Put it on the list!

Upstairs in what eventually will be our walk-in closet off the master bedroom is a piece of furniture I am excited to make new again. This was my great-grandma's vanity. It doesn't look so bad once you clean off a few layers of dust and dirt. It could also use a new paint job. Any suggestions? I am picturing creme or off white.

In order to get this picture, here are all of the items that needed to be taken out of the drawers or cabinet. Some I might just keep for nostalgic value - none of them appear to have expiration dates....

Here are another set of handles that we found in the basement and it took a while to figure out what they were for (they almost were put in the sell pile - oh no!). I think they also sell these at Anthropologie here - so perhaps I may end up changing out for another color.

Granted it is not at the top of the list, because crazy me I think it will be easier to paint outside when it is not 30 below (with the wind chill). But it is nice to have some small manageable projects to tackle in a short period of time when you know you are embarking on a renovation that may/will suck time, energy and money out of you for months if not years to come!

Addendum to previous post

My sister informed me that I left out the ending of my story.....

Yes I was dropped off first.

How's that for keeping my posts short, Mr. Bighead?

Why I love our house/Why I am neurotic...

Inspite of knowing there is a great deal of work to be done (especially inside), our house is actually in pretty good shape from the outside. Like my 13 lb. pup - I'll admit it - I like compliments - which sounds kind of vain.

So how does this relate to our house? Well the thing is that although our neighborhood is changing and younger families are replacing many of the "old-timers" like my grandparents - it is somewhat unusual to 1) be able to afford a decent home in our neighborhood 2) want a home that will require a great deal of rennovation and 3) be under 30. For the unexpectedness and many other reasons, I love getting compliments on our house

I sometimes take a shared ride limo from the airport when I travel for work. If I get dropped off first, I often get the "really, you live here?". I sometimes think because I look so young people assume that I must still live with my parents.

Last night was truly unique because when I got picked up at ORD I realized that sitting next to me in the car was a guy who I had gone to college with and had a huge crush on him. Amy - if you are reading this - remember "dry cleaning" boy?

I was all bundled up in my hat, scarf, gloves. I was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to identify me from our brief friendship more than 7 yrs ago. So I sat the entire car ride pretending to sleep, struggling to remember how I had met him and hoping he would not start a conversation with me. Neurotic, right?

It gets worse. My head than turns to thoughts of hoping I get dropped off first. Even though I am sure he has no idea who I am, I get a great pleasure out of thinking that a "wow - she lives here" thought might cross his mind. Completely neurotic, right? Who spends 45 mins hoping someone will compliment your house if only in there head.

So in summary that's one of the reason I love my house and why I am neurotic.

It's getting more "Real"

So a few days ago I started this really nice post about learning more about our house and comparing the committment you make to your home to the likes of entering into a relationship or marriage. It was all nice and good in my head - but I never finished it. So like any good gen Xer - I will just jump to the next thing and leave it for some day when I have more time to reflect.

The house plans seem to be getting more real by the second. On Saturday while I was off at "Jump Start January" (an all day scrapbooking event) with Jill and Amy, Steve was hanging out with the contractor who came over to draw up preliminary ideas for the house. And I do mean "hanging out" - I don't get the idea that they had nuts and beer, but I believe they were watching dog fights on the history channel while measuring in the living room.

In any case, the house has been measured! Along the way the confirmed my suspicions about our bedroom. There was at one time a fireplace in that room with a chimney that went through the house. It may in fact still be there. Closets were built on either side and it is possible they just covered it up to make it more of a bedroom.

On Sunday afternoon, we got a phone call from the contractor (let's call him Bob for sake of me continuing to type "the contractor" a million times). Bob had some rough plans for us to look at and wanted to get some guidance from us to see if he was headed in the right direction. I was in shock - I expected it to be at least a week before we heard from him again. In his words, "It's like a good book - once you start you can't put it down."

So we treked over and he walked us threw the existing and the potential new plans for both floors. I have opted not to show here since we already know some inital changes we want to discuss with him. Besides - it feels a little weird to put that out in cyberspace.

After discussion, a Portillo's dinner and me walking around the house with the drawings in hand - I have started to put together my list of "5 things" that are important/must haves in the house.

1. Re-use the built-in kitchen cabinet from upstairs. I love this cabinet. My original thought was to keep it upstairs as part of a laundry room. It just might not work as well - and if/when we redo the ktichen it would be so great to use it for it's original intent.
2. Reading room. Part of what we are debating right now is how many bedrooms do we need. Do they all need to be upstairs? I love the existing 2nd floor dining room as another family nook area for a couch, tv and a place for kids to play upstairs.
3. Full bath on 1st floor. As a follow on to #2 - we would like to have a bedroom downstairs (where the existing "little bedroom" is) for guests, extended family stay, or possibly a kid who doesn't want to share a big room upstairs. I also want it to have an entry from a hall (no more walking through a bedroom to go to the bathroom).
4. 2nd floor laundry room that is not part of a bathroom. One of our original ideas was to split the upstairs kitchen into a 2nd full bath and laundry room. Depending on how we divide the space - it may end up making more sense to put the laundry room as part of the existing dining room (thus encroaching on my reading room). This one is still not all clear in my head.
5. Toy room off of kids bedroom. Currently upstairs there is a small room (that was my grandpa's bedroom) which I think would be ideal for lots of shelves and toys. The idea of having a space for everything seems perfect to me.

So that's kind of where my head is at. Steve needs to come up with his top 5 as well. We then will take these ideas as well as a million questions back to Bob, so he can than fix up the plans. He will probably also fill us in on the pros and cons of our ideas.

We are still trying to get through to him - that we are more than ok with making a house that isn't "resellable". We aren't going anywhere and any future generations - well, they will be getting a free house...

Da Bears, Da Bears, Da Bears....

Going to Miami.........

Enough said.

Project Update

I think we are finally getting our heads around how to approach the house project. Steve went and visited with a few of the neighbors who have done similar big house renovations .

One of the neighbors is using the contractor we like for a house a few streets away and have done a huge addition and full upgrade. The other neighbors have done upgrades on electrical/plumbing, insulation, etc. They offered us lots of free advice on getting used to the idea that it's going to take more money and time they you plan for.

We met with the contractor again yesterday and decided to take the first big step and have him draw up some plans and ideas. He is finishing up at the neighbors house over the next 6 weeks - so the idea is to have him start the plans now and then see if we are ready to start in March.

So that's what's been going on. In the meantime, my plan is to use the next 6 weeks to start consolidating our stuff that has taken over the upstairs.....

Maps...

After posting about the Sanborn maps I found yesterday and then doing a little research to decode the map key, I realized how strange it was to suddenly be learning so much about maps in my quest to better understand the house.

It reminded me of a guy I dated (pre-Steve). We met on the train and when I asked him what he did - he said he was a cartographer. I consider myself a pretty educated person - but I had to be honest. I had not a clue what a cartographer was. So I asked. He politely explained that cartography is the process of map making.

I went blank. I had nothing. The only thing I could muster to say was, "well everybody needs maps I guess". It was the best I could do considering in my head it sounded like the most uninteresting profession ever. I am the worst at feigning interest in something I know nothing about.

