August 28, 2009 by kim.

Kind of a slow month coming up …

MONTH
National Chicken Month – http://www.nationalchickenmonth.com/

Self-Improvement Month – http://www.onlineorganizing.com/CalendarHoliday.asp?holiday=32

DAYS
*September 6 - Fight Procrastination Day –
http://www.onlineorganizing.com/CalendarHoliday.asp?holiday=30

*September 19 - International Talk Like a Pirate Day – http://www.talklikeapirate.com/

*September 21 - World Gratitude Day – http://worldgratitudeday.com/

*September 23 - Checkers Day –
http://www.bobnewell.net/nucleus/checkers.php?&itemid=135&catid=5&blogid=4

Posted in Holiday | 2 Comments »

August 24, 2009 by kim.

Chris and I went for a walk by the lake today. We stopped for ice cream and then sat on some rocks by the water:

The view

Chris enjoying the view

As we were sitting there enjoying the lovely summer weather, I happened to notice some steps:

Upon closer inspection, I noticed something was missing:

Side view

Another side view

Scary thing is, when you look at it straight on, you can’t really tell anything is missing:

View straight on

One false move and you’ll tumble down what looks like ancient ruins into Lake Michigan.

Ouch!

Posted in Observation | No Comments »

August 20, 2009 by kim.

I went to put something in my purse yesterday when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. I wasn’t sure if I saw what I thought I saw, but I did. I lifted up my purse a bit to investigate and found it crawling with ants.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeew!

When I squealed, Chris came running to see what I was freaking out about. When he saw it, he had me take the purse outside to the porch. I wasn’t really sure where to set it as ants crawl all over the place on the porch, but it was better than having them crawl around in the house. Chris grabbed the Raid, sprayed the area where the purse was, and then we ate lunch.

Ants are gross, but not gross enough to stop us from enjoying our food.

After lunch, Matilda and I went outside to sit a spell and rid my purse of those pesky ants. I couldn’t figure out what the deal was. We have seen ants here and there in this apartment, and have gone through a couple of cans of bug spray to try and combat them. We even have all of our food sealed and in plastic bags to prevent bugs from getting at it. I had my purse on a tall chair in the dining room and never had a problem like that before, so what happened?

Butter Rum Life Savers. That’s what happened.

I had those life savers in my purse for almost a month with no problems. They were open with just the wrapper folded over. In fact, Chris and I each had one the other day. No ants on our tongues. Nothing.

Then, I see this:

All over my nice new purse. Great.

Only when I started to take everything out did I realize my Life Savers mistake. I dumped the candy out of my purse, saw the ants, screeched once and wrapped it in a plastic bag:

I was just going to throw it away, but I knew I was going to post about this experience. Could I leave everyone hanging, not knowing the extent of the infestation and able to sleep soundly? No. Of course not. I wouldn’t want to disappoint my fans. I decided to brave the insects and open the bag:

Not bad, but it gets worse:

I sprayed some Raid in the bag to kill them before they crawled all over me so that I could show you the candy they were after:

Aren’t you glad I shared this with you?

Sleep tight!

Posted in Insects | No Comments »

August 17, 2009 by kim.

Chris and I took in the Chicago Air and Water Show last Saturday. We grabbed our chairs and took a bus down to the lakefront where we fought through the crowds to find a spot.

Chris lugging a chair and backpack

People who could get close to the action

People who could not get close to the action

We sat with those who could not get close to the action.

Here is the city:

Here is Chris:

Here I am:

Now that I’ve established where we were, I’ll show you some pics I took of the show. We were unable to see the water show from where we sat, but we were able to see the planes. We didn’t stay for the whole show as we were sitting in the sun with no shade (of course), so I probably missed some really good stuff. I couldn’t hear the announcer, either, so I have no idea what planes were actually up there. I was able to identify two of them, and I’ll let you know what they are when we get there. Okay … here we go.

People parachuting

Large plane

Fighter?

Sean D. Tucker and Team Oracle

Lima Lima Flight Team

Lima

Lima

Spectator

Posted in Fun | No Comments »

August 14, 2009 by kim.

Yesterday, Dairy Queen had Miracle Treat Day, where some of the proceeds of your Blizzard purchase go to benefit your local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital. We decided to participate in this worthy cause and walk to DQ for lunch and a Blizzard. We walked 5 miles round trip. We like to walk.

