Today's Art Project - GUTS Style

I enjoy being creative, but it's something I can't force. I just have to let the idea come to me.

I'm guessing it was about 20 years ago when my Grandma Olson gave me a frying pan and spatula for Christmas. I fondly remember the days of cooking and baking with her, and certain dishes became favorites of mine because of the time we shared in the kitchen, and... well... plus they're delicious.

One dish is the ever so simple mashed potatoes and the other, Swedish pancakes. I learned from the best and have cherished the pan I received from her. The pan got quite a bit of use and many a pancake was flipped in it, from home to college and back, and finally the move to my own house.

After about 15 years of use and abuse, I decided to retire the pan. It was supposed to be non stick, but it was worn with scratches and the finish dulled. I was not a fan of prying my food out of the pan, and throwing the pan away wasn't an option. It sat in the basement for about 5 years because in the back of my head, I knew I wanted to paint the inside of the pan and hang it in my house, but I never had the inspiration for what to paint until today... I was patiently waiting for something special and meaningful to me.

So, I went with my favorite quote from the wonderful book GUTS by Kristen Johnston. I like to read, but it's usually for pure enjoyment, so I just float through a book without a second thought and tend to have the reading comprehension equivalent to that of a gold fish.

I've now read this book 3 times and listened to it once in less than a year. It gets me to think every single time. If I have a piece of GUTS hanging in my house, then maybe I'll wake up to a little inspiration each day.

I wanted to get the font right, so I traced the letters on notepad paper made from elephant dung. Had to give it a little added character! Then I glued the letters on before I started painting. As you can tell, the rest of it was done done freehand. I didn't realize how difficult it would be to paint in a straight line when the the object is round. I guess you'll have that. I can't wait to get this hung up on the wall.

"At the end of the day, funny and interesting will always kick pretty and perfect's ass." - Kristen Johnston

Ninjabread Adventure

I hadn't yet called it a night when Sandra shot me a text tonight. After a quick exchange, I decided to pack up my ninjabread cookie kit and head over to hang out with her and the kids for the evening.

Buckled in safely, I was ready to go.

How can you resist when you're friend texts the following excitement?

I was glad to share the Ninjabread Kit with the Iadipaolo's. It was a fun present they gave me and kind of figured something this "simple" would be sure to entertain. Someone neglected to read the directions all the way through and missed the important step of flouring the surface before rolling out the dough.

I guess I was too focused on figuring out how to roll out the dough without a rolling pin. We solved that by using Vince's water bottle. But between all the added flour and the instructions of "cook until golden brown" (when the cookies didn't change color), I recommend dunking the cookies in milk prior to consuming. That's if you're lucky enough to try one of these masterpieces.

Here are our little helpers, Sofia and Santiago. Their high energy kept me going through all of the trials and tribulations. I suppose seeing Janers up to her elbows in cookie dough and flour would have been somewhat entertaining.

You know those moments when you have a little devil on your shoulder urging you to do something you know you shouldn't do because the person you would do this thing to wouldn't appreciate it. You don't want to make them mad, but knowing they've already been gooified by the kids at dinner, then you think how much worse can it really get.

Then somehow you convince this person to let you follow through with the plot the little devil has planted in your head. I mean really, how bad can a hug be?

The icing kit was a no brainer, but I'm kind of wishing we had put some food coloring in it. The supplied colorful candies were hard as rock and pretty much inedible, well except the kids loved the pure sugar. Good thing it wasn't a school night... I'm not sure how well they'll sleep tonight.

Here are some of my favorites cookies. Top row includes a couple blobs made from the cookie scraps, and then my favorite wolf-dolphin. The next row starts with Booth from the TV show Bones, then squirrel with an overly poofy tail, and a creepy pterodactyl. The bottom row contains the kickass ninjabread men.

Can't wait to make other future ninja-edibles.

Dog Day Afternoon

I was perfectly content with my quick trip to Dollar General to get a gallon of milk and then enjoy a day of whatever the heck I want to do in my warm cozy home.

Unfortunately, Sparky wasn't having any of that. His energy levels were off the chart and after such a long week, I just didn't have the patience to deal with him. "Hey Sparks, want to go to PetSmart?" I knew he wouldn't say no, especially with how that gift card has burning a hole in his collar.

As usual, I wan't moving nearly fast enough for Sparky, but soon enough he was riding shotgun.

