Susan's Snippets

A Strong Finish!

2012-01-09T10:07:00.000-08:00

I had NO SPENDING success...

with the help of a couple of peeps (dinner bought for me) I confess!!

But from last Tuesday thru Sunday night. . .

money (not even a penny) left my bank account’s sight.

I even found a quarter on Tuesday in the parking lot. . .

so actually MORE money I have now got.

I organized kitchen cabinets and donated some food. . .

cleaned my office for a change into something frilly not for a dude!

Purged and filled up an entire garbage can with things I do not need. . .

after watching that Hoarders’ show and to heart taking heed!

The lesson was that I CAN do it and also how productive I CAN be…

when I spend most of my "free" time at home just Buddy Boy and me!!

Woo Wee Woo Wee

Still No Spending...

2012-01-06T11:58:00.000-08:00

Day Three. . .

and now well into Day Four. . .

I will say my bank account I adore!

If you quietly agreed to join me on this no spending ride…

so far have you had success?

To yourself only do you need to confess!

Day Two…

2012-01-05T07:27:00.000-08:00

has come and gone and I am still on track!

No money spent…

not one thin dime!!

Having a short-term-this-is-fun-time!

Day One...

2012-01-04T12:08:00.000-08:00

of “No Spending” was a success!!

In addition to not spending any money. . .

I found a quarter in the parking lot!!

Now even more money I have got!

A 2012 Challenge...

2011-12-30T11:44:00.000-08:00

I have compiled a list today of what I am going to strive towards during this new year.

Of the several things I have listed, I will share one and challenge you to try it too!

Next Tuesday thru Sunday - January 3rd thru the 8th - outside of putting gas into my car and paying household bills. . .

I will NOT BE SPENDING ANY MONEY.

NO purchased coffees/iced teas.

NO meals eaten out.

NO SPENDING ANY MONEY.

Praying that puts me in the right frame of mind as this new year begins so that several of my "issues" I will defeat!

That same challege are you willing to meet?

Ducks in a Pond...

2011-12-20T08:58:00.001-08:00

of ducks I am not too fond!

Unless we are talking about Chelveston from back in the day...
on a program hosted by a guy named Ray.

Whole heads of lettuce Chelveston would eat...
and cartoons were shown that still are pretty neat!

Clutch Cargo...

The Funny Company...

and Diver Dan...

to name a few.

I remember them...how about you?

Proud...

2011-12-12T09:41:00.000-08:00

of my son, Phillip (PJ), a kind, creative, artistic, handsome young man, who stutters and is now “talking” about it to the world!

This is the link to his current show at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design where he is attending school and sharing…

life he is baring.
xo

5 Gs is the current study at church...

2011-10-28T12:36:00.001-07:00

I thought “how appropriate” as I was completing part of the study this morning on the train.

All of those words are important, but today, especially,

GRATEFUL jumped off the page.

I am so very GRATEFUL on this 10 year anniversary of my diagnosis. . .

for an awesome God who still has me here for a reason,

for an incredible family,

and got-down-in-the-trenches friends,

who gathered forces and took care of my children’s and my needs to an extent that to this day brings me to tears.

I am so very Grateful...

I am so very Thankful...

and I so LOVE you all...

without stall!
xo

Sunday Morning Blessing...

2011-10-25T11:42:00.000-07:00

I had seated them. First, the older man, whom I recognized from past services, he always likes to sit in one of the last rows on my side. Next was a small man, with-oversized-for-his-face glasses and greasy, unkempt hair, and then, just as the service was starting, a woman walked in and joined them.

When it was time for collecting of the offering, the bag passed down their row; I then turned it in to the head usher and was on the way to my seat when I saw the woman waving at me. I walked over and she handed me, as their offering this. . .

thru tears I thanked her, went back to the head usher and placed the pennies in the bag.

Unashamedly she called me back to give. . .

three cents.

How divinely immense!

This beautiful Chicago Week in Pics…

2011-10-14T08:35:00.000-07:00

I did click click clicks!!

At the Daley Plaza – a loner. . .

and in the West Loop – a stoner. . .

A Chicago Marathon runner. . .

And a sidewalk corner two ton-ner. . .

(I LOVE that he is underneath a pasted up poster for a MEDITATE event - maybe he is part of their marketing team!!)

I walked to Michigan Ave. to see Marilyn (again) so large. . .

Cleaning of that shoe I am happy I am not in charge. . .

Chicago’s finest mounted on their horses. . .

and the Blackhawks’ began their season with special forces. .

A camera that would make my snippet heart smile...

and if I ate all of these my pants would split after a while...

My new favorite Loop place to eat...

I hope his owner for this pose gave this "cute" dog a treat...

The colors of the trees contrasted well with the NBC logo...

and outside to lunch many people did go go...

There that is it!!

I am done with my posting pic fit!

I finally found...

2011-08-31T17:16:00.000-07:00

a flowering vine to climb up the trellis in my backyard. . .

it should not have been this hard!!
:^)

"Stupid telephone lines!"

2011-08-22T10:00:00.001-07:00

I thought as I took the picture.

It turns out that I like them in the shot...

they cut across at just the right place - separating the midwestern corn and the puffy cloud in a perfect summer Sunday sky!!

me oh my

Just for fun...

2011-08-18T07:49:00.000-07:00

1. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

2. Just how are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

3. Was learning cursive really necessary?

4. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on # 5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

5. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

6. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

7. Bad decisions make good stories.

8. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

9. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.

10. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to the ten-page pleading that I swear I did not make any changes to.

11. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lite than Kay.

12. I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

13. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

14. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said?

15. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!

16. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants rarely get dirty, and you can wear them a long time between washings.

17. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

18. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and pinning a tail on a donkey - but I'd bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time.

19. The first testicular guard, the "Cup," was used in Hockey in 1874 and the first helmet was used in 1974. That means it only took 100 years for men to realize that their brain is also important. (Women reading this just smiled!)

That is all I have for today!!

I was born a May.

I saw a cooler by...

2011-08-17T07:04:00.000-07:00

the railroad track.

In case you have a picnic attack?

Any food left in there might make you yak!

Beer comes in a six or twelve pack.

A cooler by the railroad track.

Three crows...

2011-08-17T06:31:00.000-07:00

on a wire;

I wonder if from flappin' their wings they ever tire?

Some years back they were hardly around...

now everywhere they can be again found!

Three crows on a wire this morning I saw.

Fighting while squawking their "caw-caw-caw!"

Three crows on a wire!

This morning. . .

2011-08-17T06:27:00.000-07:00

I found a single leaf on the top of my car;

Looking to be discovered like an unknown future superstar;

From my maple tree it had to fall far;

This morning I found a single leaf on the top of my car!

Celebrating...

2011-08-16T14:16:00.000-07:00

after nearly two years of gnashing teeth, butting heads and going round and round...

my front porch finally passed inspection!!

no more rails-too-far-apart-and-need-a-graspable-handrail rejection

:^)

Hot Time. . .Summer in the City!!

2011-08-05T07:36:00.000-07:00

I love summer in Chicago, there are so many things to do. . .

and as you might know from this post, I love the Farmer's Market at Daley Plaza. . .every Thursday you can find beautiful produce. . .

and flowers to buy. . .

along with the occasional gaggle of children being led around. . .

outdoor cafes. . .

and water fountains. . .

lunch time food trucks full of treats, some of which are sweet...

and I have noticed that I am not the only one who loves summer in the city, I quite often see groups of guys, sitting outside eating their lunch, nourishing their bodies, while conversing amongst themselves and watching the world go by...

glad that they too can enjoy this weather...

whatever!

While digging out .30 cents. . .

2011-07-07T07:07:00.000-07:00

from my “old lady” (what my kids have always called it) change purse this morning, I spotted silver, all silver around the edge of a dime.

“Cool! You don’t see many of these any more!” was my first thought.

I then pulled it out and was even more surprised when I saw it’s year date. . .

1958!

This, of course, was a good year, might even be considered by some to be great!!

:^)

“So he’s a picky eater!”

2011-06-15T13:42:00.000-07:00

said one of the three attorneys in the elevator, whom I was sharing my latest lunch-time-street-guy-adventure with.

We laughed.

The discussion started because they asked why I had a package of Trader Joe’s Sliced Muenster Cheese in my hand. My lunch walk that day had Trader Joe’s as a destination for mints that I am ADDICTED to! (My sister Wendy once said “You are addicted to those things!” which in the realm of possible addictive substances – I don't feel too bad about.) While I was at Trader Joe's I also picked up cheese (on sale).

On the walk back to the office, I spotted a dirty, tattered guy sitting on the sidewalk along Washington Street, begging for money. I stopped in front of him, pulled out a piece of cheese from the brand new package and asked if he would like it.

