okay....so after a crazy busy week at the Centre, I'm exhausted and looking for something fun and relaxing to do on Saturday....the day started out ok by me babysitting my neice and nephew as my brother and sister-in-law went out on a date....but THEN...Holy Crap. We went to a McDonald's Birthday Party for a two year old girl - one of Anna's little friends. HERE ME PEOPLE - NEVER EVER GO TO A MCDONALD'S BIRTHDAY PARTY....I had a headache about 2 minutes after I got there...it was complete CHAOS...children of all sizes, tempers, and ages running around the playplace running and yelling and shrieking and crying and biting each other....i admit, i did have fun playing with my neice and nephew (like this pic) and taking my neice up the tunnel thingy, but man, did i have to fight our way through that thing and protect Anna from the trillions of sugar-rushed kids who were climbing over her and pushing past me (ME - a 25 YEAR OLD, got pushed over by two little 6 year old girls!!) and all the adults were just ignoring the kids and talking and eating their Big Macs and SuperSized Fries and Extra-Large Cokes like all of this was all in a middle-class American parent's day's work! So after like 3 hours, I caved and ate some chicken fingers (I KNOW) and some fries and left feeling bloated, exhausted, and rather annoyed. But, we had an hour's drive to the City...where I got some replenshing rest.....which redeemed the sitch a little before our night out on the town....
Sunday, February 27, 2005
Ooo-Ooo-Ooo-Ah-Ah-Ah!!
yep, that's what a monkey (and, apparently, his cousins the guerilla) makes.....me, Anna, and my sis-in-law Jen outside the down-town Chicago restaurant of our choice.....The Rainforest Cafe...it was pretty funky inside.....all jungle-like and loud and stuff......crazy but fun! (no, I'm not being sarcastic this time).
Yeeee-Haaaaaaw!
Ah, a woman after my own heart.....Anna and me looking through the Safaria Gift Shop waiting for our table....
Jungle Fever
So our safari begun by simply stepping through a magical wardrobe called a "revolving door" which landed us among waterfalls, such as this one, and real-life-looking moving animals like snakes, guerillas, and elephants....i think the place scared the crap out of anna, but hey, how toddler friendly is a place with moving crocodiles and talking snakes?
pretty fishy
nope, I'm not suddenly on a scuba-diving adventure - this was a fish that was one of like a trillion in these HUGE-mugous aquariams that lined the entrance into the eating area.....craziness.....hmmm....feed a small country, or, import millions of exotic fish for our restaurant.....hmmmmm.....tough choice!
my only prince charming
despite my brother and sister-in-law's attempt to set me up, Mr. Froggy here is the closest thing I've come to so far with finding a soul-mate in Chicago. He was real friendly, though, but didn't speak a word... Hmmmm...maybe that has it's benefits......:)
the windy city
so after the restaurant we decided to check out the chicago blues scene.. our options were a bit limited with the kids, but we found this great all-ages place that played live blues in a family atmosphere (which means no alcohol and no smoking, i discovered)....so here's me in front of the the place with the sparkling city laughing behind me....
my one-eyed lova
here's the band....they were sooooooo good and the woman's lyrics made me laugh....like, "my one eyed lova, yeah, he left me for a one-legged woman....yes he did, now....so people ask me darlin, what are they gonna do to me? but ya know, honey, i ain't worried, cuz, well, she can't run and he can't seeee..." hhahahaha...anyways, i left feeling satisfied that i had soaked up some true Chicago culture....which, sadly, was 20 minutes after we got there cuz we had two cranky tired babies with us....yeah....remind me not to have kids any time soon....
goodbye blues
a cool painting that was on a side of a brick wall on our way out....and that completes our night on the town!
Anna Grace!!
Meet Anna Grace - my crazy pyscho energetic neice who is full of energy and fun to play with...we've bonded lots and I teach her to play with her food and stick her tongue out while chewing....much to the joy ofo her parents...:)
Auntie Jen and Micah
meet my nephew Micah!! He is a sweetheart...so laidback and giggly...it's great to get to know him more being here....
my alt prac
Here's where I'm doing an internship.....I'm loving it and am actually learning quite a bit...so many people's lives are being transformed here, it's neat to be a part of it...so far I've been sitting in on counseling sessions, making phone calls, and taking a Foundations of Biblical Counseling course, which requires a lot a lot of reading...it's interesting though!!
welcome to the bible belt of chicagoland
so here is me being forced by my brother and dad to play the most ridiculous Bible game i have ever seen - it was a christian version of "Life"....the goal is to get to "Heaven" and avoid going to "the Lake of Fire" or even worse.......dahn dahn daaaaaaaaaaaaaaahn - "Backslider's Valley" (Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeekkkk! Oh no! not there!!! please, God, not Backslider's Valley!!!!!!!!!) So in order to get to Heaven you have to acquire, in this order - Conviction, Salvation, Assurance, and Santification Cards....and along the way you do "typical christian things" like get baptized (ok,understandable), go to church (alright, got it), and protest outside an abortion clinic (????????????? Hmmm.....never done - nor wanted to do - nor seen the purpose of - doing that). it was sooooooooo cheesy and it made me kind of embarassed to be a christian, but what can you do - at lease it made me and my dad and mom laugh, which made my brother angry and confused, but hey, you can't please everyone i guess...:)
-J
-J
mom and me
so this is my mom and me very tired after our long drive (11 hours) to chicago....needless to say, we we happy to get there....:)
Thursday, February 24, 2005
the last night at the tirnanog
my best girls from first year - Tristan and Jessie and me at the Tirnanog on our last night together in K-town till April....love and miss you girlies!!!
kareokee time
so the entire Faculty of Education went to Kareokee at the Tirnanog on the last night before our alternative practicum....a lot of us won't see each other until April - till we're back in classes after our spring practicum....so it was VERY fun, yet VERY sad at times too!
a couple of blondes-turned-brunettes
and here's Lea-Ellen and me - good times...girl - i miss ya and am praying for you in China!!
still friends!
ah, this is a funny pic....david looks quite annoyed but i'll assure you he loves piggy-backing me home from pottery class! hehe... love this kid more than ever; it's nice to have a friend who is more pyscho-somatic than me :) ....most of the time....
p.s. for the most entertaining and enlightening "history" of jen and david see the January archives
p.s. for the most entertaining and enlightening "history" of jen and david see the January archives
david, anne and me
here's us on a chilly walk back from pottery class - anne lives next door to me with abi and she is from Germany! sweet girl, and so funny....!
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