Name Your Top Five

Songs, albums, movies, books, etc. Drew really enjoys making lists of his top five and is always up for a rousing game. I however find it very difficult to narrow down (let alone remember) such broad categories. Maybe I can come up with one or two, but then I have to order them and suddenly the game is asking me to name my all time favorite of something or another. Somehow these boys (it always seems to be boys who enjoy this game) can come up with their top five in less than five minutes. No way can I say with certainty what my favorite book is with only five minutes to think about it.

However, yesterday while unpacking sweaters (oh, how I love sweaters, fall and chilly nights) I came upon one of my favorite pieces of clothing. It is a wonderful J.Crew gray sweater that my mom gave to me and one to my sister years ago. It's just one of those sweaters that is warm and cozy and perfect with a pair of jeans. Or at least it was until I wore through the elbows. There are two huge holes in the elbows now, so I don't wear it out in public too often, but in the winter I wear it all the time around the house.

After finding it, I started to think of what my other favorite pieces of clothing are and I found it rather easy. First, my only piece of Tommy Hilfiger clothing - a red and blue horizontal striped shirt that I wear all the time. Then there is the orange long sleeved shirt that is starting to rip at the end of the sleeves and at the hem of the shirt. Both of these go wonderfully underneath the gray sweater. My fourth favorite clothing item would be my beloved Gap jeans that have holes from the mid-thigh down to the large gaping hole at the knees. I often put my foot through the knee holes when putting them on. I am proud that those holes were 100% produced by my own legs from years and years of wear.

So, the top four items were easy and came to mind immediately. The fifth though was more difficult and I admit that I perused my dresser drawers before deciding that a t-shirt I wear to bed would be the item that beat out all the rest. It is just a large t-shirt that has a picture of Daisy (our dog growing up) posed in front of a fireplace, silk-screened onto it. It's cute and reminds me of my childhood and the crazy brown shag carpeting we used to have. Although, it's too large and see-through to wear outside of the bedroom.

I was looking though our pictures in an effort to provide some visuals for my dear readers and came upon several examples. I also realized that my top three clothing favorites have not only been worn in each of the three Christmas photos that Drew and I have taken together, but also have been with me on some very important events.

Here the gray sweater can be seen peeking out from underneath the coat at a bed and breakfast that Drew secretly swept me away too during college.



Ah, yes, more drunkenness was to come and those poor overalls and orange shirt would sadly be a first-hand witness to my inaugural vomiting due to alcohol consumption.



And here's the red and blue shirt on the day we brought our sweet Caper home.



Now you have seen way too many pictures of me and my clothes but now you at least know why I wear those same raggedy clothes all the times.

Back to College

So I have resorted to my cheap ways of college life. Not for nostalgic reasons or for the sake of saving a few pennies on our electric bill, but for necessity. Instead of paying a dollar a load, I would often dry many of my clothing items on a folding dryer rack. It was the perfect way to dry all of my various t-shirts, bras, etc. It may have taken up most of the open floor space in our teeny dorm rooms, but it was definitely worth it.

And now after a week of dirty clothes, house guests and whatnot, I need to do laundry. Last night after realizing that the dryer had been "drying" for hours (thanks to it's Intellidry system), I discovered no heat was actually being produced and therefore my wet towels had just been tumbling around as though they were gymnasts who had just got out of a pool. ARGH. I checked out the various components that I could think of and even flipped the breaker in the basement, but to no avail. And so now all future laundry has come to a standstill and the drying rack is in use once again. And while it's nice to reminisce about junior year, I fear it may take my jeans two days to dry.

Anyone know how to clean the dryer exhaust pipe thingy?

Tired

We had a last minute visit from KWW and family this weekend. My heart was really starting to ache for those babies so it was good to get in some quality snuggling. Although, we are used to getting up a little more leisurely in the morning. Simon has more energy at 7am than I ever have all day and is very effective in making sure we are up. I'm always amazed at how much time there really is in the morning when you actually get up early.

Today was a little crazy, however. It turns out that an eight-week old puppy + a two-year old dog that acts like an eight-week old puppy + a five month old baby + a 4 1/2 year old boy + a case of pharyngitis + 8 people + everyone at my house = a crazy, noisy, hectic morning. Thankfully , I was saved by people bringing over treats and making a delicious fritatta. And it really was a good time, I'm just worn out now.

Still, now the house seems a little too quiet. Drew is watching our Bears on the couch with the two pups curled up next to him sleeping. I'm on my way over there now.

After...

• wondering why the names of all Chicago suburbs seem to include one of the following - glen, oak, river, forest, hill or dale,
• stories involving Eustachian tubes,
• waiting in traffic for 20 minutes only to be turned away at the entrance of Ziegler's Apple orchard,
• shaking our heads in shame at the neglectful parents who let their children hang themselves out of a moving car,
• disbelief that the Ziegler's man knew of no other orchards in the area,
• stopping at a Super Target for a restroom and orange-cranberry stones,
• redirecting ourselves to a new orchard with the help of Drew, Google Maps and a patient gentleman on the phone,
• being reminded of a teeny town in Germany,
• remarking on the vastness of subdivisions and their lack of trees,
• pondering why large communities feel the need to still be called villages,
• deciding to never ever live in Waconda,
• arriving at All Season orchard,
• noticing a pagoda among hay bales and pumpkins,
• waiting in line for a plastic bag that for one of us would break,
• hiking half a mile past a corn maze that had no corn,
• taste testing an apple in each row because there was no signage regarding the variety,
• ducking under caution tape to reach some delicious-looking apples,
• wishing we had a baby to kick out of a stroller so we didn't have to lug our apples,
• visiting the nicest port-a-potty ever,
• questioning the practicality of picking apples directly after attending church,

I arrived home with a 1/2 bushel of apples.


First up on the menu is pork chops with apples and apple crisp for dessert. Please feel free to send any and all apple recipe ideas my way.

What? He's No Artist.

So I went to my first live football game ever. Ok, maybe that's not true. I did attend our homecoming football games in high school (maybe even one in college) but they weren't good nor did they play in a huge, packed, exuberant stadium. Last night, Drew and I went to see the Bears play because Watie couldn't be in town. And it was AWESOME. I did not believe that it could be as cool as it was. But I was completely into the game and clearly that made the difference because the Bears kicked ass. I still don't know all the players names, numbers, positions but I do think I know the 'Bear Down' song pretty well now.

During the game, our seat neighbor, Steve, asked us if we knew the guy who owned the seats. We said yes, he's our brother-in-law, etc. He then proceeded to tell us how great that Willy guy was. We agreed wholeheartedly while trying to correct his mistake. Finally, following a brief conversation regarding the guy Wiley (which I am sure Watie can sometimes be), he came to terms that Watie was a f***in' great guy and that he was in the FBI. At which point we could no longer argue with him.

So, sorry Watie, your cover is blown. But THANK YOU for the game. It was incredible!