A Special Treat

For those of you who have no idea what synchronized skating is and what Lauren has been doing since age 4, check this out. One of the Dads posted Illinois Skating's 3rd place finish at the Dr. Porter Classic on You Tube. I love the web. The music they skate to is from the movie "Speed." See if you can spot Lauren. Ten points if you find her! And turn up the volume!

Party Night

We're having a few very good friends over tonight for some holiday cheer and I'm busy doing my thing today when the doorbell unexpectedly rings. Flowers for me!? Although Rick often brings home flowers for me (cuz he's "THE MAN"), almost never are they delivered. I gently tore open each stapled corner searching for the card. Alas, amidst the greens and roses, was the card. "Love, Michaelene" I have been blessed in my life to have so many wonderful friends and Mikey is certainly high on the list, if not at the top. I think she may even be my "best friend," most days anyway. I'm sure she sent them in anticipation of a great evening of food and beverages tonight.

The said flowers are now the centerpiece of my table. Thanks Mikey.

IllinoiSkating Rocks the House

That's right folks. They took a lot of people by surprise, I'm sure, but not me. I knew they could do it. The competition was stiff. Twelve universities including Western Michigan, Michigan State, U. of Michigan, Notre Dame, Indiana U. and U. of Wisconsin. The girls skated a very fast and clean program and we all knew it the second the music stopped. There is nothing quite like that feeling of knowing you whooped ass. When the results were in, IllinoiSkating took the Bronze! Third out of twelve. Not bad for a team that took seventh out of nine at the same competition last year. These girls practice hard four days a week including the dreaded Friday morning practice that they all despise. I'm sure they have all walked away from this incredible experience today understanding what their hard work and dedication can accomplish. It was a perfect example of being in control of your own destiny. The long and short of it all is we are just so proud of them all including our new coach Audrey. As a first year coach she has shown that she means business. Good for her but even better for Illinois skating.

I would also like to give an honorable mention to the Illini parents for being able to "synchronize" their cheer. We improved tenfold from the Kalamazoo competition!


And just one more picture of our baby with her medal that you can't actually see but I swear is at the end of that ribbon around her neck!

DA BEARS!

What a game. Thank you to the powers that be. Now Jeanne is safe, at least for this week. I was bad at the game yesterday. I got caught smoking in the stadium. Soldier Field is completely non-smoking. I am usually a big rule follower but after a lengthy tailgate, I really just wanted a Marlboro. BUSTED! They gave me a warning but if I get caught again they have the right to take away my season ticket and my PSL (personal seat license that cost me way too much.) I'll be leaving the Marlboros in the car from now on.

Happy Birthday Lauren

While today is Lauren's birthday, we actually had the "birthday dinner" on Tuesday night due to scheduling difficulties. Lauren's birthday dinner is always the same. Barbecued ribs (with Rick's homemade sauce), tomato and fresh mozzarella salad, baked potatoes with sour cream and absolutely no vegetables. And let us not forget the traditional Baskin Robbins ice cream cake. Also always the same. Mint chocolate chip ice cream with chocolate cake. I won't tell you how badly I was ripped off on that cake. You can see how small it is. The damn cake was $28! OK, I had to tell. I couldn't believe it. Next year I think I will try Coldstone Creamery for the cake.

I had to include this picture. Obviously, the Anderson pyromaniac gene has been passed down to Justin and Lauren. And, obviously it has rubbed off on Jeanne (whose arm is in the forefront of the photo) and Joe. No, the smoke alarm did not go off. Look how happy Justin and Lauren are!

So a great big HAPPY 19th BIRHTDAY to our Galooger!

I would also like to extend my sincere wishes for a happy and safe Thanksgiving to all. There are many things I am thankful for this holiday, far more than I could ever list. Here are just a few, not in any particular order, except for the first one.

Bobby's strong will to survive this ordeal (Bob always bragged about being the toughest of the Ubriacos. He wins. I won't ever argue that point with him again.)

My kids and the fine young people they have become

My adoring husband whom I love with all my heart and soul. I couldn't make it without him.

All of the Ubriacos and Andersons, those close and far away

My dog Ozzy and my adopted kitties Jethro and Ringo

The sun and the moon and the stars

Last, but not least, wine

Not Much to Blog About

At least not anything funny or uplifting. Most of you know by now that my brother Bob was in a terrible car accident on October 26. He is still in intensive care and probably will be for some time to come. I have been going down to St. Louis, where he lives, each week to visit him, although I don't think he knows I'm there. This has been a very difficult time for my family. So the blog has been neglected because I find it hard to write about anything funny. And the things that I usually blog about seem so unimportant at this time. But I do want to thank everyone for their prayers and well wishes. Bob needs them all. He is the best big brother a girl could ask for and a loyal blog reader. While he never leaves comments on the blog he does email me frequently with comments. I miss those emails. I miss my brother.

Birthday Shout Out

Happy Birthday to my hubby! Hard to believe that a year has gone by since the big party at Hawthorne. And guess where we're headed to celebrate today? That's right, Hawthorne. We are so original.

Our Great Italian Adventure

It was the type of vacation that makes you need a vacation when you return. Up early each day, board the tour bus by 8am, gone all day, board the bus again around 5pm, back to the hotel to eat and drink like pigs. The tours each day mostly consisted of churches, churches and more churches. By the end of the week, I could care less if I ever saw another church in my life. Baroque, Renaissance, blah, blah, blah. Popes, Emperors, painters, sculptors, blah, blah, blah. As a sufferer of self diagnosed adult ADD, it was just too much information.

Some highlights:

