Why I Oughta...

There goes my perfect five star Uber rating. We used a few Ubers to get around Walt Disney World earlier this month (to Disney Springs and inter-hotel transportation) and one of those drivers knocked me down from my five star perch and I think I know the trip.  The Boy was wailing away in the back seat.  The Bird was talking like crazy and there was a bit of traffic, so the trip took longer than normal.  

This is the ONLY way to fly, amirite?  Check out The Bird all dolled up in her Princess Anna dress rocking a big pair of can headphones watching Paw Patrol on her tablet.  We were lucky it wasn't a full flight and we got to spread out a bit.  We were, however, in the very last row, so there was the constant bathroom traffic to contend with all flight.  Still...a happy and content Bird makes for a very stress-free flight.

Over the past week, the folks at our Menards in Melrose Park put up even more Lemax Christmas Village structures including this East Lake Station.  The side facing us in the photo is the 'track side' as indicated by the elevated platform in front.  There's a sign laying on the platform for the Freight Office that probably goes in the roofline somewhere, but the person setting this up either forgot or couldn't figure it out.  This building is a bit nicer than some of the other Lemax structures Menards is carrying and would look good in Mantleburg.  Alas...it wasn't meant to be.  The Mayor of Mantleburg says that the town isn't quite ready to be a railroad town.

Of all the Disney pins that The Babe and The Bird picked off cast member lanyards on our most recent trip, the *best* one of the bunch just has to be this Minnie Mouse as Mary Poppins beauty.  I don't remember where exactly we traded for this one, but it came on our last few days there, so it was somewhere in the Magic Kingdom or over at Disney Springs. She'll go nicely in The Babe's collection and I think...this might be our first Mary Poppins pin ever?

This post is making it 11 years that we've rung in Thanksgiving with The Band's "The Last Waltz" here on the blog.  There have been years where we've done the Turkey Trot.  Years where we've split time between my folks house in Frankfort and Nat's folks place in Naperville.  Some years where the Bears play on Thanksgiving (like tonight!).  But...one thing has remained persistent:  The Band. Here's the post from last year . And here's the rest of the posts that I can turn up on the topic: Here's my post from 2013 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2012 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2011 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2010 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2007 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2005 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2004 on The Last Waltz . Van the Man is this year's feature on "Why I Oughta".  Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.

As I was cleaning out the garage recently, I came across a few garage sale 'treasures' that I picked up over the past year.  This Santa Train was one of them.  It has Santa on the locomotive and one car behind him attached via a small chain.  That car has another chain coming off the back of it, so I'm assuming that there was another car attached at some point, but it wasn't there when I picked this guy up.  We're not in our hold house this Christmas, so I'm not exactly sure where he'll go, but for now, he's on top of the tv console in the family room.  I'll have to keep my eyes open for the caboose - which we all know will be basically impossible to find.  I guess that's why I'm up for the challenge.

Earlier this month, I posted the little project I created about listening to Christmas music .  Well...good news for *some* of you:   there's an update .  Thanksgiving week is here, so rejoice fellow Christmas music people:  You no longer have to feel shame. Go ahead.  Play the Bing.  Feel no shame. http://www.canilistentochristmasmusic.com/