Millennium Park Flash Mob

Wow! Check this out. Turns out there was a flash mob in Millennium Park and Lauren was part of it. There are a few hundred people total but only about 25 actually dancing on the ice. Lauren is front row, all the way right on the ice in the video. So much fun and really interesting to see the reactions of bystanders.

Another bonus was getting to see some old skating friends from way back in the day. I'm talking Darien Dynamites and Chicago Jazz days dating back to 1998. And all the girls are grown up. Really makes me feel old. One is teaching 3rd grade in the city and another will graduate rom Loyola this spring with a business degree. Lauren is the only one still skating competitively. Lots of good times with these parents. I even shared officer duties with one of the moms several years ago. We shared many laughs over the trials and tribulations of the business of a team.

Later we enjoyed a scrumptious dinner with Lauren and Sam. Indeed we had everything I previously mentioned: oysters - yum, sushi - yum yum, lobster - triple yum, and a lovely pinot noir. Capped off by some of the best Key Lime Pie you'll ever have. It was our last night with Lauren as she heads back to U. of I. today, a week earlier than non-skaters, for skating boot camp. The name says it all. She will be skating insane hours this week along with intense off ice conditioning. The big competitions are right around the corner and IllinoiSkating will be ready. I-L-L - I-N-I!

Tree in the Closet

I bought a new pre-lit tree this Christmas season in an effort to make my decorating a little easier. But the reality is, pre-lit or not, an artificial tree is a huge pain in the ass. For an artificial tree to look half way decent it must have a lot of tips. And each and every one of those tips need straightening/shaping. So the pre-lit thing doesn't save a whole lot of time since once the tree is up and shaped, putting on the lights doesn't take that long at all. Here's where the plan was devised. I decorated my entire tree with plastic ornaments. That's right, plastic. Therefore when Christmas was over I could just shove the decorated tree into the closet in my family room. But first the closet would need a serious cleaning out and a few shelves removed. Then with a little help from GOAA (God of all Assistants, she made me call her that!) Karla and Robert Mondavi and Ernest and Julio Gallo, I jammed that tree right through the closet door and into position in the corner. Only one problem; once the tree was in position I was stuck on the floor of the closet in the corner behind the tree! Escaping was neither easy or pretty. So this year, as soon as the roasting pan is cleaned from the Thanksgiving turkey, out comes the tree. Voila! Christmas in minutes. Or maybe I will want to have a little Christmas in July. Just slide that puppy out and pour the eggnog. Might be hard finding eggnog in July though.

Heading to Millennium Park today with Lauren and Sammi to go skating. Skating with Lauren is absolutely no fun because she makes us all look like incompetent fools. I'm really just going to have dinner at Shaw's! Yummy. Oysters, wine, sushi, a little lobster. What more could you ask for?

That Was Close

While I was busy bragging about my Escalade with 186,00 miles the other day, I neglected to knock on wood. Big mistake on my part. As I drove Rick to the train yesterday morning my lights were flashing on and of, the radio was going in and out and all sorts of dash lights were lighting up. Rick, being the one that never worries about anything, told me just to drive his car since he was taking the train to work. That's all fine and good for the time being but he will need his car again soon. When I returned from the train station I called my trusty mechanic (a definite must when you have an old car) and he told me to bring it right in. When I arrived at the auto repair shop and explained to him what was going on he immediately said, "Sounds like the alternator." We all know that won't be cheap. Karla picked me up and brought me back home and I waited for the dreaded call from Bruce the mechanic. At 9:15 he called and said it was nothing more than a loose battery cable! He checked the alternator, fine, checked the battery, fine and checked the electrical system, fine too. Cost me $40. Honestly, I think I'm going to be buried in that damn Escalade!

Just Not the Same

I love all that is Christmas. Decorating, baking, shopping, wrapping and especially giving. But Christmas hasn't been the same for 5 years now. Just saying 5 years blows my mind. For 5 years there have been no Marshall Field's boxes under the tree, a staple at Christmastime for generations. For 5 years there have been no lunches under the tree in the Walnut Room, at least not for us. While Macy's decided to keep the Walnut Room, it is no longer Marshall Field's Walnut Room. The windows on State Street are no longer Marshall Field's Christmas windows. Every year during the holiday season we would take our family downtown to view the windows, skate on State (now relocated to Millennium Park) and generally just take in all that is Christmas in Chicago. Damn Macy's. It is my understanding that the Macy's on State Street is not doing so well, even after 5 years. We Chicagoans are serious about our Marshall Field's. While there are many out there who have embraced Macy's in the Marshall Field's State Street location, I have not and will not. EVER. Period. I am proud to say that I have not gone into Macy's once. That's right, not one single time in 5 years. I'm not sure what, if anything, could get me into that store. Funny thing is that when we would travel I would enjoy going to Macy's in other cities. But since taking over my beloved Marshall Field's I just can't do it anymore. They could have changed every other Field's to Macy's and left the flagship store on State Street and I and most Chicagoans would have still been shopping there. But nooooo. They had to try to make it all New York like. Well people, this is not New York. This is Chicago. And we still don't want Macy's or Donald Trump.