• The Vatican and all that it includes; Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica
• Trevi Fountain where I made a wish. It's sort of in an alley, very bizarre.
• The Colosseum (that we actually only saw from the outside, long story, but after waiting in line for some time, the man at the gate told us to come back tomorrow. Bastard!)
• Tuscany and all the quaint little towns we visited including Cortona (one of my favorites) which is the setting for "Under the Tuscan Sun." A book neither of us has read and a movie neither of us has seen.
• The winery visit in Montepulciano (say that ten times really fast after drinking wine!) and all the tasty wine. Nothing like a good wine buzz in the middle of the afternoon!
• The David in Florence. Unbelievable. He's huge. Rick was quick to point out that David's second toe is considerably longer than his big toe. Justin will be happy to know that too.
• Bologna, a quaint little town with it's open air produce and fish markets. Why can't we get produce like that in the States? Those Dagos really know how to grow shit.
• Venice, even though it rained like hell that day and we never got to take our gondola ride. But Venice is my favorite. It smells like my mother's kitchen. Mmmmmmmm.
• The Murano glass factory, even though I couldn't afford anything there.
• Padua, home of St. Anthony. Inside St. Anthony's church they actually had is tongue on display. Gross! And Padua University where Galileo studied. When someone graduates from Padua University, their friends and family dress them in whatever silly outfit they choose, parade them through the town, singing all the way, while the graduate carries a bottle of alcoholic beverages that they must drink from every few minutes. People hoot and holler as they pass by and bystanders can do almost anything to the graduate, including but not limited to kissing the grad and smearing whipped cream on them. CRAZY SHIT. But they sure have a good time celebrating. When viewing the pictures, see if you can guess which photo is of the graduate. It shouldn't be to difficult.
• Our last night cocktail party with all the great new friends we made. There were John and Big Debs (who weighs all of 4 lbs.) from Kentucky. John used to be a judge. Perhaps they discovered how much wine he drinks and this is why he no longer is a judge. Then there was Pete and Susan from Detroit. Pete is a true Irishman and quite the gentleman while Susan is a troublemaker. I say that with only love in my heart. Finally, Bill and Mustang Sally from Iowa. Thank god for Sally who was our menu interpreter and Bill who turned Rick onto Shout wipes. A brilliant invention for men with big bellies! And, I turned them all onto Lupini beans. Only my family and Italian friends will know what those are.

To view all the fabulous pictures of all the churches, click here.

Ciao from Rome

What a crazy place! When we arrived yesterday we hopped in a taxi from the airport to our hotel. We both immediately commented on the crazy people who ride scooters/Mopeds as a means of transportation. The taxi driver told us that it was the best way to see Rome AND avoid the constant traffic. Rick and I both agreed that there would be no scooter rentals for us, for we want to come home via jet plane rather than pine box. Within minutes doesn't a scooter run into our taxi and, BAM!, the scooter rider is on the ground! Fortunately he was OK, but our taxi was pretty wrecked. Nice way to begin our Roman adventure. So far we have visited the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain and Vatican City. All very cool, but the Sistine Chapel and Michaelangelo's work is absolutely mind boggling and breathtaking!

We are hoping to still make it to the Colliseum before heading north to Florence tomorrow. Very rainy today so that is putting a damper (pun intended) on today's plans.
However, we did drive by the Colliseum so that may have to do. Could be a good excuse to return to Rome someday.
The wine is oh so tasty and CHEAP! I have had fresh mozzarella with every meal so I couldn't be happier. The hotel I booked for us in Rome is fabulous; we have a corner suite with two terraces!

CIAO!

And We're Off!

The big Italy trip is finally here. First stop Rome. Bob and Shirl are holding down the fort here in the HG. Tune back in after the 21st and there will be lots of pictures and stories.

I will miss my dog. ;(

My Pottery Obsession

I bought this gorgeous platter in Colorado with the intention of hanging it on the wall in my upstairs hallway. I cannot possibly be the first person ever who wants to hang something like this on the wall. After searching high and low on the web for a way to hang this, I have come up with nothing. There is not a search term I haven't tried. The platter is about 20" in diameter, about 3" deep and quite heavy. I found plate hangers for smaller lightweight items but nothing that would do for this. This is just the kind of shit that sets me off. What the fuck? There is nothing on the web to hang this thing? I don't believe it.

Years ago when I was having some glass shelving installed in our master bathroom, I wanted some sort of bracket that wasn't ugly and didn't stand out too much. The installer told me they didn't have anything like that. I simply replied, "I cannot be so original that I am the first asshole to want such a thing." Remarkably he found a solution that pleased me. Not an easy task, I know. But I also cannot be the only one to want to hang something like this on the wall.

I think I will just look for two separate brackets to affix to the wall and go from there. Unless Jeanne the Web Queen someone has a better idea. I am open to suggestions.

FYI: If you are searching for marijuana smoking paraphernalia, just add the word "bowl" to your search terms!

Good Times

Another fun-filled weekend. Our good friends and neighbors, Cy and Karla (aka K-Ho) invited us to their Michigan house for the weekend. We spent the day Saturday drinking fishing along the St. Joseph River. We all caught fish. Cy caught the most but Rick came in with a pretty nice walleye that we had for snack that night. Nothing better than fresh caught fish. We enjoyed a nice bonfire Saturday night. I'm not sure Rick enjoyed it as much as we did. It wasn't the usual "burn down the woods" type fire he is used to. Sunday rolled around and it was time to drive home and listen to that God awful Bears game on the radio. Thankfully, we didn't have to actually watch it. Makes us not too upset that we will miss a game while in Italy.

The Cubs are in the playoffs. Cross your fingers.

The Illini are 4-0. Pretty remarkable seeing as their record for the last two years was 4-19. Rick will be at the game against Wisconsin this weekend with Lauren (Dad's weekend at U. of I.) I will have the weekend to myself. Just me and the Oz Man.

And finally, get well wishes to my Dad who came home from the hospital yesterday after a bout with pneumonia. He seems to be much better.

We're So Excited!

Our trip to Italy is just around the corner and we have finally received all of our travel documents. Because we are going on a tour, we did not know exactly what hotels we would be staying at. Of course we were promised four star hotels, but you never know what you will actually get. We spend the first two nights in Rome at the Marcella Royale Hotel. Then it's off to Siena to the Hotel le Fonti for three nights. No website given for this hotel and, I must admit, that makes me just a bit nervous. Finally, three fabulous nights in Venice at the Hotel Brioni Mare. We are definitely going for a gondola ride in Venice this time around. Screw the cost. I also have plans to significantly add to my Murano glass collection. I love that stuff, all of it. We welcome any travel tips and suggestions.

Cubs Win!

What a HUGE win tonight over the Reds! And taking the game yesterday against the Cardinals. Beautiful.

Go Cubs Go!

Go Cubs Go!

Hey Chicago, what do you say?

The Cubs are gonna win today!

And a W for the Bears yesterday, too!

Unbelievable

We returned late last night from our first trip to Colorado and the Rocky Mountains. A client of Rick's was generous enough to let us use his "Kamp" as he calls it. His kids call it his 5 acre money pit and work farm. Let me tell you, hardly what I would describe as a camp! A gorgeous cedar log home complete with guest house where we stayed and where this picture was taken. We fished for rainbow trout on Lake Granby and actually caught some. Ate them too. YUMMY! We spent an afternoon driving through Rocky Mountain National Park. Overwhelmingly beautiful and scary at the same time. I'm not one for heights so there were times during the drive that I literally could not look. I've seen the Adirondack Mountains in all their seasonal glory, I've seen the Blue Ridge Mountains and they really do look blue, but the Rockies are truly spectacular. (I've also seen the Swiss and Italian Alps, but that's another continent altogether.) To be more than two miles above sea level is mind blowing and breathtaking, due to the altitude. We ended our trip with a night in Denver where we got to see Jeanne's "Booty Lounge" apartment. Very hip loft in the LoDo area of downtown Denver with extraordinary views of its own. We shared a delicious meal with J & J at a champagne bar that Jeanne selected just for her me, then the four of us went to a Colorado Rockies game. Really awesome stadium that was barely half full even with the Rockies in the running for a wild card spot in the playoffs. Sad, I thought. Saturday morning the kids took us out for a great brunch at the cutest little French bistro near Jeanne's apartment. Nothing like a few mimosas before you get on a plane! To view all the Colorado pictures, click here.



