Deck the halls....and the walls, the roof, the trees, and the yard!

We started decorating during the long Thanksgiving weekend. It ended up taking us a LOT longer than we thought because we had some MAJOR issues with the pre-lit tree. We bought this giant tree at the end of the year last year since we thought we were getting an awesome deal. Unfortunately when we plugged it in this year, only half the lights were working. After spending about 6 hours testing each light, replacing burnt out bulbs, testing the circuits - we had gotten no where. We had to tear off the pre-it lights and put on our own. Here you can see pictures of the final product- the tree all decorated, the manger scene that my granpa made by hand before I was born, a little Christmas village, the lights and decorations outside our house and some of our favorite ornaments. Some of the ornaments are new this year and some I have had for the past few years. And then there are those that have been in my family since before I was born. It was a treat to put each one up and remember where it came from. We love the way the whole tree looks all lit up at night. We hope to keep adding to our ornament collection over the years. Maybe some day we will be one of the houses on the house walk!

Beecher's Holiday Housewalk

This year I went on Beecher's Third Annual holiday Housewalk with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law. It was REALLY fun. I had such a great time. There was a mixture of older houses and newer houses and it was really nice to look at all of the Christmas decorations. There were 7 houses on the walk this year. You can see some of the pictures from the housewalk below. Every house had several trees plus other decorations all over the place. I loved the ceiling fan with the branches of ornaments coming out of it, the collection of santas, the trees covered in collections of ornaments, and the garland hanging from all the light fixtures. One of the older homes had beautiful stained glass transom windows and a huge beautiful dining room. Here is just a handful of some of the beautiful things we saw on the housewalk. We will definitely be going again next year!

Silly Puppies

Yes I am one of those people that chases my dogs around with a camera all the time...but they really seem to love it! hehe.

Beautiful Beecher

The view from our backyard really is pretty when you stop to look at it...

The moment you've all been waiting for...

If you have read my blog in the past you know that I spent months waiting for a painting to arrive from Jamaica and you know that it was sent back and forth from Jamaica to the US and back to Jamaica and back to the US until I finally got it. It is a piece of art we bought on our honeymoon and was painted by a Jamaican artist named Heather Sutherland Wade. She is from Kingston Jamaica but actually spent some time studying art in Canada. We did receive the painting a while ago and recently had it stretched and framed. Here is the final product. We love it!

There's no place like home for the holidays.....

Well Thanksgiving was nice this year. Dennis and I drove up to my dad's cottage in Michigan and had a great meal with my dad, his fiance, and her kids. As good as the food was and as nice as the atmosphere was, I couldn't help but think that the Holidays just aren't the same anymore.
I miss the days when 20-30-40 of us would all get together and have a big meal, play games, and spend the day relaxing together with the whole family. Christmas was always the best. Every Christmas Eve we would all go to my Grandmas house and do a big present swap, have a big meal, sit in the kitchen and talk, play games, and just be together. This Christmas will not be like that.
Of course as we all grow up, we all have other things going on in our lives. I have one cousin who is married and is obligated to spend time with his wife's family on Christmas Eve. And I can understand that because I myself lay down the law and make my husband go with me to my family's on Christmas Eve. My sister constantly makes whatever boy she is dating the biggest priority in her life. Last year she and her fiance stopped by for a bit, but she spent most of her time with his family. This year she has a new boyfriend and will spending Christmas with his family. She spent Thanksgiving with his family too.
Instead of the big Christmas gathering, there will probably be 10 or so of us at my Grandmas this year. Oh well. Things change. It just makes me sad that we can't all get together every once in a while. The last time we were all together was at my wedding, and the next time will probably be whenever someone else gets married. But, I will always remember the Christmases when I was a kid and when we did all get together.
It's pretty incredible to see how much a family can change over time. Things are much different now than they were when I was a kid. You have births, deaths, divorces, marriages, people moving away, people moving in, career changes, and personality changes. Priorities change and peoples lives change. It's pretty interesting to see how much my family has changed over the years and to look at all of the things that caused those changes.
Well enough nostalgia for me. I hope that whoever you spend Christmas with you will still feel like you are "home" for the holidays.

Political Humor

Here's a funny e-mail I received today, that I thought I would share...I thought it could be entertaining no matter what side of the fence you are on...

The Pope took a couple of days off to visit the mountains of Alaska for some sightseeing. He was cruising along the campground in the pope-mobile when there was a frantic commotion just at the edge of the woods.

A helpless Democrat, wearing sandals, shorts, a "Save the Whales" hat, and a "Bush Lied" T-shirt, was screaming while struggling frantically, thrashing around trying to free himself from the grasp of a 10 foot grizzly bear.