As we approached the DQ, we were greeted by this large ice cream cone:

I made Chris take this picture, as I don’t like to get too close to these characters. They kind of freak me out. He/she actually tried to hug Chris, and I wasn’t having any of that.

We like this particular location for ice cream, but were disappointed to realize that they didn’t serve much in the way of lunch. They had hot dogs, chili dogs, and chili cheese dogs. With chips. Kind of a limiting selection, when other locations offer hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, salads, onion rings … the list goes on and on.

We got a hot dog and asked for ketchup and mustard. If you know Chicago, you know that this is a HUGE faux pas. Ketchup on a hot dog? HOW DARE WE? The girl behind the counter said that she would put mustard on the hot dog, but not ketchup. For ketchup, we’d have to get some packets near the straws and napkins.

Really?

It is a personal preference that I put ketchup AND mustard on my hot dog. I grew up in Wisconsin – that is what we did. Is there something really so wrong with that?

Ketchup on a hot dog, I mean …

Posted in Food | No Comments »

August 12, 2009 by kim.

Growing up, we are taught to share.

“Share your crayons with your sister.” “Share your cookies with your friends.” “Share your chicken pox with your brother.”

That last one is true. He wasn’t happy.

When we grow up, one would think that we could all be civil and continue to share with others. I’m not talking about anything major like your Ferrari or your Star Trek collection. I’m talking about simple things–like space.

The sidewalks in our neighborhood are approximately 6 1/2 feet wide. I know this because I measured it heel to toe, and that’s what I came up with. I then measured my shoes which are actually 12 inches long. Don’t laugh–its in the genes.

When walking, three people abreast can fit on the sidewalk comfortably. Chris and I walk side by side, and if another person passes us, there is no problem. We all go our merry ways. When a couple approaches us, though–then we have a dilemma. Do we drop into single file and pass them that way, or do we hold our ground and force them to walk one behind the other? We almost always back down and walk single file ourselves, allowing the other couple to think that they own the sidewalk. Grrr. Why do we do it?

We do it because we’re considerate, kind, and wonderful people that all those approaching us on the sidewalk should take a lesson from to avoid making me angry.

They wouldn’t like me when I’m angry …

Posted in Annoyance | 1 Comment »

August 8, 2009 by kim.

When I was in fifth grade, I was in a Prange’s store fashion show celebrating their 100 years in business. My Grandma worked at Prange’s, which is how I got the gig. It’s not what you know, it’s who you know, you know? According to Wikipedia, Prange’s was started in 1881. The fashion show was in 1987. I guess it was a 106 year fashion show? Doesn’t matter. The point is, this was the first thing I ever modeled for. I wore a 100 year-old dress to commemorate the occasion:

Ooooo! Look at tiny little me in that dress! Here is some video showing my turn on the catwalk:

Did you see it? I was really shy, so I walked pretty fast. Today, I think that I would have lingered out there, milking every moment of my new found fame. On that day, I just wanted to get the heck off the stage before people could get a good look at me.

Who would have thought that shy, quiet Kim would grow up to do modeling for Ann Brown like this?

Rock on!

Posted in Fun | No Comments »

August 5, 2009 by kim.

This sign is in our neighborhood:

I’m just glad that it isn’t the Medical Center of Temporary Help or the Medical Center of Help When We Get Around To It So You Might As Well Take a Seat and Read a Book Until We Get To You Sometime In The Next Century but Only If You’re Lucky and Don’t Count On It.

That wouldn’t be any help at all.

Posted in Observation | No Comments »

August 2, 2009 by kim.

Remember my post about the sink hole on May 2nd? How about the posts on May 7th and 14th complaining about the lack of benches in the shade? How are we doing now that we don’t have a car? Well, for your reading pleasure, here is an update on those posts.

As for the sink hole:

No more sink hole!

As for the elusive shade, Chris was out for a walk in the Grant Park area when he spotted this:

Shade, and benches actually in it! Hooray!

Finally, here is what we have done regarding the car:

We use the Chicago I-GO car sharing service!

It sure feels good to have closure on these important topics.

Posted in Observation | No Comments »