So the relationship didn't last and before long I met Steve. Fortunately, Recruiter/Career Advisor was much easier for me to make conversation about. But perhaps I could have benefited from listening to the cartographer.....

Note 1: For those unaware (as I was) the Sanborn maps were fire and insurance maps that were used to map out houses, buildings, fire hydrants, etc.

Note 2: An even older map has shown that pre-1900 the house number was 605, but I think we will keep with 108 North - it just has a nice ring to it.

128 North

So I did a little more digging and found the Sanborn maps which show that 108 North was formerly known as 128 North. The pdf is too large to post, so here is the piece that shows our lot with the old number 128 and the new number 108. Based on the maps, it looks like all of the numbers were changed in the 1920s. It also now shows that this was also the time when the porch was added. Now I just have to go into the library and look at the maps to figure out what all the numbers mean.
In my digging in the house, I also found some of my great-grandmas letters/post cards. One did have the 128 address - perhaps others I have seen had it as well and I just never noticed. I also found a few that were sent without a street address at all or just reference the 2 streets the house sits on. In an age where a character in a web address can mean the difference between finding the site you want or not, it is hard to think of a time (especially in this town) where your name would be enough.

One more thing - here is the "Bird's eye view of Naperville, DuPage County, Illinois 1869". It does show a house at our corner, but the style of the house is very different from ours.

Given this is a "bird's eye view" - does this mean that our house was built pre-1869? Or was there another house here before us? More research!

Jackpot!

In decorating our giant tree a few weeks ago, I realized that we did not have enough beaded chains. I investigated upstairs for some that were my grandparents and found not only chains but a few boxes of pictures that I have yet to go through. And now that I have a scanner - I can share a few.

It started with this picture in an album. I didn't recognize the name, but the stone on the church looked vaguely familiar. I also knew that my family at that time attended the Methodist church across the street from 108. Bingo - yes Ls - this is the church you were married in. If you look very closely, you can also see the side of 108 (it is easier to tell in the hard copy version).



I had seen this loose picture of a church and realized it was the same one and with a much better shot of the house! My guess is that this was also around the same time. It is hard to tell at first because the porch was not there yet and it looks like there were shutters.


This one is actually a much better shot of our neighbors house, but still very interesting to see the front door.
Finally, these last 2 show my Great, great grandparents and my great grandfather on the front steps. I dismissed these as being at someone else's house for several reasons until I had pieced together the others. Now my only question is finding out why 108 came to be the address. This picture shows 128......128 North? just doesn't sound as good to me either.....

It is a Wonderful Life

One of the benefits of living in an our home is that I get to relive Christmas memories from years past including a real, big tree. I tried to explain to Steve that "the house" required a real tree of 8-9 feet. Anything else just didn't seem sufficient. That is part of why we ended up with "Frank".

Granted in the last few years my grandparents celebrated they switched to a slightly smaller fake tree - but most of my memories here include a real tree that took up most of the bay window.

We were also fortunate enough to incorporate some of the older decorations. This included the tree mat which used to be stored under the rug and has Santa Claus on it.

I also found an ornament which my grandmother had bequeathed to me. Her exact words written on the box "My will - Fred blue clown, Katie and Jill pink clowns". Unfortunately one the pink clowns didn't make it, so instead in the box for Jill was her absolute favorite decoration - the glass teddy bear. When I showed this to my sis before she left for her holiday in Costa Rica, the ornament brought tears to her eyes. And the to me is what the holidays are about.

Since I started this post pre-Xmas and it is now 3 days after Christmas- somehow I have lost the nostalgic feeling when I started this. Steve and I did end up watching his favorite holiday movie "It's A Wonderful Life" one night, which will be added to the list of Grosskopf family holiday traditions.

Happy Holidays from 108!

Introducing Frank the Tank

I think the pictures speak for themselves........

Change of Scenery

Since we haven't exactly gotten around to decorating the house for the holidays or being even remotely close to having all of the gifts bought, it seemed entirely appropriate to spend some quality time yesterday updating the look and feel of 108 North.

So here it is...... I am still trying to figure out how to make the picture at the bottom less life-sized.

In other news we bought a giant tree last night (around 9 feet). I guess this is what happens when you have tall ceilings and a bay window.

Frank the tank (as I have just named him) is resting peacefully on the front porch wrapped in a plastic tree bag, which probably looks like a plastic scarf seeing as the bag is made for "normal" trees.

Pictures to come when Frank makes his debut later tonight. In the meantime, I will leave you with the thought Steve and I both had as we drove off the lot with Frank strapped on top of the Jetta, "Since when did we become grown-ups capable of making decisions about buying Christmas trees?"

Making the fat hurt....

I am not one for making new year's resolutions (or having any expectation of keeping them). I also wasn't one of those brides who was fasting or living at the gym the weeks before her wedding. In fact, I distinctly remember thinking that changing my diet or exercising would not allow me to "maintain" the size I was when I was fitted for my dress.

Let's just overlook the fact that during my engagement I had been traveling for work and probably had put on a few pounds. Needless to say, my dress fit perfect.

Post-wedding, since I was going to be in town for at least a few months we made an investment to join the Y which happens to be 2 blocks from our house. I say investment not because of the cost, but the mental commitment to actually....dare I say it....work out.

So we are on our 2nd month and some weeks we do better than others, but I am actually really enjoying it for a few reasons.

1. Steve and I get out of the house together and although talking on the treadmill is somewhat limited - the walk there is usually a nice "catch up on the day" time
2. They have tvs with closed caption where I can watch the shows I would watch at home anyway - but I am not really into (ie Office, Grey's Anatomy and few others must be watched in the comfort of my home).
3. The facility is older and hence does not attract the more serious workout freaks - a few high schoolers and NCC kids but for the most part it is people like us who are definitely not training for the Iron Man or anything. This alone makes it easier to go and feel like less of a sloth.
4. And of course the obvious health benefits of exercising.

The last few weeks I have started pushing myself towards a goal, which I now feel compelled to document as a way of keeping myself on track. The goal is to run 3 miles in 30 minutes and while that may not break any records it is big deal for someone who started walking 3 miles in just under 1 hour.

So Tuesday night I got my time to 38 m 40 s. Unfortunately I am sort of negligent on the whole stretching thing so by the next morning I was very sore - especially my stomach. I expected the legs to hurt - but this was weird.

Last night when I got back on the treadmill, I figured it out. It was from my stomach bouncing when I run....it was official "my fat hurt". Although I was not able to beat my time from the previous night, it solidified my drive to reach my goal.

My hope is that in time there will be less fat to hurt...we shall see.

and the first car stuck on our street...

First Snow Fall

Because I am lazy and I already spent 45 minutes shoveling the drive this morning, pictures of the first snow will all be shot from the comfort of inside the house.

From the little bedroom......
















From the front door.....




















From the back door....

So far...so little?

Well we have some homework to do - we met with Contractors 2 and 3 and now have to figure our next steps. First we have a few large numbers but no specifics on how much it is going to cost us to renovate. Also, we aren't positive on what the next step is but we do know a bit more about what the future holds.

Now its time to decorate and try to insulate the house for winter - even though the last few winters have been mild (global warming?) we want to be prepared for cold.

The Next Steps?

As Steve mentioned last week, we are on to the talking to contractors phase. Until we decide who we are going with let's just call this guy #1.

