Band Aid 1994

Ya gotta watch this. THe George's are hilarious.....(george michaels and Boy George...) and the music is still great...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jEnTSQStGE&eurl=http://www.cathyzielske.typepad.com/&feature=player_embedded

Five on the Fifth

Woo Hoo! It's December...can you believe it? I love the holidays...the lights..the frosty beauty of the first snow. Well December 1st brought us our first true snow. We had a "frosting" before....more like hail pellets ...but we had "accumulation" as we northerners/midwesterners say. It's beautiful and crazy....the Texas and Florida guys at work are all standing by the window taking pictures with their camera phones...quite funny. (I missed that photo op...) so....the fifth was part of a crazy week....which is likely to get crazier. Photos later today. Here's the list

Five on the Fifth

5. COLD!!! (single digits...)
4. Finally Friday (and not a moment too soon...decks and meetings and changes, oh my!
3. Errands..trying to catch up with christmas chores
2. Oh Christmas Tree!
1. Hanging out in front of the tv, making christmas crafts and having hot cocoa...

Happy Holidays!

Thanksgiving 08 - A slice of life

Thanksgiving this year was symbolic of my life over the past year and a half. Try to relax in the morning. Rush like crazy to get ready, get in the car, drive like a crazy person, make it for dinner (lots of drame and surprise around me being there rather than TX), gobble down dinner, rush to get ready and go to the ice hockey game. Hang out at the ice hockey. (The Prairie Thunder lost...badly.) Rush home. Finish reading ads. Plot out Thursday morning. Turn off lights and try to sleep on a couch in a room next to the main drag and not think about everything else. Alarm goes off at 5:30. Brush teeth, wash face, grab list and go to Starbucks where there is a line at 6 a.m. The Target parking lot was full...at 6 a.m. I went to Circuit City and had a few challenges but walked out with 2 mpe 3 players and 2 8 gig photo cards. Leisurely went to Michaels, Lowes, Joanns, Card Outlet, Pier One and Meijer before heafing home. Enough is enough. Got home, ran to bank, ran to Target and came home again. I am so tired I am floating ...one of those feverish floatings. Put up the fresh pine garlands around the door and on the deck. A BEAUTIFUL november day. A little football. A glass of wine and mac and cheese in a cup.

Still thankful, despite the craziness to be with people I love. Happy Thanksgiving.

Five on the Fifth (belated)

1. 7:30 a.m. Happy Birthday Call to Daniel - (I must officially be a cougar...he just turned 40.)
2. Day after the Election...we made history last night! Here in the WIndy City...how awesome!
3. Still 60 degrees in November - this is tricky to dress for....not sweaters and not sleevless
4. Finished the birthday present -- the album took all of my photoshop trickery but it rocks!
5. Packing, laundry, travel craziness - changing routes to fly through Dalls, leaving the house 1t 4:30 am tomorrow....it's a long, wild, tired day.

Planes, Trains and Cars

Anyone remember the movie Planes, Trains and Cars? With Steve Martin? That's how my week went. First, work was crazy. Meetings here, scope docs there, training here.....people coming in for meetings, planning for other meetings....
In the midst of that, I left my house at 4:30 a.m. on Thursday to take a United flight to Dallas. In Dallas, Amy met me at the airport, we went and got coffee and then she took me to Love Airport where I got onto a flight to Houston. In Houston, I rented a car (a shiny new 2009 Jeep Cherokee) and drove to Christina's school to pick her up. Houston, by the way, never changes. Humdity, rain, humidity...
I grab some quick lunch (missing that spicy salad dressing at Salt Grass Steak House), pick up Christina and we go back to Houston Hobby, check in and just make it fast enough through security to walk up to the gate and get onto our flight back to Dallas. Still following me?
In Dallas, Daniel meets us at the airport and we go to Houston's for a belated birthday dinner. Sitting with them at dinner, listening to Christina chatter away and her dad answer her many questions....this ended much better than John Candy and Steve Martin's adventure. The planes, trains and airplanes was crazy....but very much worth it.

Sunday October 5

Sundays rank by far as my favorite day of the week. A good cup of coffee, the newspaper, no need to really go anywhere and interact with the outside world. This Sunday was a bit different. I did indeed drink the coffee and read the paper but at my dad and anne's house (Note to self...must remember to bring real creamer to their house!!) and then we got ready and went to brunch at Shannon's. I actually really enjoy hanging out with them, catching up ...though there must always be some catty comments which completely set me off. To calm myself I tried to go visit Shella who is still desperately depressed off the series of events in her life the past year. So then I took on a project I had been wanting to do..I went to downtown Bloomington and photographed my old downtown. So much has changed...the Illinois House where I hung out with my grandma Dolley and my aunt jo is now an office building. The coffee shop is a wine shop...but the building and the name are still there. The courthouse remains as a historical society. Kresge's is gone (a law firm) as is Roland's but I can stand on the corner and remember it all like it was yesterday. Again, a beautiful fall day so it filled my spirit. I went by my scrapbookng store on the way home....bought a few new thingies and caught up with my favorite scrapping store girl..then I packed up, and stopped in Lexington to drop off a few photos for the family. I arrived home to have Rita all happy and waiting to see me....I think Dorothy was right...there's no place like (MY) home...

