Quigley.
This used to be a high school for future Catholic priests, our firm turned it into Archdiocesan offices. Isn't this fitting? Walking through the halls I entered a different world, one where an elite of men ran an institution of faith. The Gothic arches, gargoyles, stained glass windows, carved pews serving as benches - I felt humbled as my footsteps echoed in the voluminous spaces. To me, the catholic mass speaks to the soul in theGothic spaces and falls flat in modern churches...
Cavities in the rain...
Thank God for technology. Today I witnessed a cavity being repaired with no drill, no needles, no Novocaine and no PAIN. All thanks to a laser light. A far cry from the ancient tools I was tortured with in a Polish grammar school - talk about drilling with no water and no medicine. I can still smell the burnt tooth and feel the pain... As we left with stickers, toys and gum we were drenched by Feb storm complete with lightning. Weird..
We will survive..
So, this morning I've decided I'm not going to Vegas. I feel crappy about it, but better than if I've spent all the money and became broke. Good thing I didn't get the tickets, because my husband's job had lay-offs today. Four people from his office and several others from another location. Some people I knew. Now it is starting to get too close for comfort. We both still have jobs and pray it will stay that way, but it's getting REALLY scary...
Money...
I'm taking a long bath again. The Cure is playing in Vegas (my favorite city destination) at the Palms. I really want to go... The problem is that the trip would cost us $1,500, which translates to $750 a day! Does being too responsible make me insipid? That is the question of the night...
Daydreaming...
I was SO tired today. My grandma (85) had her pacemaker exchanged and isn't feeling so hot. She's in Poland, living all alone. I had a nice 1-hr chat with her. I sat down on the couch - in the new place by the stove, with a new perspective adjoining the window. I looked at the beautiful blue sky, the clouds reminded me of summer... I started drifing away... Had the first and best nap in a LOONG time!
Lives intertwined
Alush had his first drama club meeting today - some parts he liked, others he did not. As it turns out his buddy Davi is there as well, whose brother (Niko) is in Olivia's class whose mom is friends with Olivia's best friend (Nicole's) mom, whose son was also at the after school club... I'm still suffering the aftereffects from the ladies' holiday.
Ladies' Holiday
Didn't go to yoga, just couldn't get myself out of the house and into the car. I hate that time of the month - the brain's not working, the body is sore, even the soul hurts. Why our our bodies made that way? Donno, one of these days I will have to explain that phenomenon to my daughter. Anyway, we finished the night with a game of Poker.
Tile Crisis & Friends
Too many mistakes with the tile installation, the biggest is that the dye-lots don't match. One whole row is the wrong color! He will have to take off 3 tiles tomorow and re-distribue:( I had to get more tile, since both him and I miscalculated and we were short. I begged until I got them for free! It would have sucked to have to buy a whole box. Good thing our friends stopped by with their two girls and took our mind off the tile.
Tile Day.
The Painter came today to install tile for the stove. He couldn't do the wall since the floor part was settling too much - had to wait till the glue dried. He removed the wood base and we found out why we needed the stove in the first place - there is a gap of 1-3" between the floor and the drywall that has no insulation! Its only concrete between inside and out. Now husband is insulating the gap. No wonder it was too cold to sit on the couch upstairs!
Valentine's Day (on a budget...)
I convinced my husband (the meatetarian) to go with me (the vegetarian) to an Indian all vegetarian lunch buffet! The food was awesome, an explosion of taste with just the right amount of spice. This is in the heart of the Indian neighborhood, so the sights and sounds on the street were exotic as well. Later we caught a matinee movie (Taken) and got the kids valentines presents. Awesome day! For the price of flowers (that we skipped) we had lunch and 1 movie ticket...
The Heat Wave.
It hit 61 degrees today, just a couple degrees shy of the 133-year record. It was WARM, like no jacket warm. The kids were out in the back yard enjoying the beautiful blue sky and sun. After the coldest January on record this felt GOOD!
Geography 101
So, we have been working on geography at home. Alush just completed his first map of the United States of America. All by himself, misspellings and all. He could not fit Michigan, New Jersey, Vermont, Connecticut, Kentucky, West Virginia and possibly others... He did fit Alaska and Hawaii though...
Full moon, almost..
Officially it is tomorrow, but it was really large and yellow/orange today. Plus, it's been cloudy for so long that seeing a blue, clear sky was strange, let alone a MOON. One of these days I will take a good shot of it. It's the Grammy's today! I was excited for Coldplay: they got song of the year, and best album. They are my #2 band, after the almighty Cure.
The Thaw
It hit 57 degrees today! The kids were like a pair of wild dogs let off the leash, running, jumping, playing OUTSIDE. It has been SO cold here, the coldest winter in 25 years. We have not seen grass since last year! Look at this - green grass! I finally feel alive! I got a haircut too to celebrate @ new recession price of $35 vs the $55 I used to spend.
This is a progress shot of the fruit of my labor - Trinity Lutheran Church in Lisle in SketchUp. It doesn't look great, but I'm still proud of it, since I just learned the program. Along the way I encountered resistance from a specific co-worker assigned to help me out. As it turns out he was only helpful when the partners were around... Not nice! He probably felt that I was stepping on his toes, since this is what he does at the office, and with the economy bad and jobs lost...
Chuck E Cheese Fundraiser
I almost didn't go. Still sick today, but I slept for close to 2 hours and layed around all day. Alas, at about 3pm I felt BETTER! Yey! Finally not shivering anymore. I usually despise Chucke's germ-ridden, loud place - BUT this time it was different. Lots of cool moms I knew. The kids pretty much took care of themselves - running around in groups, while we had a nice adult chat.
This little piggy....
While the little piglets were buisy with homework, I was learning SketchUp. The boss wants me to render 3 interiors for a church we are working on. All good, but all I've been doing the last 6 of 10 years was detailing and marketing NOT rendering. Frankly, I'm nervous how I'm going to pull this off, but the program is proving to be quite fun to learn and work in. We'll se when we get to the DETAILS!
Superbowl XLIII - Steelers 27, Cardinals 23
This is what I preferred to watching Super Bowl this year, which is unusual for me since I like football. Gossiping with my mom while the kids watched the game in the living room. Later Olivia joined us for Cinderella II. Yeah, boys in one room, girls in the other...
