go sell crazy somewhere else

THE CHAIR AND THE LADY....

2012-01-05T21:34:00.000-06:00

A while back I saw this fabric, loved it and wanted to do something with it. I pondered what or where I could use it and came up with the perfect scenario. A chair.

Not just any chair.

An antique chair that belonged to my Grandmother Nash.

I believe it sat at her fancy writing desk (that my mother has). I somehow ended up with the chair. Now it isn't without some history.

There was 'that shiny lady' that sat in it, when it resided in the old fruit pantry at the desk we had in there in the cellar of this old house.

Yes indeed... we moved here, and my almost 3 year old daughter asked me about the lady down there... pointing to the cellar. I asked what lady? She took me down stairs and pointed in the fruit cellar at this chair that sat at the desk. She said there was a shiny lady there before.

I stood there, and wondered who it was..or if this little girl was crazy or just what. So I did what any mother would do....

I shut the door, and left it that way for a long time. Now, I've never seen the shiny lady in the fruit cellar, so I can't say for sure, but I'm wondering if it was Helen...the chair's owner. Who's to say.

Anyway, I drug it out, and we attacked it. So it went from this...

... to this

Nice upgrade huh? I think the 'shiny lady' would approve.

I showed you a peek at it in progress last summer, but never showed it finished (partly because we finished it right before Thanksgiving).

So I am the princess of procrastination... get over it.

On another note, I had my kidney stone removed surgically yesterday. I can't say I particularly enjoyed it, the stone or the surgery....but we needed to part company.

So we did. In theory I'll be back to normal soon.

But, what is normal??

CHRISTMAS DAY....

2012-01-02T15:15:00.001-06:00

Was great! Uneventful, but fun. We got up way too early after going to bed WAY to late and opened the gianormous pile of presents. I think everyone liked what they got, and frankly, if they didn't, they did a great job of hiding it.

I stated several times through out this holiday that I was going to be better at taking pictures. So much for grand pronouncements!

Here's the early morning carnage...

Jet got some new jammies....

After we were done here, we headed over to my mom's for more presents, and a delish dinner... here are my photographic efforts from there...

And, my gorgeous kids....

But, now, the tree is down, most everything 'Christmas' put away, except the garland on my staircase, I may leave it up another week. And I, must address this stupid kidney stone that's been with me since the day after Thanksgiving... enough is ENOUGH already. It took over the whole holiday season.

Happy New Year...

CHRISTMAS.....

2011-12-29T23:35:00.001-06:00

Okay, once again, I'm remiss in blogging. And honestly, there really is much to discuss. But, at the moment, I'm just not into getting into it all, so I'll just say, Christmas was great...

starting with Christmas Eve~

We went to my sister's, she made lasagna, it was delish. It was my nephew Gabe's 10th birthday party too. So there were a lot of presents... an enormous amount of legos. I forgot how fun they are to step on with your shoeless foot.

then my kids all came back here, (Blain, Dan and Mark seemed to avoid the camera)

and there was laughing...

a LOT of laughing.

We didn't head to bed until 3:30 a.m. It was a short night. Stay tuned for Christmas day... you know you just can't wait....

THANKSGIVING AND.......PAIN

2011-12-04T17:43:00.000-06:00

Odd title? Stick with me.

Hosted Thanksgiving here. Missed a few key people, but had fun with those that were able to come.

We pretty much had the standard Thanksgiving fare... and everyone seemed to fill themselves to that delightful, gluttonous moment, where you've just got to have a nap!

Here's a birds-eye peak into our holiday

And, yes, things did kind of go to the dogs, so to speak!!

Classy huh?

I was tired, but why wouldn't I be? I had dinner for 12 and ran around all week preparing. After everyone left, I sat down to peruse the Black Friday Ads. My friend and her sister were heading out that night, and I was contemplating going too... but there just wasn't anything I needed bad enough to roust me off the couch and I felt kinda like I was coming down with something. Little did I know...

I woke up on Black Friday in PAIN. I mean OH MY GOD WHAT IS HAPPENING PAIN. The night before I thought maybe I was getting a UTI, but something told me this must be.....

a kidney stone.

After a couple hours of agony and throwing up, I was finally able to get dressed and we headed to the ER. They drugged me up, did a CT Scan and yes sirree.. there she was, lodged between the kidney and the bladder. And just because I'm an over achiever, it was BIG. Like between 5 and 6 mm big.

So long story short, I was going to have to have it blasted. Boo. On Thursday, we headed to the hospital for the procedure (I HATE THAT WORD). Of course, before the fun began, they needed to do another x-ray to determine where it was...

and... it appeared to be.....

GONE.

