Ho Ho Ho

The Frenzy known as the Kraft Holiday Season is finally winding down. It was great fun and quite exhausting. Highlights include:

- Kraft Christmas where one of my relatives when asked if he wanted another piece of cake dipped his hand in the pan and scooped it out (so much for THAT cake!)

- Dalton Scantlebury had his first Chrismas and entertained us by trying to eat his book.

- Emily served as an awesome Sous Chef and assistant event planner including dipping of the chocolate coated pretzels, wrapping presents and general event preparation assistance

- Sangria and baked cheese ruled the day again at the annual Chrismas Eve Open House including an appearance by "Santa" Tom Stokes and family

- Dan made it through his first semi single Christmas with great aplomb - including fabulous new Cub jackets, paint ball guns and cell phones for the kids

- Brother Jim looked clean and merry and bright too...even sharing photos of his first grandchild! (YIKES!)

- We all were entertained and humbled by Father Ric's sermon at mass -- and there was no fighting

- Rita enjoyed her new bed and bag of bones

- Snow continued to fall off and on throughout the week

- The Kraft Cousins took off for a night out and sang Irish/German bar music and rap tunes while sampling the best Irish beers!

- We enjoyed living through Aunt Amy's adventures in China on her blog

- We're sadly living through Uncle Dewey Lynn's illness

- Friends and family made it all worth it!

Merry Christmas - we love you and hope yours was bright too!

Baby it's cold outside

In the winters of my childhood, we built snow forts and played amongst the building high drifts of our farm. Nowadays, the drifts are more often ice...which is beautiful though not quite as fun as when I was little. Rita, my little Texas born hot blooded lab hound LOVES the snow..but is not so sure about skiding on the ice.....

Bringing them to the Dark Side

I'm a bit unconventional...okay a lot unconventional. So in trying to stay above the fray I am always looking for something fun and different for holiday and birthday presents. Plus, I am not above pure bribery to bring the children over to my southern, 80s's rock and country, tex mex loving ways. Last night I took three of the kids to see the Sugarland CMT Country Tour with Little Big Town and Jake Owns. It was an almost three and a half hour event, which ended up in a southern rock version of ZZ Top songs. Awesome!!! Jess and Em are already seasoned concert attendees....now I have brought Tommy along to the dark side. It was fun despite the 26 degree weather...southern country rock does live on!!

A Very Texan Thanksgiving!!!!

For most mid-American, midwestern, god fearing citizens, Thanksgiving is a day of roasted turkey and yams, wearing sweaters and staying warm inside while staring at the cold and snow. For Texans, on the other hand..Thanksgiving means fried turkey, sangria, Dallas Cowboys football, and sunshine and open toed shoes. Actually it was a bit nippier here than it usually is...we wore sweaters and long sleeved shirts. Still, plenty of reason to celebrate with the sangria, fried turkey and family.

We had 12 people who came in from San Francisco, China and Illinois, of course at our dinner. This year we were also entertained by 18 month old Sydney who kept us all on our feet (toes and backs!) enjoying tummy rubs, book readings, and Sydney's first turkey, queso and crawfish! Following tradition we had an early morning visit to Michael's resulting in a full car and the need to return to work so we can earn some more money!

Back at home they had almost snow flurries (actually there were flurries in the Cowboys Stadium here in Irving too!) roasted turkey and a visit to the hospital where my stepmom is recovering (Get Well Ann!).

It's been a wild year..moving several times, a change in job assignments and now a new job and a move too. Yet, it's nice to have family, friends, good foods and good times to remind us of the blessings in our lives. I hope your holidays are full of all of the good things in life!