Saturday October 4

For every bad day there has to be a good day. So my internal clockwork and confidence is still all messed up and I have no "mommy" to run to....so instead I drove to Bloomington today slowly through the fall fields and pumpkin patches. I was a girl made for Autumn...I went to a high school and college with orange as their official colors, my favorite color of rose is that peachy orange coral rose, I LOVE pumpkins, etc. It was a great visual treat and a start to getting back on track. Chatted with Amy a bit on the way down which was fun. Of course a little family dysfunctional weekend always makes me understand why I don't live in my hometown...but hey it takes my mind off my troubles. Most importantly, this was Homecoming 2008 for Jess and Em. First we met up with Em (I took Dan my uber dysfunctional bi-polar newly divorced and ranging anger fueled brother with me) at her mom's new friends's house in the country. GORGEOUS fall afternoon...Emily looked beautiful and relaxed and her Mark is so funny and sweet. He got a new car (I stupidly did not get a pic of them at the car....) and she looked all grown up in this dress which was magically held on by these TEENY TINY straps...argh!!! Anyway from Em's lovely photo shoot in the country we went to Jess's high drama overstaged photo shoot in the city. Ughh,,,she was gorgeous but had makeup two shades dark on and was going with the former beauty pageant dropout Ashley....anyway we did all the pics and I left and got chinese at my favorite chinese dive and went to see my baby brother Jim at his work place, the cab company. Sitting in a smoke filled dispatch room eating chinese veggies and shrimp...I felt better than I had all weekend. I went home and put my pjs on and watched the cubs lose with my dad...what a week. And maybe, really, that is the purpose of it all...as I sat at the computer with my glass of wine loading homecoming photos and listening to the Cubs try to make it through the post season....I felt better about the week. Ups and downs...we need to channel through the adversity to learn who we are and how we react. So,,,with that I am taking my book and going to bed..

Friday October 3

The morning after a gut crashing career and personal moment does not feel much better. The only thing that rolled me out of bed this morning (besides my warm, panting, gotta-pee doggie) was the thought that I did not have to go into work today. I had already asked a week or so ago to work at home today thinking I would drive to Bloomington this afternoon. After protracted discussions with the family I decided to wait and go down Saturday morning...but this work at home gave me the chance to work through my fears and insecurities. I think the gist of all of this is that I really had been sort of riding high and loving what I do and working hard and enjoying the people I work with. I'm not sure if I was given this gift to use the chance to step back and reassess my priorities or what...but it is defnitely creating a fear fueled introspection. I know with great certainty that i am good at what I do..but to survive in the workworld other people need to do that. In fact my 2008 goals are based on people seeking me out and coming to me and being a good leader. At the end of the day I am scared, shaken, uncertain, nervous, pissed off! Perhaps this will lead to some good creative energy for me...

Thursday October 2

Thursday....well fall is in the air. It's cool and crisp and today I manuevered through traffic at the crack of dawn so i could make sure my boss had what he needed for an early meeting. Then...from there the day fell apart. Suffice it to say that I had an innocent conversation with a co-worker where we caught up on the meetings and presentations from the past week and ...it turns out he sits next to a person who eavesdrops on conversations. And not only eavesdrops but eavesdrops and hears pieces of a conversation ...which gets immediately relayed up the chain to my boss who calls me in to his office. The gist of the "relayed info" was that I had loudly and openly complained about my boss and how i did all of the work and he took all of the credit and he was doing a bad job etc etc. Now i work for one of the coolest guys ever. He's smart, funny, dedicated and we have a great repoire and style. But he was pretty bent out of shape. Before the day was over he had checked with others and felt more comfortable about my side of the story. But...I spent the day feeling exposed, raw, completely freaked out and unable to work. Couldn't leave the office because that would make me look guilty and couldn't actually work. For a person who prides themselves on their personal relationships and the people I work with, this took me totally off guard. I went home and drowned myself in two large goblets of wine. Fortunately for me, D called and was sympathetic..he must have known I really needed an ear....what a crazy week! The only bright spot is that this day is the 16th birthday of my little mini me!! Emily Catherine is 16...can you believe it?!??! I remember just being back in Atlanta for maybe 2 days when they called me to say she was born. I was so bummed out. 16 years later she runs on her own time and is still the light of our lives! Love ya, Em Bug!