Well the urologist and the radiologist could not find it! And, I was symptom free and had been for several days. So, avoiding the radiation of another Cat Scan, they went with the notion that I'd passed it. How, unnoticed, he wasn't sure, but he really felt I'd done it. Out came the IV, I got dressed and we headed home.

So, with that said, I'm cautiously optimistic and praying that it is indeed gone and I am making life style changes...

I'm no longer living on a diet of coffee, diet coke, chocolate and nuts....and I'm drinking water. LOTS and LOTS of water... sloshing as I type...

And it's not so easy, but, I'd do anything to avoid having this bad boy attack me again.

NEWS......

2011-11-22T15:49:00.001-06:00

Well, for starters... my middle daughter is engaged!!! She's not really my middle daughter, as that would imply that I had 3 daughters, which if you've ever met my son he's far too hairy to be mistaken for a girl. So, better, I say, my middle child, who also happens to be a girl is engaged.

And we are thrilled for them. They are just about the cutest little couple. We love the fiancee, he's a great guy, loves her and quite handsome too. LOL ( I never said I wasn't shallow).

So, cha-ching daddy war bucks... here we go...money will be spent. The other night, Mark said, so we should discuss a 'budget' for this wedding. To which I said....

I HATE THAT WORD.

'Budget' ~ugh, it really should be a 4 letter word. First of all, I find it difficult to extrapolate the amount we might need, second of all, I am terrible at following one. How can you say... too bad Scarlett, you've got to be barefoot, we are 'over budget'.. I mean really....like one more pair of shoes is going to kill us?? I mean, really, you can't take it with you..can you??

Don't judge, at least I am honest.

Also, we bought a condominium in Chicago. They call it the 'penthouse' ... I call it a LONG way up there to the 3rd floor in a building with 11 foot ceilings.

Through out this whole process (it was a short sale~ dumb name for something not quick)I had the same thing running through my mind, haunting me....

'The King Tut' song... remember??? a condo made of stone-o... funky tut...

Well, maybe not.

Anyway, Scarlett and Dan are moving into it! They are excited. Why wouldn't they be? They are tripling their space, AND they have a garage space!! Now, before you think 'wow, the condo must be huge' know this... they lived in a shoe box before. Seriously, it was tiny. Like lucky neither one was fat tiny.

And, me.... I'm having Thanksgiving, it's a day and a half away, and I'm sitting here blogging...I guess I best get back to plucking that damn bird.

(not really, I've just always wanted to say that...)

Now, I've got the Adam Sandler 'Turkey Song' on my mind... ugh... my life is always to music. Odd music.. very odd music.

MOTIVATION.....

2011-11-13T21:55:00.000-06:00

I seem to have misplaced it.

Actually, this pretty much sums it up.....

and how was YOUR weekend???

DOGS AND HOTTNESS....

2011-11-07T10:18:00.001-06:00

We kept one of our granddogs this past weekend. Jetson 'Jet'; Scarlett and Dan's dog. He is a puppy... and full of puppy antics. My OLD doglets were NOT amused. Not even a little. Well, he did try to sit on Clem, guess I can't blame her.

I gathered up Jet and his parents on Friday, dropping them at the airport and bringing the crying dog home. He cried when I left off his parents... a pitiful dog whine, that tugs at my heart... and gets on my nerves.

He definitely breathed some life into this joint.. let me tell ya. WOW this boy's got energy. I spent a good portion of the weekend knitting him a sweater.

Knitting and I have a love hate relationship. I do really enjoy it, it just needs to be PERFECT. So I knit everything a couple times. AND I can never just follow the pattern, I have to 'adjust' it a little. So that feeds into the redo effect. I'm a PRO at ripping...or 'frogging' as the knitters call it. Why is it called frogging you ask?? I have no clue.

He hung out with Uncle Corbin, who dropped in for a visit...

He met his dog cousins...

The 'pack' at Melissa's...

Chloe, Corbin's girlfriend Ally's gentle Pit Bull mix...

Hung out with Molli, Jessica's Chihuahua with a whole lot of attitude... and of course Chunk, who was camera shy.

We wore him out... for a minute or two....

Anyway, other than that, it was a low key weekend...

EXCEPT... (insert drum roll here)

I saw a concert. NOT just any concert... STING. All I can say is wow... he puts on a fab show, and that boy is hot. I really, really, really like him.

To quote him from his 'Fields of Gold' song ...

You'll remember me, when the west wind moves.....

I'll remember him alright... west wind or not.......

....GOOD EVENING.......

2011-10-31T23:41:00.000-05:00

I've got a lot to discuss... nothing important...but I'll start by saying...

hApPy HaLlowEeN....

