Bike Riding on New Year's

With Christmas money and a bit of additional funding from Scott, Brian is no longer bike-less (we sold his old bike in June's garage sale), so he and Erica decided today would be a great day to go for a bike ride. At first, Brian didn't wear any gloves, and soon declared it was too cold to ride and put his bike away.


After I handed him my gloves, he was back out and Erica soon joined him. She wanted to try out his new bike (a trick bike, none the less):


While they were out racing around, the sound of quacking filled the air, and several Canada geese flew overhead. I have no idea what caused so many of them to be flying around, but I caught some of them overhead:



A nice way to start off 2009!

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Choosing Joy - New Year's Eve Shin-Dig

My friend, Jill, never ceases to amaze me with her hospitality - I received a call from her yesterday afternoon as I was trying to concentrate on work (somewhat challenging around the Holidays). She was coordinating an impromptu New Year's Eve get together with friends.
It turned out to be quite the Shin Dig - food, streamers, balloons, champagne, sparkling juice, noise makers and games. Each person had to write down a New Year's Resolution and place it in the basket. Jill then read off each paper and we had to guess who had written it. Brian's was "Play more Wii games and skip school". What a goof-ball!

Jill reads off one of the New Year's Resolutions and Will starts to make some noise:


Brian is coiled and excited to ring in the New Year:


The kids are poised with their noisemakers as we count down to the New Year - in Santiago, Chile (that's 9pm Central Standard Time).


And it didn't bother the kids that it wasn't "our" New Year - they had a blast making noise, throwing streamers and drinking their "bubbly".

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The Word

The end of the year brings out all sorts of lists: Best of...., Worst of...., Favorite this and that...., Goals and Resolutions for the coming year, etc, etc. I'm not one to make resolutions, but goals and "forward looking" aspirations are fine, and I was happy to find a fun, yet thoughtful spin on making more of oneself in 2009 on Sheri's blog - One Word for 2009. The concept of One Word originates from Ali Edward's Blog:

Can you identify a single word that sums up what you want for yourself in 2009?

It can be something tangible or intangible. It could be a thought or a feeling or an emotion. It can be singular or plural. The key is to find something that has personal meaning for you. This is not your mother's word or your spouse's word or your child's word - this is YOUR word.

I didn't have to think very long or hard about what My Word should be, probably because it's been My Word for a very long time. The Word? Balance. Something I have strived for over my life as a daughter, sister, friend, student, musician, employee, wife, and mother. Something I continue to work at. Balance between work and play. Balance of my finances, my home, my hobbies, myself. In a world of extremes, Balance keeps it from teetering over the edge into the abyss.

What's your Word going to be? My hope is that Your Word is not just for 2009, but becomes a part of You.

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Sunrise, Sunset

I was lucky enough to view both the sunrise and the sunset today - the sunrise on the way to work and the sunset after I got home. I had time to follow the sun descending into the horizon, but wasn't able to get an unobstructed view until after it was below the horizon. Still, it was worth the mile walk:

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Family Joy - Illini Basketball!

Scott bought tickets for all of us to see the Illini basketball team play Eastern Michigan this afternoon at Assembly Hall. We were in Section C, but it was a fun game and best of all, the Illini won! Last year, the beloved Orange had a rough season, but so far this year, their record is 12-1. Hopefully, we'll be able to attend more games (and I'll be able to take a real picture).

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Christmas Joy - Grandma's Arrival

After 2 days in the Detroit Airport, Scott's mother, Fay, finally arrived today at noon. Fay endured 2 flight cancellations, 3 flight re-bookings, 2 nights in the Best Western and countless hours waiting. She explored every nook and cranny in the Detroit Airport (except for the men's bathrooms, as pointed out by Brian) and almost finished the book she brought to read "during lulls in the day". Oh, and she didn't have her checked luggage. In fact, it arrived yesterday and was waiting patiently at the Champaign airport.

She shared several stories from her travel escapade. First, what happens when a flight is canceled and the traveler needs to get on another flight - instead of rebooking with a live person, the traveler is herded over to a cluster of phones which are patched into the airline's 1-800-reservation service. Isn't that personal....

The kicker - many of the phones didn't work, or the 1-800-reservation system was so clogged with calls that it was hard to get through. Fay's travel anecdotes reinforced the reason why we choose not to travel during the holidays, especially to-from snow-prone areas.

But Grandma has arrived and that in itself is this year's best Christmas present!

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Family Joy - Christmas Eve Activities

The ice storm from last night tapered into continuous rain this morning and finally moved to the east, leaving us with a skating rink for a driveway, and still no Grandma.

Scott's mother, Fay, who has spent Christmas with us over the past 6 years ran into major travel delays - she spent last night in Detroit and was scheduled to arrive this morning. But, alas, more flight cancellations and flight issues has resulted in more delays and another night in Detroit. Hopefully, she'll arrive tomorrow morning - things look clear now on the weather front.

We seem to be in a funk with our Christmas activities without Grandma, but the kids still decorated the gingerbread house:

Erica concentrates as she adds a silver bead to the top of her snowman:


And adds gumdrops to the rooftop:


While Erica was amenable to my picture taking, Brian wasn't as nice and copped an attitude every time I brought up the camera. I captured his attitude anyways:


There's still a scowl on his face, even though it is a picture of his hands:


Brian's completed side:


Another Christmas Eve activity is the opening of one selected gift. I managed to "bribe" a nice picture out of the kids just prior to the big present reveal:


Which was Mario Kart for the Wii:


And all three kids are playing....

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