#1 seemed very laid back and is currently working on one of the homes a few streets away. We got his number off the sign - so this isn't exactly a referral at this point but we figure it is good to see what else he has done.

#1 walked the house as we jabbered away about the "character" of the house (cloth wiring, lead paint, etc) and what our rough plans are for the next phase. He didn't seem shocked by any of this and even complimented how much better the structure of the house (as seen in the basement) was than he expected. He also confirmed that the floor boards in the dining room are the originals.

Overall a positive review for #1. He was able to figure out a good plan for efficiently using the upstairs space to create a hallway into the kitchen and the dining room. The plan is to divide the kitchen into a laundry room and full bath (for the kids). We also discussed the ideal spot for putting a staircase up to a 3rd floor (obviously this is not part of the next phase - more like phase 27).

One other revelation - our dream of 2 staircases may not be possible. A little history - when the kitchen was remodeled in the 1950s, they took out the back staircase which went up to the back hallway to expand the kitchen. Having been a Cosby fan in the 80s - I always thought it would be so cool to have 2 staircases. The contractor pointed out that without expanding the space, the stairs would be very steep and not up to code.

#2 had to cancel for tonight so we are hoping to re-schedule for this Saturday. It will be nice to hear his perspective as well. #2 re-did the B&B in Naperville and the owner speaks very highly of the work they did.

More to come when we starting getting numbers and deciding what we can afford. The good news is that #1 said that we would save a ton by doing the demo upstairs ourselves. And of course the male in the house thinks that would be a ton of fun...

Next step - the contractor.

We have a couple of appointments set up with contractors this coming week. This will help us determine the size of our project. I haven't asked anyone how much it would cost to add a second basement. A second basement? That's right. Well not for 108, but my dream is to have 2 floor basement. How cool would that be, "Oh, that's right, we keep that in our second basement..."

This is a random photo for possible ideas for landscaping next spring. That is a project in itself. We are going to be taking some ideas from Conservation at Home.

A start?

Well we had our first appointment with an Architect! He reaffirmed that we needed to be talking to a contractor to get the real overall project scope. So back to the drawing board. We are going to visit a few of our neighbors (one of which turns out owns the The Naperville Running Company) to find out who they used. Again the key is finding a contractor with an eye to keeping the house historic.

Katie is still working at ripping down some of the wallpaper and scraping some paint in the bathroom (possibly our first project).

One step for us, one giant leap for 108

It has begun. We have appointments with a few architects next week and we should start getting numbers on what it is going to cost us to get 108 fixed up. It sounds like there will be some things that I will be able to do (our town is a bit permit heavy). More to come...

Blogging on the train...

I just had to try this out.

I got my new Verizon Wireless card today for my work laptop. So, when I realized that not only did I leave my cell phone at home this morning - but I also did not call Steve from the office to let him know when to expect me - starting up my laptop was the obvious answer.

Not a major catstrophe by any means - he could live without the information that I am on the 4:28 which gets in at 5:12.

However, now I have the ability to send him an email from my laptop on the train. Alas - I have no idea how fast it will send from underneath union station nor if I even caught him before he left the office....

What's a girl to do?

Of course I can send a text message to his phone.

So now I am in utter suspense. Did he get the emails (one from gmail, one from my work account)? Will the tm reach him in time?

The only way I will now for sure is if when I exit the train a small pup named PorTillo is waiting for me....

So now we will see how long it takes to post a blog....and how long my battery lasts. In 15 mins we have gone down to 78% - not looking good.

I get phone calls ......for dead people

One of the things about living in a house that has been in the family for a while - is that most if not all of your utilities bills may in fact be in the names of relatives who are no longer with us.

Getting our names on the bills - is changing this week as we officially have a mortgage as of tomorrow. In the meantime - it is awkward to have someone call and ask for your grandmother who has been dead for 8 years.

When I first lived in the house only a year after my grandpa passed, it was hard to get calls and mail for him because it reminded me of him. As time passed the calls lessoned and having my name on the phone bill has certainly made an impact.

It seems like some of the charities are going off of old phone lists. When we get calls for picking up donated goods, I have to resist saying "no, she's no longer with us."

Many of the marketing materials that come to the house just say "Residents at..." so you are never quite sure if it is a mass mailing or targeted to some demographic.

I did for a time get mail with my name on it for funeral homes, senior living, being cremeated, etc - which I can only assume was due to having my grandparents demographic info mixed with my name. I can assure you - I mainly got dating service ads when I was at the townhouse.

So what prompted this post? I received a reminder phone call the other day for a pick-up of a donation. The woman completely skipped over asking for one of my deceased relatives and went directly to "Is your mom there?"

Given what I described above - I am ready for people calling and asking for just about anybody - but my mom, really do I sound that young. So I guess in addition to clearing up names associated with the house, I am also going to have to work on sounding like I am older than 12.

Itsy Bitsy...Spiderman

Who else can teach your kids about gang signs?

I just saw a commercial for "IBS" and had to know about this plush toy that is sure to be a Christmas blockbuster.

Well worth seeing the flash promo with the singing and dancing.

hmmmm...actually some of those dance moves look vaguely familiar.......

Unknowingly keeping Da Bears 6-0

Sometime during the 4th Quarter I got a phone call from Steve who was watching the game from a local watering hall with a few friends.

"Go to my closet and put on my Walter Payton jersey right now".

I am not a wife who takes kindly to such demands - but I had seen the 4 interceptions in the first half and I knew what I would have to deal with if the Bears continued down the path of a total disaster.

Miraculously, the Bears pulled out a win as I learned in another call (putting on the jersey didn't curtail my watching home improvement shows).

Just happy I was able to help out the team.

Piecing together 108 North

So tonight I was doing some research on the style of 108 North. The house was included in a book, "A Guide to Chicago Historic Suburbs On Wheels & On Foot" and classified as of the Italianate style c. 1870. I began by googling Italianate house and was able to find the following:

The Italianate style was derived from the villas of the Italian countryside. Two full stories, low-pitched hip roofs with cupolas, and expansive overhangs supported by decorative brackets are typical features of the style.
The Italianate style dominated American houses constructed between 1850 and 1880. It was particularly common in the expanding towns and cities of the Midwest as well as in many older but still growing cities of the northeastern seaboard.

Here is an example of a classic Italianate house. I can see parts of 108 North in this image...

The Guidebook indicates that the front porch was most likely added in the 1910s which seems to fit with my family moving in to the house in 1916. It also refers to the "slightly lower service wing" which we call the kitchen and dining room as having the original tin roof. What is troubling to me is that it doesn't seem to fit with the Italianate style. Although the upstairs windows go to the floor - they have none of the characteristics of the style. Plus the roof doesn't match.

The more I look at the house - the more I want to know how did it get to be this way? What were the original owners like? How many bedrooms were there upstairs? Why was the "service wing" made lower than the rest of the house? Was the back always 2 stories? The house was white when I was little - but what was the original color?

The more questions I come up with the more I want to know. I guess I'd better get back to the "service wing" - the dishes won't wash themselves.

***Crazily enough our plans for that part of the house include expanding the kitchen into the dining room - so I guess we may be returning it to its original use.