So, the last couple of weeks...busy, busy. We have been discussing a remodeling project. I've wanted something different with my kitchen window for a long time. It might be going to happen... if the amount of time we've spent discussing it is any indication of how quickly it'll actually happen... I'll be dead of old age, but I'm hopeful. Mark DID buy some materials (and of course a new tool) to use on it. But, I'll take pictures, of before, during and after.. if we ever start.

Sailing season is over. Boo.

We went into Chicago last week, spent the night so we could get an early start the next day on the big sail. We took our car up to Waukegan, road the train down to Chicago, checked into our hotel, and had dinner with Scarlett and Dan.

Before dinner, we did go over and check on our boat. A dreadful storm hit the Wednesday before and caused a LOT of damage in our harbor. A real lot. Like last count we heard, 27 boats broke loose, and 9 sunk. We saw sailboats with their masts broken, sails ripped, debris everywhere.. it was awful. We were lucky, only problem we had was our anchor blew off it's holder and scratched our hull a bit. Hardly worth mentioning looking at what others had.

We set sail a bit before 9 a.m. on Saturday and it was a beautiful day.

I'm always sad on this day...summer is over, boat goes into storage, and winter is coming soon... It seems like the 6 months it's in the water is a whole lot shorter than the 6 months it's out... hum...

Anyway, we left Chicago, enjoying one last look at our 'spot' and headed north.

Sailed by Scarlett's building, that's the last time we'll see 'her building' from the lake.. they are moving.... more on that later.

Sailed by my vacation property... I love this building, really.

I keep suggesting to Mark, he call Rahm and see if it's available... he looks at me like I'm daft. I can totally see myself arriving by a little motor boat, in a mink stole....okay, maybe it's a bit Tippi Headron(ish) with all those damn evil black birds on there, but, I'm sure we can be rid of them. Don't be so negative...

I took the helm for a while. Whilst I was 'manning' the boat, we had a small bird join us. He fluttered around and landed on the head sail's rope... right near me. I yelled and Mark came running, thinking it was something major... not just a little bird.. in close proximity...to me... little or not, they still flap and have beaks.

He wasn't the only stowaway we had.

We also had a Monarch butterfly fluttering around us. This always amazes us, where do they come from?? He landed on Mark's coat, and rode along for quite awhile. He seemed very content to rest there in the sun. We seem to be joined by a Monarch often... Sometimes I think he might be someone we know...

Anyway, the day AFTER we sailed the boat up to Waukegan, we had to go back, because I stupidly left my leather jacket on the boat. We took the convertible and meandered down Sheridan Road back to Chicago by the lake. I gotta tell you... there are some extremely large, palatial homes along that road. I really should probably live in one...

But I don't.

I live here, in Victorian Hell... which brings us to my next tale... so I'm watching TV one night last week, and happen to glance into the kitchen, where I see a small mouse meandering along the edge of the island. My doglet Millie, was sitting on the hassock, facing said mouse, tipped her head as dogs do, and turned around and looked at me like 'well, aren't YOU going to do something?' Right. I did go into the kitchen and the brazen little devil sauntered away... ugh. Then, a while later, I was taking the dogs out for the last time that night, opened the door carrying Clemmie, Millie charged out to the porch, where she came face to face with a baby opossum. On. my. kitchen. porch. I screamed, dropped my flip flop, Millie ran into the house and I slammed the door. The stupid thing stayed out there for about a half hour, hanging out, with my shoe.

What's up with me and the rodents? Reminds me of an old Alfred Hitchcock episode. Remember?? The one with the rodent pin... that kept getting bigger and bigger???

Alfred has been heavy on my mind lately....

SAILING, SAILING...LAST FAMILY SAIL OF 2011

2011-10-22T21:20:00.000-05:00

Last weekend we had the annual 'last family sail'.

For some reason, this year, we just didn't get many people out on the boat, our kids included. They came out, but definitely NOT as often as we would have liked. Seems like everyone is busy, us included. With that said, IF you got slighted this year and didn't get a sail invitation, fear not, you are not alone! It's not a personal thing, we just ran out of weekends. Next year....

Actually, this season seemed to be short.

I'm sure the fact that the month of June was sort of 'rained out'; and the fact that we were on the wedding circuit, including a couple out of town weddings, as well as other social commitments, played heavily into it. Or maybe the 'blush is off the rose'? Nah, that MOST certainly is NOT it. Never.

Anyway, as I started to say, but got so sidetracked... we had our last family sail of the season last Sunday.

The weather cooperated, with sunshine, it was a bit cool, and we had a great time.

All MY kids were there, the girls' beaux, and Scarlett's beau Dan's sister, Stacey.

She was here for a visit from California, and we were delighted to have her join us.

Corbin's Ally couldn't make it, she wasn't feeling well, and bless her heart she gets sea sick, so I can't say I blame her for taking a pass. We missed her though.

