Walking

Andrew and I have decided to join our Church group in a two mile walk to help raise awareness for the problem of child trafficking. The walk will take place this Saturday, September, 26th and is one of many being organized around the country by Stop Child Trafficking Now. Both Andrew and I have decided to try to help raise $100 each for the cause. If you are able and so led please consider helping us financially at:
http://sctnow.donordrive.com/participant/michellewaggoner
http://sctnow.donordrive.com/participant/andrewwaggoner
Regardless, we hope you will take time to pray for those who have found themselves in these unthinkable situations.

Technical Difficulties

Well we are having a few technical difficulties on the home computer, so we have not been able to blog for awhile (or do much of anything from home.) But I promise, when we do get the computer back in line you can look forward to posts about our time in Colorado, my niece's trip to the big city, and Andrew and my first anniversary weekend.

A Very Wet Weekend!

So this weekend we had the pleasure of hosting our second visitors at The W Hotel & Suites. Andrew's sister Betsy and her husband James came to stay with us over the long weekend. Andrew and his sister had been planning this visit for sometime, it was to celebrate them both getting jobs, which we are all very thankful for!
Those who know me well, know that the 4th of July is one of my absolute FAVORITE holidays. This love comes from all my fond childhood memories. Bare with me a moment as I travel down memory lane. As chance would have it, there are a lot of July birthdays in my mom's extended family, also as chance would have it my mom's Aunt Iris and Uncle Stan lived but minutes away from where the Bryan fireworks used to be shot off. So every year Aunt Iris and Uncle Stan would host a 4th of July party. There was always GREAT food, tons of fun family members, and a HUGE cake for all of the July birthdays. The cake would have all the names of the family members with July birthdays - and your piece of cake, assuming you had a July birthday, was always your full name - this is where it REALLY paid to have an eight letter name let me tell you.
Anyway, when it came time for fireworks, all those young enough would make the trek to our annual watching spot. We were always as close to the roped off area as we were allowed to get, and then we would watch the Farkles and Bangs - not sure when that term originated, but that is what we called fireworks. It seems so simple now - but that day every year really brought me so much joy!
All that to say, I really enjoy spending the day with family, so it was SO nice to have Betsy and James there to enjoy it with. It is also nice that we have moved to a town that really appreciates the 4th, even devoting a whole website to the event. Highlight of the day are a 2-3 hour parade and fireworks over Lake Michigan - SO spectacular. Last year we enjoyed the festivities with my parents, sister, brother, and niece - they were all here helping us move. The day was gorgeous and blistering hot - so as not to have a repeat of last years heat wave misery - I packed plenty of water...but no umbrellas. It started sprinkling on our walk to the parade and then continued to sprinkle and rain continuously through out.

Parade highlights:
Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias - he is known to play hoops with President Obama
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn - took over after Blago was ousted
Old Clown Lady
Library precision cart team
North End Bunco, Parchesi, and Weight Dropping Auxillary

Parade disappointments:
Jesse White tumblers - they just rode past in a van because of the rain, no tumbling
Lack of hand outs - seriously the only hand outs were from the Amy G Salon - and by the time they made it to us they had ONE piece of candy left...they gave it to a kid next to us.
Not taking my camera
Delayed start - we saw -2 go past 4 or 5 times (yes the line up started with -2)
Rain/forgetting umbrellas even after James reminded us
Sitting through the whole thing

Fortunately the rain stopped at the end of the parade and didn't start up again, so the fireworks were not canceled. It was a little disappointing though, because we normally watch the fireworks from the sandy beach, but due to the rain opted for the asphalt trail instead this year. So the normal beauty of seeing the fireworks reflected off the lake was blocked by a pier. But even with all that it was a good show.
Unfortunately, the rain wasn't the only thing that made this weekend wet. For those that don't know Fran is the epitome of a scaredy cat. I mean if Andrew or I sneeze she runs for the hills! Now we are used to her not coming downstairs when we have company, but she will still come down occasionally to eat and do her litter box business.
This weekend was a different story all together! We aren't sure what got into her (our best guess is that she could smell Betsy and James' dog on their stuff) but she didn't come down at all. Which means that at 4:00 am on Saturday AND Sunday morning, Fran decided to relieve herself on our bed. The first night I was awake to catch her in the act. The second night I woke up to Andrew saying "You've got to be kidding, not AGAIN. Michelle turn on your light!" Now I do not like to be woken from a nice sleep, but even less do I enjoy having to change my sheets at 4 in the morning. (It seemed like Andrew enjoyed it even less than I did.)
This is our duvet spread out to dry for the second day in a row. On a positive note, once Betsy and James left, Fran decided she could use her litter box again. Lesson learned, when we have visitors bring the litter box upstairs! While Betsy and James were here we also went to the Evanston Farmers' Market. While there we purchased some peonies.