Reflected Reflection

Please honey, you have given insight into more important things that College basketball or Mall walking.

My list is as follows (just to name a few):

1. Naperville - deserves its reputation.

2. Just do it - while I like to plan 108 projects - you start removing wallpaper.

3. We have to make appointments - talk about busy schedules.

4. Little dogs - yeah, I will give that one but I still want a Husky!

5. From Professional woman to little girl in 3 seconds flat - when you want something or need something after I just sat down to watch Patton.

6. Features and Benefits - we are both stubborn but even when I say "End of story" you continue to zig and zag and before I know it I am sold on an idea. Slighty evil.

7. It takes two to tango - I thought I did a lot when I was solo, that is nothing compared to what we got ourselves into now (108, a certain clock ticking which I can't mention, etc.)

8. Cool chicks - they exist! Who had the idea of me coming in as Elvis and then let me do it?!?

9. Thinking things through - "what would happen if I strapped a jet engine to the car? hmmmm" (I would like to say those ideas are no more but at least they are less frequent)

10. Angel - I can't tell you enough of how I need you in my life.

Possible Halloween costumes....

Super Steve!

German Skier from the future?

Army Guy!

Bat Girl?

Reflection

Yesterday we celebrated Steve's 35th birthday with the family (although the actual date is this Sat the 14th). It has been a tradition for the last few years to go bowling for his birthday.

So in the spirit of celebrating my hubby, I started thinking about how in addition to a bowling birthday what else Steve has brought into my life (in no particular order).

1. Watching the news in the morning - I am just not a news person in general and so without Steve I probably would have never known what was going on in the world.
2. NPR - to be honest I am more tolerant of news in the morning than news radio, but it is good to see this whole other world called "Wait, wait don't tell me" and "Car Talk" - although I can only handle about 15 mins
3. Rescue Me - definitely a show I would have never thought to watch. Plus the theme song gets stuck in my head.
4. Discovery & History Channels - 2 channels I seriously never knew existed
5. Elvis - while I will always be more of a Beatles girl - I have to say that the man has grown on me
6. People watching - Steve enjoys sitting and watching people more than anyone I know and so when I travel (read am stuck in the airport or eating dinner by myself without a book) - I find myself people watching because I know how much Steve would appreciate it - if he was there.
7. Soccer - I now not only understand some of the rules - but can sit through a whole game and plus I love the side bets
8. Beer - now I am not saying I enjoy beer anymore than pS (pre-Steve), but I have a better appreciation for how many different kinds there are
9. Rolling Stones - another band that I always enjoyed - but didn't get until we saw them live
10. Fantasy football - I haven't gone so far as to look at "his guys" but I do ask how he is doing and have a general understanding of how it works

On the flip side - here is what (I think) I have brought to Steve - perhaps he has his own thoughts.... (hint, hint - this is where you chime in)


1. Watching videos on MTV and VH1 in the morning
2. College basketball
3. Little dogs
4. Apple donuts from the Long Grove Apple Festival
5. Westin's Heavenly Bed
6. Russell's dry cleaners
7. Panera's Potato soup
8. Mall walking
9. Home repair/design shows
10. Tom Petty

One simple project

I have started one little project slightly under Katie's radar. I read an article in FastCompany about these lightbulbs and I have installed a few but now I am on a mission to replace all of them. The decorative ones will remain the same, but the rest are getting swapped out one by one.

This is an underlying theme in my mind for 108, simple ways to make the house more energy efficient and a bit more green. Another idea is to replace the water heater with tankless one.

Baby steps...ummmmm baybay!

And that's the truth...

This was taken near our resort/lodge in Lake Tahoe on the Honeymoon. It's my Edith Ann impression.

Here's a novel idea...

So I was reminded tonight by my husband that the purpose of this site was to blog about the house....so I thought I might want to actually post some pics of...welll...the house.

As Promised..

Who could resist that smile?

Pics from the "Katie and Steve Show"

Steve and I put together a slide show for the rehearsal dinner.
Here are some of my favorite pictures of me. Steve's will be up soon as well....



(Left) - This was taken at Brookfield Zoo. As the lore goes, soon after the shot was taken - the pig knocked me over.












(Right) This picture cracks me up for several reasons - note the groovy 1970s outfits and my dad's ears looking very Spock like. It is also cool to have a picture at 108 in the dining room when I was small.

(Above) oh yeah - I was styling in my patent leather shoes and underoos!

My problem with blogging or Where do I start part2

Brevity.

I have really good intentions - I will just write a quick stream of conscious post about the important/interesting parts of an event....but I end up flooded with words.

Take my last post...I even started with a list. That will for sure keep me on track........not so much.

To me every detail is important - summarizing is great for 6th grade book reports - but doesn't fit with how I think or write. So bare with me as I learn to find my blog "voice" and describe my life in a way that might be interesting to more than just me. I may have to start up a diary again for the detailed descriptions of life at 108.

In the meantime, here is one of my favorite pictures from the wedding. It reminds me of Reservoir Dogs as I walk with my posse. PorTillo was great - it was like he knew exactly where he was going.

Where do I start.....(part 1)

Since it has been so long since I posted (and someone has taken to adding his own 2 cents), I don't know where to start.

Some highlights of the last few months:

1. Passed Will Ferrel in a Dallas hotel in July while he was out promoting Teledaga nights (wrote a very nice blog about it which will remain in draft mode most likely forever....)

2. Had bridal shower #3 at the Walls home (last weekend in July)

3. Two weeks before the blessed event was in beautiful Dublin for work(ok so it was Ohio)

4. Ran around like a crazy woman the week before the wedding finishing all of the last minute details (programs, menus, seating chart, etc).

Side story: During the last week - I was having some difficulty getting a hold of our very ditsy wedding coordinator from the reception site. Finally 3 days before the wedding I find out that she is "pursuing other opportunities within the hotel". I was pissed - I decided not to lose my head over it because I wasn't overly confident in her abilities - but it still was frustrating to have to walk someone else through the wedding details......

5. Rehearsal Dinner - was awesome. A very relaxed dinner at Portillo's with family and close friends. My dad gave a speech that made me cry and Steve and I even managed to pull off the "Steve and Katie Show" a powerpoint pictorial of us throughout the years.

6. Post Portillo's, Steve decided he need to give me a wedding gift that night back at our house. He had made (with the help of my mom, his sis and his mom) a scrapbook of pictures of me over the last 28 years....again more tears. It was so sweet....I couldn't help but feel bad that his gift was less than sentimental (to be opened on the wedding day - the Band of Brothers DVD set and a very nice card)

7. Morning of - I woke up (I guess that is what you call it after going to bed at midnight, walking up at 3:30 and falling back to sleep around 5:30), took care of the pup, showered and headed for the salon. Jill and Amy were well on there way to beautiful and soon it was my turn.

Becky (my neighbor and hair stylist) did an awesome job on my hair and make-up. Needless to say - I don't wear much make-up (read: NONE) and so I was not good at letting someone be so close to my eyes. She finally relented on the eyeliner as I explained I would tear up and ruin everything else.

We all headed back for the house - not without some drama in between though....

