Winter parking- Chicago style

I watched these poor saps dig out for a good 45 minutes Saturday. They had those little, tiny shovels I imagine are designed for planting some garden blooms rather than freeing your car from 6 inches of crusty snow. You know the shovels I'm talking about; they're probably the only ones left at any hardware store in the greater Chicagoland area right now.

I understand the need to mark your territory after a job like that. When we lived in Humbolt Park I used to use this old, wicker dresser Kim had to save the spot. I thought I was quite original for using something other than the standard chair/broom combo. A vanguard, if you will, that's me. I've seen the chair/ cone combo many times, and that's all they had there for a few days. They must have decided that was inadequate, because this morning they added a bucket filled with some sort of electronic device. All I can see from here is a few cords poking out of either side. If Devin was home, I'd take a casual gander at what indeed is inside the bucket. But alas, I am homebound with the kids. At this point I don't really feel like bundling them up to take them across the street to take a picture of a bucket.

I've got time on my hands here, but not that much time.




I like what they've done here with the ironing board. Good move. Still have the length of the broom/ chair combo, but it's nice and compact. Even folds down so you can put it in your car after you pull in. It's a little hard to see in the picture because it's white and it blends. Camouflage, also a nice touch.


I know I bitch and moan about not having a driveway, but it's days like this that make me thankful for my garage. Even if I do have to ice skate down the alley & dig my car out when it gets beached on the snow in the middle of the ruts. It's still not street parking, glory be.

Red socks

I really shouldn't be crap talkin' anyone else's socks. These red socks are pretty ugly. Let's see how great they look in my shoes.






I actually don't mind the yellow shoes with the socks. Kind of a ketchup & mustard effect. Which reminds me of hotdogs. Which is why I'm a teacher and not a stylist. Or a web designer, which explains this fantastic layout.

I really am going to start thinking before I write sometime soon, I swear.

Too much

Sometimes reality is just too much for me. I begin to ask myself, "Is this real? And if so... why?"

And so it is again, as I ponder this can of Jennie's Macaroons. I'm just not understanding the whole marketing angle here. Now surely, this guy knows his way around a macaroon. These things are pretty good, and with an ingredient list this small (coconut, honey, egg whites), I'm totally sold. And they're gluten-free!

I'm just a little fuzzy as to why one would put a picture of this David Cross-type character on the can. I realize that not all spokespeople are the most attractive. Colonel Sanders, anyone? But for some reason this pic just screams "Child molester mugshot" to me. Perhaps it's the beard, or the glasses, or the bald head (sorry D.) or all three.

Yet I did buy them, after all.

It's official

These are the three ugliest socks in America. It was a close race, but alas, other footwear never had a chance...

On second thought

Looks like my boss is headed to Washington.

Is it too late to change my vote???

Good News, Bad News

Everybody can just relax now...

Good News:

Devin found the box with my boots. Apparently they weren't bootnapped by the dude that lives in the storage space after all.

My feet will be warm.

Bad News:

I can't buy new boots now.

I wish

When we decided to put our place on the market, we thought it would be a good idea to get a storage unit. We threw all our excess crap in there in the hopes it looked more spacious in here. I guess it is pretty spacious, but we have a lot of shit I guess.

Scary thing is, that stuff has been in storage for a year now, and we don't miss it. We've had to go get the baby stuff- toys and activity center thingy-do-dads that he's grown into and out of. We've gotten, and put back, the Halloween junk & will have to get the Christmas tree out too. Other than that, all the rest of the boxes in the storage space (filled to capacity, mind you) contain stuff so unimportant I haven't needed it in a year.

I did also go back and get my pre-pregnancy/ winter clothes. But I can't find my boots. At least three pairs that I can think of. They are the great ones too, because they are really warm, yet not ugly so I can wear them with a skirt too. Gone!
Storage unit shoe-napping! ( I wouldn't be surprised; I'm pretty sure there is a dude that lives in the unit around the corner from us. I bet he was eyeing those boots all along. I just wonder how he pulled it off...)

What was my point now? Oh yeah, shoe shopping. I was looking for new boots on Endless.com (30% off right now, by the way, on purchases over $75). Begrudgingly I was looking in the snow/ cold weather boot section. I say this because there's several other non-practical boots I'd rather buy. But alas, the NYLA "Butter Boot" (pictured above) is listed in this category. Perhaps it's just me, but I'm not sure if I believe that these boots would keep my feet warm. They don't exactly scream, "Traction!" to me.
I'd love to live in a place where this is a practical winter boot.

Was that the point of this post? I can't for the life of me remember. Oh right. Boots again. Should I just get these instead? They are flat (practical), black (I would wear them all the time). I wasn't planning on shoveling anyhow.