What Love Is...

I don't pretend to know what love is for everyone, but I can tell you what it is for me; love is knowing all about someone, and still wanting to be with them more than any other person, love is trusting them enough to tell them everything about yourself, including the things you might be ashamed of, love is feeling comfortable and safe with someone, but still getting weak knees when they walk into a room and smile at you.
-- Author Unknown

Say What?!

I love it when Mike goes to bed before me, because there is a chance that I will jar loose some tidbit of sleep induced wisdom. In other words, he talks in his sleep. Not all the time, but enough to be really, really entertaining.

So last Saturday night, I climb into bed quite late and must have accidentally disturbed Mike from his rest. I heard him mutter something and, thinking he's speaking to me, I said, "What did you say, babe?"

He turns his head towards me and shouts, "I DON'T WANT TO RIDE THE ROLLER COASTER! I'LL BREAK MY GLASSES!"

Classic. Absolutely classic.

History Made!

It's official! We're a part of history!!!

A Quote for Today

“A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.”

- Washington Irving

BBQ 2009

Mike and I haven't been blogging much lately - or reading blogs, to be honest. Our main computer came down with the blue screen of death and has been in the ICU with the Geek Squad at Best Buy for a couple of weeks. They've charged us $200 and haven't fixed it yet. Or so I can tell - I called and sat on hold for literally half an hour and when it rang back to the main switchboard for the fifth time, I hung up. I had a party to get ready for and couldn't be bothered.

Never fear, though - in the meantime, Furio has promised to keep up on all of the blog goings-on for us. If you get a comment that is full of angst and meows - well, you know where it came from.

Meme hasn't been dealing well with my dad coming up for the bbq.

The party went really well, I only took about 10 pictures and all of them were taken before everyone arrived. We had a nice group of people who came - people like Lisa who are there for me every year. She knows it's the same weekend every year, blocks out this day months ahead of time and drives into Chicago to spend the day with me - and I love her for it.

I only gave out a handful of invitations this year. (Although evite added it to my Facebook page!!! I don't think it invited everybody, thank goodness! I'm still not sure how it ended up there, though!) This event is so important to me - therapeutic. I appreciate all the people who "get" how hard this time of year is for me and take time out of their weekend to be with me and help me cope. If I could, I'd hug every single one of them again.

Mike was wonderful - prepping and cooking all the food. He's always such a good sport about it and I know that if it would make me feel better, he'd throw me a BBQ every weekend without complaint. And my dad came in (of course - he'd never miss it) and it's always great to see him.

Anyway, just a few pictures and a chance to publicly say, "Thank you!" to everyone who came to the party - and I'll see you next year. Save the date! :)

My Quote of the Day

"Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible."

Someplace in Mik's Kitchen

About 2 weeks ago, I watched an old episode of Hell's Kitchen for the first time and was immediately hooked. I loved watching Chef Ramsay scream and curse at the chefs and the many personal meltdowns that ensued afterward. Since then, I also started watching Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares where he visits failing restaurants in England and the U.S. and attempts to revive them by changing the menu and remodeling the restaurant. Watching the shows in the past week has really inspired me to cook more at home and try some new things. A couple months ago, Sassy bought me a Bobby Flay book called Burgers, Fries and Shakes. This is my first attempt at one of the recipes. It's called a Trattoria Burger and is a grilled hamburger with fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced tomato, and basil leaves drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette. It's basically a caprese salad on a burger.

Here's the picture of it in the book:


Tenting the burgers to melt the cheese:



And the finished product:


It was quite yummy. The fresh basil really adds to the flavor. I finished it off with some Iowa corn, thanks to Charlie.

Earlier in the week I prepared some steak with a caesar salad, and bbq pork chops (a la Carson's) with mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus. Yesterday, I made grilled shrimp with a tequila-lime marinade over angel hair pasta.

I'm off work Monday, so I may use my bbq pit for some ribs.

How Many Grouchos?

Once again, Mike and I attended Movies in the Park on Tuesday. This week the movie, Duck Soup, was combined with Chicago's attempt to break the world's record for the most number of people in one place wearing Groucho Marx glasses. The city gave away a pair of free glasses to everyone who attended (and came up and signed to get them). I didn't take too many picture, because you've already seen the park and the city...but I had to take some of us in our glasses. (And a plain one of Mike...what? He's super cute!)


(This is Martin and Gil. We met up at the park and watched the movie together. They're lots of fun!)

FUNNEL CAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry - super yummy. Had to have it!

(Groucho eskimo kisses)

Once again Mike was reluctant to go because he didn't think he'd like the movie. And, indeed, I was worried because for the first five-ten minutes he was watching with an odd look on his face - not even cracking a smile. I thought, "Crap." because it would be a really long night for him if he was completely bored. Eventually I heard him laugh a few time and he said at the end that he really liked it. When I expressed the concerns that I'd had, he said, "Yeah. Well, I just had to realize that all of the jokes were gonna be corny." Uh....duh! It's the Marx Brothers!! But I was glad he liked it.