He looked up at me and grunted.

Not exactly sure what the grunt meant, but I assumed it meant yes, so I extended it to him.

At the same time I was doing that, he shoved one of his grungy fingers up his left nostril, pulled it out and then stuck it in his mouth.

After which he took the cheese from my by-then-way-way-extended fingers. . .

he folded it in half. . .

held it up to his nose and SNIFFED it!

As if he was checking to see if the cheese was rotten or not...

seriously dude you just ate boogers and snot!!

Memorial Day Poppies…

2011-05-27T08:57:00.001-07:00

were being distributed this morning outside of Union Station by some wonderful volunteers..."Get Your Poppies! Support Our Veterans!" they were calling out as I walked through the station's doors.

I was not familiar with the history of the "red poppies" so I did some quick web searching and found this (hopefully accurate) story…

"In 1915, inspired by Canadian John McCrae's poem..

In Flanders Field

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

American, Moina Michael, replied with her own poem:

We cherish too, the Poppy red,
that grows on fields where valor led.
It seems to signal to the skies
that blood of heroes never dies.

Moina then conceived the idea to wear red poppies on Memorial day in honor of those who died serving the nation during war. She was the first to wear one, and sold poppies to her friends and co-workers with the money going to benefit servicemen in need.

Shortly before Memorial Day in 1922 the VFW became the first veterans' organization to nationally sell poppies. Two years later their "Buddy" Poppy program was selling artificial poppies made by disabled veterans. In 1948 the US Post Office honored Ms. Michael for her role in founding the National Poppy movement by issuing a red 3 cent postage stamp with her likeness on it.”

What followed in that article was very disturbing to me, but seemingly so true:

“Traditional observance of Memorial day has diminished over the years. Many Americans nowadays have forgotten the meaning and traditions of Memorial Day. At many cemeteries, the graves of the fallen are increasingly ignored, neglected. Most people no longer remember the proper flag etiquette for the day. While there are towns and cities that still hold Memorial Day parades, many have not held a parade in decades.”

Memorial Day is a great day to gather with family and friends, but let us NEVER forget that Memorial Day is ONE SPECIAL DAY set aside to honor the soldiers who paid the ultimate price, thus allowing us to gather in peace on that day and every other day of the year!

Proudly Fly Our Flag, Salute, Be Thankful and Cheer!

Pre/During/Post D.C. Vacation Food

2011-05-20T10:06:00.000-07:00

Pre: Low Carb (Healthy!)

During: High Carb (Fun!!)

Post: Low Carb (Healthy!)

For the record, the entire trip was worth every morsel eaten and every drop drank!!

to cat girl I so have to thank

"I have GOT to get going!"

2011-04-29T06:15:00.000-07:00

I realized as I stood trance like in front of the telly this morning...mesmerized with all of the pomp and circumstance of the Royal Wedding, and suddenly realizing that not only did I have to get dressed, but that it is garbage day and I still had to drag the can to the street!

royalty smoyalty being a commoner makes me complete

Good Friday...

2011-04-22T07:53:00.001-07:00

"At three o'clock, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?' which is translated, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'

Thus it has long been a Good Friday tradition among many Christians to mark the hour of Jesus' death by observing a period of silent prayer and meditation. While it can certainly be less, traditionally this period lasts up to an hour and sometimes even longer. In fact, some include in their observance the three hours leading up to Jesus' death as well.

Some will even follow this "3 o'clock" period of prayer and meditation by refraining from loud conversation or activities throughout the remainder of the day - consciously avoiding anything that could distract one from the spirit of the day -which is one of sadness. It is a day that all Christians should spend in prayer, fasting and abstinence."

For the first time that I can recall, I have to work today. . .all day.

Needless to say, next year, I will be scheduling, at the least, a half day of vacation on Good Friday to mourn.

today at three oclock will be sitting at this law firm desk all forlorn

Left for me to find…

2011-04-08T11:59:00.000-07:00

this week in and around my Chi-town. . .

for the reaching comfort of the professionally dressed older dude sitting in front of me on the train. . .

if it had fallen passengers below would have had scalding pain!

A landmark store on State Street has faded away. . .

wrecking ball soon will come out to play.

Chips that were consumed by my one and only son. . .

to see him for even a short time was fun.

And a treat for my Momma (her favorites) underground in the station. . .

if she ate them she might need hospitalization!

“DON’T Do it!”

2011-03-30T08:07:00.000-07:00

She cautioned.

My sister Wendy called last night as we both were watching NBC's “The Biggest Loser" and. . .

Rulon, who is still 300+ lbs., had just been “encouraged” by Bob to do a handstand and after several failed, awkward attempts, he succeeded. . .

“I want to try to do one!” I shared with her.

After hanging up, against Wendy's sound advice, but being smart enough to have my cell phone nearby, I gave the handstand a shot.

For the record, hurling yourself toward the floor while attempting to fling your legs over a 50+ year old body is not, by any stretch of the imagination, EASY.

My first attempt was thisclose to disastrous as the palms of my drier-than-dry winter hands slipped on the pounded-almost-smooth-cheap carpeting of my bedroom.

Then, after licking both palms (I know gross) to assure no slippage, attempt number two was nearly fatal.

When Wendy answered her phone for our second conversation of the night – I said ...

“The next time we are together I want you to help me do a handstand. I have decided that it might not be the best thing for me to do tonight while I am home alone!”

with a broken neck it can be hard to reach the phone

"Frank...

2011-03-25T06:03:00.000-07:00

I was referred to you regarding the BATAVIA Republican newspaper that generously is bestowed upon me each week FOR FREE!

I wanted to let you know that I enjoy reading it because I have a sister who lives in GENEVA!?!?!?

If I can alert you to some great going-ons in Batavia would that be okay??

please just say"

was my email to a reporter I was referred to after noticing for years that the BATAVIA Republican newspaper consisted mostly of articles about Geneva and St. Charles, which always had me wondering why?

I decided this week to do some "investigating" and after a phone call to the paper, a referral to Frank, a reporter, and the above email being sent. . .

Frank responded:

"Hi Susan,

Yes. That would be great if you can send me any Batavia happenings you believe would be of interest. My former editor had only wanted no more than one Batavia story a week, but my new editor seems open to more Batavia stories.

Thank you for your email."

Now isn't that kind of crazy, that his "former editor" wanted no more than ONE Batavia story each week in the BATAVIA Republican??

So, Batavia citizens, let's keep Frank well aware of what is happening in our wonderful City by emailing him at fvaisvilas@mysuburbanlife.com and giving him notification.

batavia republican might actually have batavia information

“Do you have a website?”

2011-03-18T11:41:00.000-07:00

i inquired, loving his work, but having nothing "extra" at the end of a pay period these days.

"My Mom is working on one for me." he responded.

His name is Michael David and he was creating/selling awesome artwork on Michigan Avenue on this beautiful Spring Friday.

I NEED...

okay, I WANT...

to own one of his pieces.

Which if you know me, you know that means...

dot dot dot...

i better start baking a lot!

A Little Luck...

2011-03-17T06:28:00.001-07:00

of the Green variety bestowed upon me this morning from the floor of Union Station!!

It is so good to be part lucky Irish!!

happy day to you all i wish

Monday Night's Gift from God

2011-03-16T12:11:00.000-07:00

Right up there as one of the top ten in my category of "A Beautiful Sunset"!!

none too soon will i forget

LFMTF Sunshine Edition…

2011-03-11T12:49:00.000-08:00

Today’s Friday lunch walk was filled with beautiful sunshine.

Which had the Trump Tower ablaze…

attracting my snippets' camera's gaze.

I got to view tomatoes in a trunk...

prettier than a bunch of junk.

I also found new-to-me sticker art of a house of yellow...

placed there by a gal or a fellow.

In addition while walking past the Merchandise Mart...

I saw that on Mr. Montgomery’s head the birds did shart.

While wandering in the basement of Macy’s (Marshall Field’s!) the Easter Frango’s were stacked up high...

I wanted to eat them all why oh why!

And finally a shopping cart filled with someone’s life...

wondering if they have more or less strife.

Clickity Clack...

2011-03-04T07:10:00.001-08:00

a left for me to find Friday video clip...

surprised i am not lulled to sleep my whole trip

Left For Me to Find...

2011-02-18T12:13:00.000-08:00

From the other night, a beautiful sunset...

that I will not soon forget!

Happy that the protective mat was over the carpet here at work...

otherwise a blue stain would still lurk.

And a couple strolling along the Chicago River in today's unseasonably warm weather...

they obviously get dressed together.

Barb, do you have any idea of what…

2011-02-17T06:25:00.000-08:00

Bruce meant in his email when he asked me to

“put into his draft in a RECLINE format”?

Susan, it is a typo...

he meant REDLINE!

