Why I Oughta...

One year ago tomorrow, I planted a trio of Anemone Lucky Charm that we brought home from Northwind Perennial Fam in Wisconsin, tucking them into our backyard .  That first year...they were temperamental.  They wilted at the slightest dry period.  I baby'd them all Summer and Fall - hand-watering them - to keep them happy.  They seemed to go dormant in normal fashion.   This year, they emerged again and seem to have established themselves quite a bit MORE.  They no longer require attention and are now putting on some size.  See below for the current state of these three: These have special meaning to me - and I'm really excited to see these put out some blooms that I can bring in to Nat this Summer - they bloom in September and October. 

I've posted dozens of times about peonies.  Nat's favorite flower.  By a bunch.  We had a series of lovely and productive (flowering) peonies in Elmhurst, but in the past four growing seasons here in Downers Grove, we have yet to have ONE peony flower.  I think it has to do with all the shade we have and where the peonies are planted.  To try to solve that, I transplanted some of the peonies closer to the house in an attempt to get them some Sun.   But, for Mother's Day, we also bought Nat a new peony.  It is this "Duchesse De Nemours White Peony" that you can see on the tag below: This particular cultivar is white (which, we normally don't have) and comes with some credentials.  From White Flower Farm comes this description : A century-and-a-half after its introduction, the fragrant double 'Duchesse de Nemours' remains a standard by which all other white Peonies are judged. Strong stems give the blossoms an aristocratic bearing; a touch of y...

You can't swing a dead cat and NOT hit a Pinterest board or wanna-be Instagram Influencer without seeing their Elf-on-the-shelf shenanigans.  But, I'm here to say that our elf, Goldie, thanks to a certain someone, killed it this year.  He arrived, had a good time and hit the bricks as fast as he came.  Here he is feeding the reindeer:  I've covered Golide before - most recently in 2019 when he met my guy Hulk Hogan  and when he had tea time with a homeless lady under our tree . 

There's a well-established pattern of a spouse using their social media presence to wish birthday greetings on their partner.  It is a nice little experience - in that one gets to express their birthday wishes and (typically), the partners share parts of the social graph, so the community of friends and contacts get to weigh in. And while, I *have* social media profiles, I actually don't use them to post.  But, like any child-of-the-Web-who-came-of-age-online-in-the-early-aughts, I have a blog.  And, I can use that to crow about our family MVP Natalie. I'm posting this on July 11th - which isn't her birthday.  But, like some of you, she gets the daily email that gets sent out with my posts on the following day.  So, when she reads this (or you are reading this), it will be her birthday. Nat is the glue that keeps us together.  But, she's also leading by example for our three kids in every facet of her life.  She's the leading voice in their ...

15 years ago, I took a shot. And it *was* this/close to Valentine's Day.  Ballsy move - as they say. We were just puppies then.  It worked out beyond my wildest dreams.  To mark the time that has gone by, here's a flashback to a less partisan time when (then) Republicans and Democrats could get along. That Maisy was soommmme dog.  She endorsed us in the mailer above - which was kind of her.  Everybody liked her.  Not like Lizzie .

That's us in the photo up top - this year in San Diego at Nat's brother's wedding.  And that's us on the front of our Christmas card for 2019.  If you received one, you can find the url of our family blog on the back and come visit all of the things we did this year.  I've successfully kept it out of being indexed - and a link from here to there - isn't going to happen.  Hope you can ignore the big blurred boxes on top of the kids and appreciate the wonderfulness that is happening in the photo.  All because of one person:  My dearest Natalie.  Merry Christmas!  Happy New Year.  Happy Hanukkah!  Happy Festivus!  Happy Solstice!  Whatever it is that brings you together with your family today, I hope you enjoy it.  I know I will.  2019 has certainly been Merry + Joyful.  This marks the 359th post of the year - and I'm on pace for another year of 365 posts - one a day.  But, that's for another day.  ...

