Showing posts with label Fun Stuff. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fun Stuff. Show all posts

Monday, September 5, 2011

Happy Labor Day


It's almost 11, and I just finished eating breakfast, which is totally unlike me....but it feels so good!  For all my international readers, today in America we are celebrating Labor Day, which was designed to honor more blue collar workers like: factory workers, people in unions, firefighters, police officers, etc.  However, typically everyone gets the day off, unless you work for an organization that needs to run 24 hours.

I'm going to spend the day doing the perfect combo of relaxing and working.  The hubsters and I are still trying to get the house together for our small group which begins this Friday.  I'm so not the type to put on heirs and keep up with the Jones', however, I want people to feel comfortable when they come to our home, and I want to make it a relaxing space for us to focus on God and fellowship.  For me, this simply means that everyone has a place to sit and the house is clean.

Yesterday, we went to the Chicago Jazz Fest, and we had a good time.  I was able to curl up with my Nook on the train ride there, listen to some great artists, like Ira Sullivan, and also it was another opportunity to expose my son to something new and different.  A little sadness settled in as I watched the highschool jazz aritists.  They were SO good!  I was sad because I was thinking back to my young adult years and how artistic and creative I was.  I was great at writing, poetry, I played clarinet, floral arrangements, crafts, etc....and now, most of that creativity is gone!  I feel like I have to fight, scratch, and claw to get any creativity to flow.  I wondered what my life would have become if I had continued with the arts.  Happiness came back, because I decided I would've never met my husband if I started out as an artist, but it's never too late to turn back.

What are your plans today?  Make it a great one!

Friday, September 2, 2011

Good-Bye Summer, Hello Fall

We only have a little over 100 days left in this year!  Where did the time go??!!??!  I was just telling someone the other day that the older I get, Fall is becoming my favorite season, especially in Illinois.  Fall is so beautiful here: the colors on the trees; the perfect 70-80 degree weather; the way the sun warms your body to make you feel toasty, but not burnt; and I could go on, but you get my drift.

I'm also looking forward to wearing light sweaters, cute boots that I've had for years, thrift store finds.  I'll have to show you guys two outfits that I am itching to wear.  The pieces are a mish mash from the hubster's closet when he was a teenager, a few items one of the pastors at my church gave me, and a few fairly modern pieces.  I know this combo doesn't sound cute, but believe me baby, it is!

I pray you all have a safe and fun Labor Day weekend!  The hubsters is on a three week hiatus from his MBA degree program, so we're about to live it up!  When he goes back at the end of September, he will complete his last quarter of school ever, and then we're really going to live it up!!!!

Summer in the Rearview

God-Daughter's 10th Birthday on our camping/road trip!


We will never forget this!

It's my birthday!  Celebrating the last year of my 20s!!!

Anniversary




Chicago Skyline from our boat cruise.

White Party on a Boat

Bre & PaPa dancing at Lil Maurice's wedding!


Trenton, get over here right now and stop playing...it's time for school!


What are you most looking forward to during these last few months of 2011?

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Something New

This past weekend I had the distinct pleasure of viewing my city through the eyes of a tourist.  I recommend this practice to anyone, because it's usually inexpensive or free and you learn so much that you never knew about a place that you may have lived your entire life.

Pre-Civil War Clock
The Rockford City Market partnered with the Rockford Area Economic Development group to put on a free historic architectural walking tour of downtown.  I'm not particularly interested in architecture, but I do enjoy art and history and I'm always looking to expose my eight-year-old son to various unique learning opportunities.  We've done a little bit of everything, including camping, watching an Irish dance company perform and learn the history behind the dances, lectures, adventure parks, etc.  You name it, we've probably done it or it's on our to-do list.


 I thoroughly enjoyed the tour and I learned a lot about the city where I reside.  For instance, many of the old abandon buildings used to be very popular in their hey day and many buildings suffered through damaging fires for various reasons.  My son, on the other hand, was bored (of course) but that doesn't mean that he didn't half way like it and learned at least one thing.  You parents know how that is; of course they'd rather be doing something else, but it was cool for a tour.

Here's some of my pictures.  Enjoy!

What types of things do you like to do around your town?
Clock at Midway Theater

Midway Theater- started showing silent movies and ended with CaddyShack in the 1980s after a horrific fire

Queen Anne style building that's been painted over, cheapening the detail of the stone work


Newspaper company built in the 1920s Art Deco style

Original City Hall from the late 1800s.  Stained with soot and dirt
Pole that was most likely purchased from the Sears catalogue in the early 1900s




Original YMCA from the 1850s












Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...