Closing the circle

My family is not very conventional. I actually like that about them most of the time..especially since I am no longer a teenager whose entire social standing is based upon the embarassment or lack of it caused by our genetic relations. So, anyway, last Friday, we closed the circle (so to speak) of our mother's side of the family.
My brilliant, excentric, exotic, unusual, overbearing Aunt Jo was laid to rest last Friday.
As one of my other aunt's noted, Aunt Jo was a feminist before feminist was cool. She lived larger than life and resembled a bag lady, an professor, a feminist, an aetheist, a budhist and an aristocrat all wrapped up in one. So a conventional visitation and burial would not do. We put our heads together and came up with a celebration of life last Friday. I made a great fall bouquet and put together a unique collage of photos (thanks to my great scrapbooking friends in St. Louis!). I also put together a nice program and invitation. Matthew did his usual great project manager job of working with the funeral home and all of those great admin tasks. Dan and Jim pitched in by going through her things.
Bottom line: we held a fun, interactive and brief service at Holy Cross on Friday followed by a brunch where the Queen loved to hold court...Denny's Restaurant in Bloomington. The skies opened up once we were all safely ensconced in Denny's ...drinking coffee and laughing and talking. The best line of the day was from her friend Jolene who noted she was "outrageous"> Indeed!
In truth, that day was the best gift Josie has given us all in a long time. Josie brought us full circle. Now, let's hope she is not fighting with my mom and grandparents..I hope they're playing checkers and listening to the radio together.

Finally Home

Rita is so happy...and we all know that when Rita is happy..EVERYONE is happy. She stands inside the glass door and looks out at me. She jumps on"her" king sized bed and rolls around. She races up and down the living room.....she looks at me like...Thank Goodness we are HOME, mom..."

Boxes, stuff all around, furniture not in place. Doesn't mean a thing. Rita knows she is at home :-)

Getting Back to (Ab) Normal...in Bloomington!

Fall in Illinois is typically a blissful time. Sunny days but warm....not hot....falling leaves, the smell of cookouts and backyard bonfires. So, this fall has all of the usual fall sensory experiences...and heat of 88-94 degrees per day. Unbelieveable!!

So, of course, we had to move -- AGAIN -- during the heat wave. It was better than last time but still ....hot. And it took 7 hours!!! (I am seriously considering more downsizing...for everything except my scrapbooking supplies of course..)

I'm getting to know the folks at U-Haul on a first name basis and becoming quite adept at maneuvering a truck through through the streets of Bloomington-Normal.

At any rate...we are (mostly) now in one place..a new home where Rita can happily run through the house, sniff the grass in the backyard and look through the door at her mama.

Sunday Morning

Today was one of those rare days at home. The morning started a little cool, slightly sunny, leaving starting to turn, light breeze...I love autumn!

It was a PERFECT Autumn Sunday morning:
- a pot of coffee made with my usual mix of Starbucks, Kroger Columbia and Vanilla with creme' brulee' creamer.
- The Sunday Pantagraph, the Chicago Tribune and tons of flyers
- The door open, watching the neighborhood walk by
- Rita sleeping on her pink leopard blanket behind my knees
- a day of football behind us and one more on the horizon

We need more of these sleepy, sunny Sundays ...really relaxing, recharging and enjoying life!!

The Front Porch Fly Catching Dog

The past month has flown....or rather not since the heat wave dragging most of the country down (except Texas which is drowning...I think that is the Alamo that just floated past us on the Illinois River...). So the month has flown as fast as it can in 98 degree weather with a 105 heat index. For like 20 days straight. (And yes, people still ask me how I made it in Texas....good lord people even Texas has ice tea, beer and air conditioning....!!).

Anyway..I digress. With all of our changes we had some time this summer to experience the joys of the front porch and neighborhood coffee. Shella and I had long ago discovered how much we loved to drink our coffee together on the decks. But it is hot and sunny even at 7 a.m. in the summer so that wasn't working. During our garage sale planning we discovered we could drag our lawn chairs outside in front and have our coffee out there. Rita loved hanging out with her peeps and we all chatted, drank coffee (or diet pepsi) and scanned the garage sale ads.

