Friday, May 30, 2008

double header

Won one, lost one last night. We're still working out the kinks...

Hope all the Lost watchers enjoyed the finale. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around it all...will probably see what the message boards are saying at some point this weekend. I am sure there are lots of crazy rumors brewing.

We have great Cubs tickets tomorrow! Can't wait to be at Wrigley!

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

tidbits

The calendar say it's Tuesday, but everyone I know has The Mondays. The first day back after a 3-day weekend always stinks. It rained most of the day and was a brisk 20 degrees cooler here. Blek.

I think most new TV episodes are complete and I have to say the finales were pretty disappointing. Ugly Betty finished with storylines told way, way to many times (the love triangle choice; a paternity surprise). Grey's went out with a whimper by assuming that anyone really cared about Meredith and McDreamy getting together. There are others, but nothing I even care to type about...One exception was The Office's shocking final clip of Dwight and Angela hooking up...and hopefully the Lost finale on Thursday will dazzle.

Monday, May 26, 2008

the unofficial start of summer

We had a taste of summer today cheering the Peoria Chiefs to a victory and enjoying the last day of the 3-day weekend. Ryne Sandburg was mere steps from us when he was coaching third base. He's so cool! The players all wore traditional socks so it was fun to see the uniforms...makes me want to wear my old uniform!

I missed my softball game last Thurs. because of a work dinner...and we lost. So now we're 1-2, and looking for some redemption this week in a double header.

Saturday and Sunday were very busy with house chores. We're in the second phase of our front porch painting project, and Ben finished re-painting our swing. We had dinner on our patio for the first time so that was a highlight.

We watched The Darjeeling Limited on Saturday. The story is told in true Wes Anderson style, which I like, but sometimes get annoyed with. I always wish the movie was over 30 minutes sooner.

Time to rest for a busy week!


Tuesday, May 20, 2008

tidbits

We watched American Gangster last weekend (the movie we just couldn't manage to watch for like a month and definitely lost money over) and liked it more than we thought we would. The late 60's Harlem setting was interesting ... the angry/something-to-prove Russell Crowe part is getting a little stale for him IMO.

I'm hearing a lot of summer movie buzz but nothing sounds that great to me yet. I am hoping to see Sex and the City opening weekend. I wish we had a Harry Potter to look forward to.

Speaking of SATC, has anyone seen the new summer stuff in the Bitten line at Steve & Barry's? They have some good stuff, and I just can't believe it's all less than $10. I got a cute birdie tank top (extra long!) and a gray shirt that is nice enough for work. The shirt-dresses are very flattering but too short for tall gals. I am not one of those annoying people always quoted in the media saying "I mix my budget Target clothes with designer stuff" (what average person can afford $500 and WAY UP for everyday clothing I would love to know?), but I will say the Bitten line has good mixer pieces.

Also new and in stores: cherry passion Tic Tacs. I might like them more than orange!

Sunday, May 18, 2008

opening day


Besides the opening day of baseball, my second favorite opening day is that signaling the start of the farmers markets season.

We were up early Saturday to visit our local market and grab what was available (lettuce and radishes). There's also a great flower vendor selling loose stems so you can create your own assortment - I picked some green hydrangeas. We had coffee at our favorite non-Starbuck's place and I enjoyed a delicious blackberry-lemon scone. What a morning!

The rest of the day was spent on house chores. Ben worked on our porch swing and patio set, and I started painting the front porch (finally!). We worked hard...yawn. Time for rest before another work week.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

tidbits

We had a special occasion today! T-bone, the name for our beloved Honda Accord, rolled over to 100,000 miles. He's been such a good car - commuting in the 'burbs, sitting in the garage in Chicago and battling for parallel parking spots, driving the streets of LA and cross-country back to Bloomington. We're hoping he lives a long, fulfilling life (at least another 50,000 miles).

Gas hit $3.90 here late last week and it's backed off a little since then. I can't get over the days when I first got my license and could fill up for $12. Those days are long gone.

Ben started his new internship at a local bank yesterday (woo hoo!). He's super excited. Now we're both trying to get out of the house at the same time in the morning so navigating the one bathroom is getting trickier. It's funny to me what some people consider luxurious for a home (walk-in closets, furnished basements, etc.) and we'd be happy just to have another 1/2 bath! I think living in a city changes your definition of space. Bigger is NOT always better.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

happy mother's day!

I hope all the moms (and moms-to-be) out there had a great day. we had terrible weather in central IL so I bet that dampened some outings. Our local greenhouse was packed anyway so some people were forging ahead with the biggest planting day of the season, weather be damned.

We lost our second softball game Thursday. We made dumb offensive and defensive errors. I had a great hit to shallow left earning 2 RBIs but otherwise the game was sad. It was bitterly cold too so our cheering section (Ben and a few others) was frozen. Good thing we have the week off to recuperate and practice.

Lack of weekend sleep is catching up with me....nightie night!

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

tidbits

Anyone doing anything fun for Cinco de Mayo? I had a Corona Light with extra lime, but that's a pretty feeble attempt at celebrating.

Yesterday just reminded me the big 3-0 is a month away. Tick-tock...

We watched Across the Universe last weekend and liked it. It felt long, but Julie Taymor's directing keeps your interest. All the singing was great, especially Bono's guest appearance.

Our yard is really looking good! We pulled a lot of weeds, planted some veggies and herbs, and Ben built a wood-holder in the backyard today. We are going to start on the front porch in earnest now that it's more than 50 degrees outside. Our lilac bush is blooming wonderfully. I'll post a photo later this week.

Sunday, May 4, 2008

arranged marriage


I got a turtle night light for Christmas when I was in college. I can't explain why I got this specific gift except to say that I went through a phase where I loved dalmatians and turtles so many, many gifts were given to me according to these themes.

Mr. Turtle came with me to my college apartment, then my first apartment with Ben, he made the move downtown, to L.A., and now he's back in Bloomington in his very own house. He's illuminated small rooms, big hallways and received many compliments over the years.

But Mr. Turtle was lonely. After all, he works hard all night after we've gone to bed and could use some company.

Which brings me to how we found his long-lost soul mate this weekend at a Church sale. We rose at 7 a.m. to wait in line at this large annual sale only to wander around amazed at how they could fill such a large space with junk. We found Mrs. Turtle on a table of lamps and such, and immediately rescued her from a questionable fate. It was the best $2 we ever spent.

Now Mr. and Mrs. Turtle happily brighten our hallway together. They lived happily ever after.

Friday, May 2, 2008

W

We won our first softball game last night 15-1. The other team had pretty bad pitchers so our team got really good at drawing walks, which sounds easy but it's so hard to be patient and NOT swing in slow pitch softball. Now we have a hugely inflated confidence level that I'm sure will get severely wounded in weeks to come.