If Only

If only the NFL donated the monies spent for pink gear to breast cancer research. Now that would be something. We all know someone. Someone's mom, friend, sister, aunt, cousin, daughter, co-worker. I am pretty certain that if I were to ask my few friends that have survived breast cancer what their take on this is, they would agree with me wholeheartedly. That being said, there was much less pink garb this year than last year. Do you think they actually read my email? Seriously. I did not email them last year but I so wanted to. I'll stop now because this could get ugly.

The Bears had a great game today. Matt Forte was on fire and Devin Hester is simply unbelievable at punt returning. Not being able to go to the games this year has been so hard. While we miss our families and friends, we miss the Bears games. Tailgate, champagne, good food, my family and a W, now that's the perfect fall day. We watched the Bears from a sports bar nearby and proudly sang the fight song with each score. Loudly. It was awesome. The bar had a special: all you can drink mimosas for $15. Sign me up. I ordered mine without orange juice. I'm confident that I drank my $15 worth and then some. So there.

And a shout out to the Fighting Illini on their big win over Northwestern yesterday. Always a contentious game in our house since Justin went to Northwestern and Lauren went to U. of I. But it was a nail biter to the end. The Illini won it in the last minute after coming from way behind. Man I love football. Especially when my teams are winning. That's the key.

Lauren goes to see the doctor at USC tomorrow for the first time. He will take X-rays and send them back to her doctor at Rush. Her physical therapy is progressing nicely and she is able to move her foot/ankle a little more with each session. With any luck, tomorrow she will get the okay to go in the pool. Nice to be in California with this great weather, not so nice if you can't go in the pool.

We had to skip the farmer's market this weekend because I cannot possibly eat all the fruits and vegetables I am buying. I really need to get a grip and the first step in doing that is to stay away for one Saturday. Going just for the flowers might have been a good idea but I know that I could not go there and only buy flowers. I just stayed away and I'm proud of myself for not caving.

Saturday was instead spent with Audrey and Henry. Those kids are so special. I know everyone says that about their grandkids, but you've never met Aud and Henry. Audrey is still smitten with her Appa but I got her attention most of yesterday. Nothing compares to the deep belly laugh of a toddler. The kind where they can't even control themselves and sometimes end up with hiccups from. I witnessed a lot of that yesterday. And big Hank, he has lots to say but you can't understand a thing. He will come up to you and look you in the eye and go on and on about something that is apparently very important to him. Not understanding all but two words you respond with, "really?" then he looks at you so seriously and says, "BRGNT!" And he continues about his business. Awesome.

On this week's agenda:

Dr. David Thordarson

Malibu Seafood for whole lobsters

Dog beach with Ozzy, but only once. He is getting too old for twice in one week.

And maybe a massage

Life is good in Southern California.

It Wasn't Meant to Be

Yea, yea, we lost. Tough loss to our arch rivals. I refuse to jump on the bash Jay Cutler band wagon. But if you want to bash Lovie, I'm in. This guy has been notorious during his time with the Bears for calling time outs at all the wrong times. And then to lose a yard after the time out, great play calling Lovie! The officiating effed us a little too. But I am not blaming them either. The better team won. Period. Difficult to admit, but true. We really thought they might do it in the 4th quarter with Hanie. Why Collins was ever put in is beyond me. This guy has never done anything good. Not in training camp, preseason or regular season. Hanie should have gotten the shot first. Then maybe, just maybe, we may have had a chance. All water under the bridge now. And after being a life long Cubs fan I will not say, "Maybe next year."

Tailgate was a blast though. And sharing the experience with Lauren was awesome. When Lauren goes to the games with us her and I always take a walk through the parking lot to check out other tailgates. And boy was there a lot to see Sunday. A bloody mary bong, the burning of a foam cheese head, the drum corps and some other things we didn't get a chance to see. For example: rumor in the parking lot was someone had a life sized stuffed bear sitting in a lawn chair with a life size Packer dummy on his knees in front of the bear performing a certain sex act! And if that wasn't enough, apparently there was another life size Bear player standing behind the stuffed bear holding a dollar and waiting his turn. Beautiful. I just wish we could have found that. We had lots of visitors at our tailgate. That's the advantage of parking in the same spot each game. Everyone knows where we are. I saw my friend Tony who was on the news last week. And my seat mates, Paul and Tooch, stopped by with some of their friends. We also met a guy who flew from Albuquerque (how about that, Col) and a couple of guys from Toronto that didn't even have tickets but were hoping to scalp some for not too much money. Not sure how that worked out for them. And there were plenty of cheese heads. Not much you can do about that. All in all, it was a great season and we look forward to Pittsburgh kicking the crap out of Green Bay in the Superbowl.