Sports Update

Today is the Bears season opener at home against the Kansas City Chiefs. I hope we kick their asses.

I hope my brother Bob is doing a little gloating down in St. Louis since the Cubs did win 2 out of 3 games against the Cards.

And Michigan whooped the shit out of Notre Dame yesterday!

I Love NY But.........

.........Not Macy's. In the Chicago Tribune this morning, there was an article about how Macy's is still suffering poor sales since discarding the Marshall Field name. Really?! I am extremely proud to say that I have not even set foot in Macy's since they came to Chicago two years ago. And I have no intention of ever doing so. The funny thing is when we would travel I used to love to shop at Macy's. Now I'm just pissed. My daughter was a fourth generation Marshall Field shopper. How could they do that to us? I miss those green shopping bags. At Christmastime, the best day was was a long day of shopping at Field's on State Street. I did not even go downtown to see the Christmas windows last year. Long story short, Macy's is putting out some new ads this fall to try and get back all the lost shoppers. Problem is the ads feature Jessica Simpson and Donald fucking Trump. Chicago does not want Macy's and bringing in Donald Trump is only going to worsen things. How did they think that would help? The Donald, and his obnoxious new development on the site of the old Sun-Times building, and Macy's should go back to New York. PRONTO!

Maybe they could even take Oprah with them!

The Whole Gang

It's not very often that our entire family is together in one place. It happened Sunday at Kenny's house. Being together is one thing, gathering everyone for a family photo is another. I had a difficult time convincing Joe to stay long enough to be in the picture. He is definitely camera shy. And then there's Kenny. Several pictures were taken but this is the only one that he wasn't sticking his tongue out or making rabbit ears above Mom's head. Maybe next time we can get him to put a shirt on!

Role Reversal

Lauren has been away for two weeks already. She calls us frequently. The difference now is that we are aggravating her instead of the other way around. The other day she tried calling both of us a few times each on our cell phones and didn't reach us. When I saw that we had missed her calls I promptly called her back. That conversation went something like this:

Me: Hi, you rang?

Lauren: You never answer your cell phone anymore!

Me: Sorry. We were on the boat and I didn't hear it ring.

Lauren: And could you turn the music down, I can't hear a word you're saying!

Rick and I couldn't help but laugh when I hung up. Shouldn't we be the ones scolding her for not answering her cell phone and telling her to turn the music down?

Empty nesting........a beautiful thing!

Yummy

Perfect for the upcoming Labor Day holiday weekend.

LEMON WHISKEY SLUSH

2 cans frozen lemonade
1 1/3 c. water
4 c. ginger ale
2 or more cups whiskey
Cold ginger ale or club soda for serving

Mix together above ingredients in large freezer
container. Cover and freeze for at least 8 hours.
Spoon into glasses and top with a splash of
ginger ale or club soda.

Very refreshing. Enjoy!

Way To Go Lauren!

Lauren is the newest member of the Illini Edge Synchronized Skating Team! Clinics and tryouts took place over the last week. Lots of girls tried out, 19 made the team and 16 skate the competitions. They are skating to music from the movie "Speed." (Guess we will have to rent that movie since we have never seen it.) According to Lauren the music is fast and angry. She likes happy music better since she has a million dollar smile. But I've seen her angry face and I think she will do just fine. It has been two years since she has skated competitively and we are very excited to see her skate again. Nationals are in Rhode Island in February. I can't wait to see all my Chicago Jazz friends. NOT!

Sorrrryyyy!

Rick so kindly pointed out to me that I used the word "from" twice in the same sentence in my last post.I cannot seem to go back and edit my blog from the Blackberry. Is that Blogger technology or Blackberry technology? Or could it be that I really don't know how to work this Blackberry? Nah.

A Perfect Day at the Lake

It all began with a nice spicy bloody mary and a big fat steak burger for brunch followed by a little chill time. After a pleasant afternoon boat ride it's time for dinner. Steak, salmon, stuffed portabellas, baked potatoes. All on the "God" grill. And let us not forget the very tasty bottle of pinot noir. And it's only day one. YEEEHAA!

And, I just love Rick's new Blackberry from which I am posting!

I Said I Wouldn't Cry

This is Lauren and Sam on the first day of school, 2003. For 13 years we have taken pictures of the two of them on the first day of school. This will be the first time either of them will start school without each other. So I couldn't help but tear up tonight watching my daughter write a good-bye letter to her BFF. Leaving your parents is one thing, leaving your best friend is completely different. Sammi better visit her often.

All Set

Tomorrow Lauren is off to U. of I. The U-Haul is loaded down with all the necessaries: computer, bedding, clothes, storage bins, school supplies, etc. I am sure we are forgetting something, but what? Time will tell. We have a long day ahead of us but great rewards for all in the end. Lauren will be free of her nagging parents and we will be free of our hormonal teenager. At least temporarily. Good enough for me. The ship sails at 7am. First to the kennel in Champaign to drop off Ozzy for the day. Then to Hopkins Hall for the unloading/unpacking fiasco. Once that is complete we will drop off the U-Haul in Champaign, pick up Ozzy from the kennel and head straight to Cadiz for a week alone with my hubby. It doesn't even seem real. Lauren going off to college doesn't seem real and a week alone with my hubby doesn't seem real. Say a prayer for us all, we're going to need it.

Top 10 Reasons I Watch Very Little TV

10. Oprah - way too full of herself
9. Allison Rosati, NBC5 Chicago 10 o'clock news anchor - this woman is too happy to read the news.
8. Oprah - I'll choose the books I read, thank you.
7. Dr. Phil - Are you serious? I could be Dr. Phil.
6. Oprah - I'll choose the charities I donate to, thank you.
5. The View - Plenty of views of my own to contemplate, thank you.
4. Oprah - Can her big ass be any more touched up on the cover of that ridiculous magazine?
3. Reality TV - I have plenty of my own reality to entertain myself for a lifetime.
2. Oprah - Yesterday her guest was Al Gore. Need I say more?
1. Oprah - Try building a school in Chicago, or anywhere in the U.S.