At any rate, we had a delightful time, sailing about and 'being part of the Chicago experience'. This is Mark's explanation for the people who feel compelled to take pictures of us sailing by. Weird, but true.

I don't know. But sometimes I feel like everyone at Navy Pier just wants a picture of us, living the dream.

DO YOU EVER....

2011-10-04T14:43:00.001-05:00

sleep on the boat?

It's a query we are asked a lot.

Do we?

Well.... if you know me well, you know I'm a Hilton kind of girl. And sleeping on the boat reminds me of....

well.....

camping.

And, I don't camp. Just in case you were wondering, I'm just not an outdoorsy kind of girl. I don't like dirt, or sweating, and I'm pretty sure both of those go hand in hand with camping. So with that said, I've resisted spending the night on the boat.

But, I promise, next year, I will try it. Pinky swear... so remind me. No excuses, I will do it... promise.

And who knows, maybe next year Conrad (Hilton) will have purchased our boat and installed air conditioning and offer room service.

Stranger things have happened...

don't be so negative.

SHOPPING...

2011-09-25T22:14:00.002-05:00

So I get accused of 'shopping' a lot. Mark seems to think it's a big pastime for me.

Maybe he's right...

Point in case... the other day, I stopped to use the restroom, and was overtaken by a great piece of furniture. I took a picture of it, but resisted the urge. I didn't really have a place for it, and it could necessitate a whole room full of new furniture. Redecorating can be that way....ugh...

But, a couple days later, I was forced to go back to the general area of the store (really it was a legit errand), so I thought I'd go in just to see if it was still there. I was pretty sure it wouldn't be, it was really fab.

It was there, waiting for me! Wow, meant to be, I'm telling you.

Another lady stopped to comment to me on how cool it was. I suggested SHE buy it, so I couldn't. She just laughed. So....

I bought it.

Isn't it great? I'm not totally sure what I'm doing with it yet, it's traveling around in my house.

Mark, who was around this last week 'working from home' watching it move around from room to room, pointed out to me, that although he did think it was great, but.....just because I go shopping and fall in love with something, doesn't mean I HAVE TO BUY IT. I pointed out that, that isn't the case at all. I go shopping and don't buy things quite often. His eyebrow disappeared into his hair line, and he just smiled that snarky smile at me.

So today, I proved him wrong. Very wrong. I can and do go somewhere and NOT buy something.

I totally resisted this.

So there Mr. Smartypants.....

Seriously, where does one store this until you 'need' it? And, what if you decide you want something different? Then what? Throw that bad boy on your garage sale?

Really????

SAILING PARTY....

2011-09-20T13:56:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday we had 10, count'em people on the boat. I was afraid it'd be to many...but it was fine.

No one fell over, or was knocked unconscious by the boom, and everyone had a good time. More or less.

We had my husband's siblings, cousins and their respective spouses. Fun people~ but then would you expect anything less, knowing us?

We watched the 'marine website' that my husband swears by, all week with cautious optimism. It appeared that the weather was going to cooperate. Sunny, a little cool and low waves.

Sorta.

It was indeed sunny, a little cool, but delightful, and as for low waves? They missed it that time. It was rough. Not too rough, but rough enough to make some people feel a little nauseous.

It had nothing to do with the large amount of beer consumed.

Nothing at all.

WHERE AM I???

2011-09-14T00:16:00.000-05:00

I've been traveling.

Again.

A couple weeks ago, I flew down to Houston, hung out with Mark, and we flew over to Pensacola for a wedding. We thought we'd enjoy the beach for Labor Day weekend. What we didn't enjoy was Tropical Storm Lee.

We flew on a tiny plane (which I totally hate) through the nasty clouds, bumping along... in the exit seats, from which I expected to be sucked out from at any moment. I wasn't, obviously, but it really did cross my mind. Anyway, we landed in a steady rain, collected our car and luggage and headed out to the beach. As we drove, the weather got progressively nastier.

We arrived at our hotel, settled into our room with a lovely view of the tumultuous ocean, crashing into shore under a very dark, windy, wet sky. Ah, lovely.

Look very closely, there's a pier in this picture, I TOLD you it was storming.

The next day (when we thought we'd hang out at the beach) we took a drive along the coast. We were actually out on an island of which half was just natural beach.

We drove along and met a couple other crazy fools out driving. We commented on how the sand looked like snow, then we saw an end loader clearing sand off the road. Reminded me of good old Chicago in the winter.

Between storms, we decided to get out and walk on the beach, and get exfoliated.

The sand was blowing so badly, it hurt. I had to wear my sunglasses to keep it out of my eyes.

It did wonders for my hair.

We had a snack at Hooters. Really??? Let's just say, I've been there. Period.

