While I Was in Chicago - Homecoming Happened

I'm interrupting the Black and White Days to post a couple photos of my kids and their high school's Homecoming. The Homecoming Dance happened to fall the night before the Chicago Marathon, so I got to witness things from afar. Thankfully, I have really great friends who serve as second parents to my kids - I don't worry when I have to be away.

And as a bonus, I get real time scoop via text:


Can you spot the big trend amongst boys right now? It's the bow tie! My son was very specific when we shopped for his Homecoming outfit - there had to be a bow tie. Now he owns two of them and even managed to tie it himself (YouTube saves the day again).

Then there is the sibling selfie, taken after I incessantly texted both the girl and the boy, requesting photos.


I hadn't seen my daughter's dress prior to this photo and without even trying, sister and brother are perfectly matched! How serendipitous! And their expressions are, well, just classic.

They had a great time at the dance and didn't burn the house down. We might survive this school year, yet.

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Polar Vortex Activities

It's now Day 3 being house-bound due to blizzard / snow / icy roads and the Polar Vortex which has pushed arctic, sub-zero temperatures into our mid west region of the US. The temperature as I write this has risen above zero (it's 3 degF) and we are rejoicing!

With the sub zero temperatures, you are greeted by the simple crunching sound of snow underfoot when walking out to the mail box (yeah, a fruitless activity since mail service has been halted). The snow doesn't melt and there is no unsightly, dirty slush to step through or look look at. I have to say, the scenery is quite peaceful.



The sub zero temperatures have also spawned several new cold weather activities - because it's too cold to go outside and make a snowman.

The first one, Snow Ice Cream - gather a large container of clean snow. Mix together 1 cup of milk, 1/4-1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 tsp of vanilla until the sugar dissolves. Mix in the snow, stirring constantly until the desired consistency.
(We didn't do this activity, but my friends did and it looked like fun).

The second sub-zero temperature activity - make your own snow! Boil a cup of water, transfer it to wide open container with a handle.
Go outside and throw the hot water into the air - away from you or anyone else. If it is windy outside, throw it with the wind. Voila! Watch the water turn to ice / snow / mist:

OK, so my son wasn't too excited about the whole thing, but I thought it was pretty cool and I did it three times. Even my daughter thought it was cool.

You can find numerous videos on this activity. Seems as if everyone was doing it yesterday!

Shared with Wednesdays Around the World.

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Not Invincible

A couple weeks ago, I had the "opportunity" to have some "fun" participating competing in an Adult Spelling Bee Fundraiser.

OK, I'll admit - it was fun - albeit a bit stressful - but for a good cause - the Spelling Bee proceeds went to the School Foundation, an independent, non-profit organization that supports local Public Schools. Over 30 teams competed, with the top three teams winning Funds towards Physical Education or Playground equipment for their school of choice.

Our team - "M.A.A.C. - Mothers Against Auto-Correct"


We all chose spelling related quotes on the backs of our t-shirts, thanks to the wit and creativity of friend / teammate / neighbor Jill.


The format of the event loosely followed the Scripps-Howard Spelling Bee rules, where we were required to spell the given word orally and against the 30 second countdown clock. The format - you state the given word, spell it, then repeat the given word. So - if the word you are given is "pizza" (and yes, this was one of the words, just so you get a feel for the complexity we're talking about here!), the speller states "pizza.... p-i-z-z-a .... pizza".

The first round "swarms" were pretty informal and held at separate corners of the facility. The winner of this three team competition advanced to the final round. The final round teams competed head to head on the Main stage, in front of all sorts of spectators, spelling into the microphone.

Well, "M.A.A.C." didn't advance to the big stage with its spotlight and scary microphone. Because I messed up the word "invincible". See, it's a lonnnnggg-ish word and I'm not good remembering what I've stated, and I have to spell things out with my finger as I'm speaking. Or have the word written out in front of me because those nerves can get to you when you are under pressure. I was also fixated on making sure I got the "i-b-l-e" at the end. As a result, I spelled the word as "i-n-v-i-c-i-b-l-e". Too many "n"'s to remember!

