Habits

The rumor has it, that it takes 30 days for you to make a routine become a habit.

So that means those of us that made a resolution this year should be making this so called resolution a habit by now.

Turns out I am doing OK with it.

I like to get out of the house and just walk. Most of the time I call Sharen or she calls me and we take a quick stroll around the neighborhood or the circle (forest preserve). We are moving!

Lately we both have come up with some excuse or another and don't get our walks in.

So - I hope I am not jinxing myself by saying it out loud - I promised myself I would take it out of my hands and leave it up to Mother Nature.
Yup, I walk on everyday that the sun is shining.
Turns out the sun has been shinin' all but 4 days in January. Some days, like today, the sun didn't stay out for long and it was down right cold out, but I put on my big girl pants and took a walk.

So if you feel the need to wear your sun glasses know that I will be a walkin'.

Trip into the City

We took Dylan into downtown Chicago for his birthday.
He had been on a train but does not remember it - he was 2. So we bought some tickets at Big Timber and off we go for a fun day downtown Chicago. We were blessed with a clear, sunshine day.

Our first stop was at Willis tower. That is one tall building. I HATE heights and only have been up there once - on our 5th wedding anniversary 22 years ago. I sat outside and waited while Mike took Stacy up there on her 16th birthday. Dylan is not so fond of heights either so we decided to face this thing together. Dylan adjusted real well, but I stayed back and snapped pictures.

Mike spent 50 cents to see if they could find Wrigley.

Mike lounging on the ledge. It wasn't very crowded and I got some good pictures of Mike and Dylan out there.

Dylan steps out to join Papa for a picture.

Then the invite that I dreaded. "Come on out Grandma!" I will not lie my heart was pounding. My thought went from, are you out of your mind, to I will probably never get to do this again with him, so I grabbed and squeezed  his hand and stepped out on the ledge. I also had my other hand on the wall - like that was going to stop me from falling. I can still not believe I did it. Mike saw me do it and still doesn't believe it.

So on to lunch. We decided to take him to Ed Debivics for lunch so we hopped on the brown line. This was also Dylans' first ride on the "L".  We took the long way around the loop so he could see the downtown.

The place was not crowded. Mike and Dylan enjoying their vanilla milk shakes with their silly hats on.

Mike offered to play the jukebox if Dylan knew any of the songs. Not a one - I on the other hand could of sang most of them. Mike was singing along to one of the songs and the waitress told him to shut up. Dylan cracked up!

Dylan went all out and ordered the Ed Debvics 1/2 lb "Big Wiener". The waitress from then on called him "The big Wiener". He likes his hot dogs plain so he was then referred to as the naked big wiener. He also got the birthday sundae served in a shot glass and the place clapped while the waitress sang a stupid song.

We had such a great time giving Dylan his first taste of downtown Chicago we are planning our next visit.

Like Father - Like Son

When I saw this picture that Bryan had posted on facebook it took me back to another time and another little boy who like to help clean up.

Bryan using the vacumn to clean up the broken tile pieces. Where are his shoes, Mother? Opps!!

A Jr Cog

Logan was needing something to do over winter and he loves sports so he decided to try basketball. He knows my love for the game. I promised that I would come to watch and cheer for him.
He confessed to me that he can't dribble very good and is not knowledgeable about the whole game.
I assured him that he just needed to pay attention to his coach and practice his position and he would do just fine. Not everybody is going to be great at dribbling, just know your own game.

Last night Mike and I went out to Genoa Middle School to watch him play.

He listened to his coach.

He played forward so he spent some time under the basket and got some rebounds. I was impressed with him. He knew where he was supposed to be. He grabbed some rebounds. He even got a couple steals. Not too bad for his first year.

That's him #3

His team got beaten pretty bad by those damn Burlington rockets. After the game he thought that I would be disappointed. I gave him a hug and told him I had a great time watching him and I will be right back there next game.

Borderline Hoarder

I am a saver. I can see keeping some things for later use - Often.

Christmas Eve I gathered up the used boxes and stored them away for future use, not thinking anything of it. Then came Christmas at Sharens. Linda brought a dessert in a throw away aluminum container with a lid. When it was empty she asked Sharen if she wanted to keep it.
Her response was "No, but Karen might, she's the Hoarder."
After I got over the hurt I strongly disagreed. Mike agreed with Sharen, More ouch. I explained that I keep stuff like that for leftovers for my stepson to take home. He lives with his grandmother and doesn't always get a home cooked meal.
She conceded that maybe I was just borderline then, and I found I couldn't disagree with that.

I have to tell ya. It got me thinking.
The last week I have been letting go of things "I might need later."
I started with the closets. There were clothes in there I will never have need for and finally own up to it. The shoes were not a problem, because I don't save shoes - the few pair I have all get worn.

I then went and bought a shredder. After seeing what Mom had left for Linda to sort through I knew this was needed. . Even though seeing the budget ledger that they had from 1959 was fun to look at. This I knew was one place that I had to get under control. I finished with 4 bags of "very important papers :)" all disposed of.

I was getting exhilarated - now on to the bathroom. I started with the medicine cabinet anything older than 6 months went bye bye.  Old Makeup, nail polish, nail files, hair binders, creams and ointments. So Long!

Now the kitchen. Did you know that you should only keep spices for 6 months? I have to admit some of mine are years old. So I threw them out. I am not going to drink that designer hot chocolate that was a gift no matter how many times I see it there. (I tried moving some of this stuff to the front, but that didn't work) so out they all went along with anything else that, eating it would be put into question. "When in doubt, throw it out!".
The frig was farely easy most things there are fresh and eaten, but it did get a good cleaning.

Then on to the  "back ups"! Microwave, coffeepot, hand mixer, crock pot, iron, hair curlers, dishes, silverware, pot and pans - all are going to Goodwill or the trash.

I am heading to the basement next. The freezer is my first target, but I am going to investigate the whole place. Who knows how long this feeling is going to last.
Hey - Anybody want a antique pool table? FREE!!!! Seriously FREE!!!

Happy New Year

A few bottles of wine. Thanks to Jon and Erica for this tasty treat. This wine was way better than the outcome of the golf.
A home cooked prime rib.
An evening with our favorite neighbors. aka. Sharen and Dup.
A stay at home New Years Eve.

A start to a Happy New Year.