Another Frigid Friday....

which was deceivingly warmed by the sunshine streaming into the catwalk that links the Apparel Center and the Merchandise Mart.

My lunch walk was mostly inside.

from the cold I hide

Fiscal Restraint?

If people are cutting back on their spending...it certainly does not show at the Starbucks in my building!


Every weekday morning you will find a line snaking around the inside of it...people waiting to order their customized-unknown-language-named drinks...all of which sport a hefty price.

money from one days take would be nice

Poetic Justice

He had an itch.

Or maybe it was just a twitch.

I watched him writhing – it wasn’t fun.

He tried in vain to get it done.

Scratch it, move it - just work it out.

He had an itch or a twitch, no doubt.

“Cuckoo…

I have said it before and I will say it again…Cuckoo!”

That was our Mayor Daley talking about our Coco-Puff-Brained Governor Rod Blagojevich.

Who, yesterday, instead of being at the first day of his impeachment hearings in Springfield, chose to be on the East Coast conducting a self-glorifying media blitz....appearing on ABC’s "Good Morning America", "The View" and "Nightline", NBC's "Today", CNN's "Larry King Live" and Fox News with Geraldo Rivera.

He spoke of cowboys, angels, saints, Mother Teresa, Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela, Frank Capra, and last, but certainly not least, Oprah.


But while on The View being pressed by Barbara Walters to answer her question about the wire tap where he is heard saying "I've got this thing and it's (expletive) golden," she continually asked ”Did you say those things?”

Blago would not take the bait....never answering the question.

More than likely he felt that he didn’t need to justify a private conversation he had about an anniversary ring he purchased for his wife Patty.

And speaking of our First Lady of Springfield, when our Governor was asked about Patty’s recorded foul mouth, he immediately went to her defense admitting that his language has been influential on her, so much so I guess she just can’t stop using four letter words.

a couple of jail birds

Vanishing….

“No, thank you” she politely responded after I asked if she wanted any breakfast.

Over the course of the afternoon she would periodically take a break from helping me in the garden to gulp down large amounts of water.

At 3:00 o’clock I went into the house, grabbed some almonds and offered them to her on my outstretched palm....“No, thank you” she again replied.

"Have you eaten yet today?” I asked.

“No” she said, with tears welling up in her eyes....”I can’t!”

So I asked her “Why?”

and she began to cry

Left For Me To Find Friday!!

As we glide from weekday to weekend - straight smack into a cold spell that will be engulfing us (again!) I wanted to leave you with some "finds" that individuals were kind enough to leave for my viewing...


A snow encrusted planter filled with greenery? Or a garbage can? It's Both!!


Left behind by a guy in my train car heading home, this guy drinks these EVERY NIGHT, departs the train at my suburban station and then drives off in his big, black truck.

wtf

Pain, Suffering & Torture

It is inevitable.

I put it off as long as possible and now it is to the point that it is a “have to do.”

So I have scheduled it, placed it in ink on my calendar.

It is official - this weekend I will be shopping for a new pair of shoes.

Ideally a pair that is not only stylish, but a pair that has a high comfort level that goes beyond the placing on my feet and walking a few steps in the shoe store range.

I dread the historical BREAKING IN OF MY FEET with new shoes. It is a miserable, tortuous, long-suffering ritual – a curse of sorts that affects primarily us gals.

shoes are not my pals

Celebrating Illinois' Two Presidential Sons

My co-worker Kathy and I went to Harry Caray’s yesterday for their special Inaugural Lincoln/Obama Menu.

An exact replica of the menu served at Lincoln’s First Inaugural Dinner.

For $16.44 (Lincoln was the 16th President and Obama is the 44th) we dined on the following:

Mock Turtle Soup (just how they get those little guys to wear mock turtle necks,I’ll never know!)


Corned Beef/Cabbage/Boiled Potatoes (I felt a gas bubble or two!)


and Blackberry Pie with coffee.


Everything that President Lincoln dined on all those years ago...with the only possible exception - a couple Mimosas that we just HAD to have, for toasting purposes only, of course!!


hope is a strong force

“I can’t wait!”

Was this morning’s sidewalk snippet overheard while passing two women.

It intrigued me enough that I slowed my gait to listen and hopefully hear what exactly she couldn’t wait for.

When I heard what it was…it did not come as a surprise....

she can’t wait for:

“Obama to get into office and start turning this country around!”

Yup, she and most every other American are awaiting the change, but hopefully with much patience; because in order to dig us out from the hole we are currently in, it is going to take a lot of "strategerie" on Obama’s part, along with those he has put in place to assist him in this monumental task.

Tomorrow is the Presidential Swearing In.

then they will begin

Referring you to yesterday's....

post.

It still applies....only today it is even colder.


currently looking in my travel folder

Underwear....

Padded Bra (the padding just for the warmth…yeah, that’s it!)

Pantyhose (note to self..Hey, Stupid buy long underwear!)

Jeans

Belt

Wool Socks

Cami

Turtleneck Sweater

Cardigan

Long Down Coat with faux fur trimmed hood

Son’s Knit Hat (turned inside out because his father’s dog chewed holes on the outside)

Auntie Alberta’s xtra-long knitted two-toned Scarf wrapped 6 times around my face

Keen Shoe Boots

All combining to make my -35 degree "real feel" temperature mile long walk into the office this morning semi-doable.

this weather is screwable

bbbrrrrrrr

gggrrrrr

A Doggy Tale

In trying to distract myself from the impending blizzard...

I thought I would write about Buddy, my wonder dog.

Once upon a time, (okay it was last night) I was startled awake by my 20 year-old son opening my bedroom door and saying...