Steve had forgotten his tux at the house and so we had to coordinate it getting to him without us talking - in hindsight - we probably could have relented on that rule. He also then called Jill while I was getting ready because he also needed "something" (to be identified later) for the reception - which he could only somewhat describe to Jill and I had to hide in a bag for him to get post-ceremony, pre-reception.....I know it's confusing.

So I am eating my Jimmy John's, Tony is on Portillo duty because the photographer is early and I am not even in my dress yet. I say to the photog"here - take some pictures of my very pretty and uncomfortable shotes". I was so not ready to be in charge of the getting ready - and a little overwhelmed by it all. As Steve said when he looked at the pics - you were not smiling with your eyes.

I get dressed and we take a few pics by the bay window. I then have it my head that it will be an awesome shot to have me in the front hallway up on the staircase....I didn't really plan on how big my dress was and the 3 inch heels - but I made and didn't kill myself.

I will now take a short pause so that I can rejoin my life (ie packing for a work trip to Dallas) and will plan to pick up this saga at a later time.............

Game on!

Well, after months of saying, "We'll do that after the wedding", it's time. We had a great honeymoon and got back to a list of projects. We will keep updating as we go and it looks like 108 will be the biggest project of them all. And it may be too early but I would like to start a countdown to 'bay-bee' time, it would be at about 545 days right now.


Editor's note - if I could figure out how to strike through this post I would, and since there are 2 comments on it - I won't remove it. I just think someone was a little premature in his announcement......kg

They have email in Alaska?

My dad, the outdoor adventurer (pictured left on last summer's family trip to Door County, WI) arrived safely in Alaska.

Steve jokingly asked my dad if he was also going to blog his trip. Instead - I have posted his first email as proof that they have email up there.

"The flight was good. The weather was beautiful the first day, sunny and 70s. We are staying at the Anchorage Guest House which is like an adventureer's bed and breakfast. We hiked to to top of Flat-top Mountain. It was beautiful and little more strenuous then I would have imagined. We were out of breath, but 9 out of 11 made it to the top. Peter a 65 year old retired engineer from Argonne will be my tent mate the rest of the trip. "


It sounds like this years summer trip will be more adventurous than last years! Although dad, Steve and Dr. Tony did attempt golfing -

Less than 1 month!

Yesterday (July 12th) marked the official one month countdown to the big day.

I am happy to report that we are in the final stretch and should be ready for all the big doings over the next few weeks.

Should we happen to deviate from my very well planned schedule - I am sure you will hear about it.

In the meantime, feel free to visit the wedding website for any details.

Steve and I both are getting really excited for the celebration!

Steve's Triumphant Return to the States

(Told in the third person, because obviously my body was overtaken by aliens when I inserted myself into this adventure...or perhaps just a little anxious to see my sweetie)

2 days prior to arrival

Tom W.: "Katie, I'd like to meet Steve at the airport what time does he get in?"

Katie: "Let me check - Steve sent me an email with all of the flight info. I'll call you back tomorrow. "

Katie sorts through numerous emails with no luck. She thinks to herself, "Hmm..which email did he sent it to? We definitely need to get better about subject lines. Ok - I'll just go to Air India's website. This is certainly no American Airlines - oh there it is. Flight AI127 with a scheduled arrival of 1605."

Later that evening....

Steve's mom: "Fred (Steve's dad) would like to greet him at the airport and take a picture."

Katie: "Ok - I think Tom W. also wanted to pick him up. I will call him tomorrow to let him know."

Steve's mom: "Well - he will probably just take a bus out there to meet. "

Katie (thinking to herself): "I wish I could leave work early - because I'd really like to meet him. Oh well, sounds like they have got it figured out." She talks to both Tom W. and Fred and have passed along the info. She is also posting/emailing Steve - so he will be on the lookout for them.

Day of Arrival:

10am
Katie looks at the Air India site only to see that the flight is delayed - but no time information is indicated. She calls a 1-800 number and they tell her that the flight is delayed until 4:55pm. She passes that info to Tom W. and tm's Steve to let him know that his dad will also be at ORD.

3pm
Katie sits at work - trying to focus so she can get her work done and get home to meet Steve. Since his flight is "delayed" she decides she may be able to take an early train home, pick up the pup and meet Steve in LaGrange at his parents. Sounds like a plan.

4pm
Katie wraps up her work and realizes what an odd coincidence it is that her co-worker is heading in a cab to ORD in a few minutes to catch her flight. Katie quickly packs up to see if she can catch her in the lobby and tag along.

Now 4:15pm
Katie thinks to herself, "Steve will be so surprised that I made it out to greet him and I am sure it will take him time to get off the plane and through security. I have plenty of time." She hops in the cab and throws out any ounce of common sense she has about 1. time 2. space 3. rush hour traffic 4. the reliability of Air India's phone rep. All she can picture is how happy Steve will be to see her.

4:30pm
Steve unboards the plane and calls his dad as he gets through security. The flight arrived on time and Steve does everything he can to navigate through the airport quickly. Once they meet up - Steve is anxious to go and does not want to wait to meet Tom W. He tries to call him and tell him to turnaround - they will just take a bus.

Katie enroute calls Tom W. and leaves a message that she is on her way. She then tries to get ahold of Steve's dad.

4:45pm
Fred answers the phone and learns of Katie's wherabouts. He passes the phone to Steve.

Steve, "Katie, I really just want to get home. Can you have the cab turn around or meet us at the O'Hare oasis?"

Katie feeling sick to her stomach, "Um, no I can't. I am in the cab with someone else. Can you just wait - the cab driver says it should be another 10-15 mins."

Steve, "Where are you? It's bumper to bumper traffic, isn't it?

Katie, "Near Foster, I think. Yes - it's pretty heavy."

In the meantime, Tom W. arrives to pick them up. They decide to get Steve home and come back for Katie at the airport. Fred ends up having them turnaround and drop him off so he can wait for Katie at the bus stop.

5:30
Katie's coworker gets dropped of at Terminal 3 for her flight.

5:40
Katie's taxi cab driver has no idea on how to get to the bus stop so she gets out at Terminal 5. Katie takes the tram over to the bus stop and meets up with Steve's dad. They wait for the 5:52 bus to LaGrange.

5:52pm
They take the bus to its final stop before heading to the garage. Apparently - this was the one bus that doesn't go the rest of the route. They transfer to another stop and wait for the next bus.

6:45pm
Steve greets Katie at 409. His right ankle is bandaged and swollen and his left is not much better. He has at least 3 days of stubble and smells of a man who has not showered for a few days and was camping in Berlin.

7:45pm
Katie and Steve arrive at 108 North. His flight from Germany took him 9 hours and his journey from O'Hare took 3.5. Steve is weary and worn - but exactly where he belongs. Home.

Free to a good home

One man's trash is another man's treasure? Or so the saying goes....

In the aftermath of yesterday's garage sale, we took two cars full of stuff to the Goodwill store. There were some remaining items that never made it to the garage sale because they were trash or broken and a few other items that seemed to bulky to be carted off in the car. We had a theory that putting these items out with the trash would allow them to go to good homes without the middle man of goodwill.

Mind you, many of these items were marked under 5 dollars. For the last hour, we said everything was 1/2 price. People still hemmed and hawed over paying $2 for a kids microscope set which still had its original price tag of $33. Needless to say, I believe it was donated in the end.