Wednesday October 1

So the day after an all day-er cranking away at the computer was sort of fuzzy. Our lives at work right now are sort of like a roller coaster....work, work, work like crazy people, then speed to the bottome....slowly, crazily climb to the top, speed like crazy to the bottom. It's a bit insane but "it is what it is" (inside chuckle.) Today I was back at the office, cleaning up, going through mail, remembering to do timesheets, etc. It started off with BRUTAL traffic...I mean crawling on 1-90. I hour and 15 minutes....arggh! The good news is that I came in (late) to staff meeting where they awarded me the ISD Employee of the Month (one of two) and a dedicated parking spot. Woo hoo!! Though I mentioned to the group that parking is plentiful at 6:30 a.m. Crawled through the day but working on an outline for the L1 staff tomorrow. Home about 8...working on creating a layout for the new Design for Life online class which opened today. I am working hard at creating a life which blends fun and creativity with work and responsibilities...oh yea and excercise. I went to the gym tonight (YEA) and then came home, worked on my layout and ended up working on the outline and slides for Tom. Finished around 11 p.m. ...need to be in early again!! No rest for the wicked!

Tuesday September 30

So, after a very late bedtime on Monday, up with the birds on Tuesday. Today is the big EC meeting. Worried about traffic I set up my two computer workstation and work away. Somehow there is a lot of freedome and creativity in working in your sweat pants....coffee, rita, computer and me. So we worked at home, cranking out the numbers, working the cell phone. Lunch was tomato soup and grilled cheese. Back to the computer. Tried to take a nap. Phone kept ringing. In a daze we shut it all down at 4 and went to the store. Today was the deadline for the Studio Calico stamp challenge. Made it fuzzily under the wire. To bed with the October issue of InStyle and a glass of wine.

A week in my life - Monday September 29

So all we loyal Ali Edwards crazy freaks (aka scrapbookers) are working on this project with Ali called "A Week in the Life"...of whoever...so really us.

So Monday, here is the post:
Alarm off at 4:30. Taking the 7:23 train into the city. Woke up to cool over cast skies. Autumn is nearly here. Take a shower. Make coffee. Read email. Forgot to send the new address to my parents. Look at the clock..how can I be running late? Finish email, dry hair, quick makeup. Super quick dog walk...come on Rita...can't you just poop and pee like everyone else on command. My friend Mark Snyder calls when I pull into the station..."I hope it is not too early.."...he makes me laugh. D calls when I am on the train. My boss sends me a text.
So the downtown routine is that I go find my boss, we find a conference room and we work side by side. He goes and gets us lunch at Coozie across the street: Turkey and brie sandwiches with chips and share a cookie. The "deck walk" meeting starts at 1 p.m. It''s pouring rain and dark in the city.....I'm thinking I left my windows open in my studio. Check email, talk to team back at OPC. Finally at 3:30 get a call..the meeting is still on. At 3:45 my boss arrives and we start the rework. Conference call via cell to the finance guys. Yea..they like my graphics! Another director comes in. We commiserate. More walking up and down the stairs. At 5:15 my boss comes down...time to start on the wall charts. We write down all the to dos, brainstorm on things....then it is 6:30. Pack up, my boss drives me to the train station. Dinner at the Corner Bakery. Wait for the train which comes at 6:35. We leave at 6:40. Eat my sandwich. Talk to D. We are both tired..working too long hours. Talk to my dad...his eye treatment is going well. My step mom's is not doing so well. I'm worried. Start a new book. Read my new people mag. Arrive at the station at 9 p.m. No rain, just fog. Home to feed the dog (I'm a bad mom!), walk her around the block..poop and pee. Back upstairs and fire up both laptops. More deck work. Emails and cell phone calls. To bed at 11:15...read a few pages and fall asleep. No more MOnday.

First Red Leaf

Rita and I are walkers. I just have to stand up and say "walk?" and she is at the front door drooling..literally. (Sometimes she interprets that same question as ride because her second most favorite thing is to ride in the car...).
During one of our very early morning walks this past week (AKA average time in to work has been 7 a.m. ) we found our first red leaf..just kind of sitting there glowing at us.) We also love leaves....okay I love leaves. I collect all kinds of leaves every fall (well just the most beautiful ones) and then bring them in and dry them out..and do nothing with them. I have all of these ideas in my head and I do nothing but love them which I guess is just fine. So I posted my first red leaf on my bulletin board at work and just look at it everyday. And that is enough:-)

God Bless Texas

Our hearts and prayers go out to Texas -- especially Galveston and Houston -- during this difficult time. We've heard from most family and friends so we believe most are safe. Texas will rebuild, of course. In the meantime, God Bless Texas.