With the pressure off, we watched as our friends competed on stage. We were hopeful they would place in the top three, as the teams were dropping like flies (or dead bees). The team that won our first round swarm only made it to their second word before being eliminated. The word - "bouillon" - because who would think to put that "i" before the two "l's"?

Our friends finished in fourth place - watch them spell the name of a certain disease:

I know apple devices don't support flash, so here is the link to the video, taken by friend-teammate, Kellie.

It's tricky - There are two 'h's in "diphtheria" - yes, they didn't get the first "h" and I certainly didn't know that silent 'h' was there! And yes, I had to google it after they were eliminated.

So, we're not Invincible and I humbly admit that I used the spell checker while writing this blog post! Next year, I'll practice more and practice spelling things out loud. Maybe my daughter (who won her 5th grade spelling bee at school) will enter with some friends. I bet a team of high school students would give the adults a run for their money....

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Random Photos

Just some photos I have taken over the last month that I never featured on the blog.

Taking Flight

This was one of those point the camera at the flock of birds that just took flight and hope for the best. I was lucky that the auto-focus found a bird to grab on to. I was using a 105mm macro lens that doesn't always focus fast on moving objects.

It's still not perfect because as I cropped it tighter, I noticed the depth of field rendered the background windmill out of focus. My aperture was set to f3.5, and with a full frame camera, that was too low. Oh well - I'm still amazed how much detail I still got and I am always fascinated by how flocks of birds take to the sky together.


Now for some fun photos - from a Dodgeball outing my friend Jill arranged during Christmas break. Picture 15 or so kids, ages 5 to 16 playing dodgeball. Add in Jill's husband, Buck, who is really serious about his dodgeball. This is what you get (Buck is in the blue).

Jill has title the above "Proud Wife Moment".


And everyone playing had to sign a waiver before playing.... but really, no one was hurt....

Shared with Wordful Wednesday, as I guess I had a lot to say today....

Shared with Deb Duty and her last edition of This or That Thursday.

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Halloween Gangnam Style

My friend, Jill, has the best Halloween House in the neighborhood. I've taken pictures in the past, but each year, she adds more stuff (she's blaming it on the post-Halloween sales - 50% off Halloween decorations, starting today!).

For example - from 2010 (and compared to today, this looks sparse):


One of this year's new additions - the large, suspended grim reaper, keeping an eye over the kids as they set up the coffin


In past years, the kids hid in the coffin and jumped out to scare unsuspecting trick or treaters. This year would be a little different - yes, they would jump out, but then explode into dance - to PSY's Gangnam Style.

See G in the coffin? He's PSY...


We had a blast with the throngs of Trick or Treat seekers - many joined in to dance with the boys. I attempted a video, but it turned out really dark.... but believe me, it was a great Halloween. I can't wait for next year....

And so you don't go away without some "Gangnam Style", here's a video put together by some creative folks from my alma mater. It not only features some of the lecture halls, corridors, and places at MIT, but it includes some a cappella singing from MIT's oldest all male a cappella group, the Logarythms (their cameo starts at 2:13):

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Getting Muddy at The 2012 CarX CrazyK

Yesterday, Scott and our son ran in the CarX CrazyK, aka the most fun you can have while running a 5K race. Like last year's race, they ran with a gaggle of our friends. Unlike last year, I chose not to run due to my knee and my-not-so-recent-ACL-surgery-but-not-far-out-enough-that-I'm-afraid-I-might-slip-and-re-injure-my-knee-situation. Because slipping and sliding in mud was going to be a high probability.

This year, the race organizers amped up the course and doubled the number of obstacles - that would be 20 muddy, watery, get on your hands and knees obstacles. Some of the new stuff - wading through a 75 yard stretch in the creek, two additional military crawl areas and a huge slide (which was deemed to be quite fun).

