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.