During this blissful time we discovered a special talent of Rita's....Rita is a fly hunting maniac. She has a laser gaze which can apparently work for things other than treats. She will stare down a fly until it gets close enough and then -- I kid you not -- jump in the air with jaws that would frighten that ole shark Jaws himself. Then she chews the fly and licks her lips satisfyingly.

She does not have so many flies at the new place. But I know if things ever get tough we can count on Rita to be a fly catcher and bring home the ...er...flies.

Moving - Part I and I

yes. the moving saga continues. Because moving, in my life, never seems to be a one time, pack some suitcases and the dog and move on kind of thing. For one thing...I got too comfortable. I collected holiday decorations and crafts and scrapbook stuff and ....well stuff. And I threw a lot of it into my guest room and basement. And now i have to clean it out while I am moving.

So last Saturday I hired two strapping young junior high boys (and bribed niece number one and her boyfriend) to help me move. ALl of the furniture and a trucks load of boxes disappeared into a storage space. The MOST WONDERFUL BLOOMINGTON FRIEND EVER Cheryl AND her two kids locked themselves in the basement and packed for four hours. Cheryl -- in her role as move coordinator -- then coordinated the loading and unloading of the second 24 foot truck with boxes.

I drove the truck...just like a big mac daddy truck driver. (Christi says I have a career as a truck driver if I ever want to give up my day job.)

Now the first space is full and this week I am finishing up the loading of the second space. Saturday I get to move into a new, more compact space with a few things while I try to divine my future....

Oh yea...and maybe catch up on some scrapbooking!!!

St. Louis Photos

St.Louis with Teenagers

This is about a week old but life is flying these days. On Tuesday morning July 24 I got in my car and "endeavored" (Tee Hee...) to Edwardsville to pick up Jess, Em and Tommy for a trip to downtown St. Louis. We were to hook up with Jess's now on-again boyfriend, Adam, and his family, and motor to the St. Louis Zoo. Which we did, after a few wrong turns and mishaps....and man is the St. Louis Zoo awesome. I do not remember ever seeing more beautiful wildlife in a more beautiful and natural setting. I have been to the National Zoo in Washington and seen the pandas which I thought was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. Trust me...the giraffes and zebras and the Polar Bear at the St. Louis Zoo outdid them all.

It is however, not "free" as they advertise. I feel like a MasterCard ad as I note: parking - $10.00; bottled water - $4.00; cheeseburger - $7.50 - feelings...priceless.

After a day of running around in the 88 degree weather we run back to the hotel with the Wakefield's, change and go to the great rivalry St. Louis Cards versus our hometown Chicago Cubs game. The new Busch Stadium is awesome...if it were not for all of that RED!!!! (gotta love it...most of the time). Adam's sister Ana particpated in an exhibition dance with her dance team and then we watched the game...Emily feeling so proud in her St. Louis Cardinal's Rolen shirt.....!! Cubs win and then we experienced the best of St. Louis by sitting in the I-64/40/55 traffic meltdown which included a five lane interstate narrowing down to ONE LANE!!!!!!! (this was a two hour experience in which Jessica informed us she hated people, Tommy was looking for a pillow and Emily told me every two minutes she had to go to the bathroom. Home to Aunt Mary Jo's at 1 a.m. Talked for awhile, to bed at2:30 and back up at 7:30.

Day 2 found us meeting at the awe inspiring St. Louis arch. Truly a very cool place. Also a bit pricey as it turns out it is free to walk in the base of the arch but about $50 for a family of five to go UP into the arch. We chose to go to Union Station instead and ate, walked around and some of the kids did bungee jumping!! Too wild! We had a few hormonal teen meltdowns when we tried to leave, though evantually we did. Jessica even made it home later on (and not at her father's or Adam's or her friends or any of the thousands of places she threatened to stay since none of us loved her and wanted her to be "in love..." blah, blah, blah. For once, returning to my insanely chaotic home with boxes and stuff all over the place was very comforting. Ah.....messy, quiet bliss. As Amy and Tony say...."just dogs."

