Saturday Movies

Saturday. Encore movie channel. 80's movie fun.

The Goonies, Big, and Highlander.

Sunflowers

There's a farmer's field near our house that rotates crops annually. One year, the field is full of corn, which is a normal sight here in Northern Illinois. The next year, however, the field is full of sunflowers. Glorious, bright sunflowers. I love driving by. The flowers immediately lift my mood.

Here are some photos (yes, I snapped these myself):

I Hated That Phone

I finally got a new office phone, after 9 years. Here's how much I hated the old one.

Goofy Gifts

Mike always goes shopping on Christmas Eve. The joke is that he doesn't buy my gifts until that day. This past Christmas, he asked if there was anything he could pick up while he was out and about. I asked if he could buy a few small items to drop in the stockings. He decided that whoopee cushions, Flarp (putty that is used to make fart noises), and bendy drinking straws were the perfect items for our nieces, who are ages 4 and 7.

He was right. They were huge hits. They played with those items more on Christmas Day than the other gifts they opened. I've learned their parents have since bought more Flarp. The fun continues.

Next year I need to remember the gifts that cost less than $5 were the biggest hits.

Taz and the Orange Chair

Mike and I own this orange chair. It started life in the late 60s, right around the same time Mike was born. It had a matching 7 foot couch. Mike's parents purchased the set new. It started its life orange.

We inherited both the couch and chair when we got married. It moved to Virginia with us, and found new life in the family room of our townhouse where it hosted the occasional Navy guy and put up with our four pets. The couch did not make the move back to Illinois, but the chair did. It got recovered in a deep green, and joined our living room furniture.

Fast forward a few years, and that chair got recovered again - back to a rusty orange color. It's been knocked around different rooms, in different places, and usually ends up in a corner.

Here's the thing: it's not one of my favorite furniture pieces. I actually think it's a bit ugly. It is, however, comfortable....... especially to the cat. Taz has completely claimed this chair. It doesn't matter where I move it. Considering I'd rather have him occupying that particular chair than one of our good chairs, I think I'll leave it where it is. Even if it does make the room a bit crowded.

2011 Escapes - Actual Places!

San Francisco. Work.

Atlanta. Work. Really!

Denver. Work.

The Windy City! A trip to see A Christmas Story, the Musical.

Vegas, Baby! A combo of work & personal.

Vegas, again. Work trip.

Bus trip to Lake Geneva. Totally work, totally fun.

Second trip to Wizard Academy, for Money & Cool Chicks. Met awesome, fantastic, wonderful people.

First Vegas trip of the year. Checked out the new bridge by the Hoover Dam.

Florida. Shuttle launch. A once-in-a-lifetime experience.

1st trip to Wizard Academy, Austin. New worlds of wonder.

Austin, Florida, Denver, Vegas, Atlanta, Vegas, San Francisco, Lake Geneva, Vegas, Austin, Chicago. Busy year.

Yep, It's Cool In Here

This is Roo. She's getting up there in age now, 15 and a half years old. She's a bit cranky at times, but still a sweetheart. Apparently she doesn't like that we keep the house around 60 degrees........... she likes to belly up to the heat register in the guest bathroom.