Happy Fall to all!

In honor of the first official Friday of fall, I will dedicate my Friday Five to the things I love about fall.

1.  Baseball playoffs are just around the corner.  And my Cards just clinched their spot! 

2.  Football!  Da Bears!  (OK, so maybe we won't win the Superbowl this year, but at least we won't suck as bad as the Rams!)

3.  Shopping for fall clothes. 

4.  Halloween!  I am going to make my girls costumes this year, and I am SO excited.  So are they.  They are going to be Zombie's this year (thanks to the "Zombie Movie" aka Michael Jackson Thriller video that we have watched a gazillion time since June). 

5.  Colors.  The world is full of color at this time of year, and I intend to enjoy it as much as possible before everything turns grey and white. 


Again, Happy Fall!

Well, I haven't posted in well over a week.  I didn't think I had much to day last week, and I probably don't have much to say this week, but here goes anyway. 

I am finally getting back to normal after a couple of weeks of travel.  It feels good to have a normal Monday morning of trying to get out of the house on time, remembering the kid's backpacks, snacks, lunches, jackets, etc.  It was a usual hectic Monday morning, but I am loving the "usual" part of it.  This is the first "normal" week around our house since the girls started school, so it is a relief. 

Speaking of travel, I had a great time in Chicago last week at the NACHC conference.  Plus, I got to see the Bears win and the Cubs loose.  What could be better than that? 

I took my mom, dad and girls to the American Idol concert in St. Louis on Saturday night.  WHAT A BLAST!  I was amazed at how much many of the Top 10 have improved since the end of the show.  And I must say, my man Matt Giraud, was FABULOUS!  He opened his set with a rockin' version of one of my all time favorite songs, "Hard to Handle" by the Black Crowes.  Then he moved to the piano, which is one of the reasons why I fell in love with him in the first place, and sang a bluesy, fast paced version of "Georgia on my Mind," which blew me away.  And he closed his set with a much improved version of the song he got blasted for on the show, "You Found Me" by The Fray.  WOW!  Later he came out for a couple of group songs, including one from the Broadway musical Jersey Boys, complete with the black suits, dance moves, microphones and all.  What fun!  And can I tell you how much Adam Lambert ROCKED!!   I mean, WOW, is all I can say.  What talent this guy has.  And Kris, Danny, Allison, were all fabulous as well.  I could go on for a long time, but I will spare you.  Just know, it was worth the price of the tickets! 

I usually read on my lunch hour at work.  I forgot my book today, so I am bummed.  I'm currently reading Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater.  Which, by the way, I received as part of the Raving Pen winning team and will pass along to the next reader as soon as I am done.  If I could remember to bring it to work, I would probably get done a lot quicker.  Enjoying it so far, looking forward to more.  

And finally, I was not able to make the party this past weekend, but I hear it was fabualous.  Our Illinois SCBWI leader for may years has decided to retire from that position.  Esther Hershenhorn, thank you for all you have done, and all you will continue to do.  You are a role model, an angel, and a genious!  I look forward to seeing you again soon.  I am sorry I could not make the party, but I hear it was a huge success. 

Have a great day all!   

OK, it's finally Friday!  It has been a crazy couple of weeks and one more crazy week ahead.  Then maybe I can return to some form of normalcy, but until then, here's a few things on this crazy Friday.

1.  The girls both started school this week.  The big one started kindergarten, the little one is in Pre-K.  We moved recently, so they both started in a new school.  The big one said for a couple of weeks before school started that she was "nervous."  I think she has adjusted well, and is enjoying her new school her new teacher and her new friends.  Oh yeah, and lunch in the cafeteria.  She told me the ravioli at school yesterday was better than what I make at home!  I can't wait to see what the school year brings for my girls this year.  I am so excited for them.  I can't wait for the big one to start learning to read, and neither can she!

2.  Speaking of school starting, we still need a few things.  The biggie is shoes.  Now, why on earth do you think I would have to buy new shoes when we have 57 pairs of little girl shoes spread all over the house already?  Well, about 40 of those are flip-flops, which are not good for playing on the playground.  The other 17 pairs are tennis shoes that do not fit anyone in the house!  Yikes!  I need to do some shoe purging, soon.  And some shoe shopping, too.  I promised the girls some Twinkle Toes, those new Sketchers, for school.  They have been reminding me several times a day that I promised them Twinkle Toes. 

3.  I am leaving for Chicago tomorrow for a conference for work.  But I really don't have much going on this weekend in Chicago, so I am bringing the girls and the hubby with me.  We are riding the train up, so the girls are super excited about that.  My big surprise for them is that I got Bears tickets for Saturday night.  They are playing their first home pre-season game against the Giants, and I have tickets.  And not only that, I found out the Bears are staying in the SAME HOTEL as us Saturday.  Woot!  Woot!  I can't wait to stalk them at the hotel and cheer them on at Soldier Field!!!!!  Go Bears!!

4.  I have another half marathon coming up in a few weeks and I have barely trained for this one.  I have been so busy, and it has been hot.  I plan on doing a lot of walking in Chicago next week.  I can't wait to put on my tennis shoes, plug in my iPod and walk around downtown Chicago.  Being by myself in a big city with my walking shoes and iPod always clears my head and helps me appreciate my life a little more.  And I am needing a little of that therapy right now!

5.  Not only do I get to see the Bears this weekend, but I get to go to Wrigley Field next week also.  You may know, I am NOT a Cubs fan (life long Cardinals fan), but I am a baseball fan.  And my boss is a Cub fan, so hopefully they loose while we are there and I can heckle him for a few weeks about that.  Here's hoping....


Have a great weekend.  I'll check in later next week.

My brother recently had the rare opportunity to attend the Bears v. Packers game at Lambeau Field.  He is a life long Bears fan (as am I).  And we have some relatives that are from Wisconsin, life long Packers fans.  By chance, my cousin was going to the same game.

My brother and my cousin had met up the day before the game for a few beers.  They did not plan on seeing each other at the game, as there are way too many people and they were sitting on opposite sides of the field.

My brother was entering the stadium about 5 minutes before kick-off, with about 50,000 other football fans.  He had this feeling of being a part of something, so he climbed to the top of some stairs, turned around, and took a random picture of the 50,000 people behind him, all trying the get into the stadium. 

Later in the game, he gets a call from our cousin.  "Zoom in on the crowd shot you took before the game."  he says.

After zooming in on that picture eight times, there he is, my cousin, in the middle of a crowd of 50,000 people, with a big fur fat on and both hands up, waving at my brother!

Holy Cow!!  My brother had no idea that our cousin was in that crowd.  What a cool shot!!