I'm Taking it as a Sign

When I am home during the day I NEVER have the TV on. I basically hate TV, except for sports and news. Imagine my surprise when I turned on the afternoon news yesterday for my mom only to see my friend Tony from our Bears tailgates on the news. I immediately hit record on the Tivo. They were interviewing him regarding ticket prices for the game on Sunday. He, like us, would never sell his tickets. It doesn't matter that we could easily get a grand per ticket, enough to pay for our tickets for the entire season. It doesn't matter that the temps will be in the teens and we are expecting snow. It doesn't matter that parking will cost $101, not $100, $101. It just doesn't matter. The only thing that would keep us from going to that game is some sort of natural disaster. Let's hope the Gods are on our side!

B E A R D O W N !

Super Fan Eddie in all his Glory

The fans were crazy Sunday! I can't even imagine what the game will be like this Sunday. I am so excited I feel like a kid at Christmas. I know I will have a hard time sleeping all week. Nutso, I know. But I have been to so many losing games and seasons that this is too sweet for words. Tickets in our section (130) are going for $900-$4500 apiece! Whether they sell for that or not is another story. I wouldn't sell our tickets for a million dollars.

The big news of the week is Lauren is going to be able to go to the game. Her skating team has practice every Sunday afternoon. The coach gave the team the option of skating on Friday morning @ 5am or their usual Sunday afternoon practice. Not many wanted to skate Friday because during "syllabus week" Thursday night is a big night at the bars. The team voted and three times came up tied. Then one of the skaters got up and gave a speech that if something is that important to a teammate it should be important to the entire team. Another vote and Lauren won, unanimously! I really do love those girls! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and Rick and I are thrilled to share it with Lauren. So it will be me, Rick, Lauren and Ron, not my brother Bob. Although Bobby is probably still holding out hope that the phone will ring and it will be his favorite sister inviting him to the game. NOT! Love you bro.

B E A R D O W N !

Super Fan Eddie In His Glory

The picture is a little blurry but you get the idea. Eddie is super cut this year. I'm a little envious. What a game yesterday. It was one of those "last one with the ball wins" game. 48-41 Bears. The most points the Bears have scored in a game since 1986. A much needed win. Tailgate and post game tailgate rocked as usual. Kristin and Jake joined us along with Kyle and Jare. Kris, Jake and Jare were all Bears game virgins. I think we broke them in well. Rick is walking a little funny today since he thought he was 16 when he was tossing around the football after the game. He'll never learn. Not too many pics but fun to see all the same.

Vikings v. Bears October 19, 2008

In other news:

Jeanne's shower was perfect. Small, intimate, lovely. Lots of the usual Ooohs and Aaahs. This was Lauren's first baby shower that she remembers. She informed me that at her baby shower (not for several years!!!) she wants drinking games. She is still in college. Someday she'll figure it out.

My ass is so sore from working out. Ouch. It's amazing how easily your muscles turn to Jello. Soon I'll be buff like Eddie. Maybe not that buff.

Off to New Mexico this weekend with Special K (Karla) to visit Colleen. And meet Dexter the new puppy. Can't wait to spend some time with Col. She rocks.

Cruisin'

Nothing like a week in the Caribbean to clear your head. What a fabulous vacation. Not as fab as the cruise we took with all the kids years ago, but still excellent. Our favorite port was Grand Turk. While we have been to many beaches in our travels the beach on Grand Turk was unbelievable. So soft and the water so clear. Just perfect. Grand Turk is on our list of places to go in the future. That list is getting so long.

One perk from the cruise is getting your picture professionally taken on "formal night." It is not often, almost never, that we get dressed up for a portrait. The last time was the last cruise six years ago. If you've ever been on a cruise, you know the routine. You have your picture taken and the next day you go to the "photo room" and try to locate your picture among the 3000 pictures posted. Actually, the cruise ships have it figured out pretty well, labelling each photo board with where the picture was taken making it easier to find the picture you're looking for. Rick and I searched long and hard and could not locate our picture. It must have been so good that someone else bought it. Oh well, maybe next cruise.

While we were gone.......

The Bears won one and lost one. The loss against the Falcons really hurt. They gave that game away.

The Cubs took a huge post season dump. End of story.