As the Pope watched horrified, a group of Republican loggers came racing up. One quickly fired a .44 magnum into the bear's chest... The other two reached up and pulled the bleeding, semiconscious Democrat from the bear's grasp. Then using long clubs, the three loggers finished off the bear and two of them threw it onto the bed of their truck while the other tenderly placed the injured Democrat in the back seat. As they prepared to leave, the Pope summoned them to come over.

"I give you my blessing for your brave actions!" he told them. "I heard there was a bitter hatred between Republican loggers and Democrat environmental activists, but now I've seen with my own eyes that this is not true."

As the Pope drove off one of the loggers asked his buddies, "Who was that guy?" "It was the Pope," another replied. "He's in direct contact with Heaven and supposedly has access to all wisdom." "Well," the logger said, "he may have access to all wisdom, but he sure doesn't know anything about bear hunting! By the way, how is the bait holding up, or do we need to go back to California and get us another one?"

I love my doggies!

Well in the past week, I have spent over $500 at the vet. Can you believe that? I myself went to the dr. a while ago, and I got the bill yesterday - it was $6. Since when did animal doctors pass up the human doctors in billing?

We do have 3 dogs, so that can be part of the problem. They basically all just had an annual checkup, but there were a few issues. The vet was worried BamBam could have PUPD or Kushing's disease, but after some tests they ruled that out. Rusty has high blood sugar and is now on a special diet that you can only buy at the vet. The good news is that he doesn't have a thyroid problem. We need to get his blood sugar down ASAP so with the special diet we are now taking more daily walks. And Belfry who is older than the other 2 combined, is healthy as a horse (as healthy as horses can be, I guess) except for an ear infection which we had to get some medicine for.

I've considered getting the "animal insurance" believe it or not, but with premiums of $40 a month per dog, that is more than we pay for our own insurance. It's hard to say if it's worth $120/month or $1,440.00 per year. I guess you never know when a huge bill might show up for some special treatment. But I guess that is how all insurance works. Or maybe I could just pick my favorite and get insurance on him and not the others? But that would make me feel a bit quilty. In 6 more months we go back for annual vaccinations - I can hardly wait. Maybe I should start saving up now.

Stop the madness!

So today, just like any other day, I went to the post office to pick up my mail. (That's right I actually have to go to the post office every single day to pick it up because apparently even though you spend 300k on a house and 8k in taxes that just isn't enough money to get the builder to stick a damn piece of plastic with numbers on it at the end of your driveway. Nor is it enough money to pay the mailman to actually drop the mail off at your house. With 169 houses in my subdivision x's 8K in taxes for each house, that comes to $1,352,000.00 a year for the teeny tiny town of beecher. i mean really, how much money are these mailmen making where that just isn't enough? sign me up!)

Anyway, as I was saying...I went to the post office to pick up my mail. I was happy to see that today I had a nice big handful of envelopes. (It just makes me feel better about driving over there when I actually get something.) So I get home to sort through them and what do I have?

1. a new victoria's secret catalogue where they spelled my street name Dtonington? I mean come on people - is there ANY word in the english language that starts with a D and the next letter is a T? I don't think so.
2. an invitation to a surprise party - yay!
3. a new issue of Ladies Home Journal - yay!
4. an invitation to a tupperware party - yay!
5. an application for a Capital One Visa
6. an application for a Chase Mastercard
7. an application for a Discover card
8. an application for some other Mastercard I have never heard of
9. an application for a Home Depot card
10. a notice on how some bank has bought out some credit card that I cancelled 3 years ago.
11. a letter asking me to convert my macy's store card to a macy's visa
11. the nicor bill - booooo
12. the water bill - double boooo

Now really, when is this madness going to stop? I had 7 pieces of mail that are nothing but crap applications for credit cards! and why? I don't sit around applying for credit all day. I have one business credit card which is an American Express. Luckily they are still sending all my AmEx mail to my office in Georgia. There are probably more credit applications that are over there. I have a debit card which has a Visa logo on it that I use for everything - but it comes out of my checking account. I don't charge things on it! And I have one other personal credit card with Visa through AirTran since I fly that airline all the time and can earn free miles if I use it to book my tickets. I've used my macy's card once.