Oh.

Never mind.

my blondeness can be so unkind

“So the next time I wear my deck shoes…

2011-02-15T11:37:00.000-08:00

will you fall in love with me?” the woman inquired as she stepped out of the elevator with her two friends.

“Abso-freaking-lutely!” one replied.

This snippet I heard just minutes ago on returning from my lunch walk, where I just so happened to have shot this:

Which was a follow up to this picture I took at my suburban train station this morning:

I am sensing a theme!

Love for...

and lost...

footwear.

I swear.

Heavy Duty...

2011-02-04T06:00:00.000-08:00

blue collar;

hard working;

protector;

provider;

German;

jokester;

street smart;

loving;

old school;

imperfect;

all of these words plus thousands more to describe the man
that will have been gone 10 years tomorrow.

finding loving comfort thru the still there sorrow

S N O W D A Y!!!

2011-02-02T07:43:00.000-08:00

[So as not to confuse anyone - this is an old post - anna has moved on to north carolina in search of love and i am home...on my own...]

broke the quiet of the house this morning...followed by the sound of feet bounding down the 100+ year old pine stairs.....

”SNOWWWWWW DAYYYYY!!”

in her loudest Hurricane Hippo Holler voice.

She hasn’t been up this early on a school day since the last official snow day.

It is amazing what a text message from a good friend early on a snowy morning will do.

We got somewhere around 10 inches of snow last night. A beautiful, pristine, white blanket covering and she has a snow day – a day off of school – a clean slate of a day.....a day where your imagination is your only boundary.

Bread bags slipped on over socks before shoving your feet into old, sometimes too small, boots - boots that smelled like.....boots! Digging out of the winter basket anything to keep you warm (which at times were Pop’s socks as mittens), bundling up and heading out!

Sledding down the side of the big ditch in the field across the street - sliding along the thick ice that covered the swamp – trying to avoid the muskrat huts and assorted cattails - making snow forts and then having fights with the boys next door and creating endless snow angels.

Coming in only when called for lunch, a lunch that was always paired with piping hot HOMEMADE hot cocoa - then back outside for more!!

Ending the day with debundling at the front door – boots turned upside down over heat registers and Mom yelling “You guys have SNOW everywhere!”

So my daughter, enjoy, enjoy, enjoy, because as I have learned, these days pass way too fast – soon you will be working and will never again hear someone say.....

“Stay home – it's a SNOW DAY!”

to your dismay

"Good thing I am not claustrophobic!"

2011-02-01T06:26:00.000-08:00

I thought as I discreetly took this photo of the packed-to-the-rafters-because-snOPRAH-2011-blizzard-to-end-all-blizzards-so-people-arent-driving-today train car this morning...

What?

Wait...

I AM CLAUSTROPHOBIC!

Panic...

a racing heart...

and sweating big time as I tore off my winter coat, gasping for air that suddenly was invisibly being choked off!!

I then spent the next 10 minutes settling down while convincing myself that if worse came to worse, I could jump over the upper railing to escape!!

even thou i forgot my cape

Still Home...

2011-01-18T06:25:00.000-08:00

starting physical therapy, fighting off frustration, limitations and a big black lab who is all over the "Yippee, Mommy is home again today....

and i so want to play!"

"Between the size and the service...

2011-01-13T08:28:00.000-08:00

it is a wonder they are in business at all." Mary said this morning after quickly reading and then handing over the local paper for me to peruse.

In the past 5 years I have watched as several of them have gone from well-written, interesting, full of important local, national and international news/articles into what they are today - thin, advertisement and mistake riddled, .75 cents each, waste of reading time papers...

and to their further demise I have tried three times to have one delivered to my house before 6:15 a.m. and in every case I was promised delivery no later than 6:00 a.m. and after a short term of it showing up on time...it was delivered late.

What direction are suburban newspapers headed?

As far as I can tell...

in a hand basket straight to out of business Hell

Left For Me To Find Friday

2011-01-07T13:54:00.001-08:00

“If it’s Free it’s for Me!” CRUMBS BAKE SHOP edition.

Guess what I stumbled upon at lunch today?

Right across the street from my building.

That just so happened to be giving away to the first ONE THOUSAND customers for FREE any one of their cupcakes. . .

I stood in the long line waiting for my delectible delight. . .

and as the line was shuffling into the shop I had my picture taken with this nice employee. . .

Once inside I was immediately in LOVE with their SNOCAP Cupcake. . .

Thank you CRUMBS BAKE SHOP for coming to our City.

that you are across the street from me and my pants is a pity

"Are you always this tender?"

2011-01-06T06:03:00.000-08:00

the mammogram technician inquired.

She continued with "You were uncomfortable just having me place your breast on the machine. I will have to note this on your record."

Not one liking people to see me physically weak, when she moved to my right side, I stood stoic, no grimaces of pain, no flinching.

"Well that one didn't seem as tender." she commented.

Seriously, TENDER?

For the record, I am usually not tender, but then I USUALLY don't have someone grabbing my boobs, pulling them onto a torturous contraption and having them smashed until they are thisclose to popping!!

i was in so much pain around i should have been hopping

"I want this to be. . .

2010-12-29T07:32:00.000-08:00

a most excellent adventure for you. I want you to be safe, make good choices while remembering what I have taught you, learn about life and then come home!!" I tearfully said to my 20 year-old daughter this morning as she left for the long drive east towards the coast for love and life anew.

reminding her that wherever you go you take you

A Re-Posting from a Christmas Past...

2010-12-23T15:12:00.000-08:00

Taking a break on the edge of the Eve...

to breathe in the trueness of this season and I think that this says a lot:

Are You Rich Enough For Christmas?

Are you rich enough for Christmas?
Is it tied to what you earn?
Do you feel that lavish spending
Heeds its meaning in return?
Does the money you will spend here
Spell your holiday concern?
Let's hope not!
But when friends will warmly greet you
With your same response in turn,
And your family gathers 'round you
Showing love and joy to burn,
That is all the riches needed...
That is all you need to learn.

R. Williams

R. Williams is a seasoned poet...whose work has never been shared outside of his circle of family and friends....I believe it deserves to be heard by more than a few.

anyone know an agent or two

pRESENTly disappointed

2010-12-22T08:33:00.000-08:00

A REPOSTING from two years ago...

“There is that STUPID clock! I thought it was a guitar!” my 20 year-old son recently said upon seeing this picture...

Obviously it didn’t matter that he got a PILE of presents (SPOILED BRAT), he only remembers that he got a clock, instead of some lusted-after-but-never-divulged-to-me guitar.

Which made me think about my Christmases of past – Was I ever expecting something "special" and instead got something “dumb”?

And I am talking about childhood Christmases....because for sure we have all been disappointed as adults with a Christmas gift(picture frame with a clock in it).

The good news is...I can’t remember any disappointing presents from my childhood and remember with joy one very special present - my Kenner Easy Bake Oven – turquoise blue...

it gave me and my sisters hours, upon hours on our bedroom floor...creating masterpieces of culinary delight - cakes, pies, cookies and muffins....speaking of muffins...oh, never mind.

Last week at bible study, we were discussing how Christmas should be about simplicity, just like the first Christmas that we are celebrating.

At that study, a women stood up and shared - she spoke of the first ten Christmases of her life, her family being extremely poor - she and her siblings’ Christmas gifts were simple brown bags containing just three items – an orange, an apple and a peppermint stick.

Most children these days would view that as 10 sad Christmases....she recalled them as being MAGICAL!

So to my family, my friends and my blog buddies near and far...

my wish to you is for a Simplistically, Magical Christmas...

filled with just three items - faith, family and friends!

and the hope it never ends

Irony of Life...

2010-12-17T08:29:00.000-08:00

Wendy and I discovered during my earlier than usual yearly check up with Dr. Patrick Stiff at Loyola Medical Center last night, that he had just returned to work after the sudden passing of his 59 year-old wife...

"Betsy Stiff took a break from her career as a hospital nurse to raise a family — and ended up with quite a brood of babies: aside from her own children, she became a foster parent over the years for 28 kids, many newborns with special medical needs.

“We would get a phone call asking if we were available to pick up a baby, and we’d drive to the hospital to pick him or her up,” said her physician-husband, Dr. Patrick Stiff Sr.

Mrs. Stiff sometimes handled two babies at the same time. “She just really loved it, she was fulfilled every day,” said her husband, who is the director of the Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center at the Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood. “She’d walk around holding one and feeding another one in her other arm at the same time,” he said. “She did not blink at all about accepting a baby even though we may have ended a relationship with child a week earlier. She believed if it was our time, it was our time.”

Stiff, a resident of Naperville, died Nov. 23 of a brain hemorrhage. She was 59.

