Wednesday, December 31, 2008

farewell 2008

Another year come and gone. I can't believe we've lived in Bloomington for 2 years already.

Here are a few of my favorites from '08:
  • movie: Once (though it was released in 07) / Sex and the City for 08 so far
  • album: Coldplay Viva la Vida
  • song that got the most iPod action: American Boy (it's silly but so catchy!)
  • book: A Thousand Splendid Suns
  • tv show: tie between Lost (came back better than ever!) and How I Met Your Mother (just watched all the seasons on DVD)
  • fashion trend: purple clothes and accessories
  • green trend: reusable canvas bags in most stores and more people actually using them
I'll be back with a word on resolutions (though I have to admit I can't even remember my 2008 resolutions).

Monday, December 29, 2008

holiday hangover

I haven't been too terribly busy yet I haven't had much time to sit down and type a short post. Hope everyone had a great Christmas, vacation, etc. I'm working on my 2008 high/low lights. Be back in a day or two...

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

why I hate winter today

My car was an absolute icicle from the freezing rain we got all afternoon so I spent 15 minutes scraping my car. Seems like not very long, but when you are being pelted with freezing rain and are about to fall over because the ground is a solid sheet of ice, 15 minutes is a freaking eternity.

There is no ice scraping needed in LA for obvious reasons. And Chicago may be really damn windy and cold, but driving was a rarity for me, especially to work, so scraping my car was a rare occurrence. Now it's a multi-week (and sometimes multi-day!) pain in the butt.

I am starting to understand why some women I know hope Santa brings remote starters in his sleigh and why they have visions of seat warmers dancing in their heads. Driving during a Midwest winter sucks!

Monday, December 22, 2008

baby shower

A few photos from Saturday's shower honoring the mom-to-be, Lynn:
bump watch is so on!
Baby Burchfield's boo blankie

Sunday, December 21, 2008

snap, crackle, pop


and I'm not talking about rice krispies. We had a terrible ice storm on Thursday, and we still haven't recovered. A lot of people were without electricity Fri. and into Sat. The trees are totally coated - this view is from our back window this afternoon - more than 48 hours after the storm. Everything is still coated in ice. The wind picked up last night so the trees are snapping constantly, and I was really worried about our Red Bud out front. It's leaning on the front corner of our house (directly over our bedroom), but it's holding steady so far.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

(jury) duty calls

I've been to our Law & Justice (not to be confused with Law & Order) center twice this week.

Monday I made it into the courtroom for jury selection, but the defendant had a change of heart before we got started and took the plea deal. I guess he took one look at us and decided to take control of his own destiny.

Tuesday I watched the orientation video again and sat around for 2 hours. One defendant settled again and one trial got delayed so freedom was mine once again.

Most people I've talked to enjoyed jury duty and felt it was interesting and informative. I will withhold judgment until I really participate in the process.

Also want to say bravo about the new Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan. He's done wonders for Chicago Public Schools. I can't wait to see what he does at the national level.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

muppet christmas

Nothing says Christmas like The Muppets Christmas carols. We listened to it on the way home from Chicago this afternoon and I'm still singing "12 Days of Christmas" muppet-style. Check it out - you won't be disappointed.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

slap in the face

Most Illinoisans have been floating on cloud nine since election day. Our senator is the president-elect! Woo hoo!!

That jubilation ended yesterday. Our governor was arrested and now faces numerous federal charges. If convicted and sent to jail (and it is safe to assume he will), he'll be the fourth Illinois governor to do time in jail.

How can this happen? Yes, the state has a rep of crooked politics, but so do A LOT of states. We were easily duped voters. However, I don't think anyone could have foreseen the level of crazy that is our governor.

It's a sad, depressing situation at a time when we should be celebrating. Change has come to the national political scene. It needs to come to Illinois too.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

christmas spirit


It's been hard to get in the Christmas spirit. The recent snow and a visit to the Chicago institution I will refer to as "Marshall Field's" has helped.

There is something about State Street during the holidays...shoppers, window displays, bell ringers...it just starts to feel like Christmas.

Now that I have some shopping done I need to focus on decorating the house. We're still covered in pumpkins and Thanksgiving. Flipping that over this week will seal the deal. Of course I have my holiday tunes playing already - that started Nov. 28th - and my iPod will be going to the office this week for entertainment.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

the hottest ticket in town? reindeer poop.

Our little local zoo made national headlines this week when they began selling ornaments made out of reindeer poop.

Look out Rudolph, there's a new kid in town. "Ealu and Rika The Poopy Reindeers" just doesn't have the same ring to it though.