The wedding was lovely. And in spite of the 'ugly day, ugly bride' saying, she was beautiful and it all came off splendidly. The storm halted for a few minutes for the sword 'ceremony'. After the wedding, the bride and groom came out of the church. A group of sword bearing soldiers assumed their positions at the foot of the stairs along the sidewalk. They held the swords aloft, and the couple walked under them. It was pretty impressive, I have to say. They went back into the church for photos, we made our way to our car, and it let loose with another delightful monsoon.

The reception was at the officer's club on the base, and I looked a little like a woman who's been rained on. Pretty cool.

Started in the bar, for cocktails then on into the ballroom. We had a very nice time. They are fun people, and the evening ended with dancing and singing and craziness....

The next day, we had hoped to spend basking in the sun working on our sun damage. Not so. It was still raining, windy and foreboding looking. We attempted to get on an earlier flight. Us and everyone else on the island obviously, as there were no seats. So we had a long wet day ahead of us.

We headed back to the base and went to the National Naval Aviation Museum. I'll admit, I wasn't thrilled at the prospect. But went along. It was really interesting. I enjoyed it! Saw some delightful war clothing (a couple stained with what I am certain was blood spatter), old planes, blimps, fighter jets, space ships... flying things. Did find this display of The Blue Angels interesting. This is an actual formation. Those babies are really close...there will be no mistakes.

After that, we checked out the lighthouse.. it was (here's a shock) raining, so I didn't get out, and went down to the harbor and looked at the boats.

We did make it out that night. naturally, as we sat at the airport, the rain stopped and out came the sun. Thank you Pensacola.

Headed back to the apartment in Houston. It's quite nice, after I did a load of laundry and ran the dishwasher, I had the rest of the week to do whatever. I could get used to this life, I think. We did take a walk over to a park area that had some interesting things. Mark sat in this half shell like thing and I sat in another and we could talk in a normal voice and totally hear each other from that distance.

It was brilliant. I need this at home, then I could hear my family. Then again, do I really want to?

Flew back to Chicago on my birthday. I had another one... I hate getting old. Did get some nice presents though.

Saturday, we went to another wedding. Yep, we are on the wedding circuit. Third one in 6 weeks. It was very lovely too. Another beautiful bride.

Sunday and Monday we spent on the boat, after we de-spidered it. Man those little bastards take over when we are gone. Ugh.

So that about sums it up... I'm just such a jet setter... you'll probably see me on the new 'Pan Am' TV show.

Seriously, we had one of those cool Pan Am bags. I think they gave them to you when you flew with them. That was back when you were treated well when you traveled, AND you dressed up. Now, your lucky to get a swig of pop, and forget the meal... you want nuts, and a blanket? Get real.

THE "L" WORD......

2011-08-29T14:10:00.000-05:00

In boat ownership, the "L" word strikes fear in the heart of salty old sailors..... which is why it pretty much terrified me!!!

Not being a boat owner, you might ask, what the "L" word is?

LEAK.

Yes, I said leak, as in Titanic. As in water coming in... as in where is my life jacket??

Okay, I exaggerated a little. We did have a small leak in a plug that was only leaking when the engine was running. But it was eating away at my Captain. He said he couldn't help but imagine the boat filling with water and sinking... only the top of the mast viewable. Ugh... all I could think was, 'and I spent all that time reupholstering it for nothing'.... double Ugh.

So, Saturday, we headed in to address it, and in spite of the bad back that Mark was nursing, he tackled it. Now the poor man, had to contort himself into this hole, and reach way in there and bang the hell out of something. And get this sticky black stuff all over him, and become way more bruised than I've seen him in a long time. This was partially caused by the fact that he was stuck... yes, I said stuck....

But, he fixed it, and all's well AND, he got out and can even stand up after.

So, stop visualizing me at the bow, arms extended singing the Titanic song...it isn't going to happen.

WHEW....WHAT A WEEKEND....

2011-08-22T13:56:00.000-05:00

It was Air & Water Show in Chicago this last weekend, and if you have a boat, the place to be is out on the lake. I kind of feel like they put the show on just for the boaters. They zoom overhead, appearing to just miss your mast, altering the beat of your heart and amazing everyone.

We headed in on Saturday, in spite of the fact that it was really overcast and beginning to sprinkle. We had sunshine in our hearts... not for long. Loaded up the Rover with Jessica and Blain, Corbin and Ally, Mark and I and enough 'stuff' to go around the world, a time or two. It poured on the drive in. I mean REALLY SERIOUSLY NASTY poured. We kept driving.

Got in there, parked, marveled at the soaked people who were packing it in and going home. What, have they no faith?? We meandered our way underground through the parking bowels of Chicago and popped out on Michigan Avenue and headed to a restaurant we've taken a fancy to. We'd have a drink, wait out the storm. Mark assured us, it'd just be another half hour. Right.