As well as her husband, Stiff is survived by daughters Elizabeth Lodhi, Cailin Ramirez and Stephanie Stiff; sons Patrick Stiff Jr. and Scott Stiff; two grandchildren; and two siblings."

The man that saves so many lives was unable to save his precious saintly wife.

he looked broken filled with grief and strife

Am I the only one...

2010-12-15T13:47:00.000-08:00

who knows that when you are in a public bathroom and especially one that has a long line of stalls from which to choose from...

and you walk in and see that only one stall is occupied, you pick for your own use a stall the furthest away.

not the one right next to me okay

She gave her two week notice today…

2010-12-07T12:53:00.000-08:00

at the restaurant she has diligently worked at/managed for over three years.

“I cannot believe your Mom is letting you go!” the owner exclaimed after she broke the news.

My daughter is moving.

Far away.

North Carolina to be exact.

I had heard rumblings that she might move for weeks before she got the courage to tell me.

Her current boyfriend went back to his home state and she loooooovvvvvveeesss him and wants to be where he is.

My daughter is moving.

Far away.

Right after Christmas.

This Christmas.

The Christmas that is just some 3 weeks away.

And there is not a ding dong thing I can do to change her mind.

So I will send her off with tears, love, many, many prayers and the ingrained knowledge that this will always, always be her home.

no matter how far she does roam

R.I.P.

2010-12-06T07:16:00.000-08:00

Joe was the name of the co-worker that I wrote about below on November 19, 2008. Since that time our office has closed, I moved on to another law firm, but Joe, who was in his mid-60's, struggled with finding another job to occupy his time.

He was, as I wrote below, very orderly.

I don't believe that finances were an issue, so he didn't "need" to work, but Joe was an only child, with both parents deceased, never married and he had no children, so his work defined him.

I was shocked to get an email over the weekend that he was found dead (an autopsy was performed and they are awaiting results) on the floor of his house.

I pray that his soul went straight to Heaven in quick, orderly fashion.

writing that with after the fact on my part compassion

==========================================

"How come you aren't doing the mixing and scooping this morning?” I had to ask.

I am not sure why his antics bother me so much.

I should just be thankful that I don’t suffer like him.

He always works in pairs.

Two of everything.

Two cups of hot tea every morning during the cold weather – two cups of ice tea during warmer days.

Filled exactly to the same point – just micrometers below the rim.

Steeped for some precise amount of time.

Tea bags removed via spoon with the string wrapped around it and squeezed ever so meticulously until being deposited into the garbage can.

Then the mixing begins…..one cup at a time..round and round and round the spoon goes (I have never asked if he counts the twirls, but I think he does) until the “foamy” part is gathered in the center, at which time he scoops out the little bit of foam with a spoon, throws it away, rinses the spoon and starts the process over for the second cup.

“Why do you throw that little bit from the top away?” I had to once ask.

“Because it is bad.” he responded.

He then carries both of the perfectly-steeped-filled-to-the-rim-bad-foam-removed cups, one in each hand, back to his desk to be placed on the two napkins that sit in perfect alignment awaiting their arrival.

In response to my original question about how come he wasn't mixing and stirring - he was using one tea bag to make both cups (not as wasteful) so he had to let them steep longer at his desk.

I don’t know about you...but I am exhausted just writing about it and ever so thankful that I am not he.

ocd

L.F.M.T.F...

2010-12-03T10:27:00.000-08:00

Look at these people I found wandering on Chicago's streets this week...

family fun we all did seek.

Which of course had to do with eating...

but my hour lunch time with them was very fleeting.

GINORMOUS wreaths are hung in my building's lobby for a festive look...

so this picture for you i took.

The lobby of this building is just a stone's throw away...

and although not holiday decorated it still makes me gay.

Another Chicago office building has a whimsical ocean theme to their tree...

at lunch today i excitedly got to see.

Even the bus stops are dressed in bling...

and holiday songs some do sing!

Enjoy yourselves this weekend!

says susan snippets your friend
:^)

Yesterday…

2010-11-24T08:56:00.000-08:00

Anna and I drove to Milwaukee to see Phillip’s first solo gallery show at MIAD.

“How was your trip?” Bruce asked when I walked into the office this morning.

“It was great; I will email you some photos of his show!”

While I was sending them, it occurred to me...

that you might want to also have a look see...

Also, the possibly-early-holiday traffic was not too horrible.

2 hours up;

3 ½ hours spent in Milwaukee seeing and eating; and

2 hours home…

with my daughter AND my son.

three days with his mom and back to milwaukee he will run run run

L.F.M.T.F. Friday…

2010-11-19T11:44:00.000-08:00

this week is rated “R” for raunchy!

On Wednesday night as I was walking thru the train cars, I once again passed this advertisement posted in a vestibule…

At first glance I didn’t think much about it, but then I noticed something that definitely was not there the day before…

fourteen year old boys and pens i abhor

And the Thanksgiving Cartoon Award goes to...

2010-11-17T07:04:00.000-08:00

Maxine!!

the sarcasm queen

In today’s local paper…

2010-11-16T08:54:00.000-08:00

was a story, horrific and so, so wrong, about Andrea Faye Will...

an 18 year-old woman, who in 1997 was murdered by her ex-boyfriend.

In a rage, he strangled her with a phone cord.

Then he sat and wrote this note of confession...

“I’ve made the biggest mistake of my life...and should suffer in hell for all eternity.”

He was sentenced to 24 years, not quite eternity, and not even close to a lifetime.

While in prison, he was such an outstanding inmate, he received one day off his 24 year sentence for each day of “good behavior”.

“Good behavior” - something he lacked when he choked the life out of this young woman.

Today at 8:00 a.m., a mere 12 years after he killed Andrea, devastating her family and friends for the rest of their lives, he walked out of the Danville Correctional Center – a free man.

Not only a free man, but also a married man.

A 1987 U.S. Supreme Court decision refused to ban inmates from marrying, so due to this "legal" right given to him, he was able to marry while in prison (wow, what a kick in the stomach!) and is flying, as I type, to Hawaii, where he and his bride (what a sad, unfulfilled woman), who is a professor at the University of Hawaii (book smarts obviously, as we already know, mean nothing!) will start their married lives together.

It is not within ANY logical thinking that he gets to move on with his life, while Andrea is buried in a coffin, along with not only her two favorite childhood stuffed animals, but all of the wonderful things she would have experienced in life and contributed to society, and the hopes and dreams that her family and friends held for her, that were cut short by him.

The article ended with this...

“It isn’t fair, and there is nothing anybody can do about it now...”

I refuse to sit here in silence and believe that to be true.

what about you

Left For Me to Find...

2010-11-12T08:29:00.000-08:00

this Friday deals with the local-thrown-at-your-house-for-free newspaper that I picked up last night and placed in my commuter bag to read on the train in this morning.

Within that paper, was this advertisement that CRACKED me up!!

A NEW! “Revolutionary” invention that is available to everyone for only $19.95...

Not sure of how “NEW!” and “Revolutionary” it is, being I have seen strikingly similar things in National Geographic Magazines since about 1968...

for your neck that cannot be great

Thank you to ALL the Veterans!

2010-11-11T10:32:00.000-08:00

This is a post from November 11, 2009 - that I wanted to share with you again.

in honor of you all but especially rick my friend

Today it is hard to imagine soldiers coming back from a war and not being greeted by cheering family, friends, streets lined with neighbors, American flags waving and motorcycles escorting them with lights aflashing and horns ahonking.

That is what I thought always happened when soldiers returned home...

until I met Rick.

He was a member of a divorce recovery workshop that I attended thru a local church some five years ago. A safe place where we could share stories of the downfalls of our marriages, get support and hopefully…heal.

He was the oldest person at my table, once very handsome with deep blue eyes, but surgeries to his lower jaw had left his face misshapened and difficult to look at.

Rick and I became friends and during that friendship he shared stories of his life...

He graduated high school in 1967 and was drafted into the Marines the very next year. At that tender age he went and fought in Vietnam until 1970.

He told just slivers of the horror, helplessness-at-times and fear of the war, along with the experience of being deep in the jungles and having our government spray the defoliate Agent Orange all over them, how it felt covering his skin, it's distinct smell and the taste…..he never forgot.

But as cruel as the war was, it did not prepare him for the cruelty that he would have to endure upon coming home.

No fanfare, no welcoming home parades, no parties, no nothing. Even worse many of the young people of that era despised the war and anyone/thing having to do with it.

So he came home to scorn and silence.

His parents, thinking that he would never come back alive, sold his treasured Mustang, bought after saving every cent he ever earned from a job at the local hardware store.

They even gave away his Schwinn bike.

He was told not to talk about the war….to just “get on with life” and so he did.

He met a woman at the local donut shop, fell in love, got married, fathered four children, and worked very hard to support them.