My pretty, pretty, pretty amazing partner in life Natalie redefined her limits once again this past weekend by completing the Chicago Marathon.  The Chicago Marathon is pretty neat as a participant as you get to not only see quite a few neighborhoods, but you also get encouraged by the spectators across all 26.2 miles of the course.  Well...I think that because they're now limiting access to the finish line, it's more like you get encouraged by spectators for like 25 miles, then you just have to gut out the last 1.2 miles or so - which is easy when the finish line is in sight.  I've gone to watch the Marathon other years including when my sister Vic has run it by herself, but that time - if I recall correctly - I didn't run around but just sat in one spot and saw her from there.  With the advent of the Chicago Marathon mobile app and the ability to track runners by both split times AND an approximation with the map, it is pretty easy to find and connect with the...

There I was, perusing the ice cream novelty section over at the Westmont Mariano's when I see a little box on one of the shelves.  It couldn't be?  Could it? It's-it?  For real?  Here in the Midwest?  Sure enough!  I grabbed a box and scurried to the checkout line.  Proud of myself for bringing home this sweet treat.  When I got home, I showed them off to Natalie who wasn't as impressed as I was with myself. These are more than novelties.   To me.  They put me in a specific place.  In a specific time in my life. There's only one place that I have ever had It's-It ice cream sandwiches:  the main Google cafeteria from 2007 to 2013.  Back in the childless days of our lives, Nat came out to Mountain View with me and (apparently) ate at the Google Cafeteria.  Because she remembers having an It's-It then. This box is a three pack and it is outrageously priced.  But, time and place transportation isn't che...

A few days back, I mentioned that we had attended a game at Notre Dame Stadium and while there were a lot of 'special touches' at the Stadium/game, one that stood out was that they gave away half dollar coins from the concession stands.  Well...the game turned into a bit of a blowout, so late in the 3rd quarter, I took a walk around the bowels of the stadium.  I wanted to see all the light fixtures, reused sections of bleachers, how the old/new stadium fit together and various other things that adorn the interior of the stadium. One of the things that they've done to represent some of their strong history is to blow up and and install vintage program covers from games of past around the concourse.  And guess what?  One of those football game programs was from a game between Washington University and the Fighting Irish.  Yeah...Wash U. That's Nat's alma mater.  And now a Division III football program that I affectionately call the "Teddy Bears"....

Depending on when you read this, it *might* be Nat's birthday.  I know that the only way she consumes my nonsense here on the blog is via the email broadcasts that go out in the mornings, so I'm posting this on June 11th knowing that she'll end up reading it on June 12th. Or, more likely, she herself, *might* read this.  And her not reading my pithy blog posts isn't a slight.  It is due to the fact that she barely gets a moment to herself and is always in a constant state of movement. I likely don't need to tell you all this, but, because of all that she does for us, as the title of this post states, she's our family MVP. Without her, we wouldn't be here and mostly dressed in clean clothes.  Despite her hating my socks with mandals look and protesting at every turn, she keeps us all on track and the kids looking good and in good health.  If I'm not wearing a tshirt and dirty shorts (with my socks and mandals), that's because Nat had the good...

I came across this tire swing at Menards recently and immediately snapped a photo and texted it to Nat.  I mean...who wouldn't want a 'Tractor Ride'n', right? Her response?  A simple: "no." Which, is probably the only answer I should have reasonably expected, right?  I mean...come on.  Look at this thing.  It *is* ridiculous. So, if you're in the market for something like this, you're in luck.   There's at least one left at Menards on North Avenue.

I just found out that the school that the kids go to has a 'mother son' event.  And now I can't stop laughing at the idea of Nat and the Big Beef at MotherBoy 2022 wearing matching outfits.  Might have sent a few images via text over the past 24 hours.  Just might have...

Adding another resident of Main Street USA to our list of meeting with this photo of Nat and two ladies.  I'll post and talk about the woman on the right in a different post, but let's talk about the woman on the left:  Ms. Hildegard Olivia Harding. From the Disney Parks Blog : Miss Hildegard Olivia Harding is a socialite and suffragette, President of the Main Street Social Society, Women’s Auxiliary and Decorating Committee, and works diligently with the women, educating them on Women’s Rights (as her friend Taby says “Those who don’t believe in Women’s Rights should watch out for Women’s Lefts.”). Hildegard’s finger is in every pie, especially chocolate. “One can never have enough chocolate!” Miss Harding owns the Emporium and has an apartment upstairs where she throws lavish functions, often serving her specialty- calamari scones. Look at that "Women Unite" sash she's wearing!  Couldn't be a more perfect meeting for Natalie and these ladies right ...