Five on the Fifth (published on the 13th)

Okay....this is starting to become a little insane. I mean....couldn't I get it close to the 5th? In fairness, September 5th was my birthday and I was in Arizona at Creative Escape..the scrapbooking mega adventure....so I have some excuse. Still, my public awaits. So, without further ado, drum roll please..

Five on the Fifth
5. Birthday Texts ...beginning at 5:30 a.m. (Yes, Amy was thrilled about these..)
4. Cupcakes from Sprinkles..Vanilla, Black and White, Chocolate Marshmallow...YUM (thanks Christa Flook!)
3. Crafting Nirvana..an array of classes including pages with Kelly Goree, an acrylic album with Jessica Gutherie, a cool planner with Heidi and an amazing Gratitude book with Kolette Hall. Paper, scissors and glue rock!
2. Birthday Cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory!
1. Turning 48..clearly I need to go back to the gym but at least I am here and loved!

Thanks to all who were a part of this!!

Five on the Fifth

I think I am actually hitting new lows with this adventure...I almost ..okay actually did ..totally forget about August 5th. This month has been such a blur..I was sitting at my desk at work and suddenly I looked at the calendar and it hit me!! No five on the fifth!! I hate missing those things. Fortunately I took good notes all week so here are my 5 on the 5th (working on the photos..)

5- Dinner at Pappadeux -- I have the greatest friends...two of whom spontaneously invited me to dinner and drinks at Pappadeux. No camera but amazing crab legs, shrimp, pasta and creme' brulee..and fab conversation. Tired, full and happy!
4- Insane Crazy Work -- the dinner and whatever forms of stress relief are needed because work is truly stretching me mentally ...but is also exhausting me. We're working 11-12 hour days plus I have about a hour to an hour and a half total commute. Loving it...and tired.
3 - Day After the Storms -- so to add to our excitement we have had a week of storms here. One during the night and one in the morning. Black skies, lightening, wind, power out, etc. Rita hides in the closet and occasionally comes out...
2- A mess -- all of the insanity means clothes still in the rocker, dishes in the sink, a coffee table full of papers and mail. No idea where things are..very unsettled. Definitely needing a weekend at home with no agenda (not likely to happen for awhile..)
1 -Sleep - or lack thereof. The good news is when I fall into bed I do sleep and sleep like a baby. The bad news is that it is not often. Nice cool evenings, windows open, nice soft sheets...now if only it could be more than a few hours :-)

Still got it

Had a fun experience this morning. Last night we had a big storm...one of those storms that comes through and kind of cleans everything up. This morning, I rode in on 1-90 in traffic a little heavier than usual. Making me realize that the summer is slipping away. (For whatever reason, probably kids out of school, vacations, etc) traffic is significantly lighter on my commute during the summer...)ANYWAY.....
So, I was driving in this morning. The sun was trying to shine. I had my coffee and my new Sugarland CD. I'm tooling down the middle lane..and this shiny black mustang convertible drives by with some cool countryish music rocking out...
I turn my head ever so slightly and make eye contact with a dark skinned hottie boy toy...ooh mama! Unfortunately this incident occurred right around Barrington so our little slow down and speed up and look over and check each other out game only lasted for about another 7 or 8 minutes. Mr Hottie COnvertible got off on I-355 heading off to work and probably a hottie girlfriend (or wife and hottie kids for my luck.) Plus he may have been 30 and I know that whole cougarish thing is very cool right now but well, honestly, he was only a dream boy toy...but darn cute and a fab way to start my morning. When he veered off to I-355 he looked over one more time and I coyly waved as I drove on to work, laughing away. Hey...maybe I still do have it (or maybe it was just the SugarLand music and my dirty SUV...
So, here's to the boy in the convertible...thanks for making my day!

The Charm's in the Mail

Woo hoo!! 75+9=2 charms are in the mail!! Pink and green and black and white and ALL DONE! I may never win an award for them but hey I learned things....so......without further ado...here they are!

Charmed I'm Sure,....

I'm a bit of an overachiever. In fact I am essentially a five year old in a 47-year old body (!!!) running around thinking about all of the fabulous options that are open and available to all of us everyday.
So...in that whole..."Won't this be fun!!!" five year old spirit I signed up to do a charm swap for Creative Escape in September. Now, to get this in context, you have to realize that Creative Escape is like the nirvana of over achieving, scrapbook and craft loving five year olds. It's like 600 Martha Stewart five year olds. Or rather 599 Martha Stewarts and me..sort of like Paige from Trading Spaces who tries but does not quite make it...has the vision does not always have the execution.
ANYWAY..I signed up for this charm swap along with 75 of my other best friends and now we are on deadline to make 75 charms + 11 charms for the teachers + 2 for auction, add clasps, bag them, identify them and box them and send them to Phoenix for re-bagging and distribution.
I'm a bit intimidatd (really?!??!? Like I took Pele' around the country for six months and making a charm scares the crap out of me...this makes no sense..but it is me talking..)
So, I am in the final stages of my charm makng and bagging. The end result is...well not Martha Stewart but hey..in the scheme of things...pink and green (Which are the theme colors of Creative Escape and which make all scrappers a bit faint) and well...kind of cute. I'll let you make the final decision. You and 85+11+ 2 of my best friends.