Then he got sick.

Diagnosed with throat cancer directly related to the Agent Orange that had covered him in the jungles of Vietnam and, as in war, he fought like hell and physically survived surgery after surgery.

Shortly thereafter his wife asked for a divorce after falling in love with another man.

He was financially and emotionally devastated.

Which is what led him to divorce recovery and into my life.

When the workshop ended Rick left Illinois and moved to a small town in Wisconsin to start anew, but within a year of moving there....he died in his sleep.

He was 56...

and alone.

So to Rick, who so valiantly fought in the Vietnam War and then came home and fought for the rest of his life with deeply etched, horrific memories, disrespect from some, that as a representative of their freedom, he fought so hard for, against Agent Orange-caused-cancer and a devastating end to a marriage he thought would last a lifetime...

from deep in my soul and with much, much fanfare...

I stand in a thankful salute to all the servicemen and women like you!!

for all you did/do

What a Glorious difference...

2010-11-08T07:54:00.000-08:00

having the clock fall back this past weekend, made in this morning's commute!

Last Friday my drive was shrouded in darkness, but today...it was all beautifully hued with sunlight enhanced colors...

plus I got that extra hour of sleep, which always is in need!!

sunlight greed

20 years ago right this minute...

2010-11-04T06:20:00.000-07:00

I was in the throws of a pitocin induced labor, two weeks prior to the given delivery date.

Dr. Eckmann had encouraged it because my son was 9 lbs. 10 ounces at birth and he knew that this baby would be more than 10 lbs. if we let it go to the end.
At approximately 1:30 p.m. on that Sunday, just in time for the doc to watch a 2:00 Bears kick-off...

Anna Mae Moody was born - 9 lbs. 4 ounces and fabulously pink!!

She is my "Bug", one of the two apples of my eyes, my "button" pusher and I have written about her many, many times...

look here...

here...

how about this post...

look at this one...

and another

and this one is forever in my heart too!

Happy 20th Birthday my daughter, my dear!!

praying for 60 plus more years of cheer

"What do you think if...

2010-11-01T07:50:00.000-07:00

I am a bunch of grapes; you know one of the Hane’s guys?” Keith called from a local Halloween costume store, to ask.

“That sounds fine!” I responded with frustration.

Not at all frustrated with him, but frustrated, as I always have been, with the whole idea of having to come up with a costume for myself.

“Costumes are Mandatory” the invitation read.

“Crap!” was what I thought.

The invite was from a high school friend, who has recently re-connected with me thru Facebook and she is wonderful!

We were going.

So while anguishing about what I was going to be...

I made sure to let Keith know that I was not able to help him out...

he was on his own.

“Well...I really want the banana costume.” he admitted.

“Then get it...that is fine.”

Or was it?

In hindsight maybe letting a guy pick out his own costume wasn't a good idea...

Next year, I will be going with him to help choose his costume at Halloween.

“you wanna touch my banana” caused some to scream

L.F.M.T.F.....

2010-10-29T13:56:00.000-07:00

At this new law firm…

Halloween is a HUGE deal!

So left for me to find this Friday was the boardroom, which
was transformed for the Halloween festivities…

and guess who showed up for the party…

Lady Gaga...
And

a Tree...

And

a Cereal Killer...

And

a She Devil...

And

some very unexpected guests showed up...

all the way from Chile....

Yonni, the Chilean miner, with his wife AND mistress!!

If awards were given I would have most definitely voted for Yonni and his crew!!

creative thru and thru

Batten down the Hatches!!

2010-10-26T08:49:00.000-07:00

I know it is the WINDY City...but that moniker was possibly not given to us for the actual wind, although it certainly fits with the "100 year event" that is ongoing outside!!

60 to 70 mph wind gusts, along with rain, are wreaking havoc in Chicago today.

Which, if I were still at the small law firm on the 8th floor of our vintage building, would not be too big of a deal.

But, I am not there.

I am here.

In a new building on Wacker Drive (wind gust alley) on the FORTY THIRD FLOOR!!

creaking and swaying i abhor

Left For Me to Find...

2010-10-15T11:06:00.000-07:00

Friday.

City and Suburban Edition.

I did not know that squirrels LOVED tomatoes, until yesterday, while at home baking, I watched a squirrel come back again and again to munch on this one that had been ripening in the sunshine on the rail of my deck!!

what the heck

A cute scarecrow that my creative sister, Sandy, made for a contest at the retirement/rehab facility, where she works, lovingly caring for the folks there.

with them her life she does share

A reminder this week of God's beauty, while nonchalantly driving to the Jewel.

a much needed renewal

A bicyclist with a whimsical sense of humor, somebody that I would enjoy!!

a dinosaur toy

Stenciled graffiti that spoke to me this week.

encouraged me to seek

A decaying underpass support, its colors and textures caught my eye.

demolition soon then bye bye

“Mom, there is a MOUSE in our house!”

2010-10-11T12:00:00.000-07:00

was the call I got from my daughter Saturday evening.

I was at my recently-departed-dear-friend Sue’s Irish Wake and had been celebrating her life “SUE STYLE” for many hours...

so at that point...

I found the whole “MOUSE” in our “HOUSE” pretty amusing.

I also thought it hilarious to try to take home the promotional Leinenkugel’s boat from the outside bar...

and when Keith arrived to drive me home, he didn’t find it quite as funny…

I digress.

Back to the mouse.

Yesterday, in the brightness of the day (WOW was it bright!) I realized how important it was that I did not have a MOUSE in my HOUSE.

Keith suggested "we" put out several traps.

“I don’t want to kill it!” I said.

“What do you want to do with it?” he asked.

Like I even had to say...

“I just want to catch it and then let it go outside.”

He told me about how the mouse would like to come back in again and again, so the best thing for my house would be to kill it.

“Okay, but I don’t want to see it all smooshed!”

Keith bought two traps, the kind where they climb inside to eat the “bait” and somehow get whacked and then you have to open up a trap door and drop the dead guy into the garbage.

“I AM NOT doing that.” I let him know.

This morning I was relieved to find both traps untouched.

“Good!!” I thought “Maybe I do not have a MOUSE in my HOUSE!”

Until about 10:51 a.m....

when Anna called to say...

“THERE IS A DEAD MOUSE IN THE TRAP! IT’S BUTT AND TAIL ARE STICKING OUT AND I AM NOT TOUCHING IT!”

That’s my girl.

Apple...

Tree.

Keith will be stopping by tonight for proper disposal of the butt and tail and everything else attached to it.

In the meantime, I am thinking I hope that poor mouse did not invite his friends in too...

otherwise more whack a doodle doo

Susan Spring Cotch

2010-10-05T11:46:00.000-07:00

I so wanted to write about who the girl on the left in this picture was.

I needed to let everyone know about my fabulous friend of 22 plus years.

How we gathered every year around Christmas for a “Grinchette” dinner – a small group of women, would eat, share life’s stories, gifts and, as is tradition, watch “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.”

How it was her that suggested we wear pajamas at those dinners, so that we could be “comfortable” during our eatathon.

She was the one, after also surviving cancer, who was my “go-to” friend when I allowed the dark to creep in, and she always responded:

“We have beat it! Now don’t you worry!”

I wanted everyone to know that she was...

hilariously witty

and

sarcastic beyond measure

and beautiful

and smart

and kind

and remarkable

and insanely FUN.

I wanted the world to know all about my friend, but after getting the call that she passed away this morning at the tender age of 49, I sat down to write, to somehow attempt to do her life justice,

but only one word kept spilling out,

which had nothing to do with her life,

but everything to do with her death…

UNACCEPTABLE.

Another thing to add to the list of what I cannot yet understand.

in heaven may she so softly land

“I haven’t eaten all day.”

2010-10-01T12:36:00.001-07:00

I couldn’t tell.

My son Phillip was in Chicago today on a field trip with a group of fellow students from MIAD.

I was nice to see him.

We got to spend a little bit of time together eating a quick lunch before he had to meet back up with his group.

He left, of course, with some dot dot dot eat cookies a lot! cookies in his camera bag.

He says he is working hard at school and my prayer is that he is proud of what he has accomplished during his first month of many at MIAD.

I doubt he fully recognizes his gifts and talent(s) yet…

that will come with true self believing, maturity and personal success.

please continue to bless bless bless

Still here...

2010-09-30T11:41:00.000-07:00

and working hard (really, seriously, WORKING!!) while keeping an ever watchful Snippet's eye open.

to be able to blog again on a regular basis i am hopen

Enjoying my day off...

2010-09-23T07:14:00.000-07:00

from the law firm.

I slept in until 7:20.

Got up and made a full pot of percolated coffee and I will drink the whole thing throughout the morning.

