Stick a pin in it

Ok, so my "restart" has been a slow one.  oh well.
My latest love has been the discovery of PINTEREST.  If you aren't familiar with is, basically you can bookmark anything on the internet, save it to a self-created bulletin board with a photographic reference.  But, it's also a social network, where you can share your "pins" with anyone and vice versa.  You can search of any topic.  You can follow other people's boards.   Basically, it lets you find things on the internet with little effort.  You don't have to print and, if you're like me, lose things you want to come back to. Or forget why you wanted it in the first place.  Come play! Come check out my boards on Pinterest!

GLEEful

Today I'm riding the wave! Last night I was priveldged enough to experience the GLEE LIVE concert in Chicago. Good friends of mine had a series of circumstances that left them with a spare ticket to the show, and they were kind enough to offer it to me! Believe me, I was thrilled! (And my hubby was kind enough to stay not only with our two little ones, but their toddler as well.) So after a great day hanging out, we made our way to the Rosemont Theatre where we were a part of the "special " crowd...a pre-show, tickets in the first 10 rows, gifts and we even had the chance to meet the two guys in the cast who play "Kurt" and "Finn"! (Very nice guys.) The quality of performance was excellent! They not only sounded & looked as good or better than on the show, it was wonderful to see they had real stage presence & talent, not just something that comes from good television editing. So...here are some shots from the show I took with my cell phone camera:

Last Year's Regency Ball

I found this on YouTube. Almost all of the shots of the dancing are of my friends & I at last year's Regency Exhibition Ball. I can't wait for this year!

Some are Silver & the others Gold

This past weekend we had a dear old friend & her family come to visit. We had not seen each other in about 12 years, so it was wonderful to reconnect and have them here. They were WONDERFUL! All 3 of their kids are adorable & charming, she & her husband are as sweet & fun as I remembered...it was just a truly wonderful weekend! I think my son has a new best friend now in their 2 year old. They played SO well together! I only wish the weekend had been longer!

To top it off, I also had 2 other old friends from my MI clubbing days come up for the 4th! Robbie & Brad, Robbie's adorable new boyfriend, Jonathon, and Brad's friend, Aaron (whom I'd also not seen since my wedding) were just hilarious! Add to the mix our buddies, Misty & her whole family & Matt...it was just such an amazing weekend!

We also celebrated Darcy's first birthday! She was a trooper! Happy Birthday Little Princess!!! Love you!

Where I'll be this weekend...

Oh Yeah!

Can't wait!

All of THE best coasters with my bestest friends!

Endless fun!

Throw Me Some Beads, Mister!

Happy Mardi Gras!

I hope everyone is indulging in some paczkis, drinking a hurricane, eating some gumbo or jambalaya and exposing their breasts for some beads because tomorrow we fast & pray!

Have a fun, festive day!

Where I've Been

Ok, so I've been a bit AWOL lately but I can barely find time to check email...or waste time on Facebook, so you actually expect me to write a semi-coherent post here? HA! I think I need to get back to doing something like the Thursday 13 just so I can force myself to post with regularity. Since I think I know everyone who actually read this, we should come up with something like that between ourselves. That way we'd all be forced to post at least once a week. Whatcha think??

Ok...so what have I been doing? First fun thing...Brian's Birthday at the Tony Bennett concert at this great outdoor concert venue in the Northshore. It was so fun to see all these people picnicking...with candleabras & flower arrangements! la di da!

This is the birthday boy himself...lovin' the gift we all chipped in to get him, this fabulous carpet bag. (I thoroughly expect him to be like Mary Poppins now.)

Paul & I on the train back from the concert.

The next day we walked around Greendale & went to his old fashioned ice cream parlor. Yum!

The little one is growing like a weed. They had their check-ups...10lbs. now!



And let's not forget the Kidlet started high school last week!

This past Saturday we went to a fabulous farmer's market where I came home with this groovy purple string beans, a pound of portabella mushrooms that I grilled last night, and blueberries.

Oh...and delicious homemade bread!

I was dumb & only photographed the peppers & eggplant...I should have bought some. *sigh*

Darcy spent the day looking like a southern belle.

And Sebastian kept stopping to smell the flowers!

Then we spent the entire day at the Lincoln Park Zoo. It's a great (free!) zoo in Chicagoland. We all had a fun time. I think the otters went on vacation though, since we couldn't find them in their area, and the penguins & other "black & white seabirds" had so much condensation on the windows of their areas I couldn't get a single decent photos to post. Alas...here are some other photos of our day though.

This crazy lookin' bird is a called a "paddlebill".

"Never smile at a crocodile..."

This is just one TINY segment of the billions of Hissing Cockroaches exhibit. It was disgusting beyond words. Look at the size of that big one in the center...eeeeeeew!!!!

And this is what you do with a baby hippo...ok, the real ones were swimming & that was cool!

Fish. Relaxing fish.

Gotta love a zoo & park in the city.

Livin' on caffeine...new & improved with Updates!

This week my in-laws have been off vacationing & hopefully having a great time...they are essentially taking a tour around Lake Michigan, up to Mackinac Island and eventually taking the high speed ferry back from Grand Rapids to Milwaukee. (Color me jealous) But having them away has meant having to figure out juggling work & babies. Thank God for my older kidlet who has babysat The Bug, while I've taken the Little Lady to work with me. Yeah...believe me its freakin' hard to get work done with a baby who just wants to be held, fed, changed,etc. I am appreciating my in-laws more & more every day and anxious for them to come back so I can actually get work done at work.

However, I've tried to squeeze in some fun along the way. Last weekend we went to one of the parks, picnicked & played at the playground. We went to see the Sand Castles competition at the beachfront, too. (Not alot of competitors, but fun to see nonetheless.) On Monday I took the little ones to the Racine Zoo. The lions & merkats were definately our favourites. (I forgot my camera AND my cell phone, so no photos this time.) No...we weren't eaten by bears, or tigers, or anything equally entertaining. Sorry.

We're the Knights of the Round Table, We Dance whenever we're able...

This weekend ended up being a very fun one!

Saturday the family & I ventured down to Long Grove, IL for their annual Chocolate Fest. The weather was cold, rainy & dreary...and still we had a lovely day! The town was cute, quaint, and old-fashioned. (VERY reminescent of Mackinac Island!) Lots of great shops, fun festivities, and best of all...a British shop where I purchases HP Sauce, Colemans, chip shop curry, meatpies (yes, we did sing selections from Sweeney Todd!), Ribena, Walnut Whips, Smarties, and best of all, my favourite candies in the entire world, Raisin & Biscuit Yorkies! I could have easily spent a fortune, but I was good. Hubby came home with a new hat from the Irish shop that matches the little Bugs. Very cute father & son ensembles! Kidlet was more than happy & satiated with chocolates from all over the world.

Sunday was spent with friends before we all headed off to see "SPAMALOT". Let me tell ya...over the top & silly & exactly what Monty Python on stage should be! I laughed almost until it hurt! See if while its on tour! You won't regret it!

My favourite song "I'm Not Dead Yet!"

The Original P.U.G.

Ok, so as I've mentioned before, I love pugs. They crack me up like nothing else can.
So I had to share...


So funny!

Mackinac Island, how I love ya

There is oh so much I could say about the weekend on Mackinac Island, but then Kassi said it all so well over here. Instead, I offer up a photo montage today.

And yes, the last picture, for those who will get it, is in fact "Escanaba in da Moonlight" (haha)