A brief update:

J and J and the kids have moved back to LA. A job thing. While we totally understand that one must go where the money is we miss them terribly. OK, maybe not so much J and J, but Aud and Henry, break my heart. Heading to LA in March for skating Nationals and extending our visit for a week to spend some quality time with the grandkids. While Skyping is great for long distances, there is no replacement for hugs, kisses and momos (Eskimo kisses).

Mashley are still in NOLA and loving it. Definitely their new home. Although not so new anymore since they have been there almost 5 years now.

Lauren just finished up her first semester of her senior year and has been inducted into Lambda Pi Eta, the national honor society for Communication majors. She is more excited about getting a cord to wear at graduation than anything! She is applying to graduate programs currently. She has applied to 5 schools, two of which are USC and Pepperdine. Honestly, if she goes out to LA we may go there too. To think that J and J, the grandkids and Lauren would all be out there and we would be here is just wrong on so many levels. And, yes, still skating.

Me and Rick....Let's see. Just barely keeping our heads above water these days. Sometimes it seems as though we are being pulled in every direction. But life is good in general. No real complaints. And in exactly 8 days we will celebrate 24 years of the best marriage ever. How did I get so lucky? Still crazy about the Big Man.

Ozzy is getting older and grayer by the minute. Aren't we all?! He took his first trip to College this year when we went to Florida and he stayed with Lauren and her roomies for 2 weeks. The poor dog was literally exhausted when he returned home. Too many late night beer pong games for Ozman! He needs some conditioning!

General news:

- Planning a Ubriaco family reunion in Lake Placid next year. Can't wait for that. I could go years without seeing my cousins and when we finally get together it's like we were never apart. True familial bonds there baby.

- Bears need a big win tonight against Minnesota to clinch the NFC north division. BEAR DOWN!

- The Escalade now has 186,000 miles on it and still going strong. I love my Escalade and I'm driving it 'til it drops. No matter that some dash lights don't work, one of the heated seats only works on high, there are lots of nicks and scratches, a broken fog light (who uses those anyway!) and countless other things, it is still the best car I have ever owned. Saving Rick money all the time! Too bad he doesn't believe that.

So a Merry Christmas shout out to Colleen in NM, Nancy in Lexington, my LA family, my NOLA family, my NY family, my St. Louis family and all my friends and family in Chitown. Love and health and happiness to all.

Melt My Heart

I know it's been forever since I posted and I promise a "What I Did On My Summer Vacation" post very soon. But in the meantime I just had to post this picture of Audrey and Appa. Audrey is soooooo enamored with Rick it is way too cute. She even shuns her Mom and Dad for Appa. On Saturday we visited Audrey and fam and things went exactly like they always do. As soon as Audrey sees Rick she has eyes for absolutely no one else. She brings him book after book and toy after toy. Rick obliges each and every time by reading whatever book she brings him and playing with whatever toy is the toy of the moment. Who knows how long this will last. You never know with little ones. We could show up some Saturday and she may want nothing to do with Rick. But for now we are all enjoying this obsession with Appa. Rick puts Aud to bed each time we visit. There aren't many people who can put her to bed, but she has no problem with Appa. Way too cute.

How's Jer Hole?

After suffering with a bad tooth for years, I finally had my first root canal last week. Not very pleasant. Exactly one week later, that same tooth had to be pulled. Luckily it is in the back of my mouth so it is not easily visible. But I do have a big smile and I'm concerned about looking like some kind of hillbilly with a missing tooth. In time I will have an implant put in its place but that is a long process in itself.

After having the tooth pulled, I asked my dentist if I could take it home and put it under my pillow. Perhaps the Tooth Fairy would bring me a big diamond or the like. I mean, I suffered for a long time with this tooth. One would think it would be worth something. I purposely told Rick that I was putting the tooth under my pillow that night since he doesn't take well to subtle hints. When I awoke the next morning, NOTHING. Not even a quarter. Just the tooth in the little ziploc baggie my dentist gave me. Boohoo. When I commented to Rick that I recieved nothing from the Tooth Fairy he told me to put it under my pillow again that night and he would leave me the checking account balance slip! Enough said, I get the point.

The next night when Rick came home from work, he asked, "How's jer hole?" I said, "WHAT?"

He said, "I can't ask you how your tooth is anymore since it's been pulled, so how's jer hole?" I responded, "CLOSED. Thank you very much."

He's a Keeper

Henry looks just like Audrey when she was born. I wanted to post a picture of Aud at one week next to Henry but I don't know how to post two pictures side by side. Too advanced for a suburban blogger.