I have baked the first batch of my "Dotted w/Frosting Pumpkin Cookies" for Saturday morning's farmer's market...

which has the house smelling like a cinnamonney, pumpkin, caramel delight!!

Buddy, the WONDER dog, has taken up residence in my garden...creating a smashed flower delight!

I still cannot believe it is the first day of autumn here in Chicago and it is reaching the upper, UPPER 80's...it is already dreadfully warm in the kitchen.

Which has me thinking...

maybe I should switch from coffee to something cold.

a beer frosty and bold
:^)

Newspapers are on the decline...

2010-09-21T05:54:00.000-07:00

especially my local paper, The Aurora Beacon-News.

Each morning I put .75 cents into the vending machine at the train station for the daily edition.

Then while reading it I ask myself "Why?"

Not only is it filled with advertisement (including an entire "Automotive" insert each day), but it has become more and more obvious that they can no longer afford a proofreader...

The above article is in today's edition, consisting of two little paragraphs and SEVEN obvious typos.

Believe me, I have been known to post up a blog with a typo or two...

but this is not for a career what i do

PART I: Things I learned...

2010-09-16T05:59:00.000-07:00

and some I re-learned on our Diners, Drive-In, Dives and Divas trip with my daughter to Milwaukee, WI and Minneapolis, MN last month...

First, I learned that The Comet Cafe in Milwaukee...

is every bit (or should that be BITE) as good as Guy Fieri said it was.

From the awesome cheeseburger and hand cut fries I devoured...

to the incredible locally brewed, crazy about squirrels beer and server...

and The Comet Cafe experience ended with a right up there with my mother, Myra Lee's desserts, we asked for apple, but our first day on the job waiter screwed up and brought cherry, which was TO DIE FOR pie...

we loved it all!

Being in Milwaukee I also learned they have a lot of stuffed dead things hanging around...

this one was in a Milwaukee grocery store...

along with this fun time waster...

and these only to be found in your grandma's house comfy chairs, also in the same grocery store...

There will be much more about Milwaukee and the rest of our trip to come, possibly tomorrow.

if time from work i can borrow
:^)

“What are you singing?”

2010-09-15T11:39:00.000-07:00

my dad asked.

It was 1974 and I had just bought with my-hard-earned-Ponderosa-Restaurant money, Elton John’s album, Caribou, which contained his very popular hit “The Bitch is Back!”.

That evening while cleaning the kitchen of our family home, I was singing...

not at the top of my lungs, mind you…

just a nice little “The bitch, the bitch, the bitch is back….”

As soon as he asked the question, I knew I was in trouble.

“Ahh...it is an Elton John song from his new album I just bought.” I sheepishly responded.

“Go get it.”

Three little words were all he said and I knew it wasn’t going to be good.

I had already witnessed the smashing via sledge hammer on the back concrete stoop, of my older sister Vicki’s, Cheech & Chong 8 track tape, that Pops declared to have been made by “a couple of pot smoking hippies!” (which is absolutely true, but they were hysterically funny!).

I reluctantly handed over the album and as my dad was removing the shiny black record from its cover, he told me to get a...

nail.

He then proceeded to scratch the CRAP out of Side One, Song Number One...

thus making “The Bitch is Back” unplayable.

He gave it to me, telling me not to bring that kind of music into our house again.

to my room in tears it did send

“Hair we go!”

2010-09-14T11:59:00.000-07:00

“Does it look that bad?” I asked my sisters last night, while stroking my thinning hair that was pulled back with a barrette, during my belated birthday dinner.

Wendy had asked if I had tried Aveda’s Volumizing Tonic…

or their Phomollient…

I have both and will admit that I do not always use them.

But…

I am eating healthy,

drinking tons of water,

taking synthetic thyroid medication and

a heavy duty women’s vitamin...

daily.

Other than all of that, I don’t know what else to do for my getting thinner and drier each day hair.

Any suggestions please please share

I saw him get on the tollway…

2010-09-01T09:31:00.000-07:00

how could I have missed that?

If you didn't see him flying up behind you in your rear view mirror...

you definitely would hear him as he passed by...

the pounding bass was deafening.

“I am taking a picture of this!” I told Keith, as I rummaged in my purse looking for the Snippet’s camera.

He was next to us in no time...

and as I was about to take the picture, he saw me...

and flashed a big “gangsta-rollin-on-dubs” smile!

I gave him the thumbs up and then Keith and I proceeded to laugh our heads off!

Because decaled to the back of that cool car was Blue...

the cartoon dog from Blue’s Clues.

How B.A. was that?

Maybe he is a member of a Blue's Clues Gang...

arf arf bang bang

TODAY...

2010-08-27T06:05:00.000-07:00

I am 52!!

Yahoo!

Momma and Pops thanks to both of you...

for all you did and do!!

Sending love up (Pops) and over (Momma) for you!

yab a dab a do

Their cold drinks were sweating…

2010-08-25T07:21:00.000-07:00

in the evening heat – a mixture of beers and diet sodas.

Four moms were gathered on my neighbor’s beautifully restored early 1900’s four square’s front porch.

At least eight kids were running around the front yard.

I was on my way to meet Ginny for our does-not-happen-as-much-as-it-should-because-of-my-nighttime-baking-schedule walk.

“I miss those days!” I shared with Maggie, the hostess of the informal gathering.

And I do.

A lot.

When the kids were innocently fun and most of the decisions were about whose house to eat lunch at or which McDonald's Playland to take half the neighborhood to.

Many years and several houses later since the divorce that drove us out of THE neighborhood to raise a family in and with my two now 22 and almost 20, I have come to recognize that I will never again achieve that magic “Christmas-Morning-as-a-Kid” feeling that I (we) had back then...

although I can reminisce about those days that, at least in my mind, were so very special and grand!

in fvcce land

I get her...

2010-08-24T09:05:00.000-07:00

how she thinks that is.

Not all of the time, but certainly some of it.

Which is why last week when our DDD&D road trip was detoured by the Mall of America (“MOA” for those of you in the know) and Anna and I found ourselves in an Urban Outfitters store staring at a table filled with what I knew to be reproduction vintage ashtrays and she picked up this one...

and asked...

“Do you put your finger on here and paint your nail?”

I did not laugh my head off.

She is definitely mine, which is one of the many reasons my love for her is to the moon and beyond!!

a couple of blondes

"1 in a 100"

2010-08-23T20:12:00.000-07:00

was Anna's answer to my question of "What are the odds that when I stop at a random McDonald's in Minnesota, I come out and see this license plate on the car parked right next to me?"

1 in a 100?

How about ONE IN A MILLION!

or a billion

Drive-Ins, Diners, Dives AND Divas...

2010-08-18T07:45:00.000-07:00

roadtrip is underway.

I am sending you this from right outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota on a cool, gray morning.

This is our first trip to Minnesota and I must say that the traffic is killer.

i better take a pill(ar)
xo

ps - Comet Cafe in Milwaukee was our first stop and we gave it an EIGHT out of TEN! More on that to be posted over the next several days.

right now in a mall of america shopping haze

He was a rock-n-roll drummer…

2010-08-11T08:17:00.001-07:00

and me, the photographer for the band.

We met at work.

Ponderosa Restaurant.

It was the 1970’s, I was 16, skinny, blonde and life was simple.

We dated for years and planned on marrying once we got out of high school.

At times I would find myself sitting in class and writing my someday-married-name over and over and over again…

"Mrs. Susan S____, Mrs. Susan S____, Mrs. Susan S_____"

After high school I remember calculating how much money we made at our respective “real” jobs and wondering how we were going to survive, paying rent and all the bills that went along with being an adult.

Years and years have passed since all those dreams were dreamt.

We never did marry each other.

I turned right around after our traumatic break up and at 21 years of age, I married the first guy that showed promise.

And he...

he went on to a locally-semi-almost-famous career as a drummer and eventually settled into a real job in IT with an advertising agency.

And he now is happily married.

I stood looking straight at him last night as I got on the train to head home.

“How did we get so old?” I inquired of the gray haired guy, who “back in the day” was known for his shoulder-length, brown ringlets.

I was aware he lived in the area and worked downtown, but I hadn’t seen him in a very long time.

We sat together and chatted for the entire ride.

It was nice to catch up on families, friends and careers.

On core levels, we are, as we discussed, still the same people.

I am still taking pictures of bands and surrounding myself with family and friends;

and he is still playing drums with a local group and at times not returning emails or phone calls.

Who knows, sometime soon I just might gather some of the old gang and head out to see him play.

And, yes, I will be taking my trusty Snippet’s camera along, but going, not as the band photographer, just as a long, long time ago fan.

those were the days peace man

I have been seeking...