Lauren is finally back on the ice after her knee surgery. Taking it slowly. (IllinoiSkating is skating to an Aerosmith medley this year. The music rocks. I wanted to post it on my site but I can't figure out how to do it.) Hopefully she will be ready for their first competition on November 22, her 20th birthday. I can't believe she is going to be 20! She is also the newest member of the Alpha Xi Delta sorority. The sorority thing is right up her alley. She has already committed to living in the sorority house next year. And hopefully her senior year as well. I am getting too old to be moving her every year. Just stay put for 5 minutes!

A Very Important Win

It was close. But in the end the Bears had a goal line stand to stop the Eagles in the 4th quarter. That was HUGE! The Bears needed this win in a major way after blowing the last two games. Now at 2-2, they are at least respectable. Maybe.

Super Fan Eddie was in rare form last night. He had all of his signature moves including "the sprinkler." No pictures of Eddie, I didn't want to bring my camera into the game. Perhaps when we play Minnesota in October.

Just the parents and kids last night. Rick, me, Justin, Bonnie, Kyle and Ron. Good times.

Nothing Worse Than a Rotten Peanut

While in Las Vegas last week, Rick and I met Charles Tillman's parents. We chatted for about 10 minutes or so and ended up inviting Mr. Tillman to join us for tailgating at the Bears/Minnesota game in October. We gave him all the pertinent information; where we park, what kind of vehicle we drive, etc. Now I wonder. I wonder if he will show up after his son got called for a 15 yard unnecessary roughness penalty in overtime of yesterday's game against the Bucs. That penalty allowed the Bucs drive to stay alive and, ultimately, allowed the Bucs to win. Bad, bad Peanut.

On another note, I love to play roulette. It is the worst odds game in Vegas and I try very hard to stay away. But when you add a bunch of cocktails into the mix it makes it virtually impossible for me. Some numbers I always play:
10 - for Ron Santo
17 - for Mark Grace (and Colleen)
23 - for Ryne Sandberg and Michael Jordan
22 - for Lauren's birthday and maybe now for Matt Forte
Matt has had a couple of impressive games already. I think he's going to be huge. Buy the jersey NOW!

Off to Karla's Michigan house with Mom and Dad for a few days. Should be a good time.

Yeehaa!

I should blog about shit that bothers me more often. The Bears released Cedric Benson today. Tooooooooooooo baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad. He's a moron. The Bears didn't even let him into their facility in Lake Forest today. Teach that asshole a lesson.

Stupid Fuck of the Week Award

That would go to Cedric Benson. This guy makes a bazillion dollars a year and just got arrested again over the weekend for DUI. Rent a limo you dumb fuck! And if he throws that race card out like he did after his last arrest I'm going to hunt him down and slap him hard. Look how he's smiling, in his mug shot no less. What a jag. I hope they take his license away for good but I'm sure that won't happen. When he runs onto Soldier Field for the first home game this year, I for one will be booing the fuck out of him. I am sick and tired of these athletes and celebrities thinking they are above the law. It is out of control. Lock them all up, take away their fast cars and pit bulls and give their money to more deserving people. (Better yet, put them in a room and cover them with beef gravy and then let the pit bulls at 'em!) At the very least quit raising my ticket price to pay these assholes. There, I feel better.

In other HG news:
The storms came and went with fury this weekend. Mom and Dad were without power for more than 24 hours but thanks to their good neighbor who hooked them up to a generator it wasn't so bad. Our woods are so flooded and the ground is so saturated that it will be days before the water recedes back to the creek. This morning I took an amateur video of some poor fishes that got lost. I had hoped to post it here but I cannot get it to upload to youtube.

I'm off to the mall to look for a "fat dress" for Alex's wedding this weekend. Fifteen years ago when I lost more than 65 pounds I swore I would never go back. I also thought I would be smoking forever. All that has changed. It will be 5 months on Father's Day since I have smoked. 5 months and 20 pounds. It's crazy. I don't feel like I have been eating any more than usual but the 20 pounds came so fast. One battle at a time. Once I get over the smoking thing I will work on losing the weight. Never an easy task. One thing is certain, this is the only fat dress I am buying. Until the weight is off this is the only dress you will see on me.

I think I finally fixed the pictures from the "Wii"kend post. If you are still interested and haven't given up on me you should try to view them again. If you still can't view them, I give up!

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.

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!

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!

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 !

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 !

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 !

A Sampling of the Local Artistry

B E A R D O W N!