Aren't they dreamy?

Also over the long weekend I made a pair of bloomers for Lily. They are to go with a cute little dress my sister made her. All in all they came out alright, here's hoping they fit!

Brown Thumbs

This is my brown thumb...
I say that because, after showing great potential early on - our blackberry and blueberry bushes seem to have taken a turn for the worse. I don't know what to blame the gale wind or the colony of fruit flies that took up residence in this very pot - but whatever it was, it has killed my hope of having fresh berries ANYTIME soon.

All the green growth that once showed the life on the blackberry plant has since died, and all that remains is this (blurry) bare stick.

As for the blueberries what were once vivacious green leaves have now turned red in color and seem a bit dry (and also blurry.)

On a side note, there are these little green growths through out the pot. What fun Mystery plant as the wind blown our direction? Only time will tell.

About a month or two ago, I transferred the plants from indoor to outdoor. The main reason for this was the colony of fruit flies - still not sure where they came from. But I had also thought that being out in direct sunlight would do them well. Unfortunately, the climate here has not warmed up and has been really windy and rainy. I am sure this did not help them either. But where the two plants we purchased are dieing, new life springs.

Despite this bad luck, Andrew and I decided we might still have a little green in our thumbs, and I had received a few planters as Christmas gifts. So first on the list this morning was our:

At last weeks Evantson Farmers Market - we purchased some tomato plants. For the purpose of finally getting to use this Christmas gift. So began the process.

This is the Topsy Turvey Planter:

This is the Topsy Turvey Planter with tomato plants:

And this is the final product in all its glory. Getting the soil from the bag to the planter was a good lesson in communication for Andrew and I. But eventually we filled the planter and hung the twine on our porch, just as I had imagined it to be. (Did I mention it was raining while we were doing this?

Here is a picture from the inside looking out- just so you can get a better idea.

Next - we also bought a pepper plant from the Farmers Market. This was the only pot we had left. Pepper plants don't get THAT big, do they?

And finally, the last Christmas gift planter: The BuzzyI think we are a little late for Strawberry season, but we had it, so I figured we should use it.
This kit came with everything you need to grow your own strawberries in a hanging basket. Including magic grow moss:

Here is the final product:

The kit also included these three little red pots. I am not sure what they are to be used for as they were not mentioned anywhere in the directions.

Andrew and I are a little concerned about this one, because when we opened the seed packet, we didn't see anything in there (maybe 2 or 3 TINY seeds.) Because of this Andrew relabeled the box the kit came in.

Either way, the kit also came with a guarantee that the strawberries would grow, or they would sent you more seeds, so I guess we have a back up plan.

In case you were wondering Twiggy Jr. Jr. is doing well, despite Fran's best attempts to eat him.

Now onto other non green news. About a month ago we purchased this:

A converter box for our television. After reading about who would need one, both Andrew and I were convinced we wouldn't need one. However after a serious of failed tests, the television channels would switch to digital for the home viewer to see if they were ready or not, I got online requested the coupons and we went out and bought two boxes (for our two TVs.) We picked up a lot more channels and we were enjoying our life in the realm of digital.

Then my tech savvy father came to visit (he brought my mother along too.) He informed me that our televisions are in fact digital and that we wouldn't have needed to purchase the boxes all we needed to do was switch one of our television settings. He also informed me that by just using the television and not the box we would actually get the digital picture, because the box is converting the signal to analog.

It all made sense to me, so last night, after the analog transmitters were turned off, I turned off our converter box, switched the settings on our television, and enjoyed DIGITAL as it was meant to be enjoyed.

Have you ever seen anything more clear? I can't believe it!

The converter box wasn't a complete waste as our VCR/DVD combo will require the conversion if we want to tape anything. Surprisingly I am still in the VCR realm as we do not have cable/TIVO/DVR or whatever other fancy devices are out there. But should anyone need one converter box with remote - we do have one extra.

