Category Archives: Friends and Family

Day 139: A Baby Gift from the Pottery Bayou

A trip to the suburbs originally intended for snowshoeing at the Morton Arboretum ended up being a trip to the Pottery Bayou in Naperville. A friend lives in near-by Lisle and because it was rainy and gross all day, we had to cancel our plan to try snowshoeing and instead chose to try our hands at painting pottery.

There was a child’s birthday party happening at the Pottery Bayou when we arrived, but we didn’t let all the screaming stop us from choosing our figures/dishes to paint. I couldn’t decide if the hubs and I needed a cookie jar, a chips/dip tray or a vase when I spotted a cute little teddy bear figure among the dragons and t-rexs. I immediately thought of a present for the baby. — When I say “the baby,” I am referring to my recently announced niece or nephew. That’s right, my sister is pregnant! I’ve known for some time now and she finally started telling people, so I decided it would be ok to have a fun thing (and a blog post) about making something for Little Baby J.

My sister likes yellow and grey together, so I decided to go with a grey bear with yellow accents and a green bow. It took me so long to paint three coats of glaze on this bear. For some reason, the detail was really difficult. I think it was just hard for me to get my hands in the right position to do the awkward spots like under his arms and around his face. My friend painted a whole chips/dip tray in the time it took me to do this little bear. But I did it with love and I’m so overjoyed to share this news. They still have to fire it, so the bear won’t be ready for ten days. (Maybe then we can go snowshoeing before picking it up).

Oh and on the bottom, I got to write “Love, Aunt Sarah.” The. Best. Heart = Full.

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Day 132: Super Bowl

I love the Super Bowl. Even when my team is not in it, I watch. Not only do I love the game, but I also watch for the half-time show and the commercials. Pretty much the whole thing is exciting to me, and tonight was no exception.

Brother versus brother in a winner-takes-all fight to the finish, complete with turnovers, trick plays and a comeback of almost epic proportions. Not to mention the power outage. I was rooting for the 49ers because I have cousins who’ve loved them their whole lives. And because I love to see a good comeback. (So close!)

The hubs and I watched with good friends in the suburbs, an impromptu gathering of the best kind. A suburban trip to Costco for them and a stop for beer and more friends in the city for us. Six adults with two children and two dogs. Living room and kitchen televisions linked to get the coverage in both places. So. Much. Food. All made for a great evening and maybe a new tradition? Until next year!

Day 123: Picture Postage

My grandma told me the other day that her brother, who I haven’t seen since I was a very little girl, wanted some pictures of me and my family. He told her that he doesn’t even know what my sister’s and my husbands look like.

I decided to remedy the situation by ordering a few prints of my sister’s wedding, my wedding and some of us having Christmas with my grandma, putting them in a card and mailing them to him. Hopefully this will catch him up. I would love to start a new relationship with him!

Day 113: Birthday!

It’s my birthday! And I am quite the lucky girl. Not only did I receive the secret, yet to be revealed, Apple gift but also a new, professional quality, digital camera, a lovely dinner out AND tickets to Book of Mormon. The hubs may have gone a little overboard and I love him for it.

Broadway in Chicago gets national tours and, in the case of major hits like Wicked and Book of Mormon, sit-down productions. Book of Mormon was originally scheduled to be in Chicago December 2012 – February 2013, but has now been extended through September 2013. And most of the performances are sold out.

Winner of the Tony for Best Musical, Book of Mormon is written by the creators of South Park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, along with Avenue Q writer, Robert Lopez. That should tell you something about the humor in this show. But within all of the crass language and crude (yet hilarious) humor I found a meaningful and hopeful story of faith and goodwill.

The hubs and I were saying on the cab ride home that it is a true musical that pays homage to ones that came before it in sets and choreography as well as music. And it is original! Not a movie adapted for the stage (Legally Blonde, Bring it On, Shrek, Addams Family, Tarzan, etc) nor a jukebox of a famous musician’s songs shoved in to a nonsense story (I’m looking at you Times They Are A-Changin the Bob Dylan musical).

Even though Parker and Stone are famed TV writers, which I’m sure had something to do with how this show got to Broadway, their investment in the art form deserves major props. I’m hopeful that they will continue to do so with their new production company, Important Studios.

Dinner at Lockwood in the Palmer House was lovely, everything excellently prepared. And my relaxing day of talking to my grandmother (it’s also her birthday today), learning to use my new gadgets, and catching up with a friend was super chill. All in all a fun and unforgettable birthday!