Yesterday I was toodling around town. ("Toodling" is Pennsylvanian for "riding around with no particularly hurry"- my Grandma's phrase.) So, toodling I was in downtown Wheaton when I saw a festive looking blow up figurine up ahead. You know the kind that used car salesman put in their lots to attract buyers- large gorillas and such? Well, that's what I saw.
I'm not known for great eyesight, so you can imagine my surprise when I saw what the figure actually was- a rat. And not just any rat, either- they made it with scary yellow teeth and, if memory serves, red eyes. It was meant to be ugly and downright scary. It was about 10-15 feet tall. My daughter might cry at the sight of it if she was a year younger.
These twin rat figurines (did I mention there were two?) sat in front of a rather nice looking apartment complex. Using my spidey sense, I determined that rats would probably deter future renters from taking up residence there. I used my noggin and figured out that the purveyors of these rats must be trying to say something. (Come on, Emily, get to the point.) It was a strike, folks. A strike.
Why do I bring this up? Because up until a week ago, I hadn't thought about rats but once a decade when NY city rat levels spike and it makes national news. I simply don't think about them. But then we got this PACK-RAT pod in our yard (which I affectionately call the "rat".) And NOW these two rat goblins are in my mind.
There is no moral to this story, but there is a point, friends. You see, up until a week ago, you probably weren't thinking about rats either. ;)
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Late Ride
Late Ride is a Chicago tradition in which a bunch of bike lunatics ride around downtown Chicago from midnight to sunrise. It's for all ages, but it attracts a lot of middle-aged men who desperately want to remember their manliness and forget their crying children.
This year I submitted a design for the contest. I have no idea whether or not I will win, but I had a blast designing it. And I'll probably make Dan wear it if he attends this year's function. Tell me, gentle readers, which color combo you like best. Click on the images to see them larger. They look better that way.
This year I submitted a design for the contest. I have no idea whether or not I will win, but I had a blast designing it. And I'll probably make Dan wear it if he attends this year's function. Tell me, gentle readers, which color combo you like best. Click on the images to see them larger. They look better that way.
Fiber, anyone?
I'm on a fiber kick lately. I eat as much fiber as I can tolerate so that I can:
1. Be a good example to my daughter
2. Be regular
3. Counteract the vast amounts of sugar intake I eat every hour.
In order to achieve this fill of fiber, I take Fiber One cereal. It boasts 8 grams of fiber per serving which is more than cattle eat on a diet of dried grass, let me tell you. Good stuff. Well, yesterday my Fiber One cereal was on sale at Dominicks and *bonus* it had an offer for FREE Fiber One snack bars. I greedily bought 4 boxes to take advantage of the offer. The peanut butter bars are fantastic. The chocolate ones are also pretty good. I know because I tried both. But that amount of fiber in an American diet is bound to thrust the individual into a whole new lifestyle, let me tell you. *whew* Brutal.
My husband is naturally regular. If this is too much info for you, then you can stop reading now because it's only going to get worse. He's so regular that they set the Colorado atomic clock by his bowel schedule. Seriously. Well, I decided to add a little fun to his day. I threw a Fiber One snack bar in his lunch. By afternoon, he'll be riding the porcelein ring like a cowboy and bronco. hehe. Ah, marriage.
Well, I best be going. I need to go to Starbucks to counteract all my good fiber-ific efforts of yesterday.
1. Be a good example to my daughter
2. Be regular
3. Counteract the vast amounts of sugar intake I eat every hour.
In order to achieve this fill of fiber, I take Fiber One cereal. It boasts 8 grams of fiber per serving which is more than cattle eat on a diet of dried grass, let me tell you. Good stuff. Well, yesterday my Fiber One cereal was on sale at Dominicks and *bonus* it had an offer for FREE Fiber One snack bars. I greedily bought 4 boxes to take advantage of the offer. The peanut butter bars are fantastic. The chocolate ones are also pretty good. I know because I tried both. But that amount of fiber in an American diet is bound to thrust the individual into a whole new lifestyle, let me tell you. *whew* Brutal.
My husband is naturally regular. If this is too much info for you, then you can stop reading now because it's only going to get worse. He's so regular that they set the Colorado atomic clock by his bowel schedule. Seriously. Well, I decided to add a little fun to his day. I threw a Fiber One snack bar in his lunch. By afternoon, he'll be riding the porcelein ring like a cowboy and bronco. hehe. Ah, marriage.
Well, I best be going. I need to go to Starbucks to counteract all my good fiber-ific efforts of yesterday.
Packing
Oh my land. My forearms are numb. Who knew that putting 30 boxes in the PACK RAT would send me to the old folks home? I am SO out of shape. At least that's what every sinew of every muscle is telling me.
I'm getting a lot of good stuff in our yard sale pile, though. I'm pretty psyched about that. I'm not telling anyone when it is in case you gave me something that I'm putting in the sale pile. :) Such a cleansing feeling to let it go.
Kudos to Dan for getting rid of some college textbooks *gasp* and his old fingernail collection. Very proud.
Whew! Well, I hope to see a few good friends for our May 12 move date. Ouch. That hint dropped on my big toe.
I'm getting a lot of good stuff in our yard sale pile, though. I'm pretty psyched about that. I'm not telling anyone when it is in case you gave me something that I'm putting in the sale pile. :) Such a cleansing feeling to let it go.