Here is what we had for lunch: Andrew has dubbed this "The Death Burger"

It's a Boca burger.

Also yesterday, we purchased these:

Andrew has promised me we will go more this year - after all we aren't planning a wedding anymore.

While my parents were here we went to the Art Institute.

Andrew got free tickets for all of us, as part of Northern Trust Employee Appreciation.

It was a very lovely time - probably my first time there were I didn't get completely lost and end up in the area surrounding the courtyard. We saw many classic works of art, but also got to enjoy the new modern wing. As part of the modern wing that have an architecture and design exhibit (which is sponsored by Northern Trust.) This was my favorite part of the museum. There was even a model of the building I work in (it was designed by a famous Japanese architect.)

Some other pictorial highlights from my parents visit:
Our home is a five star hotel offering nothing but the finest in air mattress luxury.

Aerial Shot of the W Hotel & Suite

One of our meals: Bison Burgers (from grill master Andrew), potatoes, salad, and strawberries.

Can you believe we fit four around the island? It was a bit tight.

Day Two meal: Steak! (from grill master Andrew) CORN! more salad and more strawberries.

Andrew and I enjoyed having the company - and Fran warmed up to the idea, even coming out and letting my dad pet her (a small miracle in and of itself - both if you know my dad or if you know Fran.)

A Case of the Monday's

Well today did NOT start as I intended. Andrew and I woke early - Andrew made breakfast for us - it is okay to be a little jealous. We ate, got ready, and left for work. I actually got to work a little earlier than usual around 8. This is where it all went downhill, I turned on my computer logged on and opened my email and time entry. Doing so informed me that I was not connected to our network server. So I preformed the CEB IT fix - I restarted.
Second attempt - I couldn't even log in - I thought I was going crazy - I tried my password every which way (and no my caps lock wasn't on!) NOTHING was working. So I called our IT guy. After explaining the situation, he asked me what my IP address was - UM...."I DON'T KNOW I CAN'T LOG ON AND SEE IT - WERE YOU NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO MY PROBLEM?!?!" I don't have the best opinion of this guy - he usually talks down to everyone, and just tries to get the problem solved fast not necessarily completely.
Now I should mention that he was on site, at our offices, on Friday installing a new email server. As an example of getting the problem solved fast and not completely, while he set up every one's email address, he did not set one up for previous accounts to be routed to the new accounts - another woman in the office and I have both gotten married since starting work at CEB, so our emails have changed - since they are our initials. SO...because some clients may only contact me once a year, I may not have thought to send them an update email - so the old email is kept and routed to my new email. Well this wasn't done - so I had to email him Friday afternoon.
Long story short - somehow instead of just changing my email - my user account was changed too. So MDW was deleted from the CEB server and MDB was re-added. All in all it took 4 hours to straighten out. So for those not so great with math, that means I didn't have my work computer until noon! And I had to leave work at 3:30 to get home to be available for the washing machine repairman to come.
So 3:30 rolls around and I head home for the day. The repair man is scheduled to come out between 5-6 (we were originally told someone would be coming out between 8am-2pm Saturday - this turned out to be a miscommunication - which we didn't figure out until 2pm on Saturday.) Andrew also took off a little early as well and joined me at home a little before 5.
The repairman came...at 6pm. I can't complain too much though, he was very nice & very friendly. Andrew thinks he probably gets good tips from the North shore housewives. Hehehe
Anyway, it didn't take him long to figure out that we had a clogged pump - it would more than likely not need replaced - just unclogged. He said that it is usually a quarter or a bobby pin that gets stuck in the pump - but he has also seen things as large as socks get in there! So what was in ours you ask? Place your bets then scroll down.

This is one of Fran's "spring" toys...This is one of Fran's "spring" toys after getting itself stuck in the pump of a front loading washing machine...
We can't blame Fran though. Per the VERY helpful repairman (we asked him a lot of questions) it could only get into the pump through the washer - not just by Fran batting it under the door to the laundry. So, the best we can figure is that it was on the ground near a pile of dirty clothes, and got scoped up with the laundry.

What the “L”?

