sAy AnYtHiNg

I Don't Think it is Quite Right, but it Sure is Funny!

   

My  neighbor is having a baby.  A girl baby to be more specific.  She already has three girls, however, her  youngest is 7, so a group of us in the neighborhood decided to throw her a baby shower.  Plus, this is the first time we, as a group of friends, will be welcoming a new little bundle...clearly a party is in order!

I volunteered to do the invitations.  I enjoy doing invitations and I think I have a bit of a knack for it (please ignore that sound, it is just the sound of me tooting of my own horn nothing to worry about).  I like to make up a verse about the occasion for the invitation, only for this invitation I have been struggling just a touch with my wording.  I asked my husband to help me, and he promised by the end of the weekend we would have it finished and ready to go.  Today is Monday, and the verse is not complete.  As I was walking out the door to take my daughter to school, I reminded him of his promise.  As luck would have it, I needed to stop back home before going to the office.  When I walked in, my husband handed me a piece of paper with a verse on it.

This is what it said:

" The girls will soon have a baby sis

and the whole family will be in bliss

as the number goes from 5 to 6

watchout world 'cause here comes the 'the sis', yo! ;)

I suck at this there's no doubt

it sounds like I'm rhymin" with gout

I'm like a bad rapper in da hood

I'm lively but my chops are no good!!

So yo,

welcome da sista next do'

she ain't no regula ho'

she's a cutie that's fo sho'

so show respect ya know?

Yo, peace out."

I laughed until I cried, which is always a bonus on a Monday morning!

Love Thy Neighbor

I would like to take a moment to thank my neighbor for her accommodating nature.  All my neighbors are FANTASTIC which I have gone on and on about, however, "SQ" is really going above and beyond these days.  How so?  First, in January she got probably the cutest little puppy ever.  She is a black little fur ball no bigger than a Webkinz, and, of course, my neighbor has the good sense to dress her in a pink "cashmere" sweater.  I am allergic to most dogs and cats, so we don't have either living at our house, but it sure is nice that my family and I can get our cute puppy fix right next door.  Second, they are having a lovely pool built in their backyard.  When the little flags went up in preparation for the digging of said pool, I could be heard singing and dancing around my kitchen, "we're gettin' a pool, we're gettin' a pool".  To which my son said, "we're not".  To which I replied, "it's close enough, it's close enough".  Lastly, she has just announced that she is pregnant.  So, now I can get my fix of baby head smelling and cuddling without any of the middle of the night feedings.  May I just say again how wonderfully accommodating SQ and her family are being to all my vicarious needs.  Everyone should have a neighbor like this!

Fear Factor

I was born and raised in Michigan and my husband grew up there since he was eleven.  We started our business there together almost 15 years ago.  Yes, as a matter of fact, we were ten when we started the business.  We moved ourselves and our business to Chicagoland 12 years ago, however, we still travel back to Michigan once or twice a year for meetings and conventions.  Often when we go back it causes us to reminisce about lots of things.  This trip back had me thinking about the beginning of our business.  We were young and excited, but didn't have the world's largest market.   Therefore, we could not afford to be picky about any referrals or appointments that came our way.  Thus, some very interesting situations to be sure.  There were houses that were clearly inhabited by hoarders as there were newspapers piled from floor to ceiling.  The only way to get anywhere in the house was through  a maze like "hallway" created by the piles and piles of newspapers.   The one that sticks out in my mind by far, however, was the one where I was forced to stay professional while confronting one of my biggest phobias.

We were all gathered in the family room around the coffee table ready to start our presentation when I noticed something crawling out of the corner of my eye.  It was a roach.  I think I have mentioned before that I am terrified of roaches. After a few more moments I realized that my one little friend was not alone.  This particular home was infested with the lovely little things.  (I use the term little loosely)  I truly giving myself the heebie jeebies just writing this story and it happened 15 years ago!  Anyway,  I scooched to the very edge of the couch and kept my eye on all that I could see while still maintaining some semblance of eye contact and professionalism with the client.  Thank God my husband and I did presentations together at that time so that  while he was talking I could be ever more vigilant on my watch.  It was the middle of winter with snow everywhere, but I think I probably lost about 5 pounds in nervous sweat.  Needless to say, I was very relieved when that particular presentation came to its conclusion.

They say sometimes confronting your fears can help you overcome them.  I am sure in many cases this is true, not so much this time.  I am still terrified of roaches.

How about you?   Have you ever been confronted with a phobia?  How did you handle it, and did it help you get over it?

Isn't She Lovely?

Well, she is almost lovely anyway.  We had the best of intentions.  We started with great momentum and fully expected that we would create a fabulous Snow Diva.  Then we got cold, and this sounded like a much better idea:

      

Because I Needed Something Else to Worry About Today

Occasionally something will happen on our quiet little street that will set the mini Mrs. Kravitz's tongues a waggin' (me included).  The location of today's excitement happened to be our home.

This morning, a carbon monoxide detector, that we have long suspected has been malfunctioning, indicated that we should "get to clean air immediately".  Luckily, I was already on my way to school with the kids, and as I mentioned we thought it was more than likely a false alarm.  However, over the last few days, my son has been complaining of headaches and feeling tired.  Both symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning.  So wanting to be safe, I told my husband to call the fire department (non-emergency) to see if they would come check the house.  The fire department told him to hang up and call 911 and that they would dispatch someone right away.  He did just that, and they came.  Hence the tongues a waggin' when the fire truck showed up.