We drank our fill, and headed out, it was still a little drizzly. Made it to the entrance of our garage and it let loose again. We waited, Mark stood by his 'another half hour' thing (we were now at 3 half hour increments of time). But, lo and behold, was that blue out west? We headed to the pier.

Guys got the boat, and we loaded our stuff. Heading out, the sun broke through the clouds and it became a beautiful day! The show resumed and because so many people gave up, we got in pretty close!! It ended up being a 'shorter' version of the Air Show but, we saw the fighter jets, and oh my, it is so brilliant to see. Here's a few pictures to show you what you missed....

We headed in on Sunday, this time with my mom, Scarlett and Corbin. Dan was in Florida, visiting his grandpa, and Ally had some stuff she needed to get done. My sister's family was going to come, but decided against it, so off we went. This time, the weather was perfect! Sunny, hot, breezy - delightful.

My good camera, that had given me such great pictures the day before, really let me down... the battery was dead. I was so disappointed. I had my little one, that is actually a really good little camera, but not so great for catching a flying by jet. There's no viewfinder, so it's hard to follow through the LCD. Anyway, here's the few shots I did get from Sunday.

Mark can NEVER just sit still!!

We had a great time, but, as Mark said, we need to go back to work to relax!!

Too bad, I don't work....no rest for the wicked.. or something like that.

SLACKER...ONCE AGAIN...

2011-08-19T18:07:00.002-05:00

I'm just a lame excuse for a blogger lately.

And, I'm really a lame excuse for a photographer too. I've either forgotten my camera, or taken it, and forgotten to use it, or, chosen NOT to use it. So pictures in this post are sparse.

But, I've been busy, nothing extremely important... a lot of silly running, wasting time and just plain having fun.

So, a recap of the last couple weeks.... I survived my house guests. Even though I KNOW that I won't die from having them, I still enter into it with a sense of dread. Unfounded, but there! At any rate, I lived through it, as I always do, and always will. Maybe I need to analyze this with a zillion dollars worth of analysis??? nah....

We did have another little house guest... our granddog Jet came to stay while his parents went to Lollapalooza.

He certainly injected a whole lot of energy into the joint! My doglets were a bit snarly at the 'need' Jet had to play! This also meant they had to share their chewies and toys. Sharing is NOT in their vocabulary.

We got a kick out of him. We returned him, he slept ALL the way home in my lap like a baby, on his back, sound asleep.

His mother told me he was pretty exhausted the rest of the day but returned to his wild man self the next day.

I had lunch with my college roommate. Well, I use the term lunch loosely, we start at about 10:30 and go all day. There is always so much to discuss, much laughing to do, and of course a bit of shopping...oh, and if there's time, some eating. Funny how we meet now and then and pick right up where we left off. Love her..

Last weekend, we headed to Milwaukee for our niece's graduation party. She graduated from graduate school with a degree in Occupational Therapy. She is Mark's sister's daughter; so we enjoyed seeing the family and hanging out. My whole crew went, and Scarlett brought Jet. Once again, he was an energetic little weasel, having a great time with another furry guest!

Sunday began the week of 'Mark working from home'... (or as I call it vacation?) and we thought we'd hit the boat. Ah...not. Lake Michigan was seriously ugly. Waves that were unsafe, although sunny and warm, no sailing for us. Monday...more of the same. Tuesday we went shopping. We 'needed' some stuff for the boat, and I had to get a shower present.

Tuesday was our anniversary. 31 years. That's a long time in today's world. Sad, but true. But, at any rate, we've managed to last it out! hehe. And, those of you who have read this blog a while, might remember me mentioning that Mark may have some things about him that bug me...but...undoubtedly he is the BEST GIFT GIVER. I am seriously thrilled with this years gift. Some serious bling...and all girls, young and old love some bling.

Wednesday we headed into Chicago, met up with Scarlett, drove around looking at neighborhoods, noting how Chicago really has some cool properties. And also how the neighborhood can be FAB, and a half block away, frightening.

We stayed in there Wednesday night. Had a Groupon for Buddy Guy's that we needed to use. Now those of you who don't know what a Groupon is, check it out... fun deals on fun things.

We'd never been to Buddy Guy's and really didn't know who was playing, but we had a great time. Mr. Buddy Guy himself was in the house and came up and did a couple numbers with the band. If you're lucky enough to be there when he is there, you are in for a treat!! It was a fun night.

Thursday we were joined on the boat by Mark's brother and his wife. We always have a great time together, and I'm ashamed to say this was the first time they'd been out on our boat this summer. We just haven't had that many people on the boat this year. We've had a lot of stuff going on and weather issues and, we've been negligent in inviting. But we spent a lovely day sailing around, snacking, just enjoying.