Five on the Fifth

It's been many, many Sundays since I have had the luxury of getting up in my own bed, making coffee and reading the paper with Rita snoozing on the couch beside me..after her paper tearing, nails clicking on the hardwood check of the house walk. Today is delightful. Not that June and being with various sets of family and friends was not delightful. Quiet Sundays at home, though, are what keeps me energized and sane. Lots to do today...just nice to do it at home. First on to our monthly slice of life...five on the fifth. On the fifth I was at my dad and anne's home....

1 - Morning light -- I'm a sucker for early morning light and it's beauty on the side of houses or in the windowns. This morning I had the early morning light filtering through my window and then in the sunroom where Ann and I had our cereal. Awesome start to the morning.
2- Scrapbook happiness -- going home let's me stop in to my favorite scrapbooking stores including Michaels with a 50 percent off coupon. I scored a stamp I was looking for plus some beautiful new Basic Grey and vellum adhesive.
3- Burgers with the Boys -- cheeseburgers and fries with my brother and his son and my dad...and Ann and I as the token girls. Watching everyone laugh and watching bad tv....
4- which turned into an afternoon of Lawn Work -- my dad had surgery on his shoulder so we spent the rest of the afternoon doing lawn work for him, weed wacking, sweeping the deck and admiring Dad's new taped stitches.....
5- Sleeping with my doggie in my own bed - Nothing better than to spend the weekend with family and end up in your own bed with your own doggie snoring by your side.

Life does not get much better than this.

Happy Fouth of July!

Happy Fourth...Hope it was happy and festive for everyone!

Five Things on the Fifth - from the Road

I'm a bit late in posting these five observations..I've been in Texas this past week, travelling and eating and scrapping and hanging out with friends..what could be better than that. I had a really fun fifth to report on:

1- Back in Texas - it's 95 degrees before 9 a.m. but the sun is shining, the Texas flag is flying and I love Texas!
2 - Shingles on the ground - oh yes and the 50 mile an hour winds are here too which means you feel like you are in the whirling inside of a convection oven. Tony and Amy lost about half the shingles on their house and Tony got stranded on the roof when the ladder got knocked down by flying shingles. You can't make this stuff up!
3- Scrapbooking Heaven - in our lives the word "scrapbooking" covers many kinds of evils - cards, stamping, paper, stencils, glue, glitter, embellishments, fabric, photography. Amy & I went to the Great American Scrapbook Convention in Arlington and spent two and a half days walking up nine aisles, SHOPPING till we dropped, doing make and takes, stamping, stenciling, glittering, and then staying up till midnight working on pages and stuff. Utterly relaxing.
4- Chicken Burrito - the Chicken Burrito was actually part of the GASC experience but it deserves mention on it's own. A HUGE chicken (and actually steak too) burrito with chicken that was marinated and cooked in a special broth and had corn, onions, black beans, rice -- OMG. Not quite as good as a Freebird burrito but darn close and available in the Arlington Convention Center. Rock on!
5- "Heavenly" beds at the Arlington Sheraton -- huge, big, fluffy beds with tons of pillows and this amazing comforter which was great because my BFF friend Amy needs the air at 62...two glasses of wine and the comforter and I was out.

Who knew the Fifth could give us so much fun!

I finished

Today we got up -- literally -- before dawn and made our way to Lincoln Park where along with 3999 of my other best friends I did a 5k Run/Walk (some of the more enterprising souls did a 10K). Okay I belong to 2 gyms here but go to neither. I have not taught swim classes in three months. So I am not in shape. I started deliberately at the back of the pack....thinking "do not become absorbed by others...take your pace.....breathe...". A mile in I thought i would die. My ankles started burning. I thought,....there is no shame in doing a mile and turning back...no one knows or cares and you still have the (nice) Nike tshirt. Somehow, someTHING kept me moving forward. And....I FINISHED. Almost nothing in my life is finished right now. Lots of messy, untidy, out of control, unfinished things. (Job, home, life, etc.) So it is was truly validating and fulfilling to finish something. Tomorrow I will likely have difficulty walking. But today...I watched the lions bask in the sun, sipped coffee at dawn with a bus of United people, and ran/walked (much more walking) three miles. Not a bad way to start the week.

