The Lincoln Park Zoo was beautiful and FREE!  (I hate it that modern culture makes me see 'Linkin Park' in my head ... grrr!)

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Family photo taken with our "ancestors" in the background - the zebras!


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Blue Lagoon.


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Reindeer!


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Me and my 'twins'


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Little kids.


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Buncha' monkeys.


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Taken by one of the little kids.


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Hatchlings
 

Our 4 days in Chicago were exhausting and fun, the highlight being the beach for me, of course.  It was surprisingly aqua-colored and clean, and for a moment I could pretend I was back in Hilton Head.  Is that wrong, fantasizing about one vacation when you are on another?

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Braving the cold water together.

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Braving the deep, cold water together.


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Cutie patootie.


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Points if you can find the "that's so Matt" part of this photo.

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OK, I'm very sorry for the eyeball scars on this one, but I just had to document it because it was just so unbelievable.  This was the one bad thing about the beach -- families that lack etiquette.  She is -- you guessed it -- cleaning and clipping his toenails on the beach!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Quick, grab the barf bag!  Ugh!
 

When I added up everything involved in what I thought was going to be another $20 outfit, I found that it was a $30 outfit.  Boo.

I'll include a small photo of it for your viewing pleasure, but it's sort of irrelevant now!  It's a much cuter outfit in person anyway.  :-(

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  • Well, now that the rain has finally excused itself, I am like a kid at Christmas looking forward to the pool and sun, sun, sun.  No sun = depressed spirits around here, so I’m definitely not the only one.
 

  • We are going to Chicago at the end of the week, and everyone is so excited about it.  Long weekend away, a new city … what’s not to love?  Please let me know if you’re a Chicago expert, and tell us what we MUST see while we are there.
 

  • I’ve got another recession challenge coming your way.  Matt and I had a night out at Dee Felice’s Café the other night, and since I was getting dressed up I was sure to put together another $20 outfit.  Otherwise, who knows when I would get around to it.
 

  • Julia made a delicious Coconut cake this weekend, complete with a complicated icing.  It involved cream of tartar and egg whites … need I say more?  It actually didn’t turn out so well at first, so Matt jumped in and helped her make her mistake into a totally different kind of frosting.  The results were wonderful, and she is quite proud of herself. (And so was Matt, who is quite the cook when he does it.)  Ahhh … I love having older kids in the house!
 

  • Last night was THE fireworks party of our subdivision.  Apparently this happens annually.  Lots of money, lots of grown up little boys getting their kicks (including my hubby), and lots of new faces.  We met a few nice people who are our neighbors, some who were not (relatives of the party-throwers), and everyone dutifully gave their unoriginal but still amusing reaction to the fact that we have SEVEN KIDS!!!!  (Raise your eyebrows, drop your jaw, and step back … there, now you’ve got it down.)
 

  • My new bookshelves are still not up.  I may tackle them today, and then I’ll put up some photos.  Organized office = peace of mind.
 

  • Catch ya’ later!

 

Here's the old post:

Well, here's one of my outfits.

Trench Dress (Forever XXI) from Goodwill - $6.50

Shoes from T.J. Maxx - $20 (but I only paid $10 -- a bonus of having a sister with the same size feet and taste

Earrings from Glitter -- $1.  Not kidding.

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I know it's sort of a boring outfit, what with all the one color and all, but hey, it's under $20.  That's not easy.  I have a couple more finds from Goodwill, but I might have to leave the shoes out if I'm going to have anything interesting going on.  I'll be sure to post.

 
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Julia


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Gypsy for a day.


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Pool fun


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Roasting Peanut.


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Jennifer Aniston look-alike.


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Tire swing.


 

Happiness is to be found along the way, not at the end of the road, for then the journey is over and it is too late. Today, this hour, this minute is the day, the hour, the minute for each of us to sense the fact that life is good, with all of its trials and troubles, and perhaps more interesting because of them." Robert R. Updegraff
Author of "Be Thankful For Your Troubles"


Fred

6/11/2009

1 Comment

 

www.worldwidefred.com

Go to the above site, click on "Products," and enter the mind of a genius.

 

You may not know this about me, but I rarely buy expensive clothes.  I take such pride in my bargains, and I don't mind shopping at thrift stores.  The great thing?  I think I do it so well that most people would never guess.  Or am I delusional?

I totally want to do this challenge!

I will post here when I get my camera to behave.  I might even do more than one!

 

Following is a lesson in the difference between boys and girls that I'm just now learning, since it took me so long to have boys.  I just LOVE little boys.


Owen
: Mom, an I gonna die? (pointing to himself)
Me: Well, we're all going to die someday, but you'll probably be old.
Owen: But if I ate five sugars, will I die?
Me: No.  Sugar can make you sick if you eat too much, but you're not going to die.  Why?  Who told you that?  Where did you hear about it?
Owen:  Nowhere.  I just went in the pantry and I stealed some sugar, and I want to know if I'n gonna die.
Me: You did?  Can you show me?
Owen:  Sure.  Here.  An' I sweeped all these crumbs away so you wouldn't see them.

Now, in my experience, most girls wouldn't be quiiiiite this forthright.  They have so many good qualities, but in this particular category (that being "candor"), there probably would have been a lot more song and dance.  Makes me want to hug my big sweetie, because he so much the same way about admitting his faults.  He's just a grown up little boy.  There really are so many good things about guys, aren't there?