“Mom, Buddy has just thrown up on my carpet, it is a huge pile, what should I do?”

I hesitated in my response, trying to figure out where I was and what had just been said to me.

“Mom, WHAT should I do?” he repeated.

I rolled over, looking at his 6 foot-plus frame illuminated by the hall light and said “Clean it up!”

“But how?” he replied.

I went into a quick instruction of what to do and he departed downstairs as I lay wide awake listening to the going-ons below.

At first I could hear noises that indicated he was following my directions, getting the dustpan, a roll of paper towels, the kitchen garbage can and then I heard coughing, then more coughing – followed by loud gagging sounds...

Not knowing if it was Buddy or the 20 year-old that was making the retching noises...I pulled my tired butt out of bed and went downstairs to investigate.

I was met in the living room by my son, red-faced, eyes watering, with a look of horror on his face and he said “I CANNOT clean that up anymore…I am going to puke!” (God help the sometime--way-in-the-future mother of his children – because when it comes to any type of body fluids he will be of NO assistance.)

I started cleaning up the "residual", then dried the carpet as best as I could before lightly spraying it with Febreeze (I love that stuff!!). Heading back up to bed, I told my son to watch Buddy (who was now outside puking!) and if he got worse to wake me up.

As the house quieted down, I was once again able to drift off to sleep, knowing I would be waking up earlier than normal, to get a jump on my snowy/ice-encrusted commute.

Upon arising, Buddy met me downstairs, tail a-wagging and looking no worse for the wear....so I, as I do every morning, let him outside.

He bounded thru the newly-fallen snow heading back to the base of his favorite tree....where he started nudging at something.

I watched from the kitchen window, curious as to what he was doing...he dug his nose down into the snow, finally pulling up his now-frozen-pile-of-puke! I stood in horror watching as he started gnawing on it as if it was some kind of hard beef jerky!

I cranked open the kitchen window and in my quietest-(it was 5:30 a.m.)-meanest voice I said “Buddy, get in here!”

He momentarily stopped chomping to glance at me over his shoulder and give me his "There is NO way I am listening to you!" look.

At which point I gave up.

Now I know that dogs are great, loving companions and I have had a dog most of my life....but this one has been quite a handful!

And for the record, Buddy is approximately 8 years-old, and that is information for those of you that will be asking the question “How old is he?....which I know, having been asked that many, many times after telling a “Buddy Tale" translates into....

“Will he be dying anytime soon?”

backyard no longer puke strewn

Speak....

that is easy, right?

Just open your mouth and talk.

Talk, talk, talk, talk.

But what if EVERY TIME you opened your mouth to speak to someone outside of your very small circle of family and friends, the words got stuck in your head.

Thus causing you to stand silently, all the while trying to force the words out, for what seems to be an eternity, until some magical switch gets thrown in your brain, allowing the words to be said.

And because of that issue you have convinced yourself "it will never change" and "I am defective."

How would you, under those circumstances, cope?

someone needs hope

Faux Fashion Friday

In these fledging economic times another high end store has opened in the Merchandise Mart.

Artistic Tile

While I don’t understand the timing of their opening...

I DO understand they sell beautiful tiles and are affiliated with some fashion-forward talented person(s).

They have three mannequins showcasing tiles in their windows, tiles that have been designed into clothing.

How creative is that!

A shirt:

A wedding dress:


Jeans and a Tie:

Had these not been in the windows...I probably would have passed by without anything more than my usual “Great another high end store has opened!” thought.

cool fashion but not to be bought

Left Behind….

and I am not referencing the popular Christian book series, although it is a good one, I am talking about my cell phone.

I left it at home....accidentally - forgotten after setting it on my dresser while looking for matching socks (just where does the other one go?) this morning and there it still lies.

I wouldn’t want to leave it behind often, but periodically being without it brings on a freeing feeling - taking me to back-in-the-day when you left home and were out of contact unless you stopped by a friend’s house or used the ever present pay phone that dotted businesses and street corners.

So I walked to the office with a spring in my step, slightly unburdened with the knowing that I was out of contact, unreachable, with the ability to wander around if I so chose - alone and on my own.

forced now to need a dumb cell phone

On this snowy Chicago morning….

my walk into the office was mostly single file.


which made for a very long mile

Meat Me. Please!

For all of 2008 I was a vegetarian.

After thinking about it for years and hearing of all the health benefits associated with vegetarianism, I took the plunge.

At the start of my new lifestyle, I looked so forward to the weight loss and "soon-to-be-mine" euphoric feeling which I had read happens when you rid your body of meat.

So for a year No Fish, No Chicken, No Beef, No Pork, No flesh - outside of the stray bits of bacon somebody snuck into a salad – NO meat for me.

This worked well until about June....when meat began speaking my name and because I didn’t want to be a quitter....I ignored their voices. Voices, which began as whispers and crescendo into screams! I desperately tried to fill myself up with sweets, pastas, cheeses, breads, butter....you name it – anything and everything except meat.

Until Saturday.

After dragging myself back into the watchers-of-weight program for a weigh in and looking at the number in black and white - more than a 20+ pound gain, coupled with NEVER, EVER experiencing the tremendous detox feeling that I had read about...I crossed back over to the other side – the red side.

Announcing, quite frankly, that I like meat and meat likes me.


My decision made and armed with the knowledge of how to eat healthy and lean...I am looking forward to the meats I have craved and missed so very much over the past year.

So.......

Hello there, Mr. Piggy!

Howdy, Mr. Cow!

Good Evening, Mr. Cod!

Nice to see you again, Miss Chicken!

its gonna be finger-lickin