I fully expected that long before the garbage man came tomorrow morning a mirror, wobbly table and chair with a yellow flowered print cushion would be taken. Interestingly enough - the man who took the chair sat in it during the garage sale and wouldn't pay the "sale" price of $1.50 for it.

The most suprising thing was the number of items that were taken that we had deemed "not garage saleable" - an old box of Cheer (most likely from the early 80s), a mirror that had once been attached to a dresser and a rusted and dented dollhouse.

A teenage kid on his bike took a lawn chair that was riped only to have it open on him as he rode away. The girl he was with kept asking - "What are you going to do with it?" and made the observation that it was also a rocker and not just a regular chair.

I was annoyed with a few people who took it upon themselves to investigate one of the big black garabage bags by ripping it open - seriously, just untie the handles. No need to make a mess for the garbage man or me.

Even though we made a few bucks off the garage sale and were equally surprised at what people will spend their money on - in the future I plan to be sure and display more "junk" in my yard on garbage day...just to see if it gets taken. I know - I need to get a life. Not to worry - Steve will be home in less than 24 hours and he won't let me throw away anything.

If it's before 7am on Monday July 11th as you read this - feel free to stop by and pick through my garbage. There is still a metal bird cage, push mower, and an old chair with a crack down the middle of the seat. Just leave the rest alone. And don't bother with the canned tomatoes - best we can tell those are from the 60s.

Things I don't like doing....

1. Mowing the lawn*

2. Cleaning up after PT

3. Taking out the garbage

4. Washing dishes

5. Doing laundry

Come home soon......we need you!

*I did mow the lawn today for the first and last time.

A Little Haus History....

Steve has been asking me what I am doing to celebrate the long 4th of July weekend. I had little to say because I spent a large portion of the weekend finding homes for the new items we received at our wedding showers, unpacking the stuff we have been storing upstairs and prepping for a garage sale. I know sounds pretty exciting....

But wait - haven't you already had other garage sales this year? Yes, that's correct we are on to the final sale - #3 in 2006. We have had a total of 7 garage sales in the last 4 years and donated many items to Goodwill, Amvets, and of course the Naperville garbage and recycling.

I have mentioned previously that the house has been in the family for 90 years....and it is starting to feel as though we have 90 years worth of stuff. I thought it would be appropriate to explain how this all came to be and whose stuff we are sorting through. I am missing many details, which we are hoping to piece together as we rehab the house, but here is what I have.

In 1916, Elizabeth (Houser) Hein and her husband Emil Hein moved into 108 North with their 2nd son Ernest A. Hein and his wife Elizabeth (Thiel) Hein. These are my great, great grandparents and my great grandparents. The house at the time was a 2 flat with the younger Heins living upstairs. My grandfather Ernest R. Hein was born in 1918. The upstairs has a kitchen, dining room, living room, master bedroom and bathroom. It also has a very small room which until recently I assumed was a closet. It was my grandpa's bedroom.

In a one year span (Oct 1935 - Aug 1936) - Elizabeth Houser Hein, Emil and Ernest A. Hein all passed. This left my grandfather who was 17 at the time as the man of the house with his mother. When he married my grandmother, Rose Koretke, in October 1946, they continued to live in the downstairs apartment and raised 2 daughers (my mom and aunt).

When my great grandmother Elizabeth passed in 1979 (I was 1), time stopped in the upstairs apartment. I can remember going upstairs as a child and playing with my cousin. He had a train set up there and I remember all of the rooms set up as if someone still lived there.

Over the next 20+ years, my grandmother used that space as extra storage. Very little of my great grandmothers things were gone through or removed.

The summer before my sophomore year of high school (1993), there was a fire in the downstairs kitchen. Although it was late at night ( I belive around 2am) both of my grandparents were awake and made it safely out of the house. The kitchen was completely remodeled and there was smoke damage on the first floor. The fire fighters said that the space between the kitchen ceiling and the upstairs floor (the master bedroom) saved them from more fire damage.

In June of 1998, my grandmother passed away after battling pancreatic cancer. She was under hospice care for the last few weeks and was able to stay in a hospital bed at the house.

My grandfather was very ademant about remaining in the house that he was born in. He did so until December of 2002. It is easy to see how tied to this house he was given the history of his family and all of the memories he had from raising his own children there as well.

It has been quite an interesting journey as we sort through all of the items that have been stored and used at the house. On more than a few occasions we have struggled to determine what a particular item was, why anyone wanted it or how it ended up never getting used (still in original packaging, unfinished craft projects and many clothes still with the tags on).

I am really excited to see what the next phase holds for this house as we continue to sort through its history and return it to a single-family home.

So - Steve that's what I have been up to the last few days (oh and a little shopping).

Celebrating Germany in Naperville?

I swear I am not making this up.

Last night the Naperville Municipal Band's concert theme was "Celebrating Our German Heritage". I kid you not.

Steve's niece, Nicole, is in town this week from Iowa. So I decided to invite her out to Naperville for the concert to celebrate our German roots and Steve's trip.

PorTillo even broke out the lederhosen for the occasion. Ok - so that part I made up, because if he had lederhosen we would surely have a picture of him wearing them.

Nicole and I had a great time as the weather was just perfect. After a few songs, I realized hmm perhaps a band concert is not as exciting for an almost 6th grader as one would have thought. I think she was grateful to be relaxing and resting her feet after a long day at the Brookfield Zoo. We ended up chatting through most of the concert and eating the most chocolatey of brownies. It was good to get some visiting in with my one and only jr. bridesmaid.

Almost forgot - we also made a stop at Sts. Peter and Paul Church (where Steve and I will tie the knot in 43 days). I wanted Nicole to get a chance to see the long aisle we will both be walking down that day.

On that note, I guess I should get back to some of those wedding details.

Auf Wiedersehen.

Wetter aktuell

It looks like Steve is going to have better weather over there then is predicted in Chicago.
Break out the calculators - these temps are in Celsius.

Which means in Berlin it is?

Anyone, Anyone? Bueller?

23 Celisus = 73.4 Farenheit

This is as of 3pm Berlin time - which is 8am here. I believe. Too many conversions.

*WeatherChannel.com also has this info - but the picture won't copy. So I managed to navigate a website in German to find this picture. Click here to link to the site.

Master of the House

Even with his eyes half closed - the iron paw of PorTillo reigns!

When Steve is gone on camping trips, PorTillo is allowed to sleep with me in the bed as my protector. This is a big treat for him since he is not allowed in the bedroom at all under normal conditions, because of his ability to get under the bed in places I cannot reach.

So far, he is good once he is in the bed and doesn't use it as an opportunity to steal my socks and hide. Just in case I have taken to putting his Illini leash on him when he sleeps.

The past few nights I have found myself staying up later to organize things around the house and tidy up. PorTillo usually cashes out on the couch as this is when Steve would normally lay and watch tv with him.

In light of not getting that "snuggle time" on the couch, PorTillo has decided to set 10:30 as our new bedtime, because he starts whining at me (similar to the nagging I do when I want Steve to come to bed) until I go to bed. I was confused at first and thought perhaps he needed to go outside one last time - nope that wasn't it. His little tail wagged when I put the orange leash on him and walked towards the bedroom.

