Holiday Decor

The Boy is feeling crafty. He just presented me with this delightful Christmas decoration, which he made with his own little paws! Such cuteness. Thanks, Sweetie!

Our Nephews in Chicago

While we were at my bro- and sis-in-law's, I was whippin' out my fone-cam every five seconds to snap a pic of one of my feline nephews. The orange one is Tigger; the black, panther-esque fella is Cosmo! THEY. ARE. CUTE. We ::heart:: them.

Rock-n-Roll McDonald's

In the heart of Chicago's River North district is this super-Vegasy McDonald's known as "Rock-n-Roll McDonald's". It has 2 stories; posh seating; flat-screen TVs; an ice cream/coffee bar; and little seating areas which salute a particular decade. I've included a photo of the "'70s Room".

Pretty. Freakin'. Awesome.

Rush Hour on Lake Shore Drive

Even rush hour here is pretty.

The Siegels are in Chicago!

Here are the boys upon arrival at O'Hare!

Me and The Boy outside the Art Institute.

Kate with the Millenium Park statue known as "The Bean".

And finally, here is a bizarre treasure I spotted at the Art Institute.

Tomorrow, we're hoping to go on a jaunt up to Wisconsin for some awesome cheese!

I am...

...a really sucky blogger. BWAHHAHAAHHAHAH! Oh well!

Saturday, we're off to Chicago, so maybe I'll *LiveBlog* from there! Maybe not... We'll see!

xoxo

I got my wish...

My one wish for our day off today was to go out to breakfast. Well... I got my wish! And not only did we go to breakfast -- we went to the awesome DuPar's at Farmer's Market! After leisurely consuming Southern California's most delicious pancakes, with a side of bacon and a coffee chaser, we wandered out into Farmer's Market and looked at all their funky wares (if I get motivated, more pix of that will follow). Then we went to The Grove, which is kind of the antithesis of Farmer's Market; where Farmer's Market is cheap, old, and funky, The Grove is shiny new and super upscale.

As if all this weren't enough, we followed it with lunch at the KFC on Sunset and a visit to Meltdown Comics, also on Sunset! All in all, a super-awesome SoCal day! :-)

Y'know what's really freakin' hard to clean up???

Srsly, Peeps -- this stuff leaves such an incredible stench and slime in its wake!!!

It's kinda pretty, tho...

Galco's Soda Pop Stop

For years and years (like, I dunno -- maybe 20?) we've been meaning to go to this funky store that's about 40 minutes from here in an L.A. enclave known as Highland Park. It's a family-owned market which over the years has morphed from a grocery store, into a specialty soda-pop store! Yes, that's right, it's a store full of soda pop! You'll also find beer, wine, and candy here, as well as a little sandwich counter in the back. You may have seen this place featured on Huell Howser's show, or on the Food Network. In fact, it's even got a little mention in this month's Sunset magazine! Anyhoo, we popped in there today and bought a ton of bizarre sodas and some nostalgic candies (like Mallo Cups, wax lips, Zotz, and candy cigarettes).

Please enjoy the following photo documentation! And by all means, if you're ever in the area, do stop in at 5702 York Blvd.

Puppeh Graduation!

I am proud to report that Kelsey & her Daddy have successfully completed beginner training at PetSmart's dog training program in Woodland Hills! This was a great 8-week class. I'd really recommend it! Kelsey learned to sit, stay, loose-leash walk (kinda), lay down, come, and -- her most impressive feat -- "leave it", in which she leaves a yummy treat right in front of her until told she can have it.


Thanks to teacher Katie and her awesome example-pooch Opal, who was like amazing Eye Of The Tiger Dog. Hardly blinked unless Mommy told her to.

Halloween with The Siegels

DANG! I have been one poor correspondent, haven't I! (Too too hard to find, even.) I dunno what my dealio is with the non-bloggin', but I think it might start with an "F", end in a "K", and have "aceboo" in the middle.