Has it really been that long?

I consider myself a writer by trade. So, how has a writer gone this long without writing in my journal?
Life is a whirlwind and maybe I am not interested in being introspective. One day I work on a program, the next day there is no program. One day I have project work, the next day the project is cancelled. I learn that everything I thought I knew about a friend was wrong. A friendship I thought was gone and no longer possible re-emerges as a real possibility.
Life has no guarantees, I know that. There are car accidents, train wrecks, missed stop lights, closing doors every day. The road not taken lingers on our minds. Almost a year ago I ran into this same train wreck, metaphorically speaking. I thought I had moved on beyond it and made a new life. Now it turns out the new life may be coming to an end.
It's not so much sad as ....unsure. i'm working to embrace the unknown ....yet it is still grey and gauzy and unsure and not quite metamorphisized. I guess we never finish growing.

Five on the Fifth

Once again....it's five observations on the fifth!! This on one of my favorite 5th days....May 5th which is also Cinco de Mayo. Arriba, arriba, hondle, hondle!!!

So...here's a few things from my 5th...

1. Sunshine....a new day of sunshine, warmth, and the start of new blooms..or the celebration of bright silk flowers against the evening sun!

2. Book...enjoying the southern-set novel among the others on my nightstand

3. Brownies for a birthday - happy one day away from his birthday (yesterday!) Mike Hughes!

4. Cinco de Mayo....a little margarita, a tequila shot and a teeny tiny sombero...what a way to celebrate with new friends!

5. A new toy.....all that scrapbooking isn't quite as fun without a new Revolution! May the revolution begin...

Happpy Monday and Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!

It's Not All About the Weather ...it's also about the Scrapping!

I just realized most of my posts have been whining or photos about the weather. Admitedly that is a large topic in a city by the lake where it can be 68 and sunny at 5:00 p.m. and 44 and raining cats and dogs at 6:30 p.m.

It's definitely turning more springlike. It was sunny and sort of warm yesterday at 5:30 a.m. when Rita woke me up by jumping on my chest and licking my face. Rita is not a small dog, I might add. She weighs less than many other dogs but I can assure you 40 pounds on your chest in your face at 5:30 is something to wake up about ....maybe even stop breathing about. So out we went and it was not so bad.

Then I made coffee, dressed and ventured out because -- I know some of you are dying of laughter here -- it was national scrapbooking day. I wanted to go be creative before my coffee had even kicked in. Like Amy says, this force is bigger than the Taliban.

ANYWAY......by the time I drove the 15 minutes to sit in the parking lot of Archivers (arrived at 7:50 a.m. and was relieved and a tad embarassed by being the first one there..though several other crazy ladies had arrived by 8:30 and we even formed a small and cheerful line....which somehow I did NOT photograph...) ANYWAY...by then it was overcast, about 20 degrees cooler and the rain moved in while (thank goodness) I was in the store happily using die cuts, making cards and spending my hard earned money on even more stamps.....good grief!). So, because of the spring like weather I went and spent more of my hard earned money on gas (I got a bargain at $3.69, thank you very much!) and then went home and played in my studio all day. I made cards, read scrapping message boards and had a great time. No guilt whatsoever. So, I guess, the less than pleasant spring weather was worth something! Happy Spring, ya'll.

Spring is here..I swear !!!

I lhave ived a considerable part of my adult life in warmer climates: Tennessee, Georgia, Oklahoma and Texas. Whatever part of me thought I would adjust well to the change in climate in Illinois fairly easily was not on all gears. Okay, it HAS been five years and I do well for the most part (because trust me it is god awful hot here many days....let's keep in mind someone died during the 95 plus heat index temperature of the Chicago Marathon last year plus the wonderful 105 plus days I tried to move in August...ARGHHH). What I really forgot was how long it is between the two very distinct seasons: winter and summer.

Two weeks ago I went to Charlotte where I drove to my show at 7 a.m. with the sunroof open!!! Birds chirping...green grass. My friend Chris reminded me to bring a jacket because it was going to get to 5oish at night!!! 50ish and she needs a jacket!!! And then I heard on the news that it has been since OCTOBER 2007 since a 70 degree day was registered here. GOOD GRIEF!!!!!!

This past week showed real promise...two actual 70 degree days (one was 80 if you believe News five). And then, just like a four year old, we regressed. Today the high is supposed to reach 48. I have not stuck my toes outdoors to see except to let Rita do her business. And it looks better than yesterday when the wind howled around us for six hours.....!!!!

I know there will be a blistering hot day in July when I will regret this but oh my lord. I am having serious conversations with the lord above about what I can trade for some mild weather....and wondering if that job in Texas is still a possibility. Sigh.....never content, are we?!?

