Not bad for a Thursday...

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?!

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...

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...

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...

...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!

Email of the Day

Thanks to my friend, Ricochet, THIS is how I started my day today. :)



Thank you, my friend, for guaranteeing my day started with a smile!

It exactly what I needed after the story in our local news yesterday that Lincoln Park Zoo will be temporarily closing its penguin exhibit. I was seriously teary-eyed when I heard that. They say they're going to renovate, and then bring the penguins back, but it won't be soon enough for me. :(

Email of the Day

Sometime this year, we taxpayers will again receive another 'Economic Stimulus' payment.
This is indeed a very exciting program, and I'll explain by using a Q & A format:
Q. What is an 'Economic Stimulus' payment ?
A. It is money that the federal government will send to taxpayers.
Q. Where will the government get this money ?
A. From taxpayers.
Q. So the government is giving me back my own money ?
A. Only a smidgen of it.
Q. What is the purpose of this payment ?
A. The plan is for you to use the money to purchase a high-definition TV set, thus stimulating the economy.
Q. But isn't that stimulating the economy of China ?
A. Shut up.

Below is some helpful advice on how to best help the U.S. economy by spending your stimulus check wisely:
* If you spend the stimulus money at Wal-Mart, the money will go to China or Sri Lanka .
* If you spend it on gasoline, your money will go to the Arabs.
* If you purchase a computer, it will go to India , Taiwan or China .
* If you purchase fruit and vegetables, it will go to Mexico , Honduras and Guatemala ..
* If you buy an efficient car, it will go to Japan or Korea .
* If you purchase useless stuff, it will go to Taiwan .
* If you pay your credit cards off, or buy stock, it will go to management bonuses and they will hide it offshore.

Instead, keep the money in America by:
1) Spending it at yard sales, or
2) Going to ball games, or
3) Spending it on prostitutes, or
4) Beer or
5) Tattoos.

(These are the only American businesses still operating in the U.S. )

Conclusion:
Go to a ball game with a tattooed prostitute that you met at a yard sale and drink beer all day!
No need to thank me, I'm just glad I could be of help.

Homecoming 2011

I guess I forgot to mention that Homecoming was this weekend, huh? Oops, sorry.

Last night was my baby's last high school homecoming. How in the hell did THAT happen? How is it possible that he's a freakin' SENIOR already?!?

Well, here it is at last...meet Brian! (And please ignore the disgusting pig sandwiched between these two handsome young men!)
Stud's best friend set Brian up with a date for the dance. I'd say he did a damn fine job, don't you think? She's a doll!These two met for the first time last Sunday. I'd say they're hitting off pretty well. Stud said that the two of them basically disappeared the entire dance. They went outside and sat in the courtyard, and got to know each other. How sweet!I just can't wrap my head around the fact that these 3 are seniors!!!! Some of you that have been around for a while may remember that these three have gone to school together since grammar school. Stud and his bestest friend met when they were in kindergarten! Ryan, the boy on the left, transferred to their school in the 2nd grade. I have the coolest pictures of them from their 8th grade graduation, and in about 8 months, I'll be taking one of them at their high school graduation. Holy crap, I just made myself cry. I'll be right back....

Ok, I'm better. Here's a shot of the girls.
The guys. The boy next to Brian is also an exchange student at Stud's school. He is here from Thailand.The whole gang.
Stud and his date. They're just friends. For now. Stud's been crushin' on her for a while now. Stud's best friend's mom put out a little spread of goodies for the kids, since we gathered at her house for pictures before the dance. Yes, that's sparkling grape juice. I got her hooked on the stuff. Stud LOVES it, and we always have it at parties. It's her new favorite thing.See, I told you, he LOVES the stuff!If you want to take a walk down memory lane, you can check out Homecoming 2008, Homecoming 2009, and Homecoming 2010 here.

The group went to a pizza place after the dance. We were all a bit disappointed yesterday when we realized that I was STILL going to have to do the driving for the dance. There were some new laws passed here in IL not too long ago regarding teenaged drivers. One of them is that, until they've had their license for 9 months, or until they are 18 (which ever come first) they are only allowed to drive with ONE other child under 18 in the car. There is an exception, though, for siblings. I think it's a great law. Unfortunately for us, Stud's only had his license for about 3 months, and he won't be 18 for another month and a half. His best friend has only had his license about 2 months longer that Stud. None of the other 3 boys have a license. So, that means the moms still had to drive them to the dance. SENIOR YEAR! Ugh! They were all good about it, but I know they wish it didn't have to be that way. There was a part of me that was tempted to just let Stud and best friend drive, since we only live 20 streets (NOT blocks, simply cross streets) from school. But, I was afraid that the police would be out in full force, knowing that is was Homecoming night, and I didn't want to chance it. In the windup, I drove Stud, Brian and their dates, best friend drove with his date, and Ryan, his date, and the other couple drove with Ryan's mom. That meant we had to drop them off at the dance, go back and get them a few hours later, and drop them at the restaurant, then go back about an hour later and pick them up again. Actually, CSJ picked them up at the restaurant since I had already fallen asleep.

Not too much more to share, since Stud's been a little mum about the whole thing. Well, that the first in a long list of "lasts" for my baby's senior year. I think I'll go cry some more now.

2008

2009

2010

2011