No car ride would be complete without Sparky's attempt at bringing smiles to people one drive-thru at a time.

Gotta get a little fresh air while out and about. Bringing smile to people one stoplight at a time? Quite possibly.

I thought this might be a fun adventure, but I didn't think it through very well. Sparky and the car wash do not go well together AT ALL. I thought he may enjoy chasing the bubbles from window to window. I was wrong, he saw it just as a rain storm just inches away. Note to self: don't do that again.

And the reward after a busy and slightly stressful afternoon. Thanks and shout out to Mom and Dad for Sparky's gift card.

So, if there's no stuffing to gut and the squeaker continues to squeak even when punctured, then how much fun could this toy actually be?

Step 1: Inspect the toy for any weaknesses.

Step 2: Grab hold and test the squeaker.

Step 3: React to the sound of the newfangled squeaker. 

Step 4: Show it who's boss and go in for the kill!

Step 5: Recharge for round 2.

A Lost Weekend

It's rare that I truly feel a weekend was too short. But in the case of this last weekend, one more day would have really done me some good.

I spent Friday evening hanging out with Mom. We stopped over at Asia Grill for dinner before the show RED at Corn Stalk's lab theater. The uncomfortable seating combined with smoking in the play and a somewhat unlikable lead character caused us to scoot out early. Back at my house, I gave Mom a tour around twitter and facebook and shared my newly found screaming sheep youtube clips. Which then led us into some The Big Bang Theory flash-mob clips and a couple Kjo/GUTS videos. Overall, a very enjoyable evening!

Saturday I had to head into the office. Well, it was exactly mandatory, but if I didn't want my work area to look like a tornado hit it on Monday, then it was in my best interest. Plus, there's no 'I' in Mcomm Group, and the team was needed to pull of this latest office reorganization. Oddly enough, I started to get tuckered out after about 5 hours and pretty much called it a day after that.

Saturday night and Sunday morning I got my sleep on. Once I got up and moving, I headed over to my Tom and Laura's house to what a little football. Sometimes it doesn't get much better than hanging out with your big bro.

And now it's Monday night, after a ridiculously long day at work. I'm wrapped up in a blanket with a warm laptop, soon to be replaced with a Jinkies of Sparky, whichever acts faster. I had some chicken noodle soup for dinner and plan to hit the hay early. I refuse to believe my scratchy throat is any more than a result of the bitterly cold and dry weather. But it's better to be safe than sorry.

3 out of 4 isn't bad, right?

Some of you may know that during the baseball off season, my beloved Chicago Cubs pulled out of Peoria and we are once again stuck with the St. Louis Cardinals representing baseball in Peoria. We knew Kane County would come to town at least twice this summer to take on the Peoria Chiefs, but would the Cubs Caravan make a stop Peoria this January?

The answer, YEP!

And tonight was the night. Nothing like hitting Expo Gardens for some ballpark food in January, with the hope of obtaining some Chicago Cubs players autographs. Definitely a wonderful way to spend the evening, especially when you get to hang with your brother and couple friends. (Vince pictured below.)


Sadly, the Cubs didn't send any current players. Kind of a bummer because it's always nice to see some new faces pass through. Who they did promise, did show up and did not disappoint!
     James Rowson - Cubs hitting coach
     Keith Moreland - Cubs radio, former Cubs player
     Randy Bush - Cubs Assistant GM, former player
     Ernie Banks - Chicago Cubs Hall of Famer

Based on the title of this blog entry, you may have deduced that I only obtained 3 of their autographs, and you would be correct. But I did interact with all four.

I will attempt a "quick" summary of the evening.

1. I wait in line for a Banks auto as Tom waits in the other autograph line. A quick count and he tells me I'm approximately 120th in line. Yep, this isn't looking good.

2. Guests of Honor show up and start signing. Tom gets Moreland's and Rowson's autos and joins me to wait in line. (no, not line cutting, just keeping me company... unlike a good 50 other people that oozed into the line ahead of me.) Yes, sometimes I wish I was that person, but ultimately I'm glad I'm not.

3. Tom saves my spot and I get to meet Moreland and J-Row! Very nice fellows and J-Row has an awesome smile.


4. Join Tom again. 30 minutes have passed and we've move a total of 10 feet, not good.

5. "Friends" near us in line save our spot as we go chit-chat, get auto, and pic with Randy Bush.