Believe it or not there are some things that I miss about tax season once it is over. I miss having work to do – don’t get me wrong I have work – but it is not the same. There is less “energy” in the office without the emanate deadline looming. Another thing I miss is driving into work with Andrew. Because of the hours we work and the traffic and L schedule, driving is our best option for busy season. However, when we go back to working a normal 9-5 schedule, it is faster and cheaper for us to commute downtown on the L.
I used to enjoy commuting on the L, it gave me time to just enjoy being a passenger – I don’t have to worry about driving, so I can read, sleep, look out the windows, daydream, listen to music, or any combination of the above. Don’t get me wrong every month or so there would be what I would refer to as an “L Experience” – something that can only be fully understood in the context of a commuter train. For instance, one morning I and the other L passengers got to “enjoy” the serenade of a fellow passenger. He was listening to his uncensored elicitedly lyriced rap songs on his iPod, singing aloud without regard to offending anyone; he surprisingly never missed a word or a beat. I am sure it was just his form of artistic expression. Or there are the times when you step on an L, the doors close, and you notice that everyone has their noses under their scarves or tucked into their coat or shirt, and then it hits you – the fresh aroma of urination. When these experiences were infrequent they were tolerable.
But in the recent days it seems that these “L Experiences” have become more and more regular – I would even claim that they have started happening daily. Take this week for instance. Andrew and I are sitting next to each other as we normally do – we ride the Purple Line together – and then part ways at Belmont when I have to transfer to the Red Line. The train has made its scheduled stop at Howard, and the masses are crowding on the L. I am half staring off at the people loading onto the train, and half day-dreaming, when all of a sudden, this woman rudely asked “Can I HELP YOU?” I quickly informed her that I was not looking at her (I really wasn’t.) She just sat there smirking the whole way to Belmont like she had caught me doing something devious. It was really odd.
Now fast forward to Tuesday – I have already transferred to the Red Line, to a very PACKED car. To set the stage, there are doors between each car of the train, they are there for emergency use only – you are not supposed to pass from car to car, even though the doors make it possible to do so. I am pressed against one of these doors – minding my business – getting my feet stepped on repeatedly by an old man who never once apologized. Now it should be noted that from time to time a beggar will board a train and walk their way from the back of the train to the front of the train by use of these doors. On this particular day, the cars were so PACKED I would have thought it impossible for someone to move through the trains this way. I was wrong. We were pulling out of the station right before the one I get off at, and all of a sudden the door slams into my back, and there is a woman there trying to push her way through the crowd – and screaming about the terrible atrocities done unto her just that morning and asking for $30. Just as soon as I got my footing back, the old man who had previously been stepping on my feet, had managed to dial the number for the Chicago Transit Authority, and was reporting that there was a “mentally disturbed woman” on car #5246. To which the woman replied “I may be mental, but that doesn’t mean that all these things didn’t happen to me.” To which an older lady on the other side of the train screamed “CALL THE POLICE IF YOU NEED HELP.” The “mental” woman, knowing her fate if she remained on the train – after the old man had reported her – decided she was going to leave the train and announced her intent to the rest of the car. The old man informed the CTA dispatcher that she was getting off, to which she replied “Of course I am getting off; I don’t want to stay on a train with a bunch of rich snobs.” We finally pulled into the station; she followed me off and proceeded to enter the train heading in the opposite direction.
Needless to say, I was very happy to have a client visit today. It was a gorgeous day, and I enjoyed every mile of my drive to and from the clients location with sigur rós blasting on my radio. The only way it would have been better, is if Holly were in the car with me, and we were singing along at the top of our lungs with our own made up lyrics. But I guess that will have to wait until August, wee err.This is a random post – if you read it all you are a better person then I.

Chairs and table* (*some assembly required)

We have had a set of wooden chairs and table (bistro style) on our wish list for a while. Well, the money-savin'-maven (a.k.a. Michelle) found a sweet set on Overstock.com. One thing we didn't anticipate was there would be set up........d'oh.

So here is Michelle jumping to her task of assembling the table.



What the what? How does this fit into the plan???

Whao...........that can't be right. Back to the drawing board.

Cheers, all signs are pointing up.

As luck would have it, the chairs (my task) were already assembled. booyah.

And the finished product in its, soon to be, natural environment.

And a side shoot:

And now a front shot, inside:

Let the eating outside begin. We had a Crab dinner. If you cannot tell, yes, those are Cheddar Bay biscuits in the red towel, mmmm.

Then it was Bison Hamburger night. Oh, so so good.

And with all the fixin's

As a fun sidenote: if you are ever in the Evanston area we would love to grill and eat outside with you. Think about it...........