Kudos to Dan for getting rid of some college textbooks *gasp* and his old fingernail collection. Very proud.
Whew! Well, I hope to see a few good friends for our May 12 move date. Ouch. That hint dropped on my big toe.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Rat
There's a rat on my lawn.
haha. 1-800-PACK-RAT that is. For those of you unfamiliar with this unit, it's essentially a POD for moving... but better. Don't ask me how it's better. It just is.
I've been taking frames off the walls and slowly this house is starting to look less like us.
haha. 1-800-PACK-RAT that is. For those of you unfamiliar with this unit, it's essentially a POD for moving... but better. Don't ask me how it's better. It just is.
I've been taking frames off the walls and slowly this house is starting to look less like us.
Deacon Dan
It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's Deacon Dan!
My husband had his first council meeting last night. He will be installed as a deacon in a few weeks. I LOVE to call him "Deacon Dan" at home. It has the same flavor as calling some "Reverend". It's just fun to say.
He grimaces when I say this, but deep inside, I know he likes it. Now I can add this to the other names I call him:
1. Brain
2. Moo moo (don't ask-- no idea)
3. D.J. (for Daniel John)
4. J.J. (It's easier to say that D.J.- I just got lazy)
5. Plotkin (When he makes me upset, I call him a "plock". We're not sure how this came about, but I think it came from my childhood. We used to call each other "plops" when we were mad and it turned into "plotkin" somehow.)
6. Deacon Dan
On very rare and special occasions I call him Dan.
My husband had his first council meeting last night. He will be installed as a deacon in a few weeks. I LOVE to call him "Deacon Dan" at home. It has the same flavor as calling some "Reverend". It's just fun to say.
He grimaces when I say this, but deep inside, I know he likes it. Now I can add this to the other names I call him:
1. Brain
2. Moo moo (don't ask-- no idea)
3. D.J. (for Daniel John)
4. J.J. (It's easier to say that D.J.- I just got lazy)
5. Plotkin (When he makes me upset, I call him a "plock". We're not sure how this came about, but I think it came from my childhood. We used to call each other "plops" when we were mad and it turned into "plotkin" somehow.)
6. Deacon Dan
On very rare and special occasions I call him Dan.
Goodbye Dinner
I had dinner last night with Erin (Jenkins) Baker and Andrea Rip. Boy was it good to catch up. I used to have weekly dinners with these ladies when Dan was in school. I was lonely and bribed them with food to come over to my house in exchange for good adult conversation. I have very fond memories of those days.
We spent a good deal of time talking about guys, esp. trying to convince Andrea that the guys who claimed to be "just friends" around her really wanted something more. And she had a LOT of guy friends. At one point, we asked her to write up a list so we could use it as a resource during conversation to freshen our memory. As a joke, she actually did write down their names and a little summary about each. I also remember the time that Erin first talked about Ryan. Erin had hung out with a lot of other guys, but when she spoke about Ryan, she had this giddy peace. Both Andrea and I had a feeling he was the "one".
When I met with these ladies last night, however, it was a little bittersweet. Andrea is moving to Seattle. Erin is moving to Kentucky. And we are moving to Aurora, which some people kid is like Kentucky. Touché. In any case, we haven't seen each other in months and it's hard to summarize months of life. Erin and Ryan have been in school and sold their house. Andrea took an amazing trip to Antarctica and chased that with trips to Austrailia, New Zealand and a bunch of other place I didn't even know existed. And while I'm pretty open about what happened to us these past months (our miscarriages), I didn't want to resurrect the full details of each one laboriously. It's like a class reunion... (which I have never been to, but I imagine it's like this)... in which you come up to a former classmate and say at your ten year, "So, what have you been up to?" The brain races to summarizes YEARS of life in mere minutes.
But once we got started talking, it was like old times again. I'm so grateful for the wonderful women God has brought into my life. My prayer for these two ladies is that God would give them the desires of their hearts and the contentment to wait for it in the meantime.
We spent a good deal of time talking about guys, esp. trying to convince Andrea that the guys who claimed to be "just friends" around her really wanted something more. And she had a LOT of guy friends. At one point, we asked her to write up a list so we could use it as a resource during conversation to freshen our memory. As a joke, she actually did write down their names and a little summary about each. I also remember the time that Erin first talked about Ryan. Erin had hung out with a lot of other guys, but when she spoke about Ryan, she had this giddy peace. Both Andrea and I had a feeling he was the "one".
When I met with these ladies last night, however, it was a little bittersweet. Andrea is moving to Seattle. Erin is moving to Kentucky. And we are moving to Aurora, which some people kid is like Kentucky. Touché. In any case, we haven't seen each other in months and it's hard to summarize months of life. Erin and Ryan have been in school and sold their house. Andrea took an amazing trip to Antarctica and chased that with trips to Austrailia, New Zealand and a bunch of other place I didn't even know existed. And while I'm pretty open about what happened to us these past months (our miscarriages), I didn't want to resurrect the full details of each one laboriously. It's like a class reunion... (which I have never been to, but I imagine it's like this)... in which you come up to a former classmate and say at your ten year, "So, what have you been up to?" The brain races to summarizes YEARS of life in mere minutes.
But once we got started talking, it was like old times again. I'm so grateful for the wonderful women God has brought into my life. My prayer for these two ladies is that God would give them the desires of their hearts and the contentment to wait for it in the meantime.
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