Some random images from a quick work trip. From a layover at the Chicago airport: So it’s probably only mildly strange to take and post a photo of someone I don’t know. But this cracked me up. This kid was the soundest sleeper. Ever. Some lovely art from one our hospitals: From the Madison airport…

When it comes to photos of my sister, it’s harder to find one of her without a doll than it is to find one with. Cricket, Baby Beans, Mrs. Beasley, Pebbles from the Flintstones…she’s had them all. Now that she’s in her [ahem]0’s, here is the latest addition to her collection. Happy birthday [yesterday] to…

Beautiful early morning sun at my folks’ house on a quick and unexpected trip back to town.* There were five deer in their backyard when we pulled into the driveway on Saturday. Just a tiny bit of frost created the coolest patterns on a window this morning. (So glad that I was indoors!) Now we’re…

Right now, I’m wishing that… I could figure out a way to get to the Tim Burton exhibit at MoMA by April. The above photo reminded me of his characters (cute but moody). *sigh* I could get somebody else to un-deck my halls. The background of said photo is my cheerful Christmas tree that I…

This was the view out the patio door during lunch on a school’s-cancelled and I’m-working-from-home snow day. And for something different, I popped up some Jiffy Pop for the kids. Is it just me, or does the finished product remind you of a rather unfortunate news story? I know that Jiffy Pop came first, so…

Check out this story. The basketball team is from my boys’ high school. It’s not every day that we hear or read about something that restores our faith in the concept of sportsmanship — especially in high school athletics. But more than that, this restores our faith in people’s ability to be compassionate, loving and…

It started with bananas that I picked up at the store today. I usually don’t notice the stickers — Chiquita lady, Dole symbol-thing, whatever. But when I put this particular bunch on the kitchen counter, I saw this weird sticker. I know these are from Chiquita because the lady sticker is also there. But what…

Some favorite finds from Twitter today. Above is the March of the Penguins at the Saint Louis Zoo. This just made me laugh. I wanna waddle with the penguins! (But what is with the guy in the shorts?! Seriously? Then again, my dad used to wear tennis shorts and a parka in the middle of…

Thanks to some time off, my calendar feels a bit wonky. It doesn’t really feel like the new year has begun. Late mornings, warm comfort food (including hot cocoa with leftover candy canes – yum!), movie marathons…it’s been a total break from reality. But all good things must come to an end and it’s back…

For as long as I can remember, we’ve had a picnic-type basket that sits on the floor by our couch. Because it’s really more for decoration, I haven’t looked at its contents in years. In fact, I’d almost forgotten that it was there. Today I was looking for a place to store my knitting stuff…

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=8491259&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1 You know who is the biggest TV fan in our house? (Particularly the biggest sports TV fan) Murphy. We found out a long time ago that he likes tennis, but he presses his nose to the screen for just about everything now. Game shows? Oh, sure. The Bourne Supremacy? That’s a favorite. Now for…

Watching Paper Heart while the kids are playing tennis. In the movie, Charlyne interviewed someone who talks about the HEA ending. Happily ever after ending. A little Disney-esque for me, but it’s a nice thought as this year comes to its end. But omigosh, I’m in love with this movie. Happy new year, all.

This morning brought with it a surprisingly steady snow shower. So after Tanner played tennis this morning (Drew is still with grandma and grandpa for another day), we headed out to Powder Valley to take advantage of the snow. I started out taking pictures of the normal stuff — snow on leaves, deer, and so…

Hard to believe that Christmas is already gone and we’re knocking on the door of a new decade. Christmas was spent with family and a good time was had by all. The boys have more clothes, iTunes money and seasons of That 70s Show than they know what to do with. But more than anything,…

It seems like the kitties have been a frequent blog topic lately, but this cracked me up. Wrapping gifts is tough enough for me as it is, but these two didn’t help. Now we’re at Denny’s for dinner because everything was closed by the time we got out of church. (yes, my son wore a…

This was what I woke up to this morning. I heard Violet purring by my head (her purr is like a lawnmower – you can hear her in the next room), but I didn’t realize how close she was until I reached over and turned on the lamp. Fortunately my phone was close enough that…

Lunch at California Pizza Kitchen with my two best boys, celebrating the completion of their finals (demonstrating their “thinker” poses). Live coverage courtesy of a new app on my phone. Technology rocks.

While I appreciate the enthusiasm, could they have possibly crammed more inflatables on this front porch? We’re going to drive around and look at Christmas lights on Christmas Eve, but I had to stop and get a closer look at this one (phone photo, sorry). And remember the house from last year that had all…

Quite by accident, today’s trip to Powder Valley turned out to be a study in colorlessness. But there was something so soft and lovely about it. I’m amazed by how beautiful nature is in every season. I saw the buck today. The buck — the one that looks like he has tree trunks growing out…

I hunkered down under the covers last night, fully expecting to wake up to a winter wonderland. Bright and early this morning, I got up, ran to the window, parted the curtains and…we got squat. You can’t even call this a legitimate dusting. I’ve seen photos and read reports from friends in other parts of…

Photos don’t do this justice. This van stuck out like a sore thumb for so many reasons. For starters, it’s not often that you see a vehicle parked in front of Frontenac’s Nieman Marcus that is being held together with duct tape and hope. But mostly, this van caught my attention because of it’s faux…

This cloud* reminded me of a snowy egret**.  It’s so hard to get used to driving home from work in the dark — especially when I leave on time.  * against the backdrop of a 4:30ish sunset ** Lovely photo is not mine, rather shamelessly stolen from a Google images search.

From the “photos in the news” section of the Chicago Tribune on the Web. I look up this feature on the regular because the photos tend to be so good, but these are especially wonderful. I find myself somewhere between “Ohhhh, I wish I could’ve seen that!” and “Darn, I wish I could’ve taken that!”1.) AP photo by Itsuo Inouye, six-day old…

Flannel-and-sweats-wearing, cookie-baking, candy-making, little-painting, lots-of-sleeping, movie-watching, new-book-reading, kitty-snuggling, cider-drinking kind of weekend. I’m so sorry to see it go. Conversation in the car on the way home this afternoon:Tanner: “Have you seen that thing on Facebook where you name the five people you would choose to be your bodyguards if you were president?”Drew: “I’d probably…