2010-08-10T06:25:00.000-07:00

to once again find the PERFECT cheeseburger since way back in the late 70's/early 80's, when I use to be able to order THE BEST CHEESEBURGER EVER at the Bismarck Inn, housed inside Chicago's long-since-sold-and-renamed, Bismarck Hotel.

If you think I am a little crazy in my quest, I have a friend, whose husband is a member of a burger club, and they will drive up to EIGHT hours in search of burger perfection.

Well, had I known I was going to make a near perfect burger this past Sunday, I would have invited Kay and Alan over to my house, just a mere 30 minute trip for them.

I took a pre-formed 80/20 pub burger purchased at Jewel, smashed it down and shaped it into a thinner, less uniform patty, added salt, pepper and cooked it to a TRUE medium (pink in the middle and still juicy), and melted a thick slice of sharp cheddar over it.

I placed it on a soft wheat bun with mayo, mustard, a big slice of grown-in-my-yard tomato, raw white onion and two slices of a well chilled dill pickle.

I stood back in awe at the beauty that was before me and then ran for my camera...

took this photo and proceeded to eat it ALL!!

i will worry about losing weight this fall

"L.F.M.T.F.F."

2010-08-06T06:11:00.000-07:00

It's baaaccckkkk!!

While wandering during one of my lunch breaks this week, I headed east down the heavily trafficked Madison sidewalk and stopped to take this shot...

afterwards the man sitting on the bench next to it said "Yeah, a family was just here and one of the kids dropped it and they just walked away!"

Quality parenting was in effect that day.

keep our sidewalks clean i say

"My hair looks pretty good today!"

2010-08-04T05:57:00.000-07:00

I thought while spraying it down with hairspray.

These days, hair is a huge deal to me, now middle age, with a thyroid that has been limping along for years, my hair is being ENCOURAGED to fall out like leaves cascading down from the ginormous maple tree in my backyard during the autumn season.

Earlier, while letting Buddy my "Wonder" dog outside, I was greeted by a majestic summer-pink-blue-and-yellow sunrise sky.

"Thank you Lord!" I exclaimed out loud and then started about my morning routine.

A half hour or so later, Buddy was inside, fed, fresh water in his hand-decorated-by-Anna-Mae water bowl, the percolator and curling iron diligently unplugged, my purse and notebook in hand, I reached for the back door knob at the same time a LOUD clap of thunder echoed thru my neighborhood and the wind started kickin' it old school!

"What the heck?"

The beautifully colored pastel sky had turned pitch black and the severe thunderstorm the radio dj had talked about (I laughed when I heard him report it - having just seen that amazing sunrise) - was here!!

With a vengeance.

Needless to say, by the time I reached my Red Rocket in the garage, my hair no longer looked anything close to good!

So much for the happy hair thought!!

multiple umbrellas need to be bought

An iPod…

2010-07-28T11:30:00.000-07:00

two GPS devices,

a Nintendo DS video game,

a WALLET,

a money clip,

two electric shavers,

several I-PASS toll transmitters, along with other cell phones, money and miscellaneous items were all recently taken in a rash of burglaries in the cover of night from UNLOCKED vehicles sitting in people’s driveways in the small town where I live.

Now growing up all those years ago, we barely ever locked the doors to our home, let alone our cars…

but today, to leave valuables in an unlocked car overnight, is just plain DUMB.

And those boys who found it necessary to steal from others, who were caught by an alert neighbor walking his dog in the wee hours of the morning, are...

17 and 15 years old.

ten rules of life they need to be told

scold scold scold

“Let’s Go West!”

2010-07-22T07:48:00.000-07:00

I have often said over the years to my children while passing the tollway sign near our house that reads “East to Chicago/West to Iowa”.

Iowa is where we vacation.

Iowa?

For a vacation?

Yup.

But it wasn’t the state that enticed us to make the 10 hour round trip, it was the people.

Specifically my Aunt Jean, Uncle Jim and their two children (now adults), David and Lisa.

I was just 16 years-old when my best friend, Carol and I boarded a Trailways’ bus in downtown Chicago and headed west, announced in their local paper that we were there, we were treated to stock car races, pizza, movies and had a blast playing in one of their never changing parks (nice pose from the 70's C.D.!)...

I was in love.

That love led me back, even taking my own kids to that same park...

Made to feel so welcome, why would I not want to go back, over and over and over again?

We have gone for birthdays...

weddings...

and it was in their small town in central Iowa that I was taught to hand feed cows and was not ridiculed (at least not out loud) for having big dorky glasses and badly cut hair.

My children and I felt right at home in Aunt Jean and Uncle Jim's house, although pretty small...

it was filled with fun, food and family!

And a big part of that fun was my Uncle Jim.

A Navy guy, who was sometimes grumbly on the outside, but inside, he was stuffed with fluff.

He was old school.

He reminded me of my father and thus made me feel safe.

He gave my son his first ride in the back of a pick up truck (unknown to me prior to its happening and LOVED by PJ!).

He taught me how to tie my running shoes, so when Aunt Jean and I ran the Bix 7, they NEVER came untied…

He loved my Momma’s cake...

and hated my Aunt Jean’s coffee...

:^)

He loved camping and classic cars.

He was a jokester, who would repeat a joke in a way that at first you would think he was telling you a true story.

He also awed many a youngster with his “missing thumb” trick.

And I will never forget the morning he woke us all up early by BLASTING music from the stereo downstairs.

That great guy...

my Uncle Jim...

passed away this week.

Finally succumbing to the fight...

a hard, hard fought fight that lasted many years.

During his last days, I knew what my Aunt Jean and family were going thru, having been there alongside my father 9 years ago - only prayers and kind words could be said.

Uncle Jim was a man with many, many good qualities, but what he was great at was adoring his wife, loving his children and cherishing his three granddaughters.

To them I give this tribute, tears and my love.

a lot of

MELT bar & grilled

2010-07-15T07:26:00.000-07:00

Having spent five days last week in Cleveland, Ohio (with my son at the National Stuttering Conference – which I will write about in another post), I looked outside of its city limits for something to do.

In that search, I found MELT bar & grilled restaurant, just one little town away. Not able to sit and eat at the restaurant (time restraints in dealing with MELT’s ever present TWO hour wait for a table for me and the 3 extra people back at the conference that also want to come along), I was able to drive there, place an order for four TO GO sandwiches and wait at the bar for the ONE hour it takes to get a carry out.

MELT has been made MORE famous by being featured in an episode of Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-ins and Dives show on the Food Network and with my and Anna’s upcoming Diners, Drive-ins, Dives and Divas road trip, I could not miss an opportunity to visit this beloved by Guy, jewel of a restaurant.

Sitting at the bar during my wait, I selected something cold to drink…

while quenching my thirst I struck up a conversation with the guy sitting next to me and he kindly obliged my request to photograph his food when it arrived…

it was their very popular Big Popper, a humongous, fresh jalapeno pepper, herb cream cheese, cheddar cheese stuffed sandwich dipped in beer batter and then deep fried, along with to-die-for-fries and homemade sweet slaw.

I fell deeply in love.

After finishing my "beverage" I wandered a little bit and shot these photos...

One of the kitchen crew.

And lighted plastic figures, some which might say "Boo!"

Art glass windows embedded with fun.

Along the walls of the entrance is artwork with people that are important to someone.

From the outside you might just drive right by...

as I did the first night that MELT I tried to find (DEEP HEAVY SIGH).

And if you get the chance to dine outside on the patio...

it will be under the watchful eye of Mr. Hoot Owl..you know!!

I should have eaten my Parma, Italy sandwich at the bar, because carrying it (along with the three other sandwiches) back to the vintage hotel in Cleveland inside its plastic container, although still fabulous and tasty, it was soggy and not so hot.

next time i know what to do or not

Today....

2010-07-07T07:32:00.000-07:00

my photographer son, Phillip and I are attending our second National Stuttering Association's Conference.

I again am asking for prayers that this trip be enlightening, enriching and awesomely rewarding for both Phillip and me, but especially for him, who as a little boy use to pinch himself and physically pull his jaw down in trying to get the words out; Phillip, who has grown into a bright, artistically talented young man, and who lets his photos “speak” on his behalf.

much much thanks again to the nsa staff

New Job Update...

2010-07-01T11:28:00.000-07:00

I am finally breathing a little easier, although not quite up to blogging on a regular basis...

yet.

I decided during my lunch today that I should stop and appreciate the outside of this ginormous office building that houses me for 7.5 hours a day, because there is beauty...

and upon entering "my" building you are greeted by some of the nicest people I have ever met...

and me saying they are "nice" has NOTHING to do with the fact that they love my dot dot dot eat cookies a lot! cookies and purchase them from me every week!

more people like that i should seek

Possibly blown in...