Open Toe Season has Begun!!

Long time no blog...I have lots of catching up but am on my way to my dad's for today so the long posts will have to wait until later.

Quick and important note: I am officially announcing the opening of Open Toed Shoes season. Get those pedicures ready and bring those tootsies out!!!

5 things on the 5th

I decided to take on a new project.....an observation and photo journal of five things on the fifth of every month. It helps me to document everyday life. I picked the fifth because it is my birthdate and it's easy! (Plus, in design, things in 3's and 5's look most aesthetically pleasing..okay that is probably too wierd.)
Here's my first try: (Note: photos to be added later,...had a stupid camera move this weekend.)
1 - First brewing of the new coffee - went grocery shopping on Friday and found (Cross your fingers) our new local coffee mix we like. We bought Meijers French Roast and Breakfast Blend and Eight o'clock French Vanilla. We ground it up, addd our trusty creme brulee creamer and Woila! It's awesome....and cheaper than Starbucks which I still love...)
2- Errand day -- a stop at two of our favorite stores: Hobby Lobby and Target. A few fun spring flowers, a needle for my craft show next week, some new scrapbook books and papers, and gum and breakfast bars for the road. All is good.
3- Baking cookies - being the cookie freak that I am, it's a great weekend when we make some cookies. I baked a batch of Sarah McLaughlin's oatmeal rasin and a small batch with oatmeal rasin and chocolate chunk. I added some granola to both for extra spunk. Yum-O as Rachel Ray would say.
4- Packing is nearly done for the Inspired creative show I am going to next week. Packaged the paper, the fabric, the embellishments, the tools in my tote and found some warm weather clothes as well. We seem to be ready.
5- Finished the day with a walk at sunset with Rita. This was our first 60 degree day this year and Rita and I had a nice little walk around the subdivision including a walk down by the pond. We drank in the fresh air AND got our excercise. We came home to biscuits for Rita and a glass of wine for mommy - excellent day!

April Showers

Well....April started off a bit nicer than March with the customary overcast days and then downpours this afternoon. Rita and I made some tea and watched the rain from the deck. I found a steal for Earth Day and got my hair cut today for $20 at a nice place not too far from our house. In honor of Earth Day...happy showers!!

The Little Things

My friend Amy and I (and of course Shella and Christie as well) joined the whole "scrapbooking revolution" about two years ago. It's a whole new world of die hard crazy women who can debate for hours the merits of dry adhesive versus wet adhesive. It's a kabazillion dollar industry...Amy says it is bigger than the Taliban.

I'm preparing to go to one of our several times a year retreats, this one hosted by the lovely Donna Downey and her husband, Bill, in North Carolina. (As a bonus I get to catch up with my friend Chris who I have not seen since she moved there last summer.) Anyway...

In the process of preparing for these events (and there is preparation..more on that in future blogs) I have had the chance to sort through all sorts of pictures and things and really think about what matters to me. It's a good excercise.

One of the things I discovered which has really made a HUGE difference in my life...I mean unbelievably freeing is.....(okay, really you are not going to believe this) but my I-Pass. This litle white plastic box attached to my windshield under my rear view mirror. Simple enough device. It has meant I no longer have to make sure I have easily accessible $1 bills before I get on to !-90 and right before I get off. It has also allowed me to drive another 1 mile and a half on I-90 and avoid all of the backroad, road construction traffic on I-355 and Woodfield....now I can leisurely get off at Arlington and drive a quiet and simple 1 mile on Algonquin. AND...it means I am no longer putting my life in my hands on the nerve thrashing merge into the right lane on I-355 and down the curve and then another nerve mangling merge onto I-90. Nope. Just a simple and usually quick merge onto I-90 from Arlington Road. Un fricking believeable. And thanks to my little I-Pass I am not desperately searching for coins for this journey..oh no, I drive right under the tall electronic towers and wave at them. True, they are deducting coins from my account. But I am happily letting them as I move merrily on my way. Trust me, it's the little things.

Snow more!!!

Meant to post this the other day .....Tuesday was almost 50 degrees. Wednesday was 50 degrees and even some sun. Then Thursday and......more snow. I mentioned the word "white out"to a friend who seemed clueless about what this meant. White out means driving (or even sitting) and all you can see in front of you is driving white snow...all white! It was brief and beautiful but good grief...this is spring, mother nature!!! Enough with the tricks....

Rita, as always, made the best of a bad situation..

Here comes Peter Cotton Tail, zipping in on a snowmobile

Okay maybe it's not that bad but the cute sleeveless halter neck dress I bought will have to wait. It's still winter here. Good thing Rita and I are holed up with a winter cold :-(

Anyway the bunny still made it here...we magically have dark chocolate raisnets, reese's peanut butter eggs and starburst jelly beans here!!