Bottom line, they found nothing.  All our levels were zero or one.  I guess my son was suffering from sinus pressure headaches due to our crazy swings in temperature, as I suspected all along.  Mainly, because I too am suffering from said headaches.  Also, the malfunctioning detector is in the garbage and we are now the proud owner's of $116.00 worth of new detectors.

Later in the morning, not wanting to feel left out of all the fun the other detectors were having, one of our smoke detectors started beeping.  Seriously!  I was at the time in a large hurry to get out the door to pick my daughter up from pre-school.  Therefore, I stood on a chair and pulled out the dead battery causing the incessant beeping.  Guess what?  That didn't stop the beeping.  Apparently just removing the offending battery isn't enough, because they are also hardwired it will continue its beeping until a fresh battery is installed.  I managed to complete this task after returning home with my daughter and about 3 tries installing the battery. 

Now all is quiet on the great western front.  At least for now, 'cause if you are keeping score that's one repaired dishwasher, two new water heaters, two new carbon monoxide detectors, and one fresh battery since Thanksgiving.  Whew.

Eat, Drink, and Be Merry!

The story, in pictures, of the neighborhood holiday party, cookie exchange, pokeno/poker extravaganza!  Your hosts.  New Diva (me) and hubby.

The cookie table.  Delicious!

Jenny from Chicago's entry for the cookie exchange.  No, she will NOT be living it down any time soon.

The food.

Warm roast beef sandwiches with Dijon, Havarti, and peach preserves.

Warm turkey sandwiches with horseradish Cheddar, cranberry sauce, and smoky onion mustard.

Pumpkin soup with a garnish of Greek yogurt and chopped chestnuts.

Skewers of blue cheese, apple, ham, and field greens.

Warm and creamy bacon dip with veggies and Terra chips.

Beer, wine, and Champagne cocktails with pomegranate and Grand Marnier.  Until the boys decided to play quarter bounce (not kidding) and then all in the liquor cabinet was fair game.

    

I made this centerpiece in memory of my grandmother. 

   

The cutest of all decorations!

The revelers.  You will probably recognize Chased by Children in a couple of these!

   

       

It's o.k. he is her husband, besides who can blame him?

      

       

      

A great time was had by all!  The door closed behind the last guest at 1:20am...Can't wait for next year! 

Please Stand By

My husband and I hosted our neighborhood Holiday/Cookie Exchange/Pokeno (a really fun and easy game with prizes) Extravaganza on Saturday night.  It was a total blast, if I do say so myself!  What really made it a blast were the people in attendance.  I have said many times on this blog how much I love our neighborhood, but it bears repeating.   If you were to create the perfect street of people you would create our street.  It is what a neighborhood is supposed to be like. 

Unfortunately, I am, as usual, having technical challenges, and I don't have pictures to show you...yet.  I promise an illustrated version of the party is on its way to you soon! 

Just as soon as I fix my technical challenges and dig my way to the bottom of the pile of dishes that I am still doing that is!

We're Off

I am quite certain that if the wind doesn't die down soon, the entire state of Illinois is going to end up in Oz.

Here is what I will say to the Wizard when we get there:

If I only had the keys to the rental car my husband is driving while his was being repaired we could go pick his car up and the rental would no longer be sitting in my driveway. (no, I was not the one who lost them)

If I could only find the still elusive perfect pair of jeans.

If I only had all my Christmas shopping and all my Christmas cards done.

If I only had the winning Lotto ticket.

And while I'm at it, throw in a pair of those red shoes.  I am a shoe freak after all!

How about you?  Any requests for the Wizard?

**Enter here for free stuff, no Wizard necessary.**

Thought You Might Like a Peek

Some of you may already have seen some pictures from the outrageously fun Halloween party of last weekend as Jenny from Chicago posted some on her blog yesterday.  Hey, it was her party, it seemed only fair that she do the official unveiling of the pictures from the evening.

Here we are in all our glory:

The Girls

 

New Diva on the Blog (aka me) is the queen of hearts.

The boys:

Mr. New Diva on the Blog (aka my husband) is the Cowboy.

For more pics click here.   Have a great weekend, hope you get to have this much fun!

R U Curious?

We moved to our current home six years ago.  Man time flies, I can't believe it has been that long.  When we first moved in, it was sort of the boonies, in terms of shopping anyway.  There were lots of houses and more being built everyday, but shopping, even just the grocery store was a little bit of a hike.  It's grown by leaps and bounds since then.  We now have a Target (my favorite), a Wal-Mart ( not even in the same league as Target in my opinion), an entire Commons with Pottery Barn, Williams-Sonoma, Gymboree, several restaurants, etc. etc., and a Galleria is being built across the street.  There's ton of construction going on all the time.  Luckily, it doesn't effect traffic too terribly.  I am a very curious person, so I'm constantly wondering aloud and in my head, "what's that going to be"?  The suspense kills me until the sign goes up.  I know I'm like a little kid.  My husband, on the other hand, could absolutely care less.  It drives me crazy that he doesn't want to know.  How can you not want to know?  He just goes with the theory that he'll know when it's finished and until then he really doesn't think about it at all.  He thinks it is funny that I do care.  O.K., so patience isn't one of my strongest virtues, but comparatively speaking I am much more patient than he.  Let's say if he has the patience of a gnat, I am at least at fly level with my patience.  Therefore, his lack of interest is puzzling to me.  It must be one of those woman/man things.  Tell me, are you curious about "what it is going to be"?  Is your spouse? Or I am I just a complete anomaly on this issue?