Shield Your Eyes!

On any given day during a Chicago winter, we're pretty used to our morning traffic reporting fog delays, snow delays, ice delays, black ice, sleet, sideways snow, and my all-time favorite "wintry mix".

You get the idea.

So you can imagine our shock and surprise, when this morning, none of those things were being reported. In fact, there are distinct signs that winter MAY be on its way out the door.

Yesterday and today, we've experienced temperatures in the FORTIES! And that's ABOVE ZERO! The Manimal actually played out in the SANDBOX yesterday while SS#1 rode his bike and didn't have to pretend he was in some new X-Games event, "Extreme Ice Biking".

And this morning, the traffic reporters in our fair city all commented on a phenomenon that we've not experienced in several months. We're being warned to wear protective lenses. To be on the lookout for a meteorological occurrence that we've simply forgotten even existed.


The infamous, somewhat mythical SUN DELAY.

Six Word Saturday

Thank the Lord for hairdressing geniuses.

For You, Timmer! :)

It's January 2nd and we are in the first deep freeze of the year. No surprise, of course, for two reasons.

1. It's Chicago.

2. It's winter.

Having worked with teenagers for a part of my career, I have encountered Captain Obvious more than once. You know Captain Obvious, right? He (or she-obviousnessness doesn't discriminate) would walk out in January in Chicago and come back in the house, shivering and complaining.

"It's SO cold out there!"

Uhm. Yeah. It's WINTER!

"But it's so COLD!" Captain Obvious restates, as if somehow conveying this sentiment more strongly will make his case.

One word. Winter.

And in this deep freeze, I'm headed north with Diva Husband to pick up a plow blade for the tractor.

North. Where it's COLDER. And SNOWIER.

I just have to bundle up and remind myself.

"Yes, Captain Obvious. It's WINTER."

Music Monday

Making the best of a very cold, wet situation here in the Windy City!



Good thing DH attached the plow to the lawn mower.

Tuesday Top Ten

It's not Letterman's Top Ten, but welcome to Ten on Tuesday!

Ten Things I'm Loving Right Now

1. Il Moscato

A delicious, budget friendly version of my fave sparkling moscato. Trader Joe's has it for $9.99 a bottle. Yum-O! An odd little quirk with this brand, which also has Il Prosecco, if you're so inclined, is that it doesn't have a cork. Rather, it must be opened with a bottle opener, so if you're the only one enjoying a bit of the bubbly, be sure to pick up one of these vacuum stoppers to keep it fizzy for next time.

Or you could just finish off the bottle. However, then next morning, you might need this.

2. Home Depot

While I'm not usually a big fan of superstores in general, I don't mind going to Home Depot to pick up the random item for Diva Husband. Last week, Homer and the gang ran this fabulous deal for $3 off LED Christmas Lights. Since DH does light duty in our home, he sent me to pick up lights for our new tree (See below).

3. Ginormous Christmas Trees

Our family room ceiling is 18' tall. For five years, DH has lamented the fact that our Christmas Tree, in all of it's 8' glory, was lost in the height of the room. Thanks to Craigslist, we are the proud owners of an almost-new 12' tree. And our pocketbook is $50 lighter.

Not a bad deal. Pics to follow.

4. Patient (If a wee bit dumb) Dogs

If you've read my musings for any length of time, you'll be familiar with Princess (the Wonder Dog)and her archnemesis, The Manimal. I had really hoped that, with Christmas coming, we could use the age-old threat: "Santa only visits good little boys."

It's not working. Poor pup.

5. Fall Weather

I love Autumn. It's my favorite season of the year. The gorgeous fall colors, crisp air, Friday night bonfires. The whole package. I enjoy the occasional Indian Summer weekend, but I especially love Autumn.

Particularly when Mother Nature remembers that Autumn weather should occur in October/November.

6. A Nine Year-Old Boy

I love SS#1 with all my heart. He's my first, my baby, my little Squirtle. I'm not loving this "I'm always right" stage. But I do love my boy. I love my boy. I love my sweet stubborn boy.

7. Finding the Perfect Gift

I found the absolute perfect gift for my parents. Unfortunately, I can't even give you a clue, since BOTH of them read my blog. I also found the perfect gifts for The Lawyer and my Wonderful SIL, and my nephews, Tex, Sir Falls-a-Lot and Baby Bean. Well, I haven't really found the one for Baby Bean yet, but I'm hoping my luck holds out.