6. We go back through Moreland and J-Row's line again, so I can get some pics with those guys. Too nice! Love it!



7. Autograph session should last 45 minutes, but it's now about an hour and fifteen minutes since they started. I go join my "friends" back in line.

8. We make it just in front of the podium area before they pull the plug on Ernie's signing madness. Still a good 30 people in front of me. I watch Ernie walk towards me as he makes his way to the stage and I simply stick out my hand. "Ernie, thanks for coming down to Peoria!", I say while he shakes my hand and smiles back. I believe he said something along the lines of "My pleasure." I honestly don't recall because I was caught up in the moment of shaking Mr. Cub's hand.

9. I head back to my seat and turnaround to see the people around me jockeying for position to try to get an autograph. Once again, not my style. I'm just glad I got to thank him. He helped make for a magical evening.

Here's a photo of Ernie signing for people that were lucky enough to get an autograph, but I guarantee they didn't shake his hand. Oh yeah, that's what I'm talkin' about!

Simple Things: Screaming Sheep

I don't want to leave anyone out. I've been enjoying these clips way too much this evening.

Can you hear me cackling?

Cloudy Head, Fuzzy Eyes

I'm not a big fan of days like today. You want to wake up excited because it's Friday, but when you finally stand up, you fall back into bed because of an overwhelming headache that seems to have it's own pulse. You then realize it'll probably be a task just to get through the day.

Every coworker I talked to offered me something for me headache, but I had already taken the maximum dosage and had a fair amount of caffeine coursing through my system. Other than sleep, this was my only hope to lifting the cloud off my head.

I made it through the morning, trying not to be too cranky. A difficult task when all you really want to do is go back home to bed and close your eyes. Even a lunch with the boys didn't turn the day around as I had hoped, but they were good company and it was a nice meal at 5 Guys.

By the afternoon, my computer screen was starting to look fuzzy. Not the best scenario when trying to work on spreadsheets. Somehow I made it through the day, but I did bring some work home to accomplish over the weekend. I feel like I slogged through the day at 70% and need to gain some ground if I don't want to be behind on Monday.

Right now, I'm slightly impressed with how I've written this little blog. Feet kicked up on the couch, typing away on the laptop, looking through eyelids at half mast. Actually it's probably less than that, but now I have to get up to let the Sparkster out, as he leaped (isn't lept a word?) from the couch and is now staring at me.

Building a 1950's Chevy Truck

I've done quite a few projects over the years, with most of them being for family or friends. This Christmas, my dad was the recipient of a 1950's 1:25 scale model Chevrolet 3100 Pickup Truck.

Why? Well, here's my inspiration:

Tom "driving" Ed, my dad's 1953 Chevy truck restoration project, as dad guides them into the workshop.

This was the first plastic model I've put together. I decided to go with three main colors, charcoal gray, green, and rust color. Sure, this helped keep costs down, but I don't think dad would have wanted it any other way. His dream would be to get Ed up and running and not have to paint him. I don't believe the insurance company will let that fly (too much rust), so I wanted to give dad a glimpse at what Ed might look like if not painted.

There were over 100 pieces and some small enough I had to use tweezers to put them together. Every inch need to be painted, except for the tires and "chrome". I chose gray for the underside and green for the exterior. At the end, I added the rust highlights.

For my first plastic model, I don't think it turned out too shabby. May I present to you Ed Jr.

And if you missed this over the holidays, here's Sparky after opening a couple presents and inspecting our wrapping paper balls, which missed the paper bag basket.

#1 Winter Woe

Being sick. I would like to group together the following: colds, influenza, and viral gastroenteritis (stomach flu).

Like clockwork, it's winter time and it seems like I'm surrounded by sickness. Coworkers coughing up lungs, my brother and sister-in-law bringing back Paris colds, the gravelly sound of my mom's voice on the other end of the phone, the thought of my grandpa fighting off the stomach flu, and hearing the story of a cell phone's demise in toilet water after dropping out of a shirt pocket while tossing one's cookies.

Not a pretty picture, right?

Well, goodness only knows how I've managed to avoid it all so far. Yes, I know, I just jinxed myself, but I figure it's inevitable I'll catch something.

I take my multi-vitamins, try to get plenty of sleep, exercise, and in general think optimistically. But what's not to say I'll catch the mailman's cold or the flu from the last person using the gas pump.