Last night, I put him up on the bed while I continued to get ready - brushing my teeth and such. He patiently sat there as if to say, I couldn't possibly fall asleep until you tuck me in under the covers. He stayed under the covers this morning until I gave a few raspberries to his belly (stole a page from the Lippoldthaus style of parenting). Hmmm - who is the owner in this relationship? He has so got me under his paw......

All I can say is, "Dog - you are in for a rude awakening when Big Head comes home!"

Remnants of the night out...

Hmm, since when did I develop a freckle in my ear?

Oh wait - that's purple glitter....

I wonder where that came from?



*Editor's note: In Steve's absence, I have NOT taken to talking to myself. This was all in my head. Although, PorTillo is a great conversationalist.

WOW - What a finish!

The game came down to a last penalty kick!

I can't imagine the excitement/disppointment that is all around Steve as they depart from the stadium.

As disappointed I am about not being able to shout "Go Socceroos!", I think that an upset over Italy would have created major havoc in the stadium. Just my sense - we will have to wait for the man to chime in with his experience.

I guess I better turn off ESPN 360 and get some work done.

I hope that quenched Steve's thirst to see a World Cup game - 500 euros ($650) is a lot of money and I am sure it will only go up as the competition goes on.

Game On!

Italy vs Australia (the socceroos !?!) starts in about 35 minutes.

To follow the game that Steve is at go to:

http://www.worldcupblog.org/world-cup-2006/liveblog-australia-vs-italy.html

As you will see, I am choosing not to predict the winner of the game on the comment section of this site. Instead I am hoping for Steve to be safe.

I will be cheering for the socceroos, because really it would be so much fun to yell!

-Soccer Mom in Training

Steve's Plan

This may be better info for Steve's Germany site, but here is the email he sent me with the tentative cities he is planning to be in:


This is a tentative plan for Germany
The cities listed are where I will be sleeping that night.
Friday July 23 – Frankfurt (due to time change I will be on the plane for Thursday night)
Sat.24 – Frankfurt
Sun.25 – Frank (maybe Nuremburg)
Mon.26 – Kaiserslautern
Tue.27 – Hanover
Wed.28 – Berlin
Thu.29 – Berlin
Fri.30 – Berlin
Sat.1 – Frank
Sun.2 – Hamburg
Mon.3 – Munich
Tue.4 – Munich
Wed.5 – Munich
Thu.6 – Berlin
Fri.7 – Berlin
Sat.8 – Berlin
Sun.9 – Berlin
Mon.10 – Frank*
Tue.11 – Home*
VERY Subject to change.

*I know this will change as Steve's plane ticket for home is on Monday the 10th not Tuesday the 11th - we looked at it before he left*

Girls Gone Wild - Part Deux

Brevity has never been my strong point - hence the 2 part post.

We all danced the night away to mostly 80s music. This is the 3rd bachlorette party I have attended at the Hangge Uppe and it is known for dancing and bachlorette parties.

Since I was last there - I noticed an increase in the number of "creepy old men" (read mostly over 40, unattractive and with mostly a stalker like expression). There were again many other bachlorette parties - but no other bride could match the interesting decorations I was wearing.

In fact - early in the evening, one bride's group used me as an example as "see it could be worse - we didn't do this to you". The girls were great though - no pressuring when I nursed a beer at the bar (most of my drinking was done on the porch at our house) and neglected to participate in any of the $2 shots. At about 10/10:30 I realized the alcohol was just making me sleepy - so I cut myself off and turned my attention to dancing on the stage and taking pictures with non-weirdo men.

Pictures would really help here and I will look to my girls to add in comments to shed more light into the evening's highlights:

One guy told my sister he wanted to take a picture with me and decided I was a perfect candidate for being put up on his shoulders. I fought back pretty hard and lost that battle. I can only assume that the look on my face captured the shock I was in.

Deanna - my dear friend from hs, started the evening refusing to dance because she was wearing a short skirt and managed to end the evening on the stage showing me her pole dancing moves (she also was bought a drink for her efforts).

Kate (aka Hot Momma) proved the childbirth has not slowed her down and was able to show off some of her belly dancing techniques.

Nothing could have been cuter than Jill and I dancing together in what Tony (Jill's husband) refers to as the Moylan girls moves - I guess we not only look alike but we also dance alike?

I am sure I missed something - but that is all I can remember. When I can get the pictures downloaded from my mom's camera, I will post the evidence.

Finally, a hearfelt apology to my future husband. I text messaged you early in the evening in the hopes that you would write back. My signal was not strong enough and the message never made it through. Somewhere in the evening, that detail slipped my mind. So in the cab back to Rachael's place, I was bemoaning the fact that you never wrote me back (nevermind the fact that it was very early morning your time). Sorry - I was just missing you and knew that you would appreciate knowing I was out and celebrating!

Girls Gone Wild - Part 1

The weekend started off great! Amy my bridesmaid a friend from UofI came in late Friday night. She was nice enough to allow extra time to finish the 4 loads of laundry (in the new washing machine and dryer) and running around trying to make the house more presentable. We also exchanged Xmas/Birthday presents. I love my new tee shirts - a custom made shirt that has a picture of a dachshund and says low rider and a Sixteen Candles "I Love Jake Ryan".

Saturday morning Amy and I ran errands with Portillo (breakfast, cleaners, farmer's market, Kohl's and Target). Our dog sitter (Amber from the cleaners) picked Portillo up for the night and we were on our way to wedding shower #2 at my parent's house.

My mom, Aunt, sister and Amy did an excellent job pulling everything together. The shower went off a hitch. In addition to showering Steve and I with love and gifts, I was touched by so many of their kind words that I was unable to read many of the cards (waterworks would have ensued). Jill (MOH and my favorite/only sister) had us all in stitches as she read back to the group the notes she had taken during the shower of things I had said when opening presents.

Taken out of context, things like "Ohhh, George Foreman" does sound pretty funny.

After the very tasteful shower, me and the girls headed for 108 North for pizza and drinks on the porch. Needless to say the churchgoers across the street did not appreciate the "very classy" and anatomically correct drink straws we were using (lucky they didn't see the plates from Lover's Lane).


Jill was able to get me to drink by asking me questions she had asked Steve and I had to match his answers. I think given Steve's propensity to embellish his answers I was going to have a difficult time with many of them. We then headed into the city to my friend Rachael's new place - it is goregous! She is getting married this October to another former PwCer in Indianapolis. We cabbed it to the Hangge-Uppe near Rush and Division.


Stay tuned for pics and what happens next!

Scooped!

At 7:05 pm last night, Steve text messaged to say they had boarded the plane.

"We are boarded and i have a window. There is a fussing baby in the seat in front of me - oh boy..."

Before he left, I had given my professional traveller's opinion on why window seats are preferrable for early morning or long flights where you want to sleep. The blanket makes a great pillow against the window and no fears of drooling on anyone other than yourself.

At 5:30 this morning I received a text message saying that they had made it and all is good.

Portillo convinced me to sleep a little longer and I thought for sure I would be the first to break the news that they had successfully made it.

No such luck - Der General scooped me already! He's at least one beer and a McDonald's down.

True American that he is - in the days prior to his travels, he went out of his way to have American fast food - a Big Mac from McDs and Chipoltle (who can pass up free burritos from the LaGrange Pet Parade).