I can give you a leetle clue on my gift for The Lawyer and Wonderful SIL. She actually introduced me to this company. Prices are reasonable and I found a 35% discount code which made my personalization and shipping FREE! :)

And that leads me to...

8. Online Discount Codes

I'm late to the party on this one, I'm sure, but did you know that you can Google to find discount codes for online shopping? They don't always work, and sometimes they bring up expired codes, but it's SO worth trying! I just enter the business name and "discount code" or "coupon" and it brings up the results.

Saving money AND finding great gifts. Merry Christmas to me!

9. Good Books

I've recently finished reading the Mitford books, by Jan Karon. When I was 7, I received the Little House on the Prairie Boxed Set for my birthday. I read them so many times that my mom had to put them away for awhile so I'd read other books.

Last year, she gave them back to me.

I've re-read them twice since then.

I'm pretty sure Mitford is becoming my grown-up version of the Little House books.

10. Vacation

I have exactly four days of work left before I'm off for A WHOLE WEEK. Three days if you don't count today. Then I work for fourteen days and I'm off for TWO MORE WEEKS.

Vacation/PTO days are one of the few best perks of my job! :)

Fragmentation

I took today off work. Which is probably a good thing since I have to work an event tomorrow from 7 am-1 pm and then will be headed to our Haiti Banquet (Which doesn't begin until 6, but like most events, I can't just GO and be a guest. I have to get myself involved in the PLANNING. I'm crazy that way.), so say a prayer that the MORE THAN 200 GUESTS will have a great time and loads of money will be raised for our Haitian brothers and sisters!

Diva Husband, the only one of our little family of four who chose not to receive the flu vaccine, has the flu. I'm not, however, going to rub it in his face, out of sheer terror that the strain against which I was vaccinated is not the strain which he has contracted.

I'm leaving in four days for a conference in Grand Rapids, MI. My sheer joy at being off work for three days is only topped by the fact that I'm then driving home to the Buckeye State BY MYSELF to go to Homecoming at the best university in the world. Did I mention that I'll be in Ohio for three days BY MYSELF. As in SANS CHILDREN AND HUSBAND? And I'll get to go to Oxford and eat toasted rolls and greasy pizza? Diva Nana (and maybe Diva Papa) will be traveling down with me to share in the joy that is a quintessential college town in the fall.

But my children and husband?

NOT!

I've decided to put out an all points bulletin for early Autumn. Clearly she's been snatched away and we've gone right past October and into late November weather.

Our dining room ceiling is leaking. More accurately, I suppose, it's actually our master bathroom floor. Either way, it's not good. And it's wet.

SS#1 is having his school pictures taken on Wednesday. I leave REALLY EARLY Wednesday morning. No way in Hades am I leaving the outfit up to him. We'll be having a practice dressing session.

Did I mention that I'm going to be away from home BY MYSELF for six whole days? Of course, I'll probably miss the boys (big and little) and have to talk to them every night. I'll probably end up sleeping on the edge of the bed, just because that's where I usually end up.

Maybe the hotel will hire a couple of local school kids to bang on my door to wake me up in the morning?

The Four Seasons

I'm a learner. I generally like to know the whys and wherefores of things. I make lists and files to help me stay organized when accomplishing tasks. I love doing logic problems in those puzzle books. Pro/Con lists to help me make decisions? Yeppers.

Get the idea?

So when I awoke this morning, June 11th, to a forecast of a balmy 67 degrees here in the not-so-sunny-somewhat-Windy City area, I needed a plan to wrap my brain around this question...

WHERE IS SUMMER?

Signs that Summer has indeed arrived on the Third Coast:

• Most schools are out of session.
• We've instituted our Summer Flex Time at work.
• We've had several beautiful 80 degree days.
• We've also had our share of summer thunderstorms.
  
• Colleges have begun their Summer 2009 terms.
• The ice cream truck circulates through our neighborhood every.single.evening.
• Local swimming pools are open for business.
• The calendar says it's June.
• Stores are stocked up on shorts, t-shirts and swim apparel.
• Sweet Son #1 has mowed the yard three times already.
• The local farmers' corn is 6" (or so) high.
• Our first summer conference group has come and gone and we're expecting our next wave tomorrow.
• New student orientation for the college class of (gasp) 2013 is taking place.
• Six Flags Great America is running some serious summer discounts.
• Ravinia has released their summer schedule.
• Folks are talking about Taste of Chicago.
  