Instead of running the race, I participated by taking photos as my friends and family came through the Car Wash and slogged through the mud pit. I also provided "encouragement" by barking orders as they ran the last 50 yards to the finish line ("Kick it in!!", "Faster, Faster!!", "You got this!").

It was a perfect day for a nice run. Prior to the start of our team's wave, everyone looks so happy and clean....


The team makes "the walk" to the starting area:

Oh Yeah, our Team's Theme was "Team Bacon". That's what's up with the bacon themed t-shirts (you would have never guessed there were so many bacon themed t-shirts available on the Internet, right?).

We didn't wear tu-tu's like the team behind us.....


The team is getting their final race instructions by the starting line crew:


And our wave takes off!


About 20 minutes later, Buck is the first one to appear from a muddy tunnel:


Followed by my son:


And hubby:


The last obstacle is the Mud Pit. The easiest way to get through this is to submerge yourself!


They wanted to have fun and get muddy - Mission Accomplished!

Linked to Mosaic Monday.

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Above St. Augustine Bay

I found myself in the proverbial Right Place, Right Time a couple Thursdays ago, and took advantage of the unique opportunity that presented itself.

The scene - the St. Augustine Airport, where the evening's event included a private air show and dinner al fresco on the tarmac. The warm afternoon cooled had down to a perfect spring evening in Florida and I was checking out the assortment of small planes on display.





I was drawn to this biplane, a replica Waco YMF.




As I was taking photos, I removed a pamphlet from the plane's cargo door [because it was interfering with the photo I was framing]. Upon closer inspection, it was brochure for airplane sightseeing tours. I overheard someone say - "We can do plane rides tonight, if anyone is interested. In this plane here". Without hesitation, I spun around in the direction of the comment, raised my hand and said - "I'll sign up - how much?"

Long story short, I ended up riding in this gorgeous, open top biplane above the St. Augustine Bay.



1. Climbing Higher, 2. Waterways, 3. Castillo de San Marcus, 4. 116/365+1 View of St Augustine from A Bi-plane #plane #aerialview #Yolo, 5. Ships Below, 6. Pennisula

Here's some video I shot with my iPhone. I was literally clutching it for dear life while shooting this:


It was an amazing experience, "bucket list" worthy. Pilot Dave took great care of us (and insisted that I be in the picture with him when we landed):


If you are ever in the St. Augustine area and want to experience something completely different, breath taking and exhilarating, check out St. Augustine Air Tours. From their website, more information on the plane we rode:

The Weaver Aircraft Company was founded in 1920 by George "Buck" Weaver, E.J. "Sam" Junkin, and Clayton Brukner. The trade name Waco (rhymes with taco) was coined from the title letters of Weaver Aircraft Co. Originally located in Lorain, Ohio, the company later moved to Troy, Ohio, drawn by the concentration of aviation related businesses that had sprung up around nearby Dayton, home of the Wright Brothers. The first Waco YMF rolled out of the Waco factory at Troy Ohio in early 1935. In late 1942, Waco ceased production of powered airplanes.
In 1983 the founders of Classic Aircraft Corporation envisioned their childhood dreams coming true with the reincarnation of the Waco YMF Biplane. In the history of aviation, no company had ever taken a fifty year old design and manufactured it new under the original FAA type certificate. To accomplish this mission they hired experienced aeronautical engineers to re- draw over 1400 drawings and build new tooling for production. This was done while maintaining the sanctity of WACO.S original design. The WACO YMF is not a rebuild or a kit plane, but a brand new FAA certified production aircraft.
The first new production WACO YMF Classic rolled off the assembly line and received FAA certification under the original WACO type certificate in March of 1986. Today.s production aircraft has been greeted with overwhelming enthusiasm for its craftsmanship and the sheer joy brought to so many by making the thrill of flying in an .open-cockpit. biplane a reality.