ANYhoo, here I am, to issue this report on our H-ween festivities. We had a lovely week, full of activities like punkin-patch visitin', candy eatin', and dressin' up. Here are some pix!

The latest addition to our DVD collection:

That's right, Ladies & Gents, it's the Paul Lynde Halloween Special!
{{ crowd goes wild }}




This little gem apparently aired only one time, in the '70s. Why that is, I don't know. It seems to me to be a treasure to be broadcase year after year! Of course, I haven't watched it yet, but how could that not be so?! In addition to comedy legend Paul Lynde, the show features Margaret Hamilton (a.k.a., the Wicked Witch of the West, in full witch regalia no less), diminutive Mormon entertainer Billy Barty, the great Tim Conway, awesome rock band KISS, and a host of others!


I know what you're thinking. "KATERZ! Where can I get *my* copy of this amazing piece of TV history?!" Well, search no more. Get it here at Amazon, or, if you prefer, rent it from Netflix!

A curious topic of schoolyard conversation...

So, I pick my young'un up from school today, and he casually mentions that he and some of his peeps were discussing Proposition 8, one of the initiatives on California's Nov. 8 ballot here in California.




For those of you not familiar with it (i.e., not from these parts), I will explain it by telling you the official name of the measure: Eliminates Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry. Yup, that about sums it up. It, in fact, amends the California constitution.

So I was pretty interested to hear what my child had to say about this, and what his conversation with his friends involved. He told me that "this other kid brought it up," saying that he was in favor of Prop 8, and then soliciting the opinions of the other kids, including mine.

So what does MY young'un do?! My precious little liberal commie pinko offspring? Why, he defends equal rights for all, naturally! "I don't think you should be able to make different rules for people because of their beliefs, or who they are. That's just not fair. That would be like making everyone eat Kosher food, even if they're not Jewish." BWAHHAHAHHAHAHA! I *LOVE* it!

So the other kid says, "Well, I saw a commercial that said they could start teaching us to be gay in school!" Evan replies, "Don't believe everything you see in commercials." WHOA! I know grown-ups with less sophisticated reasoning ability!

Anyway, I just had to share this. I am SO proud of him! Not only for his well-thought-out opinion on the matter, but for his willingness to voice that opinion to someone who disagreed. And he's only 10!

Kids are amazing.

Oops! I did it again! (I just wanted to say that.)

Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to announce that I am the latest recipient of an Oops! Award. My fabulous blogger friend Kate gave it to me! Thanks, Other Kate! {{hugs}}


The Oops Award is "given to bloggers who inspire others with their humor and their talents, also for contributing to the blogging world in whatever medium." When you receive this award it is considered a special honor. Once you have received the award, you are to pass it on to others. I, however, am arbitrarily throwing out that rule, cuz some of the people I want to give the award to will probably neither post about it, nor pass it on! Still, they are my favorite blogs and they meet the other criteria, so I must honor them.


If you DO wish to pass it on: 1) Pick 5 blogs that you would like to award this honor to; 2) Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone; 3) Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself, unless they don't feel like it; and 4) Award-winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of “Oops” blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.


So, without further ado, here are my award winners!


1. Uncle Zeke's Music Emporium


Uncle Zeke is an awful lot of fun, and so is his blog. He has wide-ranging tastes in music, and likes nothing more that writing/talking about it. He will listen to anything you say, and not mock your crazy opinions (at least not to your face). In addition, he's a rabid left-wing Mormon mailman! WTF?! Check him out! Thanks for being awesome, Zeke!


2. Apple Juice: A Blinding Flash of the Obvious


This is the blog of Matt's friend A.J. He mostly talks about political stuff, but occasionally he just waxes philosophic about life in the MN. I like it. Plus, he indirectly introduced me to Lileks' tweets!