Garage Sale Queens

So what is more All American than a garage sale? As part of the previously mentioned 4-letter word "move" process, my neighbor Shella and I held a garage sale last weekend. We brought pink tiaras, scoured our closets and basements and held a super sale, during some truly awesome weather. Great fun was had by all AND we made some money. Woo Hoo!

A few ramblings on having a garage sale: we live across from a retirement community and in the middle of four blocks of apartments which house primarily (not a slam, just a reality!) many Hindu residents who work at the "Farm." Add to that the many neighborhood residents and we had a great and diverse crowd.

Always interesting to note what did and did not sell at sales. Here's a partial list:

What DID sell:

- partial box of opened multi color christmas balls

- 3 boxes of unopened bead crafting sets

- scanner without a cord

- multi-cd/cassette player (non-functioning cd element)

- ceramic pitcher and plates

- brand new photo album

- two older 19" carry on suitcases

- grandmother's dining room table

- 2 comforters

- full length mirror missing the crucial middle board to hold it upright

- skinny christmas tree with individual branches

- "Vintage" golf bag

What did NOT sell:

- vintage golf clubs (they wanted only the bag)

- Clothes (liz claiborne, eddie bauer, spiegel, ann taylor)

- entire table of christmas decorations

- entire bag of children's craft materials

- cd's

- Sexual Fulfillment guidebook

- 2 briefcases

Apparently people want to use a vintage golf bag to hold their own clothes and do not need sexual fulfillment.

PS...Rita, our fabulous condo dog, was the official mascot for the garage sale. We gave her a pink tiara, and christened her Rita the Garage Sale Queen. She made the 10 p.m. news so they apparently agreed.

What's in My Purse?

You know all of those fun magazines which ask questions of celebrities and really important people about what is on their nightstand or what is in their purse or their refrigerator? Well i thought I would try one of those about me.....(apparently I have nothing else to write about.)

What's in my purse right now? I'm using my black leather bucket bag right now...
- Dasani water bottle
- green coach zippered coin purse (money, debit card, receipts...yikes!)
- emery board
- 5,000 receipts
- water bill, gas bill, electric bill, target bill (time to go to the post office!)
- neutrogena lip gloss (peach dawn?)
- 2 pairs sunglasses
- CVS sunscreen, SPF 20
- vanilla spearmint gum
- 3 pens
- new cute brown and pink notebook with everything I Need to know about my MOVE!!!

I think I can leave the house now...

Moving ON

Moving. It's like a four letter word with six letters. It sends terror into the heart of nearly man, woman, child and pet. So...among other changes in my life I am moving. More correctly I am moving my stuff because I don't know where I will be living yet. Which is fine....as long as we (me and the Rita) end up someplace....preferably with four walls and a door. For now all of our worldly goods (minus the garage full we are selling next weekend...) are going into storage and we are going to stay with friends during August. So we are getting up and packing from dawn to dusk minus lunch breaks. Friends have been great to come and take shifts and help in the awful packing!! That wall of books and pictures that looks so homey and welcoming..translates into (last count) about 20 boxes of books...and we have not started upstairs yet with the (dear god!) scrapbook room and bedroom! I need Clean Sweep but my friends are great and patient.....so....back to the packing!!!

The TImes They Are a Changing !

So..over the last two months - prior to July 2 - I had been involved in all sorts of Organizational Change, Change Readiness, Crisis teams. And we developed this phrase, when crazy stuff happened but we couldn't do anything about it...that goes "it is what it is."

So, somehow, in the midst of all of this work insanity I was totally unprepared for my own personal org change/life crisis. You know how they say that the chinese symbol for crisis contains opportunity? Well...I have opportunities aplenty right now!!

And I do...I really do...and most times I am willing to look at it as just that. But oh my.....the times they are a changing!