Eric is "The Man"

Since opening the "New Soldier Field" a few years back, season ticket holders have had to enter a lottery each year to obtain ridiculously expensive parking for the season. We have been fortunate in the past to win the lottery for the "South Lot." South lot parking enables us to park in the handicap section of Waldron Deck. This is key since Rick's dad, Ken aka Poppie, age 89 and season ticket holder since 1946, probably could not attend without handicap parking. Well, this year we lost the lottery. According to the Bears, however, we "won." We "won" parking in the new "Southwest Lot" located at Michael Reese hospital. For those of you familiar with the city, you know just how far Michael Reese is from Soldier Field. This was going to make our game day experience hell. For a man of 89 years to be expected to get to the stadium from the southwest lot is utterly insane. We were very uncertain as to how this was going to work out this year. So uncertain that we have yet to tell Poppie about the parking situation for fear that he would not want to attend anymore.

Enter Eric. Eric is a fellow Bears fan, along with his father, and an associate at Rick's firm. We had the pleasure of spending a lovely evening with Eric last night. When we are together the subject of the Bears is always a topic of conversation. Lo and behold, doesn't Eric hook us up with South Lot parking! This is HUGE! The Anderson family is forever in his debt and will be searching high and low for a way to show our appreciation. I suppose we could start with some cold brews at tailgate! So, here's to Eric - YOU'RE THE MAN!!!!!!

One more thing, GO CUBBIES!

I Love New York

My Uncle Pete, that would be Big Bob's little bro, recently turned 70 and my cousins threw him a fabulous surprise party that I was lucky enough to attend. At first I was going to go to NY with Michael but he blew me off. I really did not want to go by myself. I tried coercing Lauren to no avail. Then last Monday my cousin Caroline called and convinced me to make the trip. After booking some really shitty, expensive, last minute flights I was off. Spent last Thursday night in Ausable with the "Upstate Cousins" and the remainder of the weekend in Pleasantville with all the cousins. I had seen the "Upstate Cousins" just two years ago when Ken-Bob and I travelled to the Adirondacks. But the "City Cousins" not since our Gram passed away seven years ago. And even my cousin James (who I haven't seen since I was a teenager), who lives in Brazil with his wife Fabiana and their daughter Julia, made the trek to NY. Growing up we spent many memorable summers together in the Adirondacks. We now all have families of our own which makes it difficult to get together. But when we do, look out. It's almost as if we're kids again playing in Grandma's yard. In reality, it is our kids playing now. Very bizarre. So, a great big THANK YOU to Caroline, Kevin and Carrie who put up with me all weekend and transported me to and from the Albany airport. Another one to Licia, Bill, Billy and Timmy for a great party, the tour of Yonkers to see my Dad's old house and Grampa's gas station, and all those baby Rolling Rocks! And one more to Joe and Erin for the very elegant Sunday brunch they hosted. To view all the pictures click here.

Quick Update

I really want to post about my impromptu trip to New York last week but that will have to wait. We had terrible storms here in Homer last night. No power for almost 7 hours. We have six trees down in the woods, one of them uprooted. I promise some pics later because it really is unbelievable. Before that, our basement flooded form a leaky well tank. My neighbor, Timmy, and I ripped up all the carpet in our basement yesterday. I am so sore today. Can you say old and out of shape?! Lots of pics and a NY post coming soon. In the meantime, you can check out the Chicago Tribune's story about the HG storm. click here

Nature at its Best

I know the photo isn't the best but these are the new baby robins (one still has not hatched) living in my purple plum tree by the pool. The mama robin is so trusting of us lately. We can walk within inches of her nest and she doesn't even fly away.

This next photo, however, is a bit disturbing. These are growing in the mulch near my spruce trees. I'm certain they are some sort of mushroom/fungi. Interestingly, in the morning they are standing straight up and by sunset they seem to wither and fall. Sound familiar guys?

A Dub

What a weekend. We all had a great time in spite of all the obstacles. The first obstacle came before we even left my house. The car was all packed, Colleen and Karla waiting in the car. I opened my car door and heard a big POP. I closed the door to investigate and, lo and behold, the bottom panel of my car door fell off! That's right. Fell right the fuck off. K-Ho to the rescue with the double sided carpet tape and scissors and we're off. (That carpet tape worked the entire trip there and back.) We arrived safely at the lake house only to find that the boat lift isn't working. Turns out it was the outlet on the dock that wasn't working. After a short trip to the "Do It Best" hardware store in Cadiz for a heavy duty extension cord to run up to the house, the boat was afloat and we were off to the beach. The rest of the weekend was uneventful for the most part. However, we did learn a few things.

• We never have anything good to eat or drink
• Mikey must always wear her PFD near the water
• We will never have "Girl's Weekend 2007" t-shirts, or the like
• We are all willing to take one for the team unless it involves John L
• Always have Pepsid on hand
• Nobody beats Mikey on garbage patrol
• Nobody beats Col at A Dub
• K-Ho is an awesome bartender
• We all love the word "CRAP"
• None of us know anyone with the names Paprika or Coriander
• Kentuckians seem to like Eminem, no matter how loud we blast it

Girl's weekend in New Mexico next year. I'm off to rehab. The Ingalls bus should be here momentarily.

So Pretty

I know it has been awhile since my last post so here's a quick update before I head down to Cadiz for a weekend with the girls.

The grad party was a huge success in spite of Rick. He completely redeemed himself the day after the party when Mikey and I just sat around while he cleaned up the entire mess from the party. Times like that I know why I married him.

The cicadas are still out in full force and their noise is deafening at times. We have seen a lot of hawks recently, must be due to the cicadas. Yesterday there were two hawks flying so close to the house, the closest I've seen in 14 years. Of course I did not have my camera handy to capture their unbelievable grace as they swoop into the trees for a cicada snack.

Lauren finally started working for Rick's firm. The job is so cushy and she makes ridiculous money. Good for her. I guess it pays when Dad is a partner! But the bottom line is Dad is the one paying her!

We finally got some much needed rain and my lilies are in full bloom. They are so beautiful right now but don't last very long. They will more than likely be gone when I return from Kentucky on Sunday. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Finally, a happy happy belated birthday to Marc and Ashley!

Holy Crap!

That's right folks..........Rick DROPPED the cake............and the fruit tray! I'm speechless. Actually I'm not but this all goes back to "What's Bloggable?" The cake is salvageable since it was in the box just not too pretty. The fruit tray however, tumbled down the entire flight of steps into the basement. I cleaned that mess up. Thanks to Bonnie, I will still have fruit salad. I love Bonnie.