Now for the opposing viewpoint...Signs that summer is running a bit late this year:

• Local swimming pools are open for business, but are pretty much empty, due to rain and unseasonably low temperatures.
• OK, so perhaps we've had VERY few 80 degree days.
  
• SS#1 wanted to wear jeans all week to summer camp.
• Today SS#1 is wearing sweatpants and a fleece to summer camp.
• We're more likely to need an umbrella and jacket than sunscreen and sunglasses.
• The calendar says it's June 11th.

I do realize that logic would indicate that Summer has indeed arrived.

Clearly, however, logic is out to lunch.

That coupled with the fact that, according to the calendar, Summer doesn't really arrive until June 21st leads me to conclude that logic is not only out to lunch, but may have moved out of the area entirely.

I know this, because here I sit, at the computer, wearing jeans and a fleece. In June.

Just a Taste

I love food. I love to cook. I love to watch Food Network. I'm a certified, self-proclaimed foodie.

My neighbor sells Tastefully Simple products, which is a dangerous thing when you're a foodie with time limitations. If you're not familiar with their products, the company has this to say:

"We offer a wide selection of convenient, easy-to-prepare gourmet foods designed to help people spend less time in the kitchen and more time enjoying the rest of their lives. Our products are sold by independent Tastefully Simple consultants primarily at home taste-testing parties nationwide."

Now I'm all about supporting folks with home-based businesses, but I'm not a big fan of hosting the parties. The drawback is that I don't get the benefits of hosting parties, like the free product! ;)

But now, we live in the technological age. I can host a party without leaving my warm home. Which is no small feat as today's high temperature is NEGATIVE THREE degrees Fahrenheit.

Enter the Online Party! And now for the shameless plug...if you're interested in purchasing some Tastefully Simple products, why not do it from the coziness of your home? You can shop and order online and it will be shipped directly to you! Can't get any easier than that! :) Drop me an email if you'd like an invite!

Some of my faves...

Bountiful Beer Bread Mix

Garlic Garlic

Pine Nut and Basil Pesto Mix

Blushing Cosmo Drink Mix

Nana's Apple Cake Mix

Captain Obvious

One of the things that irritates me to no end is when people find it necessary to state the very obvious. Such statements make me wonder why the person feels it so important to contribute to a conversation when it's clear that EVERYONE involved is already aware of what they are about to say.

"Wow. He's really tall." is pretty much an irrelevant statement when the person in question ascends 6'8" straight up.

"These gas prices are ridiculous!" Of course they are. When gas in the USA approaches $5/gallon, the only happy people are the oil executives.

"It's SO hot outside!" Uhm...yeah. It's July. It's SUPPOSED to be hot.

Well, today I claim the title of Captain Obvious. But I feel justified. Because, blogland, this is what I saw on the electronic sign coming onto the campus of Diva U. this morning:

8:27 AM

0 degrees

Here it is.

Wait for it.

It's COLD. And for you Canadians, that would be Fahrenheit. Now I realize that may be a heat wave for some of you. But for us Third Coast residents in December? It's just not supposed to be that cold.

And snow. We have it. And frankly, from the looks of the thermometers, it's not going anywhere. We are, barring any sort of immediate global warming situation, going to have a white Christmas.

But back to stating the obvious.

It's cold. I may have to look for jobs further south. Like Jamaica. Or at least Texas! :)

Trying desperately to warm up my blue-tinged fingers...

The Simple Woman's Daybook--July 7th

FOR TODAY

Outside my Window...Overcast skies, lots of clouds. Preparing for a big summer thunderstorm, no doubt!

I am thinking...of my busy week. Appointments today and tomorrow. Trying to balance work and home. Sigh.

I am thankful for...Sunday sermons that always seem to speak to me where I am; my children, whom I love dearly, even though I get frustrated easily.

From the kitchen...Yummy garlic lemon-roasted green beans and balsamic sugar-roasted asparagus. I love summer veggies!

I am creating...Not feeling very creative lately. :(

I am going...to clean my closet this week if it's the last thing I do!

I am wearing...Jeans, white tee shirt, brown sandals and my favorite silver bracelet and earrings.

I am reading...sadly, nothing at the moment, other than a few pages of whatever's next to the bed at night to get to sleep.

I am hoping...for peace in my head and heart.

I am hearing... An "old school" Michael W. Smith album, "Live the Life"

Around the house...SO did not get to my closet last week. Absolutely must do that this week.

