• Food,  Friends,  My Friends Have Mad Skillz

    Cotton Candy Cure

    I’m a pretty busy person, to put it mildly. If you’re a regular reader, you know this already. If you’re new (welcome!), just know that I don’t have idle time very often because I am always running in five or six different directions simultaneously, while juggling. It’s not often that I can just hang out, just for fun. Although events (planning and attending) are a big part of my life these days and I immensely enjoy seeing friends old and new at huge, noisy gatherings, the experience of a non-stop-laughing hang-out session with a friend or two has become almost totally foreign to me. Yesterday I was reminded how much…

  • Food,  Travels

    A Cheesy Visit To The Mars Cheese Castle In Kenosha, Wisconsin

    Since this is a week in which so many are traveling, I thought it would be fun to tell you about a very famous tourist attraction that is just over the Illinois/Wisconsin border, off the stretch of Interstate 94 between Chicagoland and Milwaukee. It’s the Mars Cheese Castle. The “Mars Cheese Castle” has been there for more than forty-five years. The owners recently built an actual “castle” just west of the land on which the original building stood. Regardless (and even though it’s not *right* on the border but actually about eight-ish miles north of it), when you see that sign you know for sure you’re in Wisconsin. The mouse,…

  • Music,  My Kid Has Mad Skillz

    Hey Mr. DJ…

    Look what J recently purchased for himself! He has been practicing, and displays some mad skills! It’s enough to make an electronica/techno/house/trance/dubstep-lovin’ mom cry proud and happy tears. Video to come soon! Want to make this a long-term commitment? Please subscribe to my feed by clicking here.

  • Best Thing Ever,  Blessings,  Family Fun

    Holiday Gifts

    I have written many times about my distaste for so many aspects of various holidays, from the decorating to the stress to the retail store overload, to, well, all kinds of things. In fact, the last post I wrote on the topic was less than two weeks ago. That said, when both of my sons, my sister, and my husband all chipped in tonight to help wrap holiday gifts for the friends and family members we’ll be seeing later this week for Thanksgiving, my ice-cold holiday heart melted just a little bit. I’m not sure if it was when we were giving the boys a hard time about leaving about…

  • Fun in Chicago,  I've Got Mad Skillz,  Proud Moments,  Something That Could Change Your Life

    I Died At The Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Seriously.

    I had a fantastic birthday weekend. Jim whisked me away to the city for a show and an overnight stay. When we came home, my sister presented me with the best birthday cake EVER, which you need to check out before you go any further because ohmygodyoujusthavetoseeit. Click here, and then come back. I’ll wait. I bet you’re wondering about the title of this post. Believe it or not, it’s totally true! How many people can say they made their stage debut dying at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, especially if they have never had any desire whatsoever to be on stage at all? (Good question, right? I’ll Google it later.)…