3. The Daily Gratitude Blog


This is just *one* of the blogs of my new online peep, Teal Chimblo. (What the hell kind of awesome name is that?! I love it! Teal Chimblo! Teal Chimblo! It's just fun to say!) Teal is the real-life friend of Other Kate, as well as a seeker of bliss and teacher of yoga. Oh, and she's a bitchen artist, too. Check her out, and don't miss her online store, where you can get ::awesomesauce:: merchandise!


4. Mothering Nature


This blog is by a gal named Jackie, who is another friend of Matt's (almost all of my blogging connections have emanated, in some way, from Matt). She's going thru a bit of a rough patch in life (okay, that is a MASSIVE understatement), but she faces each day with as much aplomb as she can muster. She is a *beautiful* lady with beautiful kids, and I hope you will visit her and give her some moral support if you can!


5. VideoGamerz


Last but not least, I must acknowledge VideoGamerz, quite possibly the *best* blog for video-game lovers on the entire internet, hands-down. And the author of the blog is a ridiculously handsome and talented 10-year-old boy! WOW! Where did he GET such amazing DNA?! It's a mystery! Check out his site and leave a comment! He'll be delighted.


Thanks once again to Kate, for passing this honor along to me, and thanks to these bloggers for inspiring me. My apologies to my other blog peeps -- I wish I coulda given this award to ALL of you!


See y'all in the blogosphere...

We Interrupt this Blog...

...for the following public-service announcement.

I recently found out that an old friend of mine from high school is fighting an aggressive form of non-Hodgkins lymphoma. He has had many different treatments for this over the past 3 years, including a stem-cell transplant and chemotherapy; the next step in the fight is a bone-marrow transplant.

Unfortunately, Steve is part of a "genetic minority," as he comes from a long line of eastern-european Jews. As such, there is currently no match for him in the bone marrow registry. (This is apparently an ongoing issue for the Jewish community -- I had no idea!) He is a mix of Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Romanian, and Lithuanian. Out of 12 million people on the registry, he does not currently have a donor match.

No matter what your background is, I hope you'll look into becoming a bone-marrow donor. It is an out-patient procedure and all expenses are paid by the patient's insurance. And if your background is Jewish, please be aware that the community is in dire need of your help.

Thanks so much for reading this far... And thanks in advance for FORWARDING A LINK TO THIS BLOG POST EVERYWHERE YOU CAN THINK OF.

Leave me a comment if you think you can help and I'll make sure Steve gets your message.

Here is a photo of Steve and his family, so you can see exactly who you'll be helping! Please don't let the gorgeousness of the family sway you in any way. ;-)



Here are some links to some helpful organizations and information:

http://www.giftoflife.org/

http://www.marrow.org/

Fire Season

Here in the SoCal, this is what we call "fire season". We get the combination of high winds and drought conditions, and that = FIRES. This one is burning just northeast of us.

Makes for a beautiful sunrise, tho...

This last shot is of the back of my library.

Grandma & Her Boo-Boo Foot

Welp, as y'all know, we pay a visit every month to my mother-in-law, who lives in Moreno Valley in beautiful ::ahem:: Riverside County. This visit was a little different, as we were helping Grandma with her grocery shopping -- she broke her foot nearly a month ago and hadn't been shopping since! So off we went to WinCo.

Now, Grandma was quite sure she'd be able to get a scooter/cart at WinCo. What she didn't consider was that it was a Sunday afternoon, and rather difficult to secure a scooter/cart! We finally did, but, as you might have guessed, the thing lost its charge partway thru our outing, and Brian ended up pushing the whole kit n'caboodle all around the store. For some reason, this all struck me very funny, so I snapped some pix with my fone, chuckling all the while. I kid you not, People -- this seemed downright Monty Pythonian in its redonkulousness! The whole scenario was so much more wacky than I can possibly describe here. Grandma's purple cast was just the *kicker*. So to speak.





Here are a few shots taken on Grandma's patio with Brian's iPhone.

She'll have the cast for at least another month, so I daresay another WinCo outing is in our future! Stay tuned for more hilarity!