Next week we're back to high drama with Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor in Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. At least it's supposed to be high drama...I've heard this is the happy 1950's version of that play - which does not end happily. Anyway - we'll see!

When You Have a Moment...

...you might ask my Dad if he remembers what he was doing 35 years ago tomorrow. Oh, alright - I'll tell you...

...HE WAS GETTING MARRIED!!!!

Were my mother living, tomorrow (July 20) would be their 35th wedding anniversary. Well, if he'd survived. My mom would often tell us that with her health issues and family history, she'd never outlive my dad. And Jeff, Matt or I (which ever one of us she was talking to) would say, "Oh, c'mon, Mom - you know you'll outlive him. You'll kill him in his sleep long before you kick off." I know - we have a weird sense of humor...but she laughed every time.

She also loved to tell people that my dad married her for her money. After their wedding, my father (trying to estimate a budget for their honeymoon) made the mistake of asking my mom the date of her next payday. Thirty-two years and two additional kids later, she was still reminding him of it.

Happy anniversary, Dad! In case you're missing Mom, close your eyes and repeat this in your head - it'll be just like she's standing right next to you...

"If anyone had told me that I'd be married to such an old man, I'd never have believed them!"

Movies in the Park

Today Mike and I stayed downtown after work and went to see Sunset Boulevard in Grant Park. It started as a little knitting get-together suggested by Allyson, but turned into a sort of couples night as each of the knitters brought their significant other with them.

Mike went home before work and made sandwiches for us and brought them with him. Yummo!


Movies in the Park is a very popular event, as you can tell! Mike was reluctant to come, because he didn't think that he would like the movie, but was actually pleasantly surprised.


The crowd was really cool. Everyone cheered when the movie started and the title came on the screen and at each of the famous parts. Especially the part where Norma Desmond says, "I *am* big. It's the *pictures* that got small." And of course at the end - it's a great flick!!




(Allyson)


I had to pretend to take a picture of Allyson in order to get a picture of the make-out twins behind her. They insisted on dirty dancing and grinding against each other for half of the evening. Allyson took a picture over her shoulder and kept saying, "That's so weird." Which it was.


The coolest part was that we're in the park, sitting in this mass of humanity with these huge buildings surrounding us. It was just super cool.




Mike has daggers for the lady sitting next to me on the train. She's blocking an open seat and being generally disagreeable. I went to take a picture and accidentally caught him giving her a dirty look. It made me laugh, so I kept it!


Next week they're going to show "Duck Soup." They are going to be giving away Groucho Marx glasses to everyone who attends, because we will be attempting to shatter the current world's record for the number of people in one place who are wearing Groucho glasses. Awesome. I'm very excited to be participating. Mike has already said he'll go with me and Allyson will be there too. Can't wait!!!!

Fridge Analysis

I think that any time you blend households, it takes compromise to make the situation work. One of the (many) things that I do which annoys Mike is the tendency that I have to allow the fridge to become cluttered. I come by that honest, as anyone who ever took a trip to my parents' home while my mom was living can attest. The first time Mike had a fridge-meltdown, I was like, "What?! The fridge is too cluttered?! You're making that up, right?" Alas, he was not. But, in the meantime, we have come to a sort of compromise which works well for us. He doesn't complain much during the clutter accumulation period and I don't complain much when he reaches the maximum allowable clutter capacity and cleans it off. But, being a good 'fe, I try to anticipate before we get to the red zone and work hard to "thin the herd" so to speak, so that it doesn't set off Mike's OCD.

Case in point: As I was straightening up the apartment in the wake of Hurricane Caleb (who went home this afternoon), I looked at the fridge and decided that it was probably getting close to OCD time. Let's see what's on the fridge, shall we?