Just Call Me Shrek

The party preparations are well under way. But not without incident. Last night Rick, Lauren, Karla and myself were busy doing our assigned tasks. Rick mowed the lawn, burned some boxes we had lying around the basement, carried in all the pop and beer, etc. Lauren cleaned all the bathrooms (she is the best bathroom cleaner!), decorated the basement, cleaned her room, etc. I pretty much cleaned all day. Then Karla and I played "Martha Stewart on a Budget," changed the music in the jukebox (a big fucking royal pain in my ass which is why it doesn't get done often), etc. Everything was going too smoothly. Rick came in from burning the boxes and asked me what was in them. I said nothing. He said there were two big "wheels" that were maybe Styrofoam or something burning in the box fire. Whatever. About five minutes later it occurred to me that the "wheels" were actually the crepe paper I had bought for decorating. He inadvertently burned the entire box of graduation decorations I had ordered a month ago. Under no circumstance should you ever give this man a match. Only those who know me well know what happened next. It was not pretty. So I'm flipping out and Rick is just staring at me, Lauren and Karla are SILENT when Rick just starts laughing at me. He is the only one who could ever get away with that! Not too long after that I took a break during which I played with Ozzy a bit. But just a bit. I turned around in a hurry while chasing Ozzy and SLAMMED the shit out of the right side of my head on the open door of the jukebox! Ice packs and Advil ensued along with a huge bump. Rick couldn't hold back. He looked at my face and said, "Nice goin' Shrek."

Other than that, things are going great. See you all tomorrow, black eye and all!

Movin' On

Our baby is now a college freshman! Hard to believe. The graduation ceremony was insane. 715 graduates and the ceremony only lasted 70 minutes. They were reading the names faster than the kids could cross the stage. By the end of the ceremony, the names had all been read and there were still about 50 graduates to cross the stage. Lauren wore her gold tassel that represented her being in the top 10% of her class and she also wore a gold cord around her neck that represented her being a member of the National Honor Society. Those achievements proved more than worthy when Rick and Lauren went to U. of I. on Monday to register for classes. Lauren will start college with 13 credit hours. Five credit hours earned for AP calculus, four for AP economics and four for scoring high on the English portion of her ACT. This means that she will only need to take 13 hours per semester and can transfer into the School of Business her sophomore year as long as she maintains a 3.0 GPA. She says, "No problem!" Her schedule at U.of I. couldn't be better. She doesn't have class until 11am on Fridays which is apparently key since Thursday nights are "bar" nights!

Did I mention only 73 days til she goes away?

Just For Laughs

Thanks Mikey!

They're Here!!

The cicadas that is. In all their grossness. Everywhere in the woods. In the grass, the trees, everywhere. I have been trying to think how I would describe the noise they make. After Rick spent several hours weed whacking in the woods I've decide they sound like a weed whacker. They have not yet made their way into the yard. One can only hope they never will. I probably won't be venturing into the woods for the next few weeks until they're gone. Click on the picture and you can see several of them in various stages.

A great big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my LITTLE sister who hates bugs as much as I do!

Still Safe

For every wooded acre of land there are supposed to be 3 million cicadas. That would be 9 million in my yard alone. We have yet to see a single cicada in the HG. There have been news reports of the cicadas emerging in suburbs north of us; Northbrook, Waukegan and Elmhurst. People are having cicada parties that include a variety of cicada fare; cicada pie, cicada kabobs, fried cicadas, etc. Who are the crazy bastards that are eating this shit?! Each morning Lauren and I send Rick out to walk Ozzy and give us the "cicada report." Neither Lauren nor I are leaving the house when and if they ever do arrive. (Women in my family have serious issues with bugs. Far too serious, I'm afraid, to analyze on the blog.)

Now that I have blogged about it I'm sure we will be invaded any second.

Al Gore's Worst Nightmare

That would be me. In twelve hours our lawn sprinklers ran a full cycle (6 1/2 hours), I watered all of my newly planted flowers, ran the dishwasher, did four loads of laundry, five showers were taken in our house (hard to believe since only three people live here) and I filled the pool. Good thing we have our own well.

In my defense I must tell that I do recycle.

And Then There Were Four

As of yesterday there are only four goslings. The odd thing is there has been another pair of geese nesting in the neighbors pond who have suddenly shown up with one gosling. Gosling abduction perhaps?

What's Bloggable?

Turns out not too much. Each day there are several incidents that I would like to blog about. I make little notes, place them by my computer and hope to get to blogging about them. Ultimately many of them never get published. That's a good thing. One must be very selective of blogging material so one does not end up on the ten o'clock news. "Homer Housewife Sued For Slander" is a headline I never want to hear/see. Ten more school days and I will never again have to deal with the "wonderful" LTHS staff. I hope we make it.

The Debut

We have lived here for 14 years and as long as I can remember the geese have also lived here, in the pond next door, that is. Every spring they return to have their babies. Last year they had six goslings and to the best of our knowledge, none of them survived. Poor babies. For the last two weeks there has been an unbelievable amount of squawking, day and night, from the geese. The nighttime squawking has been relentless. Fending off coyotes, I'm sure. Then on Monday we understood it all. The goslings made their debut. There are five this year. Tough to get a picture since the moment you start heading towards them the mom and dad quickly hustle them away. This morning as we were having coffee, the geese, with babies in tow, made there way through our yard and to the pond. Such a special sight to start our day. Just thought I'd share.

One Size Really Does Fit All

Although Lauren was actually measured for her cap and gown, this is what she ended up with. A gown that fits not only her,
but her Dad as well!

The cap, however, was not a good fit for Rick!

I Forgot This One

Some how this did not get into the Flickr pictures I uploaded yesterday. It was too sweet not to be included. Can you say, "SPOILED?!"

Lauren's Prom

Before

After

To view all the "Prom 2007" pictures, click here.

Priceless

PROM DRESS $ 400

HAIR $ 70

LIMO $ 120

PROM TIX $ 50

Seeing your baby dressed up like a princess: PRICELESS

I Kid You Not

I went to lunch with some of the girls yesterday. My friend Pat works for a local hospital and was telling us about some of the doctors. Dr. Slaughter, cardiac surgeon. (This guy actually did Rick's dad's open heart surgery years ago. I vividly recall having a "family conference" with the doctor and not hearing a word he spoke because I was too caught up in the fact that his name was SLAUGHTER!) Dr. Bush, gynecologist. And so on. When it was mentioned that Dr. Bush worked with Dr. Grabber all I could think of was calling that office for an appointment. The receptionist would answer the phone saying, "Grabber Bush. Can I help you?" C'mon. Change your name for Christ's sake!

Today's happenings:

Lauren's prom and 20+ kids and their dates, parents, grandparents, etc. taking pictures at our house this afternoon. If you want to witness this fiasco, come around 5. Should make for some good blogging.

