February 27, 2009 by kim.

Guess what we got to help us get in shape—the Total Gym!

Chris ordered this particular contraption to replace the defective exercise bike we had recently ordered and had to send back. Defective not because of anything we did, but defective because the computer panel that was supposed to calculate our heart rate and regulate the tension broke and did nothing after a day but freeze the machine and beep incessantly. Customer service was no help at all, and told us the bike had actually been discontinued—information that would have come in handy BEFORE we bought it. Thanks.

So, it went back and we waited for our new handy dandy machine.

Last Friday we heard the doorbell buzz. When Chris went downstairs to answer the door, the UPS guy had already dropped off the machine, bolted, jumped into his truck, and likely hid under the seat, nowhere to be seen. You’d almost think he was pulling a prank on us or something. I guess in a way he was, as the box weighed 100 lbs. and Chris was the lucky guy who got to drag it up the stairs.

I offered to help, but Chris said he could do it. He wrestled it into place and proceeded to pull it up the stairs, one by one. Then, halfway up the 17 steps and hairpin turn into the apartment, the strap he was dragging it with snapped. I thought he was going to slide down the stairs with it, but the machine sort of landed on him and stopped. I asked if he was okay. He said he was, and shimmied his way out from under it. I then proceeded to help him maneuver it up the stairs.

Once we got it inside, Chris began the task of putting it together. On the box, it says, “Fully Assembled”, but there were still a lot of bells and whistles to contend with. It’s not like he just opened the box and started working out. Actually, the workout came from moving the machine itself.

He finally got it all set up, and it is HUGE. They say you can fold it up and store it somewhere out of sight, but it’s heavy and who wants to wrestle it out of the closet once you’ve put it away? Not us. We opted to put it up in the corner of the dining room:

Not pretty, but we can always hide it away if a large number of people come over. If only a few people come over, forget it.

The machine stays where it is.

Posted in Observation | 1 Comment »

February 23, 2009 by kim.

I’m going to be a little artsy here, and entertain you over the next couple of weeks with a series of photographs I took in Millennium Park. The pieces are called “Series with iPhone”, simply named because I took all of the pictures with my iPhone.

Brilliant, no?

Piece number 1 is of the Jay Pritzker Pavillion:

Huge!

Posted in Art | No Comments »

February 21, 2009 by kim.

It’s my mom’s birthday today! We were going to drive up to WI to see her and the rest of the family, but instead we ended up stuck here due to a Winter Storm Warning. Dang it! I had been looking forward to it all week. Oh well. Better safe than sorry.

Since I couldn’t be there in person, I sent her a picture instead:

Aren’t I sweet?

Since I couldn’t be home for my Mom’s birthday, they sent me pictures of the cake(s) that I would be missing:

Whoa!

(The note is in reference to my Mom’s uncanny ability to stretch out her birthday for the whole month of February.)

My mom had bought two cakes for her birthday - a caramel frosted angel food cake and a marble cake (in case anyone didn’t care for one or the other - she covers her bases). She had no idea that my brother and his girlfriend also bought her a cake.

The cake Kari and Tiffany bought

Marble cake

Caramel frosted angel food

I’m thinking this birthday may last well into March…

Go, Mom!

Posted in Celebrate, Happy | No Comments »

February 19, 2009 by kim.

On Monday I had off for President’s Day, so Chris and I decided to take the opportunity to go to the Chicago History Museum. Admission was free (always free on Mondays) and they were having all sorts of Abraham Lincoln–themed events.

Did I mention it was free?

Here are a couple of shots of Chris that have nothing to do with Lincoln, but I thought I’d put them up anyway:

Handsome!

Drive that train!

We decided to take in a little play that they were putting on, where the faces of Mount Rushmore were to have a debate moderated by Abigail Adams.

Mmmm…okay….

Abigail Adams, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln

Closeup of Abe

Sorry to say, we only made it through about three minutes before we made our escape out the back door. There were way too many children in there talking, screeching, and being generally fidgety. Not our scene. Plus, the play (what we saw of it) was more of a recitation than anything which made it rather…um…dull.

No biggie - there was more to see. We made our way back into the museum when we saw him - Abraham Lincoln!

Doesn’t it look like he walked in from 1864 or something?

Actually, it was this actor (not the one from the “debate” – this actor’s name is Michael Krebs) who really looked like Lincoln. So much so, that Chris and I almost tripped over each other walking up the stairs to the second floor while gawking over our shoulders at him.

On our way back down, I made Chris take some pictures:

An honor to meet you, Mr. President!

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February 13, 2009 by kim.

Since the Art Institute is free this month, I’ve been wandering its halls during my lunch hours:

Okay - so these pictures are of the outside, but you know what I mean.

I like the lion.

Anyway, walking there yesterday I saw this:

A big walking cookie? Does that mean what I THINK it means?

Girl Scout Cookies!! Yay!

Living in an apartment, no girl scouts come by to take cookie orders. I only knew it was cookie season by hearsay. Luckily, I didn’t have to miss out. I was able to get my cookie fix on the street!

Hmmm…that sounds bad…

No matter - I scored Thin Mints!

Mmmmm…I’m a happy girl…

Posted in Art, Food | No Comments »

February 10, 2009 by kim.

Look at what happened to my purse!

Not only that, but this is the second time that it has happened.

I bought a purse just like this at Target back in December. It lasted about three weeks before the strap broke and it fell to the sidewalk. No! I actually liked this purse! It looked good on me and didn’t make me look frumpy. I have such a hard time finding a purse that I actually like and can afford. I returned it to Target. Thinking that the broken strap was a fluke, I bought another one just like it.

It wasn’t a fluke.

Things were going so well. Six weeks and counting. The purse was intact and I didn’t see any indication that it was going to break. I was wrong.

I was walking around at lunch today when I felt the purse slip and fall. Oh NO! Not again! Damn it! I scooped up the purse and noticed that it had broken in the exact same place as the last one.

Heeeyyyy…

This means that this style of purse is defective! I’ll take it back, but I will not replace it with the same chintzy purse. I can’t even tell you what the brand is - nowhere on the purse is the name listed. I only know from the tag inside that it was made in China with non-leather materials.

My never ending search for the perfect purse is on.

Posted in Annoyance | No Comments »

February 5, 2009 by kim.

I see this ad every day near my place of employment:

What the hell…?

I’ll admit it. The ad grabs your attention. “Take control. Get a divorce.” They also have one that says, “Life’s short. “Get a divorce.” There is a link on their website (www.fgalawfirm.com) to this website (www.lifeshortgetadivorce.com) where you can see all their ads, read news articles about the billboards, and even buy their slogans on a t-shirt.

Really? Buy a t-shirt? Really.

Okay.

The woman who owns this all-female law firm also posed for and wrote a column for Playboy.com. And–according to the press release last year–she is the woman in the ads.

Words escape me.

Posted in Observation | No Comments »

February 1, 2009 by kim.

My little brother Kari…

…just turned 30 yesterday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KARI!!

Love,
Sis

Posted in Celebrate | 1 Comment »