2010-06-23T21:20:00.000-07:00

along with the wild storms that passed thru Chicago today...

this four-inch long, prehistoric looking beetle has currently attached itself to my front screen door.

when my daughter comes home later she will screamingly abhor

Calling It As I Saw It....

2010-06-20T06:15:00.000-07:00

Father's Day 2010.

Becoming a father while still a very young man himself, he brought (as we all do) the baggage of his childhood along and made decisions about how to be a father.

Some of which were good and some...

not so good.

But those that he fabulously perfected...

makes me so wish that he was still physically in our lives.

Yes, I have comfort in the knowledge that he is seated next to the King of Kings, celebrating the ultimate Father's Day in Heaven...

but I so selfishly want him here.

pops sending up fathers day cheer

"What the heck?"

2010-06-16T20:07:00.000-07:00

I thought while reaching into the right pocket of my blazer on the train home tonight.

A crazy, hectic day at the corporate law firm, running from floor to floor, I put my cell phone into that same pocket, forgetting it was there until I was sitting on the train heading home, and decided to see if I had any missed calls.

Reaching in I felt something slimy...immediately I pulled my fingers out and sure enough, they were covered with what appeared to be a creamy lotion.

Not exactly sure what it was, I did what most people would do...

I smelled it.

I didn't smell like lotion.

But it did have a familiar scent.

One I smell often during baking season.

That is when I remembered putting a pat of butter in my pocket this morning after buying a bagel in our building's cafeteria and obviously FORGETTING to use it.

What about my phone?!?!

was my next thought as I pulled it out...

made me want to shout

"If I brought in some swatches...

2010-06-13T12:42:00.002-07:00

will you help me pick out which colors will look good together?"

my new workmate, Gigi, asked last week.

"Sure." I let her know "I could do that."

But today, while I was out in the garden, it occurred to me that if you are wondering what colors go well together, look at how God perfectly colored most everything around us...

See!!

and it is for free

It was worth it all!

2010-06-11T11:50:00.000-07:00

Even through the crush of the crowd...

the smell of sweat that permeated the air and drunk youngesters, who at times were yelling and smoking...

it was still exhilarating to be at the ticker tape parade and enjoy the Blackhawks' celebration!!

stanley cup elation

Hawks Win! Hawks Win!!

2010-06-10T08:50:00.000-07:00

Everyone at this large, corporate, somewhat stuffy, but obviously a lover of all things Chicago, received an email yesterday saying...

"When our beloved Chicago Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup tonight, please show your support by wearing Hawks attire (or black and red) to the office tomorrow.

If, by some small chance they don't win tonight, (because Pronger is illegally cross-checking our guys) please show your support for their win in game 7 by wearing Hawks attire (or black and red) on Friday."

And as the WORLD knows by now...

the CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS WON THE STANLEY CUP!!

So last night after the presentation of Stanley's Cup, I ran over to my sister's house and borrowed my brother-in-law, Steve's official Jonathan Toews jersey.

While handing it over, he requested that I "don't lose it!"

To which I responded "I will be wearing it, so if IT gets lost, so do I!"

As of this illegal posting...

Steve should have no worries - I haven't lost it yet.

But for me...I am starting to be concerned about those I hang with on the train!

funny faces they cannot refrain

Picture of the Day

2010-06-07T19:30:00.000-07:00

Re-seeded from places unknown and in the middle of a crack in the "vintage" sidewalk that runs alongside my house...this beautiful little flower...

has survived.

and thrived

Memorial Day 2010 - Let's Not Forget or We Will Regret...

2010-05-31T07:02:00.000-07:00

The Old Veteran

The old veteran listened, not saying a word,

You could tell he did not like a thing he had heard.

He had just asked some children what grades they were in,

And, upon learning, asked, “How does each day begin?”

He was stunned by their answers, their innocent tone,

But he furrowed his brow, and let out a small groan.

If the Pledge of Allegiance is not said at all,

Can the next generation hear Liberty’s call?

If saluting the flag is not being allowed,

How can they be expected to grow and be proud?

If our children are not shown a patriot’s guide,

How can they be a party to American pride?

The old veteran stood, and his eyes were ablaze;

For this wasn’t about him, or he seeking praise.

We have let our political guidelines destroy

These American tenets we used to enjoy.

We’re America! Founded in Freedom’s broad reach.

That is value unmeasured, a mandate to teach.

There are three generations from my time to now,

That will know what I’m saying, and echo my vow.

Let our pride in American values run deep;

We have Freedoms to safeguard, and Honor to keep!

A Chicago Summer Ritual

2010-05-26T17:28:00.000-07:00

I have started forcing myself to get off of the 43rd floor and out of the chrome and glass box that I now call home for 8 hours a day and do some things that make me smile.

Walking around beautiful Chicago and taking pictures with my Snippets' camera are two of them.

My timing was perfect today...

sailboats on the Chicago River, some tied up to the Civic Opera House, waiting for the drawbridge in the background to be raised as they slowly make their way out to Lake Michigan for the start of the boating season.

lake pirates could cause high treason

"I know exactly how you feel!"

2010-05-24T19:39:00.000-07:00

Heather of Hedyblog responded when I told her that I am so overwhelmed in my new position at the big, corporate law firm, that my creative mind has left for places unknown.

That was good to hear from the friend that encouraged me to start blogging several years ago.

Heck, if Heather, who usually writes like nobody's business, is having a creative brain freeze, then Susan Snippets should certainly cut herself some slack.

but do not worry i will be back

rat a tat tat

"So is Matt looking at apartments?"

2010-05-16T08:15:00.000-07:00

I asked Phillip, who was helping me make Chocolate Polk-A-Dots for a client one night last week.

He stopped mid-rolling of a cookie and looked at me with THAT look on his face, not uttering a word.

"What did I say now?" I inquired of my only son, who at 22 years-old, will be leaving NONE TOO SOON for a prestigious art school in Milwaukee,Wisconsin and has his friend and soon-to-be roommate, looking at apartments for them to rent.

He finally said...

"His name is MatH...not MatT!"

Well then...

You and MatH obviously need to get your apartment in Milwaukee sooner than later!

at this point he is a mom hater

"Did it have a tomato in it?"

2010-05-11T19:29:00.000-07:00

Lauren, one of the two "hostesses" in our office, asked.

"Yes." I worriedly replied.

"I am SO SORRY!" Lauren distraughtly said "But the tomato had gotten squished and it was leaking, so I thought the whole thing was old and I threw it away."

She went on to apologize again for throwing out my just-brought-in-that-morning bag of food and offered to buy me lunch.

I let her know that paying for my lunch was not necessary and to have no worries.

I then walked over to the kitchen's garbage can and glanced in...

it was already three-quarter's full...

and the contents that I could see were not pretty...

some dead flowers,

a couple of coffee pots worth of grounds,

empty drinking cups, and

soiled paper towels.

But wait...way at the bottom, could it be?

Yes it could!

I spotted part of my fancy-schmancy Wal-Mart "lunch" bag.

I looked around to see if the coast was clear...

and then with my right hand wrapped in a wad of paper towels, I reached way down into the garbage can, past all of the nasty stuff and retrieved MY lunch!

There was NO WAY I was going to allow my-got-up-early-to-grill chicken breast, my last-night-took-the-time-to-boil eggs and the fresh-from-the-store's-produce-dept. strawberries, all of which were separately wrapped, go to waste.

As soon as I got out what I needed...

I threw the bag, along with the squished tomato and its juice, back into the garbage can and happily went to my new corporate desk and ate my lunch.

munch munch munch

My Mother's Day Six.....

2010-05-09T06:03:00.000-07:00

At first it was subtle and I was unsure, but in these past few years, it has been glaring and undeniable...

it is her image looking at me whenever I look in the mirror.

When I was a child she was soooo incredibly old.

I think back and recognize that when I married – she was a whopping 40.

When I became a mother for the first time, she was 49 and in my mind she still seemed old.

But now that I am 49, my mom is suddenly looking pretty good for her age and I am not just talking about that image in my mirror.

I love you my young, attractive Mother and I hope you enjoy today!

let’s play

"So have we been asked to resign yet?"

2010-05-07T18:41:00.000-07:00

I sent to Bruce via text message while taking the late train home tonight.

After the once a month gathering to have a beer or a glass of wine at the new corporate law firm.

It is so unlike the firm we have been with for the past 20 years...

it has been exhausting and exciting all wrapped up together.

I have to "dress up" and I am finding that refreshing.

It makes me feel all "growned up" and fancy.

There are many rules and forms to fill out.

And corporate fun things...

like "Club 43" once a month that we had today...

where I might have vocalized a couple of things that weren't "corporately appropriate"...

hence the text to Bruce.

His response...

"I have not been asked to resign!"

To which I texted back...."Whatever!"

They will learn that you cannot let Susan drink on an empty tummy!

next time more food yummy yummy