Does everyone in the country get this many of these things or am I on some sort of list? I feel like they are all ganging up on me and trying to break me down. It's like they are on some team bombarding me day in and day out - hoping I will give in and sign up for one. And I seriously feel like at least 10 trees have given their lives just so that I can receive these credit card applications day in and day out. (Don't worry - after I rip them up, I recycle them) Not only do they send me the application, but they have to send a fake card too - like seeing this awesome piece of thin plastic with a nifty little design on it and the words "your name here" is going to inspire me to sign up, pay annual fees, and risk paying 15% interest on an impulse buy. On top of that, there are usually 3-4 pages of stuff telling me why this card is so much better than that card, and why this card is the card I must have. Usually theres a little booklet in there too with all the rules, regulations, and fine print to explain how they can screw you whenever they want to. I really just don't think that all of this is necessary.

My husband has the same cards I do (minus the American Express and Macy's - but he does have a BestBuy card) He NEVER EVER EVER gets this kind of mail. It's just crazy if you ask me. I can't believe that the credit card companies are willing to spend so much money on marketing. I know they make billions every year on financing people who can never pay their debt off - but maybe next year they can consider spending a bit less on the advertising and use that money to re-plant a forest...just a thought.

Pray for the Whittingham Family

I was very sad to hear that a girl who graduated from Marian Catholic High School in 2002 was hit by a car this past Friday night. She passed away just a day later. I did not personally know Lyndsey Whittingham, but her older brother Kevin was in my grade. Kevin and his wife Colleen were in some of my classes in high school and were part of the Kairos program I was involved in. My dad lives in the same town as The Whittingham's. They are such good people. Please keep them in your prayers.

October 31, 2006
By Steve Schmadeke Staff writer

Out Friday night with a group of college friends, Lyndsey Whittingham was about to step into a stopped cab when a second taxi struck her about 30 minutes past midnight.

As word of the accident spread, dozens of the 23-year-old Frankfort woman's family and friends gathered in a waiting room outside the ICU at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center.

But a day later, her family knew Whittingham would not recover.

She was pronounced dead at 12:44 a.m. Sunday.

"I feel so cheated," said Colleen Curtis, her college roommate and now a law student at St. Louis University. "It makes me sick. I just feel like there were so many things we were going to do together -- we were going to travel and be in each other's weddings."

A 2002 Marian Catholic High School graduate, Whittingham wanted to be a dentist, just like her father.

Holly Griffin, president of the Marian Catholic Mothers' Club, recalled watching Lyndsey and her dad.

"You could just see there was a special bond that she and her father shared," she said.

Whittingham's family respected their daughter's wish to donate her organs. She was being kept on life support Monday morning.

"That would be like them to find a way to do some good from this," said Mayor Jim Holland, who knows the family. "The whole community's thoughts are with them."

The accident took place on the North Side, in the 2500 block of North Ashland Avenue. The taxi driver who struck Whittingham was cited for driving too fast for conditions and failing to exercise due care for a pedestrian in the roadway, according to police.

Her friends are devastated that the energetic and kind woman they knew is gone.

When the Monday morning announcements were made over the PA system at Marian Catholic, Sister Mary Paul McCaughey also asked students and faculty to pray for the Whittingham family.

"Almost everybody here knew her and loved her," said Sister McCaughey, the school's president. Whittingham was a varsity cheerleader at Marian Catholic. "She just was darling, just peppy and energetic, always kind to people."

In May, she earned a biology degree from John Carroll University.

After her first year at John Carroll, Curtis drew Whittingham as a roommate.

"It ended up being the best thing that ever happened to me," Curtis said.

The two ate lunch together in the cafeteria and went to Quinn's, a local pub, on weekends.

A spokeswoman from John Carroll University said the school would hold a memorial service for Whittingham later this week.

Whittingham was applying to dental school, said family friend Bernie Krause. She lived with her folks while working as a sales rep for Fisher Scientific.

Her father, Ray, is a practicing dentist in Frankfort. The Southtown could not reach him or his wife, Betsy, Monday.

Ashley Pyle grew up across the street from "Lynz" and cheered with her on their high school squad. The two met at age 5 and delighted in diving together to the bottom of the Prestwick Country Club pool.

"She was always the light-hearted one," Pyle said.

As adults, they would take long drives on country roads south and west of Frankfort, talking nonstop along the way. Pyle is now a University of Maryland law student.

"She was the best listener in the world," Pyle said.

In addition to her parents, Whittingham is survived by her two older brothers Joe and Kevin and their wives, Ana and Colleen.

Funeral arrangements are pending, but the wake is expected to be Friday, followed by a funeral Saturday.

Weekend Trip to Florida - Happy Birthday Joe!