And a great big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Justin! Party on dude!

Mr. Coffee for ADD Sufferers

A while back I purchased a new Mr. Coffee coffee maker. I suppose I could have bought a $100 grind and brew Krups but, cheap ass that I am, I bought the $40 Mr. Coffee. I so wish I would have bought the Krups. The Mr. Coffee makes delicious coffee but that is it. The coffee maker beeps, not once, not twice, but five fricking times when the coffee is finished brewing! Keep in mind that it has a feature that you can remove the coffee pot to pour a cup while the coffee is still brewing. Why, I ask you, do you need the five beeps? It must be for people with ADD who forgot that only three fricking minutes ago they started the coffee brewing! That's not the least of it. It also has an automatic shut off that turns the coffee maker off after 2 hours. When that happens, you guessed it, more fricking beeping! It also features an incredibly bright green analog clock that could quite possibly blind me in my "good eye." At one point, the clock was bothering me so much that Rick rigged a cover for the clock so I couldn't see it. That worked fine for awhile but in one of my wiping frenzies the cover fell off. So we tried to break the clock. First with the all-purpose household tool, the butter knife, then the potato peeler. No luck. Once again the clock is exposed and I am stalked by the bright green light. No cup of coffee is that good that one should have to tolerate this piece of shit coffee maker. Death to Mr. Coffee and all the assholes that tested this coffee maker. I am no longer amazed that there is a Starbuck's on every corner.

I Love This Man

Honestly, he will never grow up and that's a good thing. Every time we go for a walk in the woods its like he's 5 years old again. He will always come home muddy and/or bloody. We have lived here for 14 years and I have only fallen in the creek once. Jeanne remembers. Rick on the other hand falls in on a regular basis. And yes, it happened again yesterday. All I can do is laugh and be thankful I had my camera so I can share.

Rick and I have talked at great lengths recently of selling the HG house and downsizing. Lauren is leaving soon and it is a lot of house for two people. But whenever we get close to actually doing it, we're just not ready to let go of all of this.

Is that not the Taj Mahal of beaver dens or what?!!

Only One More

Now that the "Top Ten Percent" dinner is over we only have one more school function to attend. Graduation on June 2nd. If I had a dime for every school/sporting event we have attended for Lauren, I'm sure it would be enough for at least a semester at U. of I. In the words of Ronnie Milsap, "I wouldn't have missed it for the world!"

Another First

Our baby is all grown up. Yesterday she voted in her very first election and came home proudly displaying her "I Voted" sticker. When she arrived at the polling place and entered the building she was perplexed as to what to do next. One of the election judges asked her if they could help her and she said, "It's my first time." In an instant all the election judges jumped to their feet and swarmed her. They carefully walked her through the process and even offered her pizza! (Pizza? I really need to start voting later in the day since they don't seem to have pizza at 8 in the morning.) We are very proud of her especially when she informed us that none of her other 18 year old classmates had voted and she researched the candidates on the Internet and went to the polls with a list of the people she wanted to vote for. She, like us, voted yes for the school referendum but the rest of the hillbillies in the HG did not. They never vote for the schools or the library. My favorite are the assholes who live in the million dollar homes with the "Vote No" to the school referendum signs in their front yard. Don't they realize that nobody wants to pay a million dollars for a house with a shitty school district? They're so stupid. They've probably never been to the library!

Brothers Make You Bad

Call me crazy but I actually ventured out to shop yesterday with Debbie and Sophia. The parking lots were insane with traffic due to the Good Friday holiday. I was holding my own and keeping my cool when this bitch in this little Honda hocks the parking space I was waiting for. I did what any girl who grew up with 4 older brothers would do. I called her a few choice expletives (not good, since Sophia was with us) and parked in a space much further away. On my journey into the store, and conveniently past her car, I took a small detour to her driver's side window, worked up a big ass hocker and let it rip right at the top of her window. The location was primo. The perfect spot for it to ooze it's way down. I like having the last word, uh, hocker.

The Dreaded Call From School

I'm busy cleaning my house yesterday, happily minding my own business, when the phone rings. I see on the caller ID that its the high school. Any parent knows this is never good. Lauren could be sick, she could have gotten in trouble, she could be hurt, any number of things. But we all know that they aren't calling me to thank me for sending Lauren to school today! Turns out they wanted to know if we had sent our money in for the top 10% dinner. Yea, idiot, like three weeks ago. Of course I did not say idiot, but oh how I wanted to. Then she goes on to say, "Oh, here you are. Yes, I see you have already paid." I hung up the phone and realized she probably doesn't have kids, at least not in high school, or she would have checked, rechecked and checked that list again before making that call.

Its Official

Lauren will be attending University of Illinois-Champaign/Urbana beginning August 18th. That would be 144 days from now. Not that we're counting or anything. She is very excited as are we. She came home from school yesterday and told me that they were done learning for the year. She proceeded on with this long diatribe about why she wouldn't be learning anything the rest of the year. When Rick came home and I told him this, he was like, "What?" I simply pointed to Lauren and had her explain to Rick. I'm relatively sure she had this speech rehearsed since she repeated to Rick, almost verbatim, what she told me. Who cares. She's in at U. of I. and that's all we care about, now. Congratulations to the newest Illini as she joins a long list of family and friends, including Bobby, Michael, Carolyn and Debbie. LONG LIVE THE CHIEF!!

Time for a Change

So as not to ever get in a rut, I have given the blog a whole new look. The new blog allows me to add and delete items much easier than the old blog. No more HTML code crap with this blog. Although, I have to say, I was getting pretty adept at that HTML crap. But it is crap and I won't miss it. And a big thanks to Jeanne for hooking me up yet again!

Crazy Bastard

Yes, the rumors are true. Ken-Bob bought a Harley. He's not having a mid-life crisis or anything. And according to him, he deserves it. They must have seen him coming at the Harley dealership because along with the bike he also bought a leather jacket, a helmet (thank the good Lord,) sunglasses, gloves and, yes, leather chaps! All emblazoned with the Harley logo. I'd give just about anything to have a picture of him in those chaps! I, for one, and Lauren, will not be riding on the back of that Hog!

Lazy Dog

Every weekday morning is the same around here. Rick and I are up early, I make coffee, Rick gets the newspaper from the driveway. We have coffee, read the paper and yell for Lauren to get her butt out of bed. Once Lauren is off to school Rick takes Ozzy for his morning walk. The routine was thrown for a loop today when Rick had to leave early to bring his car in for repairs. As he was walking out the door Ozzy just sort of looked at him longingly since Rick had not taken him out yet. That would be my job today. I finished reading the paper and began to prepare to take Ozzy for his walk. But I couldn't find him. After searching high and low, alas...