Item 1: Elvis
Analysis: I'm not sure how Elvis came to be on the fridge. While I loves me some Elvis, there are plenty of other representations available to look at and this one is really rather superfluous.
Result: Elvis is leaving the building!
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Item 2: Photo of little Mikey and little Kelly
Analysis: This picture is really, really cute. I love the way Mike's sucking on his woobie here. (Although they call it a binky up in Michigan - when Caleb was little, his binky was a pacifier and the woobie was his blankie). This is also fairly new to the fridge line-up, having just been added after our last trip to Michigan to visit Mike's fam.
Result: It stays!!
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Item 3: Postcard
Analysis: When I saw this at the bookstore, I knew I had to have it. Considering the differences in Mike's lifestyle and mine, I was tickled to be able to bring it home and slap it on the fridge to showcase my own personal viewpoint on cleaning up. Now it's been there for several months and while I'm not ready to give it a dirt nap, it's probably outworn it's welcome on the fridge.
Result: Relocated to my desk.
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Item 4: Pictures of Mike and Cindi
Analysis: Again - these pictures are really, really cute. And they were taken at the Brookfield Zoo, which doubles as Mike's happy place.
Result: It stays!!
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Item 5: Smile Magnet
Analysis: This magnet was a recent gift and also has sentimental value, as the verse is my personal mantra.
Result: It stays!!
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Item 6: Home-made magnets
Analysis: These magnets were made and sent to us by my cousin's boys, who Mike affectionately refers to as "the Carters." While these have been on the fridge for a long time, they're small and don't take up much space. Additionally, I am loathe to part with anything home-made.
Result: It stays!!
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Item 7: Gilda MagnetAnalysis: It stays. No analysis necessary. No argument will sway me. I love Gilda and I love this quote.
Result: It stays!!
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Item 8: Erma MagnetAnalysis: I really like this magnet too. I'm open to argument from Mike on this one, as I could relocate it without any significant emotional trauma. But it's small, I really like it, and magnets are very functional.
Result: It stays!!
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Item 7: MWSU MagnetAnalysis: A free magnet that I got in the mail from the alumni association. I was tempted to keep it because there is very little MWSU representation at my house. But really...do we need another free magnet that will be outdated in a couple of months? Really?
Result: Lose it!!
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Item 8: Picture of little Andrea, baby Mike and St. Gemma GalganiAnalysis: The picture is put in a prominant spot for a reason. Every day when I see it, I will remember to pray for Andrea and the prayer card contains a prayer for illumiation/forgiveness of sins for the prayee.
Result: It stays!!
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Item 9: Message board magnetsAnalysis: Message board magnets are very functional! But, as you can see - this one has pretty much ceased functioning as intended. The last time the Potters visited, Kelly covered the message board with "American Idol" related comments - except for the dungenous crab thing...I think that may actually relate to something Mike said during the weekend. Also - these boards are really, really hard to clean. That eraser on the marker works like crap!
Result: Storage. (It may make a comeback if we find that we are missing having a writing friendly unit on the front of the fridge)
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Item 10: Angel Magnet
Analysis: This magnet belonged to my mom. I swiped it off of my dad's fridge during a visit. As I have said also, magnets are really quite functional.
Result: It stays!!
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Item 11: Pickle StickerAnalysis: I love this sticker, although I'm pretty sure that Mike will balk at actually letting me put it on our car. It really doesn't belong on the fridge. Still, I'm sure I can find another home for it besides the trash.
Result: Relocated to my office at work.
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Item12: Lyric PicturesAnalysis: She's really cute, but we see her all the time. I don't suppose she needs to be on the fridge, too.
Result: Back to the photo box.
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Item 13: Various picturesAnalysis: These have been long-time members of the fridge line-up.
Result: Storage - except for my parents' wedding picture. That stays!
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Item 14: Little Miss/Little Mister BoardAnalysis: Ah, I do love this board. But I think it's time to switch it up. It's not taking a dirt nap, but I just don't know what to do with it.
Result: Storage or relocated to work (Haven't decided on this one yet).
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Items 15 and 16: Home-made Picture MagnetsAnalysis: These magnets were also made and sent to us by my cousin's boys. They're much bigger than our other home-made magnets, but once again, I am loathe to part with anything home-made (with affection) - but they've been on the fridge for quite awhile. I think I'll move them for a bit to another magnetic surface in the house and then sneak them back into the line-up.
Result: Relocated to a magnetic surface in the living room.
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Item 17: Laughs Last MagnetAnalysis: This magnet also belonged to my mom and was "borrowed" during a trip home. She bought it because it reminded her of my dad - and now it serves to remind me of my dad.
Result: It stays!!
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Item 18: Lucky Cat MagnetAnalysis: Ah, lucky cat. You are so cute. But - he's been on the fridge for a long time. Maybe time for a new venue.
Result: Relocated to the heater next to the litter box. What? It's a very cat-centric area.
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Item 19: St. Anne
Analysis: I like this picture - it's beautiful. It's small. Plus it's a new addition to the fridge.
Result: It stays!!
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Item 20: The Black MadonnaAnalysis: Alright - so we've already got St. Gemma Galgani and St. Anne. I suppose that the Black Madonna can be moved. It's all about compromise.
Result: Relocated to a pocket in my purse.
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Item 21: Office Message Board
Analysis: This board has been on the fridge for-EVER and I have yet to use it. In fact, the only person to use it was Amy; to leave a good-bye message the last time she visited - over a year ago.
Result: Bye bye, Jim. I still love you. Please don't hate me.
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Item 7: Furio pictureAnalysis: Look at that fat Buddha belly. Love it! But he's been on the fridge long enough.
Result: Relocated to my file cabinet at work.
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Our new and improved fridge......for the love of God, somebody send me a postcard so I can put it on there! It's so lonely!