As usual, we had another busy weekend - this one was a lot of fun though. Dennis and I flew in to Pensecola, FL on Friday morning to see his best friend Joe. The best party of it all though was that Joe had no idea that we were coming. I had been planning everything with his wife Teresa for a couple of months so that we could surprise Joe for his 30th birthday. We showed up early in the morning. The boys went fishing and the girls went shopping. Later that night Joe's mom and brother came in from Alabama. We had a good time hanging out together. Saturday all of the guys went golfing while Teresa and I got everything ready for the surprise party that night. The party was great too. We flew back home on Sunday evening - just in time for another week of work....yay...haha
Anyway, here you can see a few pictures from our trip. Payton is Joe and Teresa's beautiful 8 month old daughter. She is so adorable and so happy. We loved getting to know her better...I don't think she remembered us from her trip up to Chicago. She came all the way up here for our wedding in May....then again who really remembers all that much from when they were only 3 months old anyway?
We had a great time and can't wait until we can all get together again - hopefully for a little bit longer next time. :)


The ocean is about a 10 minute drive from their house in Gulf Breeze. It is so beautiful here at the beach!


Here is a dome home on the beach that is built to withstand hurricanes. During the hurricanes, this is where most of the news reporters stay so they can be on top of the action. And, when it's not full of news reporters, you can rent it out for a group visit...anyone want to go?


Dennis with his new best friend Payton and her daddy on the couch. He just loved playing with her and getting her to smile. We even think she said "Hey D!" before we left!


Payton in her super cute Boo outfit with ghost hat getting ready for Halloween!


Bye Bye Pensecola!


Flying Home

another busy week(end)

I can't believe another week has passed. We have been unbelievable buys. Thursday night we went out to eat with some of my ex-co-workers from the myers group. Later that night we met up with our fomer office manager, Kristin, who was in from GA. A spectacular time was had by all. Saturday, Dennis and I drove down to Champaign to see my friend Stephanie. We had a great day picking pumpkins, carving them, and snacking on apple cider and pumpkin seeds. I will enclose some pictures below. Saturday night was a mind-boggling game of Cranium with the in-laws. Sunday I took the annual trip to Long Grove with my friend Christen and sister Lisa. We had a great time. and Sunday night I spent a bunch of time online looking for a new car. I have not been able to decide what kind to get. I have wanted a Prius for a LONG time, but I am not as sure anymore. I test-drove one last year and loved it, but my existing car - the Scion XA was in a bad place for trading it in at the time - I still owed too much and it wasn't worth as much. Now that I am able to trade in, I want to make a good decision. I have been a big fan of the Nissan Morano and the Toyota Prius for ages, but whatever car I do get, I would like to keep it for a long time. The Scion XA wasn't bad, but I only bought it for the great gas mileage and the long commute to work. I don't necessarily like the dark blue color - it's always dirty - always! and it is seriously like driving a roller skate. It is soooo small. This time around, I want to buy something that is nice, practical, and something that will last me a while....I have also looked in to some of the certified pre-owned cars because last time I swore I would never buy another new car again. My husband's truck was a pre-owned and it is awesome. Oh well...the search continues....any suggestions anyone?

Halloween in 22 more days!

Wow! We had one busy weekend. Friday night we saw "The Departed." It was pretty good but I had issues with how much alike Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio looked alike. Not only can these two pass for brothers but in the movie they give them the same haircut. It was a good movie though.

Saturday we went to The Real Men of Comedy show sponsored by Budweiser and Maxim at the Rosemont Theatre. It was great. Joe Rogan was the headliner. Charlie Murphy and John Heffron performed before him. They were all hilarious. I HIGHLY recommend seeing Charlie Murphy if you ever have a chance. (He is Eddie Murphy's brother for those of you who don't know.) We had an awesome dinner at Gibson's too.

Sunday was spent putting up our awesome Halloween decorations and watching the Bears Game. (Check out the pictures below of our Halloween decos - we went all out this year....I can't wait for Christmas!) We are probably the only people in our neighborhood with any Halloween decorations up at all and we don't even have kids. But we do have two nephews and they seemed to like all the stuff. My personal favorites are the hanging spider that is motion activated and drops from the ceiling, the skeleton that dances while hanging on the wall and the blood in the windows reading BEWARE!



Dripping Blood!


The Web




Dropping Spider!!!

It's Here!!!!

The moment we have all been waiting for has arrived. Our painting from Jamaica showed up yesterday safe and sound. We purchased it on our honeymoon at an art auction on May 23rd. 4 months and 9 days later we finally have it. We were beginning to worry that it was all a scam and that we'd been had by a smoothtalking Jamaican art dealer. But last Friday Elaan, the Jamaican art dealer, called me from Jamaica to apologize for the delay and told me we would receive it this week. With all of the moving etc. it was actually shipped to the US once but the Lansing post office sent it back instead of forwarding it to our new address. It was a long wait, but well worth it. Once we have it stretched and framed, we will post a picture of it here on the blog.