ISABELLE SMOKES A CIG

Isabelle took a smoke break from all the sightseeing. Okay, we're going to hell. Isabelle was actually sleeping with her mouth open so we took the oportunity to stick a cigarette in her mouth. (Isabelle was not harmed in the shooting of this picture .)

EARLY MORNING FOG IN BINGEN

CHRISTMAS IN GERMANY

After a long 9 hour trip, we have finally made it to Germany. No major incidents to report other than the Lufthansa lady at O'Hare throwin' some attitude at Brian when she said, "I don't care!", to his face. LOL Anyway, our friends Joe and Samantha are visiting as well and we plan to start hitting some of the Christkindlmarkts tomorrow. Today, we are just going to chill in front of Mrs. G's Christmas pyramid, eat some sweets, and plan out our day for tomorrow. Tschuss.

RENEE COOKS DINNER

Here's what Boogers, Klunky, and Jules were really thinking just before eating Renee's home cooked meal. Rreah anyone? (Source: Didymopping)

ST. NICHOLAS DAY

What a surprise this morning. I went downstairs and saw my shoes full of candy and gifts. Looks like St. Nicholas stopped by and left me some treats! At least I didn't get twigs in my shoes this year. You see, on the eve of December 6th, St. Nicholas goes from house to house carrying a book of sins in which all of the misdeeds of children (or adults in my case) are written. If they have been good, St. Nic fills their shoes with sweet treats. If they've been bad, he leaves nothing but a bunch of twigs in their shoes. See... being good all year really pays off! Vielen dank Sankt Nic fur die sussigkeiten!!!

KATHY GRIFFIN DOES LARRY KING

The lady just cracks me up! I was fortunate to see her live a few weeks ago in Skokie. Here's a clip of her on Larry King Live which aired last night.

Stupid Spoiled Whore

I know what I'm getting a certain someone from Island Lake for Christmas!!!

EARLIEST HEAVY SNOW IN 28 YEARS

Looks like the weatherman was right for a change. Above our pictures looking out my back window. As you can see, the snowstorm hit northeast Illinois pretty hard. It was like I was in grade school all over again. I woke up early and turned the news on to see how bad it really was outside. I was hoping it was bad enough to work from home and it was! It was like a snow day, but with work at home! This storm brought some of the heaviest early snow here in 28 years with up to 15" in the northwest suburbs. [Article]

WINTER STORM WARNING

Looks like the big storm out west is heading our way which would make this the first winter storm of the season for the Chicago metro area. Forecasters are saying up to a foot of snow could blanket some parts of the area by this time tomorrow. I don't know about you but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a possible snow day tomorrow!

ICEBERG OFF NEW ZEALAND = TROUBLE AHEAD?

An iceberg has been spotted off the coast of New Zealand for the first time since June of 1931. Global warming perhaps? In any case, this rare spectacle has already drawn many tourists via helicopter to the big chunk of ice. Although cool to look at, it could be a sign of bad things ahead. A report today says global warming is already killing many species. [Iceberg Article, Global Warming Article]

SQUIRREL AT THE FEEDER

I know who's eating all the bird seed now and it's not the birds. This is the first time I've seen a squirrel in the hood since we moved here 4 years ago! Isn't he cute?

OOOPS

I forgot all about the pumpkins at the front door!

CHRISTMAS CACTUS

This is a sure sign of Christmas coming. Our Christmas Cactus is blooming and it hasn't done that in YEARS! This isn't just one flower but 1 of 6 with many more buds waiting to open. I hope this is also a sign of the number of presents I'll get from Santa.

CATS AT THE GENESEE THEATRE

Last Friday my sister got tickets to go see Cats at the newly renovated Genesee Theatre in my hometown of Waukegan, Illinois. The musical was fantastic and my favorite scene was when the cat Grizabella sang Andrew Lloyd Webber's famous song, "Memory". Watching Cats at the Genesee Theatre made it all more memorable. The theatre first opened to the public in 1927 and closed it's doors in 1989. After sitting vacant for 12 years, the Genesee began its $23 million renovation. It now is a 115,000 square-foot, state of the art facility with a seating capacity of 2400 seats making it the largest venue of its kind in the region. This is truly the crown jewel of Waukegan and Lake County.

ONE EYED MONSTER ON SATURN

A freaky looking hurricane, about 2/3 the diameter of Earth, has been spotted hanging around Saturn's south pole. NASA's Cassini spacecraft has taking picturues of the monster storm which has winds up to 350 miles per hour and cloud tops between 20 and 45 miles high, or about 5 times taller than hurriane clouds on Earth. [Article]

IT'S MARY'S BIRTHDAY!

Brad Pitt took a break from shooting his latest motion picture in India and flew into Chicago to wish Mary a very special birthday. Happy Birthday Mary! You are one lucky woman!

MUTANT MELON HEADS

Renee from Didymops sent me this newspaper article about Mutant Melon Heads stalking the Cleveland Metro area. I just want to say that these these people are not scary or evil but quite peaceful and sincere. I have a very good friend who is a melonhead. They are people just like you and me... except for their big ole melon head. They deserve to be treated equally and with the utmost respect just like you and I. So the next time you see a melon head, turn to him or her and smile. They deserve it, just like my friend Juliano. I'm Lui5 and I approve this message.

POOR BALTHASAR

Yesterday evening Paul and I were doing some shopping and we went to the Crystal Lake F.I.M. store to look at the Christmas trees. Then we saw him. Someone had put Balthasar all the way in the back corner of the store where he stood all by himself in the aisle. That's just not right.

NEW WASHING MACHINE

Last weekend our old GE washer went kaput and this time it wasn't about me leaving the downy ball in the machine that did it. For those who don't know, I was blamed for breaking the last washing machine we had because I left an empty downy ball in the tub. Yeah, craaaazy. Anywho, I do believe there is some sort of conspiracy going on. If I recall correctly, last Saturday Brian said he really wanted a front-load washing machine. Then all of a sudden our washing machine breaks and we are at Best Buy the next day buying the new Whirlpool Duet Sport. Coincidence? I think not.

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS BRIAN G.?

Where is he off to now? Anyone?