Alrighty, we are WAY behind on these things. So, let’s do some catching up. Ready? Set? Go!

Aaaaaaaand now for another update on this year’s Project 365….


Day 113 (2012-04-22) ~ I spent the day moving all the contents of a storage unit due to a rodent infestation. Ugh. At the end of the day, I suddenly realized that the only pictures I had taken all day were a couple of gross snapshots of a dead mouse and its poo as proof for the storage unit's owner. (SooOOooOOoo nasty!) Of course, there's NO WAY that I'm posting those here or anywhere else, so I had Wednesday quickly paint a picture for me with a flashlight in the dark. (Thank you, Kiddo!)





Day 114 (2012-04-23) ~ Just a quick shot of a plant on our window sill.





Day 115 (2012-04-24) ~ The kiddo had the day off of school this day and wanted to play a game with me. We unearthed my old 80's Pac-Man board game.... and I got my butt kicked.





Day 116 (2012-04-25) ~ I have small feet. I wear a women's 6.5, but I can also fit a kids' 4.5 perfectly fine as well. More often than not, I prefer the shoes from the kids aisle though (as long as they don't have Hannah Montana on them!) because they are half the price of adult shoes and sooooooooooo much more comfortable. (Ladies, if you have small feet too, try the kids' shoes on. I'm not kidding. Once you do though, you'll inevitably come to the conclusion that the shoe industry hates women. Kids' shoes are like pillows on your feet. I can't understand why they won't put the same comfort priority into women's shoes. Hello?!) Anyway.... The fact that I buy shoes from the kids' aisle routinely cracks my daughter and my husband up. My hubby suggested that my dorky kids' shoe boxes would make a great picture of the day, and I think he's right—especially my "I'm Pretty Tall" Skechers (which I bought for my wedding!) :-)





Day 117 (2012-04-26) ~ While waiting to pick up Wednesday, I noticed this tiny little plant growing at my feet. I wish I had thought to put something beside it for size-reference. It was only about as tall as a penny!





Day 118 (2012-04-27) ~ Me, myself and iPod. Just a quick selfie reflected in the shiny new doorknob on our gate as I was heading out for the afternoon.





Day 119 (2012-04-28) ~ We went out of town for the weekend to El Paso, Illinois for a 40th wedding anniversary party. This cute little pond was just around the back of the party venue and was just BEGGING me to snap a picture of it.





Day 120 (2012-04-29) ~ Okay, okay, not the best picture in the world, I know, but it's all I have for the day. On our way home from El Paso, we stopped to fill up the car and I tried to get a shot across the freeway and some trees of a water tower in the process of being built a mile or two away. That's not something you see everyday, right? Sure, it would have been much more impressive if we had been closer, but this was the best I could do.





So, now we are 30-something% of the way through this project. Woot! More to come soon!





© Coracabana

Because Sometimes Facebook Is Just Easier

Hmm.

So.

I was over on my hubba hubba hubby Scope’s blog the other day when—*gasp!*—I saw it. Something shocking. Something disgusting. Something big, burly, zitty, unshaven, and downright ugly!

*gulp*

I shielded my eyes. I pulled my hoodie over my head. And I curled my flexible self into a cramped, uncomfortable ball in my chair, bellowing, “GAWD NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!” out into the merciful universe.

*sniffle*

On Scope’s sidebar was this:

Five weeks, people. I haven’t posted on my blog (nor religiously haunted YOUR blogs) (*guilty squirm*) in five weeks….? Really? Wow. I’m—I’m sorry. I guess life got the better of me lately.

However….

Five weeks is long enough. Too long, actually. And since I still don’t have my bloggidy groove back yet, Blogaritaville, I’m going to give you my Facebook status updates instead. Here’s what’s been going on in the Land o’ Cora the last five weeks:


May 11:

A new neighbor moved into the 'hood. I don't like him. At all. He kept giving me the stink eye as I walked by.

May 13:

Marizpan cake makes everything better. EVERYTHING. Swearsies.

May 17:

Clearly, my hubby still thinks it is April Fools Day. He has been leaving fake spiders EVERYWHERE for me and Wednesday to stumble upon. Wednesday found one in her sock yesterday, and this is what I found when I opened the fridge this morning. MUST. GET. REVENGE.

May 18:

Holy shi tsu! I think I just had a heart attack. I opened our door to let air in and then suddenly *BAM!!* there was a big car crash right outside our house. Luckily everyone is okay, but I think I left a dent in the ceiling, I jumped so badly. Yeesh.

May 20:

‎*hic* I have had the hiccups all morning long. *hic* I had to run errands in three different stores while sounding like a harbor seal the whole dang time. *hic* Totally embarrassing. *hic* Holding my breath didn't work. *hic* Weird, 'cuz it usually does. *hic* So, I'm about to go drink water from a cup upside down. *hic* Wish me luck. *hic* *hic* *hic*


May 20:

I spent all morning cleaning the house because my mom and nephew are flying in to visit today. My lovely daughter just got home from school, promptly announced, "Wow, Mom, it looks beautiful in here!" and then immediately dropped a scoop of ice cream. INTO. THE. SILVERWARE. DRAWER. Really, girlie? Really?
:-P


May 21:

Just got back from the aquarium!

May 24:

Hubba Hubba Hubby wasn't looking so peppy tonight. I summoned all my ninja-like nanny skillz and promptly attacked him with a thermometer and, just as I suspected, he has a fever. :-( Now I've drugged him up and tucked him in bed. Seriously, fevers of the world, what are you thinking?! I can spot a fever a mile away, you know, so don't mess with me and my loved ones, got it?!?! Jeez.