So, that about sums it up. But.... (insert drumroll here).... this weekend is the Air & Water Show in Chicago. We are entertaining both days on the boat. So, I WILL take my camera and I will use it and I will stop being a slacker. Honestly, I'll try.

One final note.... my city girl has opened an Etsy shop iamscarlett (something I need to do) and I'd like you all to have a peek. She's talented in many ways, so don't be shy, shop freely! You won't be sorry!!

IT'S HAPPENING AGAIN.....

2011-08-06T00:15:00.001-05:00

I've been cleaning like crazy.

Yesterday, I spent a 'full work shift' of 8 hours working in Corbin's room. Now, one might wonder what possessed me to spend a WHOLE DAY in there cleaning like I was hosting a surgery in that room.... Well, let me just tell you....

I'm having house guests....

and

if you remember correctly, I don't like house guests, at all. Now, let me say, it's NOT that I don't like THESE house guests, it's any house guests. I'm not choosey.

We have other currently empty bedrooms, but, Corbin's has a queen sized bed in it, so it's the most comfy... it was also the most in need of serious help.

After the day of cleaning, I felt the need to do a little redecorating, so I felt compelled to go shopping.

Twice.

Not only does his room have some new accoutrements, but so do I. A girls gotta have a little something after wrestling a queen size mattress to afix a dust ruffle ~ right?

Right.

So, don't even ask me if you can come stay here, I'm not in the mood.

Ever.

p.s. children who once lived here...you and your girl/boyfriends do not fall into the 'guest' category. So feel free to come stay anytime!!! You can even bring your hounds.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE????

2011-08-03T21:37:00.000-05:00

Today, I saw this post on Facebook....made me sick. Someone burned this poor dog... took pleasure in causing this animal unbelievable agony.

I'm sharing this story, so donations can be made, or in case someone knows who did this... This 'person' needs to be prosecuted to the fullest extent. What kind of human being could do this? What possible pleasure could someone get from such cruelty? This poor dog, just an innocent puppy.

My sister fosters for this organization, they are a wonderful rescue. IF you can, donate, please help this poor baby, 'Mandy'. It's easy, just go here ~ even $1. is helpful!!

....DRIVING THAT HOT....ROD...LINCOLN.....

2011-07-26T18:49:00.000-05:00

Yep, that's what you get when you get into the Houston Airport 3 hours late.

It's huge. And very deluxe, from it's 'sitting in the living room interior', to the trunk, that for sure you could stash a few bodies.

Riding in it reminds me of being a kid, only they were always black.. it was the funeral color du jour. Been a long time since I've come in behind the Lincoln hood ornament.

Dad, this one's for you~

ONE OF THOSE MOMENTS........

2011-07-22T10:43:00.000-05:00

Forever, I've wanted a black standard poodle. Always. Even had the name picked out.

A couple weeks ago, my sister, who fosters for a rescue, had one. The perfect one. I hemmed and hawed and finally brought it up to Mark, who, looked at me like I was crazy. We decided against it.

It bugged me.

Really bugged me.

Bugged me like I couldn't stop thinking about it bugged me... And lo an behold, another one came into rescue...

I went to meet him, and he was magnificent. I really liked him. He had a couple 'issues' though... the main one being a boogery nose...

I've never seen a dog sneeze actual boogers...have you? And the rescue lady (who wasn't my sister) said, 'oh, he had kennel cough and is being treated, so they didn't give him that shot, but the antibiotics should clear it up.'

Hum...

So, I needed a minute to mull it over. Then it occured to me...Clemmie.

Sweet psycho Clemmie.....

Clemmie, has problems remember? She has that Protein Losing Enteropathy which is an autoimmune disease. The treatment is a steroid that suppresses the immune system. She can't have her 'shots'. She could catch it, it could kill her.

So I took a pass...

And in retrospect, it was the right decision ~ What, am I crazy???? Two doglets is more than enough.

They both have the attitude of a big dog, actually more the attitude of a wild hyena.

Whew...

VACATION???

2011-07-16T19:56:00.000-05:00

Nah, not really. But Mark DID take the week off.

Sort of....

And it was busy.

We spent time sailing, driving around in the convertible, getting the oil changed, hanging out in the hot tub, eating out, running errands, spending money. Just usual stuff...

But, as with all good things, it's over. Actually it ended yesterday, when he had work to do. Today we headed to the boat, and had Jessica and Blain join us. It started out gloomy, but burned off and out came the sun, and a lovely breeze. The Mac started today. That's the sailboat race from Chicago to Mackinac Island. We were in the midst of the start... well, kind of.

We enjoyed the day, Jess and Blain were staying in Chicago tonight, and we had to high tail it home, as..........Mark has work to do.