One of my favorite things...the feeling of accomplishment after completing all tasks on a list. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened lately.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...How in the world am I going to survive a WHOLE WEEK at work?! :) SS#1 is on campus for soccer camp, which he totally loves. Goal for the week is to organize my closet, New Life for Haiti Banquet Planning Meeting on Wednesday, then home group on Friday.

I have pictures for you. In my camera. What do you mean you can't see them?! :)

Go see Peggy for some more Daybooks!

Home Sweet Home

Just a quick note to say that we're finally home. I'll be posting more later (with photos, of course!), but suffice it to say, the kids were thrilled, the trip was wonderful, the weather was fabulous, and Chicago got snow.

So Long, Farewell!

Well, it just occurred to me that this visit to MouseLand will likely throw my Blog365 commitment into a tailspin. Ah, well. Mickey's worth it! :)

So here's the weather prediction for tomorrow here at home:

SatFeb 2
Cloudy
32°/19°
20% chance for precipitation (SNOW)

And tomorrow for MouseLand:

SatFeb 2
Sunny
79°/61°
10% chance for precipitation (RAIN)

Where would YOU rather be?! With any luck, the Winter Storm Warning that is STILL in effect for Chicagoland (hello, I woke up to about EIGHT INCHES of the white stuff) won't affect our flight plans for tomorrow.

I'll do my best to post this week, but rest assured, I'll have pictures when we return! :)

"M-I-C See ya real soon! K-E-Y Why? Because we like you! M-O-U-S-E!"

Thursday Thirteen

This post brought to you by the letter B.



1. Blogging--Fun stuff, and I'm officially hooked. It's therapeutic, I tell ya! Sort of an online journal. :)

2. Boys--Love SS#1 and The Manimal (and, of course, The Man) more than anything in the world.

3. Best Friend--Mine's far away, but I love her dearly!

4. Beringer--I do love a good glass of wine, but I'm partial to the inexpensive White Zin from this vineyard. I also have a personal connection to the name, so it's a fave there as well.

5. Boston--We lived on Cape Cod for two years when I was a kid, and I have a vague memory of going to Boston for a school field trip. I'm excited that I'll be going there in March 2009 for a conference. Maybe I'll get to meet up with the famous Libby! :)

6. Bath--A nice hot one. With candles and wine. Locked bathroom door. Absolute Heaven!

7. Baked Beans--Our Pastor's wife makes the most amazing baked beans. She uses four or five different varieties and they're absolutely delish. I haven't quite mastered them, but mine aren't bad.

8. Babysitting--I made my teenage livelihood doing this. Nowadays, it seems like almost no kid babysits, because they're too busy with other activities. I'm fortunate to have a supply of college kids who are always looking to make a few extra bucks, and for some reason, my children are angels for them. Go figure!

9. Beatles--I love them, yeah, yeah, yeah!

10. Books--I think I've made my feelings for the written word perfectly clear. I love to read, and have been doing so since I was four. I have a vivid memory of Catherine Wooley/Jane Thayer coming to my elementary school to read to us. Bonus points if you know who she is!

11. Because I Said So--Unfortunately, I've invoked this parental phrase all too often, lately.

12. Bitter Cold--It was and is. Of course, this is Chicago in January.

13. Boy, Oh Boy, I can't wait until Saturday!--Because the temps in MouseLand are absolutely dreamy--upper 70's/low 80's!

We're Havin' a Heat Wave (For Now)...

Yesterday in our suburban Chicago haven (hahahahaha), we hit SEVENTY DEGREES! Yes, folks, that's SEVEN-ZERO. As in no snow, no ice, spring jacket, play outside weather.

According to the weather experts (hahahahaha), Chicago "smashed" the previous high of 59 degrees with a balmy 65. Obviously it's warmer here out west.

Normally at this time of year, we're digging out from the most recent blizzard, or laying salt to melt the inches of ice. Yesterday, though, it was more like a decent spring day. Somewhat overcast, damp, but unseasonably warm.

Now, we all know that this isn't normal, and it's likely that Mother Nature was simply suffering from multiple personality disorder or an identity crisis, because last night around 5:15, the floodgates opened, and we may have been in India during monsoon season. We had the mother of all thunderstorms, and it rained ALL.NIGHT. More rain is predicted for today and tonight, so the area is under flood warnings. Of course, being Chicago, the temperatures are predicted to be in the high twenties tonight, and snow is predicted by Friday.

We'll just call Mother Nature by her real name. El Nino, La Nina?

Nope.

Sibyl.

Cheers!