The Story of My Life

Cloud Gate at Millinieum Park in Chicago is British artist Anish Kapoor's first public outdoor work installed in the United States. The 110-ton elliptical sculpture is forged of a seamless series of highly polished stainless steel plates, which reflect the city's famous skyline and the clouds above. A 12-foot-high arch provides a "gate" to the concave chamber beneath the sculpture, inviting visitors to touch its mirror-like surface and see their image reflected back from a variety of perspectives. Inspired by liquid mercury, the sculpture is among the largest of its kind in the world, measuring 66-feet long by 33-feet high. "What I wanted to do in Millennium Park is make something that would engage the Chicago skyline…so that one will see the clouds kind of floating in, with those very tall buildings reflected in the work. And then, since it is in the form of a gate, the participant, the viewer, will be able to enter into this very deep chamber that does, in a wa...

HIS Fall festival was a blast. A good time was had by all. Little girls and Big boys alike loved the festivities!! I had to work a shift and Daddy met me with the children afterwards. Baby girl sleeps in a Hooters tanktop as her PJ's . Um, yes, that is it in the picture because that is what she showed up wearing at the Fall festival. A hot air balloon breezed over our neighborhood on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. And Baby girl in yet another Hooters t-shirt as we looked for the REALLY lost Tomb of Gents Loom in Hewy's October hunt Sunday afternoon as well. My gnome hunting expert team and I cracked the code finally, but some thief beat us to the loot. Baby girl and I had fun looking, tough. And if you were one of the 2 cars that drove by as I took a nice, graceful fall down a large steep hill on a main parkway, I know you were laughing.

After Chinatown, we took a trolley and bus to get to Lou's! The best pizza ever. The secret is in the crust and my hubby wanted to sneak in the kitchen and steal the recipe. His pizza is as good as this, but the crust is a little different. They say the secret is in the Lake Michigan water used? Or some other secret ingredient . Whatever the case, it is wonderful The lunch special was a salad and a 6 inch of your choice. He had 2. I had the Stuffed Spinach bread, which tasted just like the pizza crust and was stuffed with cheese and spinach. The bread was great, the stuffing a bit heavy, but had a good taste. I just scooped half of it out and ate away~! http://www.loumalnatis.com/ I know, I have said before, order the half baked ones and have it delivered right to your door!!! Try it for a holiday gathering if you have not. Portillo's is available as well. We walked off the lunch by heading to Navy Pier and window shopping and people watching. It is a beautiful place filled ...

We walked around the city, had a Starbucks.... ummm my new favorite is the Hot Carmel Apple!!!....took lots of pictures and just relaxed. We had that late huge lunch at Portillo's on our first day, so we just turned in early, after strolling by Lou's, our favorite pizza. We had a course mapped out tomorrow that included their pizza for lunch. Day 2 will include lots of fun. Chinatown, Navy Pier..... Stay tuned for more sights and sounds of the Windy City.

Nothing says fall like October. Apple Cider. Cinnamon Candles. Thanks to my friend Leigh for the wonderfully fresh delicious apple cider. It is the best! And my neighbor Thelma for the wonderful fall candle. They both made for a relaxing fall evening. Crow Mountain was a family favorite of my grandparents each fall and this brought back some fond memories. Check out Leigh's blog for more details on the Fall Harvest and other Alabama treasures. Happy Fall, Y'all.

First Stop on the Eat Everything in Chicago Birthday Tour...... Portillo's Italian Beef sandwiches and Chicago dogs. I am not a big meat eater but this is the BEST ROAST BEEF sandwich on the planet. I am not sure what makes a roast beef and Italian beef, but this beef is so tender, soaked in gravy, with soft bell peppers on top. OH MY. I ate the WHOLE thing and could have had another. The bread is wet with the gravy but not soggy- just perfect. Yankee boy had an Italian beef AND a Chicago dog. If you have never seen a Chicago dog, they have SO MUCH STUFF on them. All kinds of peppers. They are all beef kosher dogs and are very tasty. He gets no onions but the rest of the works. Pickles, sport peppers, I think even tomatoes. The Best Street food in Chicago!!! Order online: http://www.portillos.com/ It is good, but not as good as being there. Next stop, magnificent mile shopping on Michigan Avenue. Please tell this crowd there is an economic crisis. The shoe sale at Nordstroms look...

