Happy Holidays

Since we are traveling, our posting might be limited. We wish everyone a safe and happy holiday.

Finally, recarpeted basement!

Cookies Galore

Kelly baked some amazing cookies this weekend! The prettiest weren't actually cookies but chocolate dipped pretzels. YUMMMMMMM! Thanks for the treats, Kelly.

Good Day

We had a really good 24 hours. Last night, Troy and I hung out with some friends and asked loaded questions. It's a good and quick way to learn how others think! We started our Saturday by sleeping in until mid-morning. Around noon, our doorbell rang and our kindergarten neighbor boy dressed as mini-Santa and his dad presented us with freshly baked holiday cookies. Yummy! Then we worked around the house some before meeting Steve and Charlene at a local pottery show. After that we went over to Raleigh. While Steve walked two pugs, Charlene, Youngin and I walked over to Third Place Coffee. We enjoyed some good coffee and conversation, and Steve joined in after his dog walks. Then we browsed around NoFo (an old Piggly Wiggly building) a little before heading home. On the way home we stopped for a $5.99 cheese pizza at a local pizza shop. We came home and ate the pizza while watching an Oregon PBS travel show. Finally, we cleaned out the basement because we are having new carpet installed on Monday. Now we can relax a bit before bedtime.

365 days

Hard to believe but true.... one year ago we were en route to Argentina, eagerly anticipating an unknown adventure while attempting sleep in a 1.5 x 3 foot space, otherwise known as a seat.

We are better people because of experiencing and exploring that beautiful country.

HaPpY bIrThDaY, TROY!

Ukulele Boy

Yeah, posting more viral videos isn't too creative, but this is cute.

More uplifting

Thanks to Cat for the tip.... and turn up your volume.

Atrocious spelling

Not trying to start the week out with negative sentiments, but this past week I've been appalled at the horrific spelling abilities of a few teenagers I know. One girl showed me her food diary which listed "yogart" "mosarela cheez" "pretcils" etc. Also, I've been reading some comments to newspaper articles online and the majority of people who wrote something can't spell, punctuate or use grammar properly. im not perfek, eyethur, butt shirley peoples dont gradyooate without sum basic nowlege of Inglish??!!

More soup

To round out the week, Korean rice and eggroll soup and tonight jambalaya for our party. Still need to run to the store for the rest of the ingredients. It's not really authentic without shrimp but some are allergic so might have to leave it out.

GULP!

Time to unravel! the sweater I've been knitting on and off for 2 years now was starting to take shape. The back is about 2/3 complete and I had cast on more stitches for the sleeves a couple weeks ago. But now, after knitting 10 rows, I noticed that one sleeve is shorter by 5-6 stitches (i.e. 1.5 inches). ARGH! At least I didn't knit the entire back before noticing.

Soup's on

So far this week, cioppino and chicken tortilla. Jambalaya at the end of the week.

Feel bad for the rest of our family snowed-in and enduring cold temps. Move south, y'all!

Yes, I bribe kids

As I walked in, the 4 year old girl sat in the chair with her legs swinging and arms crossed huffily. Her lip stuck out a mile and she glared at me. She couldn't hold back a second longer and blurted out in her most threatening voice "don't give my mommy a shot."

I had to smother my smile and turned to look at Mom. She was laughing, though obviously proud of her little girl sticking up for her. Cute! Little firecracker chose a truck sticker for her efforts at good behavior for the rest of the visit.

I'm worried.

I found out tonight Youngin likes five guys.

The kitchen reaction

So, we've been noticing a small trend in our little observational study. It seems that those who have been to our house prior to the kitchen remodel have much greater appreciation for the improvement than those who hadn't (like our neighbors a while ago).
This difference was highlighted again tonight as we had two couples over, one had been to our house before, and the other for the first time. You guessed it, those who saw the previous wall-papered, carpeted, brown cabinet-filled kitchen were amazed at the transformation.
The lesson here is that we need to hang up before and after posters on the wall.

Snow or Sun?

One thing to not miss about Chicago is snow. Today's weather forecast there called for snow, highs in the 30s. WE, on the other hand, spent a sunny day at the beach, with the temperatures kissing 70. We also finally found the cafe that everyone at work raves about. It was yummy!

Dwayne Potts in the Akron Beacon Journal

Dwayne Potts of Akron (top) stretches with his 3-year-old son, Ben (bottom) while 5-year-old Will loosens up in preparation to participate in Gennesaret Inc.'s 18th annual Home Run for the Homeless. (Ed Suba Jr./Akron Beacon Journal)

I saw Dwayne and the boys as I was flipping through the "Photos of the Week" Section online! It's Photo #26 of 41.

Do you miss Chicago?

That's probably the second most question I am asked, the first one being "Your name is what again?"

Yes, I miss Chicago sometimes: its beautiful, enjoyable, summertime lakefront, all the fun festivals, all the umpteen thousand varieties of food including deep dish pizza, the hustle and bustle of Michigan Ave, the squarely laid-out roads, the pleasant surprise of glorious flower bouquets in planters along the sidewalks, etc.

Most especially, being a shoe girl, I miss Nordstrom Rack. What better fortune do I have than being the exact size of Nordstrom's sample shoes (6)??!! Seriously! Since moving, I've had some luck at other shoe warehouses, but no one beats the Nordstrom shoe selection. BUT, great news! There's one coming!!!!! And the next time you see me, check out my shoes.... you'll find the right one slightly more scuffed/faded/misshapen than the left. Now you know the rest of the story.