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Snow day! Except for me... and a whole heck of a lot of other people on the Chicago expressways! Aren't I lucky that my client chose NOT to cancel the meeting out in bumblefu*k today? Yep, I had the pleasure of driving home in a beautiful snow storm - taking me a whopping THREE HOURS to drive about 30 miles. Joy of all joys! Snapped a pic before I got in the car and then a few along the way ... since I was sitting still for most of the drive, had to entertain myself.
As much as it sucks to drive in the snow .. it sure is pretty. Don't you think?
So the giant bummer of the day ... I was supposed to drive up to Milwaukee to spend the night in a super cool hotel and attend the Milwaukee Art Museum, MAM After Dark. They were announcing the winners of their photo contest celebrating the Quadracci Pavillion and I was lucky enough to be a finalist in the contest. I'm hoping they will post the winners tomorrow. So ... instead I sit here, catching up on the DVR and whipping up my first "mug cake."
Chocolate Salted caramel Mug Cake ( recipe here ) that I found on Pinterest. I am amazed that it actually worked - totally thought it was going to explode out of the mug! I think it came out OK, but my caramels were not all gooey in the middle (boo) and I may have overcooked the cake a bit, was a little dry. But... I think I could make some easy adjustments and this would be killer! And it's quite a lot of cake!
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It was downright frigid outside today. Beautiful sun, but bone chilling cold.
... via iPhone ...
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Waffles are the best. Even if they're eggo.
... via iPhone ...
tabac blond
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Marcey made lunch for the office today! Sweet potato soup, havarti grilled cheese and cornbread. How nice was that??
It was the perfect day for soup & grilled cheese. Gray. Rain. Wind. Snow. Ahh winter in Chicago is a joy!
... via iPhone ...
green then and now
Checking out at the supermarket recently, the young cashier suggested I should bring my own bags because plastic bags weren’t good for the environment. I apologized and explained, “We didn’t have this green thing back in my earlier days“.
The clerk responded, “That’s our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations“.
She was right about one thing–our generation didn’t have the green thing in “Our” day. So what did we have back then? After some reflection and soul-searching on “Our” day, here’s what I remembered we did have….
Back then, we returned milk bottles, pop bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles repeatedly. So they really were recycled. But we didn’t have the green thing back in our day.
We walked up stairs, because we didn’t have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks. But she was right. We didn’t have the green thing in our day.
Back then, we washed the baby’s nappies because we didn’t have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 240 volts — wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that young lady is right. We didn’t have the green thing back in our day.
Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house — not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of Wales. In the kitchen, we blended & stirred by hand because we didn’t have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.
Back then, we didn’t fire up an engine and burn petrol just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn’t need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity. But she’s right. We didn’t have the green thing back then.
We drank from a water fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull. But we didn’t have the green thing back then.
Back then, people took the bus, and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their mums into a 24-hour taxi service. We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn’t need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.
But isn’t it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn’t have the green thing back then?
Please post this on your Facebook profile so another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from a smarty-pants young person can add to this
This made me laugh. While I think the age range is a bit off, the points made are quite good. It has been within the last 20 years or so that 'we' developed the bad habits that have started to really harm the environment. Plastic bags. Plastic bottles. Ridiculous amounts of packaging to protect products.
And full disclosure, I am addicted to bottled water. I have tried many a reusable bottle, but nothing is as convenient as that damn plastic bottle of water. I do bring my own bags to the grocery store and recycle as much plastic and paper that comes into my home. Hopefully that counts for something...
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Look into the sky on the way to work and saw these beautiful puffy clouds. Just had to snap a quick photo. Love the clothespins on the line too.
... via iPhone ...
OneCraftyFox: Twenty Little Things...
[image(s) source: We Heart It]
Hello girlfriends!! Nobody can give you wiser advise than you can give yourself, but I've put together a little list of Twenty Things I Think Every Woman Should Have In Her Lifetime. I hope you enjoy it, and perhaps you have some advice of your own to share... ;)
♥ 20. An amazing dish and all the ingredients to perfect it, should you require it within the hour.
♥ 19. Something ridiculously expensive that you bought for yourself, just because you deserve it.
♥ 18. A set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, a black lacey bra... and the ability to *work* them all.
♥ 17. A hairstylist who listens to exactly what you want, and knows exactly what to do when you don’t know what you want.
♥ 16. A resume that is not even the slightest bit padded... because you are good enough just as you are.
♥ 15. Something in your wardrobe that has just the right amount of sparkle, and a pretty perfume that is just you.
♥ 14. One old boyfriend you daydream about going back to, and another who reminds you of how far you have come.
♥ 13. A skin-care regimen, an exercise routine and the ability to cook healthy meals that taste absolutely delish.
♥ 12. The understanding that you will not get away with smoking, drinking, doing drugs or not flossing for very long.
♥ 11. A sensual and smooth Latin American man who will leave you positively breathless.
♥ 10. One friend you can count on to make you laugh, and another you can count on to let you cry.
♥ 9. The perfect little black dress, and a darling little white one.
♥ 8. Some element of self defense training and the ability to trust your sixth sense.
♥ 7. A past that’s just juicy enough that you can look forward to telling it without shame in old age.
♥ 6. An incredible lip product that leaves you feeling super soft and super smooch-able.
♥ 5. Knowing what you would and wouldn’t do for love or money, and knowing when to try harder and when to walk away.
♥ 4. A good bullshit detector and a favorite sex position.
♥ 3. Realizing you should never need to apologize for something that isn’t your fault.
♥ 2. Recognizing that you are flawed, yet more so, that you are beautiful.
♥ 1. Having a theme song for all of your little moments.
I couldn't agree with this list more! While I've not achieved all twenty as of yet, I'm damn close! My song of the moment ... Somebody that I used to know by Walk off the Earth
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9NF2edxy-M]
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Bye bye Christmas. Took down all of the decorations today. I always feel like the house looks a little empty after the take down.
... via iPhone ...