I guess he was too tired to watch for "Big Dogs" this morning.

Bragging Rights

There are almost 1100 students in Lauren's graduating class this year. But there are only 107 that made the "Top Ten Percent." And yes, our Lauren is one of them. She can sometimes be a huge pain in the butt teenager but she has always done very well in school and for that we are very thankful and proud. So three cheers for Lauren!!!

Now I've Seen it All

Rick actually put salt and pepper on Ozzy's plate of leftovers tonight. He just knew that Ozzy thought the chicken needed salt.

It Must Be Summer!

Yesterday was the most beautiful day. Therefore, the only thing we could do was throw some chicken on the grill, pour some champagne and a scotch for the big man and enjoy the scenery from our deck. That is until the neighbor wanted to chat from his yard. We talked for a bit and then everyone was back to what they were doing. I really just wanted to spend some quality cocktail time with my husband, so in order to prevent further conversation I turned up the stereo. But did that stop Lee (aka Lenny in Andersonese?) NOOOOOOOOO! When he started talking again I told him I couldn't hear him because the music was too loud. What does he do? He stands there waiting for me to turn the music down so he could babble on about a bunch of nonsense! I'm not trying to be a bad neighbor but you would think he could take a hint. Next time I won't be so subtle. Let's face it, subtlety is not one of my best attributes!

Does anyone have an emery board?

That question was asked by Shirl about 400 times while we were in New York. The night before we left Shirl spent the night at our house and asked for an emery board which I promptly and dutifully provided. What happened to that one? We will never know.

New York City ROCKS! I had heard stories about how rude and unfriendly New Yorkers are. These stories came from people who have never spent time with my Uncle Pete, a native New Yorker. Uncle Pete, his lovely wife Mary Jo and her daughter Sara met us for dinner on Tuesday evening. Our reservation was for 7pm. The conversation was lively and non-stop, dinner was incredible and meeting Sara was a bonus. And I only spilled one glass of wine! Before we knew it, we looked up and we were literally the only table left in the joint. It was after 11 and it felt like we had just arrived. Never enough time when you're with people you love. And Uncle Pete's cocktail of choice is scotch on the rocks. Sound familiar? I'm sure he and Rick would get along fabulously!

We managed to do just about everything on our list. The day we went to the Statue of Liberty the wind chill factor was zero. I should have dressed like I do for Bears games. We were all chilled to the bone. But we braved the wicked winds of New York Harbor to see Lady Liberty in all her magnificent glory. Quite a spectacular site. And Shirl even climbed the 156 steps to the base of the statue. Not bad for a 74 year old broad with a bad knee. We never made it to the Empire State Building due to cloudy and overcast skies. Seemed pointless. We also passed on the carriage ride in Central Park because it was just too damned cold. New York City is generally 10-15 degrees warmer than Chicago, just not when we were there. What's up with that?!

To view all the pictures from our New York adventure, click here.

Countdown to NYC

Less than 24 hours from now Karla, Shirl and I will be in the Big Apple! We have lots of shopping and sightseeing planned for Monday ending with dinner at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill. Tuesday we are up and out early to see Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty followed by some Little Italy action. Dinner is at Ben Benson's Steakhouse with my Uncle Pete and his wife Mary Jo. I haven't seen Uncle Pete in 6 1/2 years. Needless to say there will be some catching up over cocktails of course. The real New York experience is Wednesday. Lunch at Tavern on the Green, a matinee performance of "The Producers" on Broadway, a Central Park carriage ride and we'll top it off with sushi at Koi. Yes, we are taking Shirley for sushi but we did make sure there were some cooked items on the menu. Fortunately, she is not hard to please when it comes to food. And finally a little more shopping Thursday morning with lunch at the famous Stage Deli before heading back to Chicago. At least it is supposed to be warmer here when we get back. I should have some good bloggin' material when I return. Four days with my mother will just about guarantee that.

Talk About Getting "Slicked"

Yesterday I had to get new tires for the Escalade aka "Esplanade." I knew exactly what kind of tires I needed and called ahead to be sure they were in stock. Of course when I arrived at the tire store the guy that I spoke with on the phone was not there. Big surprise there. I went through the whole spiel again about what kind of tires I wanted etc. The sales guy then asks me if I want 4 tires. Who the hell buys only one?! Blah, blah, blah. He starts to ring me up when he asks, "Do you want your tires slicked?" I'm like, "What?" Again, "Do you want your tires slicked?" I'm still not sure that "slicked" was the word he used but whatever. I thought it meant wiping the outsides of the tires with Armorall for that shiny look. NOT. Apparently, slicking is a process in which they coat the treads of the tires with some spray on shit that makes for better traction. I told him I did not want this because "I drive an Escalade. Do you think traction is an issue for me? And If I'm buying new tires and the traction sucks, you can bet I will be right back in here tomorrow to see you, Ryan!" Have you ever heard of anything so ridiculous? I should have asked how much it was and how many idiots actually fall for this. Unbelievable.

A Brief Lesson in Andersonese

When we adopted Ozzy we took a family vote on whether to keep his name or change it. I wanted to change it but lost the vote 2-1. Over time Ozzy has developed into Osbourne, Osborneo, Bjorn dog, Bjornin, Binny, Binbob, Bin Laden, Benjamin, Benjammin, Benjamminanineeno, Benbob and too many more to list. And believe it or not the dog answers to all of these.

This morning Ozzy was a happy dog playing with his new rawhide bone. Chewing it, hiding it, finding it, hiding it again. Rick came into the room and said to Ozzy, "Where's your binbone, Benbob? Binbob, where's your benbone?" And Ozzy knew exactly what he meant and promptly retrieved his binbone.

Other examples of Andersonese:
If something is chicken, it is small. Examples: He sure drives a chicken car. They live in a chicken house. I don't want to eat there, they have chicken steaks!
If something is a Waaaaaaaah, it is extraordinarily large, as in a very long french fry. If you are eating fries with someone and you come accross a very long one you should hold it up for all to see and say Waaaaaaah!
If something is a Haaaaaaaah, it is an extraordinary accomplishment. Example: When Lauren's skating team won the gold medal in Italy I believe Rick's first word to her was Haaaaaaah!

That's all for today. I don't want to overwhelm you. But you will be quizzed next time I see you.