Sure I could use hand sanitizer every 7 seconds or wear plastic gloves and a face mask, but I have this beautiful thing called an immune system. If I don't give it a challenge every once and a while, then it may just fail me when I need it the most.

I survived playing in sandboxes as a kid, so why should today be any different? 

My Very First Skype = Legendary

The grin still plastered on my face.

Thanks to the overwhelming generosity of people I've never met or even follow on Twitter, I was fortunate enough to enjoy a 15 minute Skype conversation with Kristen Johnston (Kjo). She's one of my favorite people to follow on Twitter and I've enjoyed her work from her most recent book GUTS to watching her on 3rd Rock from the Sun back in the day.

After reading her book last year (2012), it left me with the feeling that we might have much in common even though I don't relate 100% to her battle with addiction that she so bravely shared in her book. At some point in time she decided to follow me on Twitter. Yep, I'm still not sure how that one happened.

Anyway, over the last several months, we shared a few direct messages here and there. I would fill my brother in and he would come to know Kjo as my "new BFF". I giggle every single time I jokingly say this or think about it. I'm such a dork.

So, how did I get this Skype experience? The super quick version. Kjo donated a 30 minute Skype conversation to the first person to donate $1,000 to worth cause organized by a phenomenal person (AKA, Carroll Center and Geno Carter). Wishing I had $1,000 to donate, I simply sat back and watched the tweets fly by. Then the very generous donor of $1,000 flipped around his 30 minutes and asked Kjo if she would do two 15 minutes.

I made one donation already, but decided to empty my paypal account of a dismal $40 to throw my hat in the ring. I'm not sure why Kjo said, "Hope you win!!", but I'll take it!

I found out I was chosen on Sunday and was in a bit of shock. Thanks to @SecretIngrdient for choosing me. I shared this news with Tom and Mom and decided to let the idea of the Skype simmer and brew over the next couple of days. To my surprise Kjo was ready to chat on New Years Day, so who was I to keep her waiting.

But what would I say. After two days simmering, all I could come up with is me wanting to tell her about StageIt.com (How cool would it be for her to read a chapter out of her book and answer a few questions? People who couldn't make it to a book signing could donate money to SLAMNYC), and I wanted to ask her if she has anything on her "bucket list".

I got to share the StageIt idea and ask my question. Along with sharing things I never thought I would. It was a real conversation, not just some boring small talk. I am beyond thankful for this opportunity and honestly took a lot out of this short conversation.

And what I laugh about, now that it's over... is how my computer completely froze during our conversation. I sat there in aw about how Kjo was frozen on my screen. Move the mouse, nothing. Ctrl+Alt+Delete, nothing. Power button, nothing. I literally had to take out the battery to restart my computer. As I freak out, I DM Kjo on Twitter and she simply told me to call her back. My thought, so cool. Once we're "reunited" she's comments how it happened during such a great conversation. My thoughts exactly.

I love it, her profile pick is Pinky, her beloved rescue dog.


Who would have thought 2013 would have such an extraordinary start?!?!

End of Year Clean Up

I've been using the last couple of 4-day weekends to do some "clean-up" around the house. I must admit, I'm very good at starting something and putting it off until much later. It doesn't impact anyone other than me, so I don't feel rushed to get my butt in gear.

I usually keep the second bedroom door closed to reduce heat and air conditioning air flow, keep Jinkies from hocking up any hairballs in there, and to keep both pets out of the bags of cat and dog food. I opened the door prior to Christmas and several birthdays and it looked like some sort of storage locker. Ridiculous.

It was time to take action and that I did. All presents have been wrapped and there are just a few needing to be given out. I finished the art project I started quite some time ago and am proud to say that it's already hanging in the living room!

Bins to sort my seasonal clothing have been purchased. Old houses don't come with sufficient closets... well, at least this one didn't. I ran out of gusto doing laundry and sorting, so the packing up storing will have to wait until the coming weekend.

The last sweep through of the room will be gathering up all the items to donate, packing them up in the car and dropping them off within that week.

Not only is there the physical cleanup, but I need to organize my digital world too. I seriously have photos on my camera from October that I haven't downloaded to my computer. When was the last time I backed up my phone? When was the last time I backed up my computer. Get on it!

Let's hope I'm not too late. Fingers crossed. I promise I'll add some photos want I get through this digital world mumbo-jumbo.