Finally, the link to all the photos I took that evening:


Linked to Mosaic Monday, hosted by Mary at Little Red House.

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Muddy but Fun - the CarX Crazy K

How to describe the fun CarX Crazy K race yesterday? Yes, it was fun. Yes, it was a bit challenging. Yes, I fell during the obstacles. Yes, I fell into a big hole of muddy water. Yes, it was hot, hot, hot.

Did I mention it was crazy? I remember thinking exactly that as I ran through the course and its obstacles.

The race proceeds go to local charities, and it's an event sure to be repeated in future years.

The details - a 5K course that wound through the county fairgrounds - mainly through grassy fields, across creeks, up and down hilly terrain, with the last half mile on the grandstand's track. The obstacles (and my experience):

1. Sprinkler alley - refreshing until I almost lost a contact lens while being sprayed directly the face
2. Plank Walk - walk across logs over a big pit of water. I chose the skinniest log and almost fell off.
3. CarX Wall - A 4 foot high wall. I strained my left leg going over this thing.
4. Tirade - a sea of tires. I planned to run these, but I didn't step carefully into the first tire and fell down. Scott said he would have burst out laughing if he wasn't "so focused" on the race.
5. Hurdles - 10 - 2 foot high hurdles. After my tire episode, I knew I had to walk over these. It was a good time to drink some water.
6. Tunnels - crawl through 3 foot high tunnels. I have a scraped back because I refused to crawl through on my hands and knees.
7. Muddy Hill Climb - at mile 2.6, this was slippery and steep. I almost fell several times. Caked with mud, my shoes were now 5 pounds heavier.
8. Hay Maker - Climb over large hay bales. I am way short for this sort of obstacle, but managed to get over it.
9. Slip-N-Slide Car Wash - This was the most fun - a slip and slide covered with foam. Sure, you landed in a big puddle on the bottom, but it was fun.
10. Muddy Crawl - The last obstacle - a watery, muddy pit, about 2 feet deep. I slipped at the edge and fell in. I sloshed through and up over the muddy bank and ran to the finish line, shoes full of rocks, water and mud.

Our team - the couples we visited Vegas with last November (proving we are a motley crew) and another couple, Dave and Anne. I'm waiting on a copy of the group picture a non-running friend took, but here are several of our team walking towards the starting gate:


Scott finishing the race:


Amy and Anne coming out of the Muddy Pit:


Jeff and Lisa, so cute as they end the race holding hands:


And the ladies from our team - proving we are a strong group to complete the race:


Oh yeah, I wore a costume - an old cave girl costume I've had since college. I've put it out for sale at the garage sale for the past 5 years. I guess it's never sold because I was destined to wear it again. Maybe this is a new tradition for me - run the future Crazy 5K wearing the same outfit.....

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Snow Day Two - Wednesday, Feb 2, 2011

Wednesday morning we woke to several inches of snow on top of granular snow on top of ice. And wind.

[Truthfully, we didn't receive as much snow as we expected - North of us, the snow fell heavily and South of us, freezing ice covered everything]

We started to shovel the driveway, down to the ice layer.

Yeah, I really don't mind shoveling snow as long as it's not too cold.

Later on, our neighbor, Bob plowed the cul-de-sac and all the driveways. What a great neighbor. Even better, he mounds all the snow by our driveway so the kids can use it for snow forts, sledding, snowball fights, etc.

The kids also like to slide off Buck and Jill's backyard deck, after covering it with snow.








They enjoyed the fun while they could because it was back to school on Thursday.

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iHeartFaces - Winter Wonderland

This week's photo challenge at iHeartFaces is Winter Wonderland, and I couldn't help but submit this photo of my son playing in the huge mound of snow in our front yard last month:



That big pile melted right before the New Year, but has since been replaced with a fresh, new pile. Somehow, though, the kids haven't been playing in it - they must be waiting for spring!

