figure It Out Friday

2011-10-07T08:00:00.005-05:00

Friday, October 7, 2011

Talk about one important thing that happened between last Friday and today.

Well, I dropped a little crumb about this already earlier in the week. The most important thing that's happened between last Friday and today is the baptism of this little beauty.

I know I still haven't shared the scoop about this angel, but that's mostly because it's not really my scoop to give. Maybe I can just drop a few more crumbs, and let you follow the trail.

Have you figured it out?

10/6/11

2011-10-06T22:36:00.004-05:00

Thursday, October 6, 2011

List two things (however close or far) that your current home is between.

My parents' house (about 20 blocks away) and GORGEOUS downtown Chicago.

I spent a wonderful night in my gorgeous city last night. CSJ and I, along with my Bestest Friend, took an architectural tour down the Chicago River. (Yes, you read that right - CSJ and I. Shut up, ok?)

I took my babies on an architectural tour around Navy Pier every year for 8 years. It was the shorter, half-hour tour that basically circled the pier. Then, New Principal came along, and put an end to that.

It's a great tour, and I've always really enjoyed it, despite the fact that most of my time was spent making sure no babies ended up overboard, sprinkled with trips to the bathroom every 8 1/2 minutes.

So, over the summer, when Groupon had a deal for tickets to the longer, one-hour tour that goes down the river, I jumped on it.

I tried to get as many pictures as I possible, since our city is even MORE gorgeous at night, when it's all lit up. You guys already know what a crappy camera I have, so those pictures aren't the greatest. There's some serious lag-time between when you push the button and when the picture actually snaps. Add to that the fact that the boat was cruisin' along, and it all adds up to some blurry, yet interesting, photos. Some of them have a really cool 'artsy' look to them. It's almost like I took them that way on purpose.

As we were cruising along, I suddenly remembered that I had my iPod with me, so I took a ton of pictures with that, too. Those are actually much better than the ones I took with my camera. Things were going along swimmingly, right up until the iPod died. Ugh.

I’m putting all the photos from both cameras here. The blurry, I mean artistic, ones are probably from my camera, and the better ones are probably from my iPod.

(Hey, Suz! I FINALLY used Live Writer to do this, and you're so right! It's MUCH easier!!)

Chicago River Night Tour

VIEW SLIDE SHOW

DOWNLOAD ALL

10/5/11

2011-10-05T23:05:00.003-05:00

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

List two things (however close or far) that your childhood home is between.

My childhood home is where my parents' still live. It is between my house and my siblings' homes. Of the three of us, I live the closest to my parents. I live about 20 blocks away from them. I've actually walked there a few times, and when Stud was a baby, I would put him in my bike trailer and ride my bike over there. My sister lives about 30 blocks from my parents, and my brother lives about a half hour drive from them. Wow, this is the most boring paragraph I've ever typed.

I just walked in from a wonderful evening, and I'm planning to tell you all about it in the morning. It actually fits in with tomorrow's NaBloPoMo prompt! But, right now, I'm so exhausted, I need to just fall into bed. Nighty night!

Suz, this one actually wasn't too bad...

2011-10-04T08:55:00.003-05:00

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Are you the oldest, youngest, middle or only child? Talk about siblings.

Those of you who have been around for a while know that I have a brother and a sister, both younger. I'm the oldest, although now that we're adults, I'm ALWAYS asked if I'm the youngest. tee hee

I really wanted to share some pictures of us growing up, but I'm feeling FAR too lazy to go looking for my old pictures. I did scan a few for you, though, that I had around the house.

This one makes me laugh just looking at it!! You guys know that I was a band geek. My sister was, too, but only for a couple of years. My brother was never in band in grade school, but when he was a toddler, one of my uncles gave him this bugle, that he used to drag out every time my sister and I had our instruments out. Obviously this was taken on a night when we had a performance. I'm going to guess I was in 7th grade, my sister was in 5th, and my brother would have been kdg.
This is one of my favorite family photos. It's been on my refrigerator for 19 years now. It's clearly from my sister's wedding (Oct. 3, 1992). I can not believe how young we all look! Or, how thin I was!! I may have mentioned before that after being an absolute HOUSE at my own wedding, about 2 years before my sister's, I went on (yet another!!) diet and exercise plan, and by the time my sister's wedding arrived, I was down about 80 pounds, and looking pretty cute, if I do say so myself. Naturally, right after my sister got married, Stud was conceived, and I've never been that size again. :(This one is also on my fridge, right below the wedding photo. I love this picture of us! Mostly because the most beautiful city in the world is our backdrop. This was taken on Lower Wacker, over looking the Chicago River, in December 1999. My cousin from Alabama came to visit for the first time, and we were showing him around our gorgeous city.Maybe if I get a sudden burst of energy, I'll go dig up some photos that are actually cute. Or, from the 21st century!!

Yeah, I'm doing it again...

2011-10-03T11:45:00.005-05:00

Last week, I got an email about NaBloPoMo, like I do every month. The theme for October is Between. Not really sure what that's going to entail, but I'm feeling frisky today, so I figured, why not?

Monday, October 3, 2011

What is something you always pack on a trip?

A great book.

Is that answer too short? Well, I kinda feel like it doesn't need much more of an explanation than that. I'll try to do better with future prompts.

What a day....

2011-10-02T23:54:00.003-05:00

...we had today. Not sure how much I want to say about it just yet. It has to do with some 'stuff' that I'd plan to share in The Post. Yeah, yeah, I know I've been promising for the past 3 months that I was going to share The Post, but it's just not quite ready yet. Don't give up on me just yet.