Our little Elf on the Shelf named Goldie gave the little treats that we give Lizzie a try and I don't think he liked them. Naturally, he left the girls a little note with some friendly advice for Christmas Eve and Santa Claus. (To be clear....Nat is the funny one in the family for those keeping track at home.  She continues to impress with her Elf-antics each morning.)

On Monday, I posted about our trip to the Highwood Pumpkin Festival where we carved a few pumpkins and rode some rides .  And, I mentioned that we made a second stop on the way home.  And, this photo above is *that* second stop.  And it is kind of a 'meta' photo.  That's me, in the driver's seat of the van taking a picture of Nat taking a picture of the McAllister home from Home Alone in Winnetka . Yep...that's the driveway where the neighbor tells the McAllisters to "Bring me back something French!" and is the one that has been subject to a bunch of coverage lately as it has been put up for sale and ultimately changed hands a few years back . We were in the neighborhood, or....well...we kind of *made* it the neighborhood.  As we left Highwood, Nat navigated us down there to check it out.  We've been meaning to go up there for a while, but we haven't been close enough. The place is a stunner.  But the real star of the show is Old Man Marle...

Earlier this month, we got all gussied up in tuxedos and fancy dresses for a wedding and I gotta tell you:  there's nothing I like more than a good wedding reception photo booth.  We had one at our wedding a while back, and I try to make sure we pose for a few sessions whenever we come across one.  This wedding was no different, so we spent some time (well....I actually spent *more* time in there than Nat!) doing our thing.  I don't wear a tuxedo very often (gasp! I know!), so photos please! Btw...for those keeping score at home *this* was my wedding tuxedo!  We're coming up on 8 years of marriage, so having this thing fit (everything!  The pants, the shirt, the jacket) was a nice thing and made me feel good about myself for a minute or two.  Also...this helped me amortize - in my mind - the cost of owning the tuxedo across at least another event. Oh...the wedding?  It was pretty awesome.   Lots of tasty craft beer was served at vari...

I'm posting this on Saturday - the day before Mother's Day - because the emails go out the next morning and I figure that's the best way for Nat to see this. Happiest of Mother's Day to the best, most wonderful Mother (and partner in life) around:  Natalie.  That's her above on an adventure she took me on over the weekend where we went to (randomly) Rivers Casino for some chow at Hugo's Frog Bar and where she won on a slot machine! She's going to hate me saying, this, but here goes:  Natalie does it all.  And does it all with such grace.  She's a mother to three terrific kids.  And I know that they're turning out the way they're turning out because of her.  She tends to them, nurtures them, and makes them stronger and smarter and more caring each day.  *She's* the reason why they are caring, unique kids.  *She's* the reason why I couldn't be more proud of my family and of calling her my partner. I couldn't do what I do dur...

When packing up last month, I found a few of these 'campaign buttons' from our rehearsal dinner today - September 5th - back in 2008.  Still kinda love these and the spirit in which they were made. Here's a post about the invites and other wedding stuff from back in 2008 . A simple blog post can't express my feelings on this 7th anniversary about my wife.  The tradition of anniversary gifts calls for a blog post for #7, right? Nat continues to wow me every day as she demonstrates her smarts, kindness and ability to roll with the punches.  She's the strongest, most caring person I know.  But...importantly, she is an incredible mom to our three kids, a really great sister and daughter, and the best damn partner a guy could ask for in life.  Thanks for putting up with me. Here's to many more years, Pud!    Love you more.

No one brings out a bigger smile in me than my wife of (almost!) five years.  One of our friends just shared this photo from her wedding earlier this summer.  I may not be the best dancer, but I sure do have a lot of fun dancing with this amazing woman! If I had to guess, this was to Hall and Oates "You Make My Dreams Come True" which the DJ happily played for all of us.  (If you are reading this in your email and can't see the video below, do yourself a favor and click here to watch the video here back on the site. )

That is all.