My Unsolicited Review

Last night we ventured out in this God awful freezing weather to see George Strait at the new Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates. While the concert itself was pretty good (I thought George could have played more of his hits) the venue and parking sucked the big one! I think the arena holds about 6000 people and they appear to have parking for only about 12 vehicles. They were parking people over a mile away with shuttle buses to the arena. That's all fine and dandy except that I'm pretty sure they only had about 2 buses. We waited in the 5 degree temperature (not taking into consideration the wind chill factor, which in Chicago is more relevant than the actual temperature) for more than 30 minutes to catch a shuttle to the arena. And when the concert ended it was another long wait for a bus. At least this time the wait was indoors. Had we known this we would have dressed as if we were going to a Bears game, complete with flasks. On top of all this, it seemed that they had no real plan for handling this situation. It was complete chaos. I am truly surprised there was not a riot or the like. And they wonder why Sears is in the dumper! I for one will not ever return to the Sears Centre and if you were smart you wouldn't either.

Happy 10th Anniversary to J & J!

And many, many more! We love you!

In Loving Memory

There are so many things we will miss about Jane. These are just a few.
Chocolate chip cookies
Chocolate cake
Pork roast w/onions
Deviled eggs
Potato salad
Macaroni salad
Chicken soup (the best in the world!)
Shrimp dip (tailgates just won't be the same without it)
Little notes/articles in the mail, sometimes for no reason
Birthday, Anniversary, Valentine's, Easter, Halloween cards (she never forgot anything)
Lamb cakes aka "Parade of Lambs"
Her laugh and sense of humor (nobody appreciated a dirty joke more than Jane)
Her standing at the bedroom window as we leave for Bears games
Bags of "shit"
Identical shirts for Rick, Ron and Ken
English toffee
Cornflake cookies
Hawaiian cake
And Ozzy will miss the bones she always saved for him

If you're wondering why so many things are food, it is because Jane was a fabulous cook. I think Rick is proof of that.

The very first time I met Jane, Rick and I had been dating for about a month. We had a lovely dinner at her house and she sent me home with 2 big bags of groceries since I had just moved into a new apartment. As a single mom working two jobs, I appreciated that more than you can imagine. Over the years there were many more bags of "shit" as we affectionately named them. Sometimes we would be leaving her house and she would be yelling, "Don't forget your bags of "shit!"

For years she would make us elaborate meals for tailgating at the Bears games. Keep in mind she did this for years before I came on the scene. We would arrive at her house on game day morning and she would be frantically packing up our meal. Ken would holler up from the basement, "Mother, are we ready yet? We have to go Mother!" I swore to her in her kitchen way back then that when she went I would not be making meals at 6am on game day. The boys would have to eat stadium hot dogs. Apparently, I lied. Because here I am making the tailgate meals. Not nearly as good or as elaborate as hers but I am doing it. She thought that was hysterical.

The first time she met Ozzy she said "He sure has a little dick!" We just about fell over with laughter. Of all things to notice. But its the truth. Poor Oz. And no balls to boot!

May she rest in peace until we meet again.

Looks Like We Raised Her Right

A Moooooooooose jersey and a Tiffany necklace. That's my girl!

B E A R D O W N !

I'm sure you've seen this already...

...but I just had to!

B E A R D O W N !

Venison Anyone?

I've always been more of a tomboy than a girl. Not that I don't like girlie things because nothing makes me happier than a nice pair of shoes or a new Coach purse, except champagne of course. But sports and competition is where its at for me. And although I have never been a big fan of hunting, I am contemplating taking up this sport. Why? So I can shoot the deer that terrorize my dog on a daily basis. Or maybe I should shoot the dog......

Is it Christmas?

Because I feel like a kid at Christmas. The anticipation of the big game is almost too much for me. I can't sleep and when I do I dream all sorts or weird shit about the Bears. I'm singing the Bears fight song all day. It is even on the answering machine. When my cell phone rings it plays "BEAR DOWN." Usually I read the Metro section of the Tribune first in the morning. Not this week. This week it is all about the Bears Blitz section. Truth be told, Rick gets it first, then me. At night when the TV gets turned on, the first channel checked is ESPN in hopes they will have some Super Bowl hype on. As the game nears it is not too hard to find the Bears on television. What will I do when the game is over? The off season is just too long.

B E A R D O W N !

One of Many Culprits

Remind me to get another big, hairy, slobbering, barking, whining, crying, screeching, jumping dog.

I Just Want to Have My Coffee!

Every morning is the same around here. Lauren has to leave for school by 7:30 and never gets up until about 7:20. It drives me crazy. She got up easier when she was skating at 3:30am. I used to tell her that the first time I had to wake her up for skating there would be no more early morning skating. I cannot however use that line when we're talking about school. Then there is Ozzy and his reaction to the "big dogs" (aka deer, but renamed by Rick.) The deer come through the yard almost every day. Once in the morning between around 7 and 9 and again in the late afternoon during the dusk hour. And Ozzy's reaction is always the same. He runs from one window to the next, upstairs, downstairs, barking, crying, back and forth, on and on. This goes on until he can no longer see the deer. Sometimes the deer literally stand in the backyard and stare at him barking, as if they were antagonizing him. Not that it would take much. Rick always tells Ozzy that the "big dogs don't want to play with the black dog." So if you've ever been to our house and wondered why the windows are always so nasty, this is why.

In Honor of Buddy

On occasion Ozzy will have some trouble with his right ear. Apparently he has a very narrow ear canal. Whatever. For the past week he has been scratching his right ear like a mad dog. Pun intended. I knew I had to make a move. I thought he was due at the vet for his yearly checkup in February so when I made the appointment at the vet I made it for his yearly stuff, the ear and to have his nails trimmed. Why not get it all done at once? Part of the yearly exam includes providing the vet with a "fresh stool sample." That would be Rick's job, he's much better at that than I. Rick very courageously and dutifully completed his task. I arrived at the vet promptly this morning only to be told that Ozzy was not due for his yearly (Charlie, however, had his yearly checkup in February, hence the mix up) and they would not need the stool sample. When I told Rick he responded with, "You made me pick up shit for nothing? DOH!"

Our good friends and neighbors lost their beloved German short-haired pointer, Buddy, last week. He now joins Charlie and a host of other four legged friends. May he rest in peace and may Mike never have to pick up shit for nothing again.

Super Bowl, Super Bears!

What a game. The excitement at Soldier Field was like nothing I have ever experienced before. We stood the entire game and Poppie didn't yell "Sit Down!" once. And so much action in our endzone; Bernard Berrian's TD catch, Cedric Bensons's 12 yd. TD and even Reggie Bush's somersault TD. In retrospect, I bet he wishes he'd never done that! So the Saints go marching back to New Orleans and the Bears head to Miami for Super Bowl XLI.To view all the pictures click here.

B E A R D O W N !

Who are you....

....from school district 149? Identify yourself, please.

A Sampling of the Local Artistry

B E A R D O W N!