Coming from a small town environment, it is difficult for some to imagine FLYING to a city and not having a car. We always make use of the Chicago Transit system while visiting, but it is a little more hectic with children, so we usually have a rental car. This trip, no kids. And no car. I am very directionally challenged and the map below is the CTA train map. Buses are a whole different complicated map. So I pretty much just followed the leader with NO clue how to get around. I have to admit, by the end of the trip, I feel pretty confident that I could make it alone. Maybe. So, we flew to Midway. Took the Orange line to the Loop, got on a Blue Line, took it almost out to O'Hare, to Rosemont station, to our hotel. Something we would NEVER do with kids. Or prior to Dave Ramsey taking over our finances. Downtown hotels are great, handy to all attractions and expensive. We stayed at a new hotel we had never tried, the Sofitel. http://www.sofitel.com/ "Classic comfort with the F...

The leaves were in full color. The high was 57. The low 36!!!! It was cold, beautiful, relaxing, and exciting all at once. What a great thing to get to do some of your favorite things with your favorite person for your birthday. Oh, I am sorry, No, not John BonJovi ..... my REAL LIFE favorite. I returned to my Yankee boy's hometown of Chicago to celebrate my 40 th birthday. Just the 2 of us and it was Wonderful. First off, 2 thing I missed greatly about my Florida home. My long forgotten addiction to DUNKIN DONUTS French Vanilla coffee and chocolate donuts. I grabbed these favorites first chance I got at the train station. This started the weekend of EATING off just right. And the warm coffee felt great in the crisp Chicago air. I took some great shots. Saw some interesting, cultural sights. Saw $700 shoes. Ate. And Ate. And then ate again. We stayed at a wonderful hotel and did a lot in 2 days. Funny, you can do that with NO KIDS. I will share more as I get a chance....

I am a bit anxious about this week ending. Because on Friday, my 30s will end as well. I have so many thoughts about turning 40. What about you? How do you feel about age? Just a number? I do feel very young at heart. I suppose being 40 with a 4 year old requires that? There are several things in my life I would change, but for the most part, everything that has happened, both positive and negative, has been for a reason. A plan that I didn't know existed was unfolding perfectly, or imperfectly.... I am thinking very deeply about some things and at the same time, pulling up memories and friends and times from my past that make me smile. I am basking in the joys of my life and contemplating the things that need work. And am seeking God's help and wisdom in knowing the difference. I am throwing myself a real girls' party to reunite friends from my past in several weekends. But in the meantime, I am thinking how I can make my life better and what I can do to keep my life on ...

As a commitment to the new financial plan and as we are preparing to attend the Dave Ramsey event tomorrow, I have pledged my commitment to the cause in the best way I know how. I have not only destroyed all credit cards, but have COLORED MY OWN HAIR. Yes, the mega bucks budgeted into the Dave plan for haircare each month was equal to 3 eat outs! Think about it, coloring your hair- cooking 3 less meals a month. And let's face it, my hair can stand just about any color I choose to thrust upon it. If you have read my hair history you can attest to the fact that I am not immune to experimenting with hair color. In fact the little graphic below depicts the rainbow of colors I have sported in the past 12 months. So you may think that the hair color is no big deal AND I admit, it is insignificant in light of the whole world order. To me, it is just my display of commitment to changing. $120 vs. $10 And $10 was without the Winn Dixie card. I dug it out, got $4 off and my hair color cost m...

We had a block party on Sunday afternoon and had a huge turnout. We have so many kids on our street and it was great to get all the parents out and talking. I would love to say I took lots of pictures, but I sat my butt in a lawn chair and ate all the delicious food and enjoyed adult conversation with my awesome neighbors. We must try to plan more neighborhood stuff! On Monday night, our Wildcats chartered a bus and rode to Vestavia . Thanks Devan's parents for the awesome experience! Little Man's favorite Aunt (sorry GL , just kidding of course!!!) and cousin came from north of here about 90 miles to watch the game. So a charter bus ride with your teammates and your family there to cheer you on....who cares what the score was! And last but not least, I had laryngitis, totally losing my voice on Tuesday. I took a sick day to rest on Wednesday. Due to the sewer fiasco at my son's school, he was home too. And of course if we were both home, Baby girl had to stay too. ...

We are enjoying the football. Making lots of new great friends- kids and parents alike. While I still do not know all the positions and struggle with my limited knowledge of the rules, we are having a good time! And of course, our rules are kinda weird.....I just figured out last night that they were not really punting. I thought I was just not paying attention. And our team does not have a quarterback.....and we have a bearcrawler . Go figure. I am NO sports genius, but No wonder I am confused. I did team pictures last night, in my spare time. Here are a few for you took check out! GO WILDCATS!!!!