And So It Begins

And so begins the...well, let's do the math. Valentine's Day of 1996 I knew Mike but we weren't dating yet...so I guess we'd have to really start with 1997. Hrm...carry the 2...

And so begins the thirteenth Valentine's Day I have spent with this man. As you can see, he's very excited about the prospect.

Very, very excited....

But at least somebody..err...kitty...appreciates me! Mommy's awake, so it's time to make our move.

Furio always has some kisses for Mommy - but especially on Valentine's Day.

Then the petting and purring begins. This is a once a day opportunity. He is not a cuddler, but he loves getting attention in the morning.

As you can see, though, even though Mommy's the one giving the scratchies, he's Daddy's boy and he watches for any sign that Daddy's awake.

Ah, yes! At last, at last!

But Mom's pretty good at that scratching thing, too...so he magnanimously agrees to be an equal opportunity scratchee.

And then when he's had enough and all you can see is his fuzzy, brown butt as he exits.

But, at least I finally hear the shower running - which means Mike has finally decided to make his debut into the world. Time to get the party started! YaY!

A Day at the Zoo

Biscuit

Furio found this video of his girlfriend, Biscuit the Brookfield Zoo Snow Leopard, on YouTube. He's very excited to be able to show it to you. Isn't she beautiful?

A Quote for the Day

"There are more things in Heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
William Shakespeare/ Hamlet - Act 1, Scene V

Inauguration Day

"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek."

-Barack Obama,
44th President of the United States of America

A Repost

In honor of my mom's birthday yesterday, I decided to repost my Momma-montage.

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

A Night in Chi-Town

A few pictures from the Potters' trip to Chicago. We met the Potters at Rosebud for drinks.


When we got there, they'd already ordered Pommes Frites because they were "starving." We plowed through them and had to order a second batch. We got a lot of odd looks.


The frites came with this HUGE fork and spoon, which Kelly decided were inspired by Alice in Wonderland.

Alas - the frites didn't last long.


We took a few snaps on our way to the Italian Village restaurant. This is actually my work building behind us, as Rosebud is housed on the first floor. It looks really pretty with all the snow and lights, don't you think?

We arrived in time for our reservation and had about ten minutes to kill before they took us to our table.

Which we did in our typical goofy fashion.

Kelly had everyone try on her hat. There's a picture floating around of me wearing it as well - but it must be on Kelly's camera, because I couldn't find it. Kelly and I laughed until we cried when Mike put on the hat - especially when I made a Tiny Tim reference.

When we got our table, we found that we had our own little cubby hole room - much to our delight.

But shhhhhh! It's a secret!
I only took a few pictures. Aren't we a cute bunch!? That's a rhetorical question - we know we're cute. :)

Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Every now and then I guess we all think realistically about that day when we will be victimized with what is life's final common denominator—that something that we call death. We all think about it. And every now and then I think about my own death and I think about my own funeral. And I don't think of it in a morbid sense. And every now and then I ask myself, "What is it that I would want said?" And I leave the word to you this morning.

If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I don’t want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long. And every now and then I wonder what I want them to say. Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize—that isn’t important. Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards—that’s not important. Tell them not to mention where I went to school.

I'd like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life serving others.

I'd like for somebody to say that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to love somebody.

I want you to say that day that I tried to be right on the war question.

I want you to be able to say that day that I did try to feed the hungry.

And I want you to be able to say that day that I did try in my life to clothe those who were naked.

I want you to say on that day that I did try in my life to visit those who were in prison.

I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity.

Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter. I won't have any money to leave behind. I won't have the fine and luxurious things of life to leave behind. But I just want to leave a committed life behind. And that's all I want to say."

-From a sermon given by Martin Luther King, Jr. on February 4, 1968 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Art Therapy or How To Kill Time Before Your Dinner Reservations

I'll post more pictures and perhaps a story or two more about the Potters' visit to Chicago, but I have to tell this one story first. On Saturday evening, we met Scott and Kelly for dinner at The Italian Village. We'd called for reservations early on Saturday, but the earliest we could get was a 7:45 p.m. time. I suggested that we meet up at Rosebud (a little restaurant nearby) for drinks at about 6:00 to have a little face time before we ate. We got there and sat together, talking and drinking - and were ready to go by 6:30. Apparently we're just not as interesting to each other as we'd thought. We had to find something to do to entertain ourselves.

Kelly and I did a little origami. She tried to show me how to make a crane.

But I just couldn't get it.

In my defense, the paper was really small - I might have had better luck with bigger materials. Origami killed a little time, but there was still a lot left. Then Kelly had the idea to try a little amateur art therapy on us from what she'd learned in a class. Scott and I were up for it, but Mike at first refused to participate. Eventually we browbeat him into it and we each completed the task of drawing a house, a tree and a person. I won't tell you what each means, because it's much more fun to find out when you're doing it.

Here's mine....

and Scott's......and Mike's. Kelly quickly said that Mike's is the most interesting. Way to be objective, Dr. Kelly. :)
Anyway, after the house, tree, person exercise, we did one where you had to picture yourself walking on a path and describing various things that you see along the way. (I have to ruin the exercise a little bit here to tell the story...sorry). During one of the parts of the exercise, you're walking along the path when you see a cup lying on the ground. You have to write down what the cup is made of and what you do with it. We all wrote out our answers and then Kelly analyzed them for us. We went down the row...me, then Scott, then Mike. The cup is representative of your spouse and the relationship you share.

Immediately I perked up! My cup was made out of gold and I'd picked it up and took it as a gift for Mike. I was tickled pink about my answer. Kelly was also suitably impressed at how much I value Mike and how strongly I felt about our relationship.

I was even more pleased when Scott's turn came and he was somewhat reluctant to answer and immediately started to justify his answer..."You have to keep in mind where my path is...," he said. I thought to myself, "Oh, this is gonna be good." Kelly sort of scrunched her face and said, "Is it styrofoam?!" I laughed so hard I nearly snorted pop out of my nose. It was! Then he mentioned that he had walked past it and I was beside myself with mirth. Especially when Kelly called him a litter bug. Hilarious.

Then it was Mike's turn. I was sure that Mike would say something to solidify how bonded we are in marital bliss. Then he looked at Kelly. Over to me. And back to Kelly. And said, "I'd like to pass on this one." What the hell?!?! Would you like to know what I'm made out of? Plastic. I am a discarded plastic cup...which he walked past without picking up. Immediately I was indignant! Plastic?! He's gold and I'm plastic!? Kelly and Scott tried to reassure me by reminding me how sturdy and durable plastic is. Yeah. The damage was done. Mike is officially off the Husband Hall of Fame ballot!

On the plus side, it did kill the time. We got out of there just in time to make our reservation. And Mike's been sincerely apologizing for two days. But I am my mother's daughter...and you know he'll never live it down. Flowers would be nice, though. :)

By the Way

Here's the picture Mike took immediately after the one below. I have no point - I just think it's funny.