That being said, I'm actually starting to feel anxious about it, though, because I feel like there's been WAY too much of a build-up to something that's going to just be a so-so post. Truthfully, the purpose it will serve will really just be for me to get it all out, in black and white, and to have more or less of a journal entry to look back on later.

I will, however, leave you with this little teaser. Yesterday was all about this little angel. :)

This about sums it up....

2011-10-01T07:41:00.003-05:00

Many thanks to Cyndy over at Putting the FUN in DysFUNctional for this. It made me laugh out loud, then immediately want to make a T-shirt!

Not bad for a Thursday...

2011-09-30T11:20:00.006-05:00

We had the weirdest weather yesterday. It was gray and overcast a good part of the day. Every time the sun made an appearance, it was accompanied by rain! We had some really stormy moments. On my way over to my mother's, the sky suddenly opened up and it rained so hard, I couldn't see anything. I could, however, hear the hail pounding my car. Then, just as suddenly as it started, it stopped dead. So weird!

I was on my way to my mother's to pick my niece and her up for a night of fun. My brother's girlfriend arranged for a night of fun for our family. An Italian singer that my family is fond of was in town to perform a couple of shows last night, and she got us all tickets. My niece REALLY likes him, so she joined us.

The weird rain continued throughout our entire drive. We were headed north, to Evanston. Thanks to rush hour and the weather, I knew we were in for at least an hour and half in the car. As we were on I94, driving through the middle of the city, my niece started shouting about the rainbow she saw over the Sears Tower. (And, yes, it's STILL the Sears Tower. Screw you, Willis Tower!) Of course, I couldn't see it since a) I was driving, and b) I couldn't see through the roof, so I handed her my camera. I know the pictures aren't the greatest, but if you squint just right, you can see the rainbow.

You can see just from this little series of photos how quickly the sky was switching between blue and gray. Weird!

The singer we were going to see is named Patrizio. Anyone out there ever hear of him? You can check out a few of his YouTube videos here, here, and here.

Anyway, that's who we went to see. Here's our happy little group. For you newbies, that's my brother in the back, on the left, and our cousin, Paulie, on the right. The front row is Yours Truly, my brother's gorgeous girlfriend, KC, my beautiful sister, her daughter, my mother and my daddy.
My niece was very excited about the night. The whole thing was a surprise for her.

The Girls.

How cute are these two? Well, ok, my brother isn't looking so cute here (Sorry, Jo!), but KC is always a knock-out! KC's been around for nearly 12 years now. When the hell are they getting married already!!?
The Folks. Not the best shot of them, either, but what the hell, it's all I got!
DEFINITELY the highlight of my niece's night!! This was after the show. He signed her CD, then offered to take this photo.
So, that was our Thursday night. What did YOU do last night?

How have I never thought of this?!

2011-09-29T15:27:00.006-05:00

Somehow, during my Bloggy Adventures this afternoon, I clicked over to one of my favorite crazy sites, People Of Walmart. As I was going page by page, fighting the urge to vomit, I suddenly came across this on page 49: (Yes, page 49. I know, I couldn't help it, it's like a bad train wreck, you just can't look away!!)Brilliant!! With the freakin' heat we had this summer, I could have opened a bakery!

Haven't we all felt like this at some point...

2011-09-28T10:35:00.004-05:00

If I had a nickel for every time I've given the Death Stare, I'd be a billionaire!

**For some reason, the first video I embedded wouldn't play. I took it from The Today Show's website (I think). I found it again, but this one isn't translated.

This hit my G-spot...

2011-09-26T08:09:00.004-05:00

I just lifted this from my good buddy, Vodka Mom. It's the greatest thing I've seen in a long time! (the 'g-spot' reference actually came from a comment someone left her)

My day just keeps getting better and better...

2011-09-24T14:32:00.007-05:00

...because I have the BEST freakin' friends!!! My Bloggy Buddies are on a roll today. First, Ricochet sends me that adorable video (see below). Then, I went to get my mail, and found a wonderful surprise!

No, not this junk mail.
This package from Japan!!My dear, sweet friend, dkuroiwa, sent me some pressies! She feels almost the same about flamingos that I do about penguins. (I say 'almost' because nobody is as big a freak as I am!)There was a sweet note in the package. I had to laugh at what she said about the stationery. I don't know if you can tell from this picture, but the stationery is actually turned on its side because the lines are designed for Japanese characters.
How freakin' cute are these!? You can write a little note on the penguin's belly, then you fold up his arms into a hug, and stick it to a gift or anything else you want.
These are cool. They are index stickers, designed to be stuck to the side of pages, like tabs. So cool!
Now, these next three things are really awesome. They are called tenugui. D said they were originally used as bandages and/or just to put around your neck or head on hot days. Now they are also used to "advertise" at festivals, etc.

This one she thought Stud would find interesting. It is covered with different sumo positions. The symbols are Kanji, and she thought Brian might be able to translate. Well, as soon as I unfolded it, Brian said, "Oh, I can read that!"
Here's a close up view of the cloth. How interesting.
This one is a Chinese Dragon Dance.
This third one is extra special, thanks to her explanation. She said she picked it out because of the picture on it, but after her husband translated it, she said she "realized that is is perfect for" me! The picture is Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy. She wrote me a special blessing - "May she watch over and protect you and help keep you strong!" How incredibly sweet is she?!

Like I said, I have the BEST friends EVER!!! I'm off to write 'someone' a heartfelt thank you letter!