We did take a little detour, and checked out the new Marilyn Monroe statue by artist Seward Johnson... she really is larger than life.

I didn't get out and look myself, but I did hear her lace knickers from the movie are even in place...my, my...can a girl have NO secrets???

BLOG GIVEAWAY...

2011-07-11T22:00:00.000-05:00

A blog I follow, Creating from the Heart is hosting a giveaway with tremendous gifts. Check it out... you could win. And even if you don't, you will enjoy her blog!

MY KIND OF TOWN......

2011-07-10T22:37:00.000-05:00

Spent most of yesterday on the boat, had some friends join us... it was a beautiful day!

Perfect wind, and temperature, we sailed around, came back into the harbor to grill out and 'host' another boat for a tie up!

Some good friends were in today with their boat and tied up for a bit. I guess I was so excited to be hosting another boat, I forgot to take any pictures of our little party. My bad.

After our 'little party', we headed back out for a sunset sail.

It was a delightful evening, and we enjoyed watching the city lights come on. As always, I tried for a perfect picture at night.

This time I came pretty darn close.

TIMBER...............

2011-07-07T23:31:00.000-05:00

That's a myth, they don't yell that...

I know this because the giant tree in front of my house was cut down today. I'm pretty verklempt about it...it was a great OLD tree. It offered a nice nesting place for my squirrel population and some serious shade for my bedroom and porches. And, it was a totally cool treehouse feel for my upstairs porch. Sitting up there, you really were hidden and felt like you were indeed in a tree house...but, that's over.

The tree guys came early. And I was planning on sleeping in...not happening. The doglets assumed their place, on the back of the loveseat looking out the window... only, today, when there really WAS something to bark about, they didn't. Go figure... Anyway, this was a tree in my parkway, so the Village arranged for the removal. I tried to get some pictures, but didn't do so great, I got a large piece of floating sawdust in my contact and gave up.

But, here you have it..

And actually, I don't so much mind how it looks... here's an old 'before' shot,

and here's the 'now' look

Don't mind the shavings and the cone... they eventually did disappear. And I did sweep up a ton and I mean a TON of shavings...ugh...

Oh, and one other thing... my sister has a foster dog I really, really want. I just need to figure out a way to make Mark think like I do. Actually on more points than just this dog, but for the moment...small steps~

EXHAUSTION....

2011-07-05T11:12:00.001-05:00

Whew... I'm so glad the weekend is over. It was a FUN one, but we RAN, all weekend.

It started on Thursday night, Mark came in (finally). OF course the 'ever efficient' O'Hare, allowed his plane to land, but then kept it on the ground, on the tarmac for over an HOUR as they didn't have an open gate. Really? UGH, I just love spending a couple hours at the Oasis, in the middle of the night.

Anyway, Friday we headed to Ravinia to see Maroon 5.

I had a lot of food, beverage coordination to do for that, and we had to leave EARLY so it consumed the day. My whole family went, and my sister and brother in law.

We had a FAB time. Music was awesome and the weather honestly could not have been better. It was just a beautiful night. It's an hour and a half up there, so we got home late, very late.

Saturday, we hit the pool for Corbin's birthday, that is really today...

Had the whole crew (minus Scarlett and Dan and the new granddog, Jet)

Is he not cute?? He's a Yorkie Poo...mostly Yorkie.

My niece Chloe made the birthday cake for Corbin, she just completed a cake decorating class. Needless to say, she excelled at it!!

Sunday, we headed into the boat with Corbin and Ally.

It was a little hazy, but finally burned off, and was a great sailing day.

Interesting thing... Saturday, at mom's, Mom and Corbin were getting something out of the closet and an old hat of my dads fell out. Mom gave it to Corbin, he wore it on Sunday to the boat.

(looks pretty good on him huh?) This photo hangs in our boat, note the a fore mentioned hat on my dad... it's the same one!

Pretty cool huh? Dad would love it, that Corbin is sporting it, especially on a sailing adventure!!

After all day on the boat, we hit dinner on the way home. Corbin and Ally headed off to DeKalb, and Mark and I loaded up the t-bird, top down and headed to fire works.

Monday morning, we headed BACK to Chicago, to the boat. This time, Dan and his mom (who's here visiting from California) joined us.

Not much wind, but a whole lotta sun..it was a gorgeous summer day. After sailing around, we met Scarlett for dinner and then met up with their friends Heather and Matt and headed back to the boat. Hung out there, and watched the lights come on throughout the city, and finally fireworks from Navy Pier.

( No, Dan doesn't have a cigarette)

Dropped the two couples at their respective apartments and headed to a hotel at O'Hare. Mark had a VERY early flight, back to Houston, to rest up, from the weekend.