May 30:

I don't know why these strawberries I'm growing are taking so long to ripen. There are just green berries as far as the eye can see. Hurry up, dangit! I wanna make a shortcake out of you!



May 31:

"I don't know what I'm training for but I hope it never happens" - LOL!!

June 2:

I haven't eaten chocolate in over a month. I know! Who am I and what have I done with the real Cora?! New vice: marzipan cake. Mm-mm-mmmm.

June 2:

Right this very second Scope is giving Wednesday lessons on how to shoot a rubber band at me more effectively. But I'm not worried because she keeps getting the rubber band stuck on her own thumb. Yep. These are the people I live with. ;-)



June 10:

Okaaaaayyyyyyyy. Wow. I have no words.

June 12:

We have a harvest of strawberries! Mmmmmm.

June 15, 2011:

Dear 14 Year Old Daughter; The term is "BUCKET seats", okay? Bucket with a "B," not an "F". And, no, that was not an "inappropriate" song I was listening to. But thank you for the laugh! *snicker* :-)

June 16:

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! I don't even know what it is yet, but I am SOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!! http://www.youtube.com/JKRowlingAnnounces

June 18:

Just saw a firefly for the very first time. Wowza! Soooooooo cool! I was squealing like a pig on the sidewalk watching it light up and fly around. Too bad dogs and cats can't light up their butts like that. Think how handy that would be in a power outage....

© Coracabana

Playing Catch-Up: Snow Day!

Okay, so last I showed my bloggy face around here, I promised you a stupendous slew of stories, didn’t I? Ohhhhhhh, I’ve got stories for you, alright. Mm-hmm. In fact, dare I say it?—EEK!—I just might have too many stories. I can’t even really decide where to begin, so I keep putting it off and neglecting the blog, and then the problem just grows bigger and hairier and soooooooooooo much worse.

Kinda like moldy cheese in the back of the fridge.

Or Kirsty Alley.

Whatever.

The point? Much has gone on in my wee wittle world the last month or two…. hence the fact that I only blogged a pitiful, inexcusable three pointless posts in December.

Three!

Pfffft! Sad, wasn’t it? I know.

*cough slacking-good-for-nothing-clown cough*

It may take me a little while to blog it all, so bear with me. However, God forbid, if I’m still slogging my way through it and still blogging about Christmas in June, someone slap me. Okay? Okay.

Anyway, on with the stories….

Snow.

I used to dread snow when I lived in Seattle. Stupid sucktastic snow. Every time it snowed there—*POOF*—the whole city turned Stone Age. No cars, thanks to the rollercoasterish hilly streets being lacquered in an inch thick layer of ice, forcing everyone to ditch their cars and attempt to hoof it like we were in the dang Ice Capades! No electricity, thanks to the snow-encased trees all choosing to fall on the power lines, leaving everyone shivering by candlelight in their chilly homes for days on end! Basically, life would come to an abrupt halt and we’d all turn feral. And, my friends, THAT is NEVER pretty.

Snow was a terrifying monster which I feared all winter long.

But here in Chicago snow is a tame and docile beast. More of a pet, really. The kind that follows at your heals when you go out for a walk, licks your face, and occasionally leaves puddles on your floor. Not the least bit threatening.

Snow doesn’t bring this city to a grinding halt; snow doesn’t seem to impact anything here much whatsoever. It’s just kind of there. And for the first time in my entire adult life, snow doesn’t stress me out.

In fact, I think I like it. Whodathunkit?

Our first big snow day here was at the beginning of December. We awoke one Saturday morning to a scrumptious-looking city which seemed to have been generously frosted with Marshmallow Crème….

And Gwen was THRILLED!!!!….



There was a Bake Sale/Christmas Fair at Gwen’s school that day, but, unlike it would have in Seattle, the newly fallen Chicago snow did NOT take a steaming poo on our plans to go. Nope. We bundled ourselves up and walked a block and a half to school, hucking snowballs at each other the entire way. (Heh heh heh.) I may have also attempted an artsy fartsy snowy picture or two as we went….



The Bake Sale/Christmas Fair was fun. We sampled some delicious treats (my favorite were the “Oreo Balls”) and looked at lots of crafts and handmade trinkets. But my favorite table was “Santa’s Gift Tree” where I won myself this marvelous monster finger puppet, which I thoroughly enjoyed taunting Gwen and her friends with! Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!….



After Gwen’s friends bailed (was it something I or my finger puppet said?!?!), Gwen, Scope and I took a whack at the Cake Walk where Gwen won the first prize: this uber-yummy chocolate M&M cake….



Then Gwen, Scope, and I ventured back home to nosh on cake and rush up to the roof of our condo to see our winterized neighborhood from above….



Up on the roof we made a snowman, which Scope (always the gentleman) so gallantly gave his hat and scarf (awwww)….




….and we had another big ol' snowball fight. Duh.

Then to top of the perfect Snow Day, we piled into the car and drove a few streets over to take pictures of ourselves outside the Family Matters house (think Steve Urkel) (or, eww, don’t)….



(What?!)

(Doesn’t everybody take mini road trips to cheesy sitcom houses on Snow Days?!?!)

(No?!)

(Oh.)

The moral of the story? People might tell you that Winter in Chicago is a big. bad, ugly thing, but I’m here to tell you that those people are ignorant. So there. :-P

© Coracabana