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325/365 - Pickles and Glee

We love the comic strip, Pickles (does that mean we are getting old and can relate?) and I love the show, Glee, so imagine my delight when the two are paired up today.



Ah, so much fun. I wish life could be as fun as Glee sometimes, breaking out into full song, with a full orchestra accompaniment.

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Day 266 - Soccer, More Legos and Fall Festival Recap

It's Saturday, which means soccer. This morning's game was scheduled for 8:30, so I didn't get my long run in this morning. The weather was perfect - a crisp 50 degF and sunny.

I positioned myself along the Teams' side of the field, which is the east side. So much better for taking pictures of the action.


The green team won again, 4-0. Erica had a couple of opportunities to score on goal, but it didn't happen - she played the wing position towards the end of the game.

After the game, Brian set out to complete the Medieval Market Hotel. Once he finished, he set up market square scene and we took a picture of it. Oh, I stand corrected - Brian took the picture. We set the camera on the tripod and he clicked the remote control.


Last night, Brian's school held its Fall Festival Fundraiser. Games, dunk booth, inflatables, silent auction, raffles and lots of goodies. Erica served as a Middle School National Honor Society volunteer all night, working several of the games, and the Face Painting Area.

And she coerced Brian into her Face Painting area so she could paint a skull on his cheek. I was amazed by their cooperation!

And the finished product -

It was a great event and lots of fun!

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261/365 - Party Remnants

Well, not 100% true. These discarded balloons are scattered on the grass because of the winds Saturday afternoon, before Brian's party. I had planned on a water balloon toss contest, but when the wind took them away, I punted on that plan.

But I liked how colorful they looked in the grass. And that glob of light green was some silly string from the party - a gift from George.

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Day 259 - Soccer, Silliness, Cake and Dating Perspectives from a 5th Grader

Another Saturday in September, meaning another day chock full of activities.

I got up and ran 6+ miles.
Then I cleaned out the pond - I didn’t work on it last week, so this week there was a lot more to clean out.
Scott and Brian went to the football game.
I took Erica to her soccer game. In today’s game, she acted as one of the Team Captains (meaning she and two other Team Captains get to observe the starting coin toss). During the game, she played defense and wing positions, giving her ample exposure to the ball. The team won 3-1 against a strong opponent.


After the game, I vacuumed the basement, family room and kitchen, in preparation for Brian’s big bash later on. Then out to the store to buy treats, food and (most importantly) the cake. I ended up with two cakes – an ice cream cake and a chocolate sheet cake. How I ended with two cakes would take too long to explain – just chalk it up to my poor planning skills and a picky birthday boy.

Before you could say “what time is it”, the doorbell started ringing with parents quickly depositing their kids at my door. The reality chaos of eight boys running around hit me like a tornado. Thank goodness for that bounce house! And the plethora of stuff we have in the basement. At least boys don’t go around screaming like girls do. Sometimes they will even sit still long enough for you to take a serious picture:


As long as you let them goof off, too:

They make the most interesting faces at this age – no “trying to be a cool teenager”. Adorable.

What I enjoyed the most was the conversation the boys engaged in as I drove them to the Laser Tag place.

“I heard that Alec is crushed because Emily broke up with him!”
“Were they going out together?”
“Yeah – for 15 minutes! Then Emily broke up with him…..”
“I would like to go out with Olivia, but I am WAY too scared to ask her. What if she says no? I’m just too scared.”
I, of course asked the question “Are you guys going out on dates with these girls?” and the answers I received: “Oh, we’re not old enough to go out on a date! We can’t even drive! In 5th grade, you get to hold hands and hug. In 6th grade, you might get to kiss on the cheek. I can’t imagine kissing a girl on the lips – I think that’s what you get to do in 7th or 8th grade. Eww!”

Ah, out of the mouths of babes.

As the Laser Tag attendant (a young, cute 17 year old lad) so succinctly summed up, “Things were so much simpler at the age of 10.”

Yes, indeed.

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