Happy Easter to all!!!

Good (Snow) Friday

Yep! It's snowing! On Good Friday, technically the first full day of Spring. Nothing to do but laugh about it, put on our snow boots and take a walk. Rita, as always is happy.....she loves the snow. She romped and ran and did all of the usual.

About 20 years ago I was living in Knoxville, Tennessee. I took a business trip to South Florida and returned the first week of April. My second day home we had a snowstorm with 10 inches of snow....so obviously it happens.

At least Rita and I are at home in our jammies drinking hot chocolate and laughing at the snow plows. Cover those Easter Lilies and leave a map out there for the Easter bunny....he needs more directions in the snow!

Still Hot After All This Time (AKA known as Happy 45th Birthday LDL!!)

March has gone by in a whirlwind. Work is busy, busy...happy good busy with lots of interesting things to do and people to see....still busy busy.

In the midst of the business insanity I decided to use my new Non Rev status and fly to New York for my friend Lisa DeGreif Lauterbach's birthday. I mean she turned 45 and my godson Jake is 12 and I haven't seen any of them in forever. So on Saturday the 7th I got up at 4 a.m .and began.....a journey to hell......

I won't bother anyone with the long details except to say the first flight was cancelled and then I got on an a 9a.m. flight to LaGuardia and we were barely in the air before we were put in a holding pattern and then landed in Albany,NY for supposedly 30 minutes which turned into 3.5 hours. Eventually we landed and I found a nice cabdriver who gave me a $120 cab drive to Lisa's lovely little house in Glen Ridge, NJ.

The evening was great...awesome food (champagne, fondue, crackers, cheese, bread, champagne. oh and did I mention champagne.) I wore my kick-butt Sam and Libby sequined heels and we had a great time! We stayed up till 12:30 (including the time change) laughed and talked and hugged. The boys came home and entertained us and well it was a great time.

The return trip Sunday did not involve a diversion to Albany but did involve about 8 hours in Newark airport. I made it home at midnight on Sunday night....my baby Rita was happy to see me. All told...it was a wild weekend...but made great seeing two of my wildest, long term friends....The best quote of the weekend was when LCB called daughter Sarah Elizabeth in Florida to say hi. SEB asked her mom..."You sound like you are having too much fun...do I have to come and bail you all out of jail?" ....no baby, those were the days past. We 3 hot chicks discovered how much fun you can have in your own living room...no driving needed.

Three cheers for LDL, Veuv Cliquot and 45 years on this earth. Here's to you ladies!

Two weeks of Firsts

So moving is one of those things which I have done alot of. And moving means starting a life in a new place. Which means starting all over on those essential life things. Essential life things to me are things like Hobby Lobby, a grocery store, Target, a good gas station, a gym, possibly a Wal-Mart.
Unbelieveably all of those things are literally within a mile of our new place. Making adjustment to life in Elgin going pretty well.
Last weekend we made another first: the first time to navigate our way to Bloomington from Elgin. Thanks to the navigational skills and internet access of my frineds Mark and Mike (thank you Revere Group!) we made it okay.
It was fun to see everyone and it was a whirlwind! We saw Shella and Christie and Dewey, and Dad and Ann, and Kate, and Linda and her family. We did not see Mary C or Biscuits and Gravy...but we will see them next time. Rita spent the weekend with her pals at Deenies. And we finished the weekend hanging with Dan and Andrea and their kids and our respective families and celebrating Emily's new life as an adult in the Catholic faith. (Always a good excuse to sample Andrea's cooking including that amazing coffee cake, raspberry cream cheese jello dessert, jello cake and egg casserole! Yippee - leftovers!)
Now...back to the packing!

Super Saturday

For those of you who do not live in Chicago nor read the news, Chicago set another record recently. It was for the most grey, overcast, non-sunny days in a row. Who knew that Seattle did not hold the lease on that kind of thing.

So what an awesome thing to wake up to this morning.....a bright, almost warm, sunny Saturday...a Super Saturday. On this super day we:

- found a new health club which includes a climbing wall and things for my nieces and nephews to do (walked two miles around the track while I was there)

- finished unpacking all of the downstairs books

- purchased some dark chocolate truffles and dove hearts at 50 percent off

- snuck in a few pads of scrapbook papers and valentines stuff also at 50 percent off

- took a nice long walk with Rita around our neighborhood

- made a great mexican dinner of taquitos, refried beans and some yummy tortilla chips

- curled up in bed with Rita and a nice glass of wine to finish the day

Lots more packing and cleaning and organizing is needed but I'd say it was a Super Saturday all around!