As a side note - Portillo seems to be picking up that something is different. He's somewhat used to me being gone for business trips, but the big headed play toy that lives with us is always here :)

A Different Approach to Packing

I live by lists - especially when I am packing to go on a trip. Steve also lives by lists - his just aren't nearly as detailed as mine.

For the past month, I have been nagging him to create a list of what he is bringing to Germany for the World Cup. I wasn't sure I was going to be in town in the days before he left - so I knew I would feel better if I had some sort of evidence that he was getting ready.

I found out last week that I would be here - but I asked that over the weekend he have all his stuff together so we weren't running around the day before looking for stuff (note: the foreshadowing). I even had the ladies at his work on my side to bug him about "Are you packed, yet?"

Somewhere in the midst of my nagging over the course of the last month, I inquired as to the location of both Steve's passport and his plane ticket. Given the moving we did, I wanted to be sure he had adequate time to locate both. To which he replied,

"Yes, I have my passport right here and I know where my tickets are."

Evidence would have been key here.

So last night at 11pm (less than 24 hours prior to departure), we are tearing apart the office looking for Steve's plane tickets. He became convinced that he had them upstairs in with other misc stuff. Since the electrical is cloth wiring upstairs, we do not turn on the lights upstairs for any period of time and have no lamps up there at all. So at 11:45 he was fishing through boxes with a flashlight in about 90 degree heat.

I was sorting through the piles of papers and trying not to lose my mind. At 11:50 when it seemed Steve was ready to "give up for the night" and find it in the morning, I asked him if it could possibly be in one of the binders he has on the bookshelf.

AHA - we had found it! I cermoniously shook his head to indicate how crazy he was making me and went off to bed.

I made the final trip to walgreens last night for the calling card, asprin and a travel toothbrush kit. I laid out all of the items he had strewn around the house for his trip. I woke him up this morning to have him start packing (many hours before he is actually headed to the airport). I even have a list of the final things he needs to get.

I think I have done all that I can!

Der General

As many of you know, my lovely fiance (Steve) is headed for the homeland to watch the World Cup. He has decided to grace the world with a blog, which will chronicle his journeys during the 2.5 weeks.

Yes, that's correct. He is leaving me less than 2 months before our wedding to watch soccer and I think he plans to have a few beers as well.

A little background - Steve and I first started dating in December of 2002. From the very beginning he talked about going to the World Cup in 2006 and his love for soccer. He took me to Chicago Fire games and I must admit I had a good time. Not a good enough time to actually follow the game or watch it on tv - but as a person of competitive nature I could enjoy the sport. I also learned to enjoy the side bets that he and Dan would make at the games. Which corner would the next corner kick be from? How long will the person stay down on the ground? Who will score the next goal? Who will get the next yellow card?

I have never really picked up on the rules of soccer - but was able to follow the dollar bets game. In fact, when we went to a Bulls game a few years back - we were able to bring dollar bets into that game. Will Scottie Pippen foul or get a rebound first? I know we are so wild.

So back to soccer. In dating Steve, you learn to accept certain things. He likes to talk and he enjoys making things up or exaggerating. Going to the World Cup in 2006 in Germany was very clearly not an exaggeration nor was it negotiable from the very beginning. Which was fine for me - as 2006 seemed like a very far off time. Sidenote: He originally wanted to be there for the whole 5 weeks - but good sense and practicality not to mention $$ kept the trip shorter.

When we started to seriously discuss the possibility of marriage, I pushed for 2005 to avoid any potential conflicts with the World Cup. Steve pushed for 2007. We settled on 2006. An additional consideration was the timing of his annullment from the Catholic Church, which took almost an entire year. In the end, I realized that marriage and life require alot of compromise.
I am getting a wedding before 2007, but am going to be fianceless for a few weeks prior to the nuptials. *Note: We were originally looking at October 06 dates - but the Church and reception hall availability was better in August.

In the end, I know that I am not "letting him go" to Germany. He is going and we just happen to be planning a wedding around that time. He has been pretty good at getting his stuff taken care of before he leaves - so really do I want him around for my shoe shopping expeditions?

I realize to most Germany+ Selling Townhouse + Moving into a Very Old House + WEDDING = Crazy - but really it fits Steve and I just fine. Unfortunately or fortunately (depending on how you look at it), we are both "pressure players". We work so much better under stress.

Given that logic - I am thinking everthing should go off without a hitch!

If you did not catch my link to Steve's blog hidden in this post - here it is:

http://dergeneral.blogspot.com/

Please note - all of his pictures will be taken on the cheapest digital camera I could find ($50 at K-Mart)!

When it rains, it pours!

I had my first Wedding Shower this past weekend with Steve's family. It really was a showering of love and support. Fortunately, I was able to spend a good portion of Sunday figuring out where all of our gifts were going to find a home. Right now everything has a spot - but as I re-organized I remembered that I have at least a few boxes of housewares that were packed in advance of showing the townhouse. These remain unpacked and will need to find a new home eventually. We also have 2 more showers - 1 with my family/friends and a "not a couples shower" with the MPU (Mobile Party Unit/Mobile Parenting Unit).

When I registered, I tired to be on the conservative side for a few reasons - we already have a few things from our townhouse and I was sure there were some items at 108 that I would inherit. What I failed to account for was a very small kitchen. I had planned on storing some of the bigger/non-daily use items upstairs in the kitchen's built-in cabinets. I was able to bring a piece in from the garage which will need to be repainted and have shelves put in. It was my mom and aunt's armoire where they stored their clothes. Pictures to come when it is all finished!

It is crazy to think that I feel like I am already "out of space" in a house that is way bigger than our townhouse. I think it will just take time to find a home for everything.

Can you ever have too many doxies?

The "Real" 108 North

We are in!

As of May 19th (when the big furniture made it's trek from Aurora to Naperville), we became residents of 108 North. Disregard the fact that today is 6-6-06 and we still have stuff at the townhouse.

Let's recap -

A few posts ago, I marvelled at the fact that April flew by. I should have taken this as a sign of how the month of May would go. The first few weeks were all about packing and checking a few things off the wedding to do list. On Memorial weekend, we had a garage sale to help my mom and aunt get rid of the many treasures that have been stored at 108 for many years. I will admit that a few did not make it to the sales floor (ie. the CandyLand that mom and aunt played, Dallas the board game which I took for a co-worker, and my first stuffed animal "Cookie" the dog who I couldn't part with).

In the midst of selling, the girls (Kate, Jeanne and Deanna) stopped by for our first Wedding Rehearsal (they are our vocalists at the wedding). This gave us all a chance to ooh and ahh over Kate and BJ's first-born, Zoe (for pictures please visit www.lippoldthaus.com), who was an angel and did not make a peep as her mom bounced her and sang. "Uncle" Steve, however, had to be restrained from kidnapping the poor child as he pushed her stroller up and down the sidewalk. To quote Steve, "It's like kettle drums in my ears" - referencing his sudden desire to have babies NOW. [No worries - not in the plan for a while :) ]

Post-singing rehearsal, the gang headed to downtown Naperville for lunch at Quigleys. It was a great way to spend the day and I am so glad that the girls are willing to sing at the wedding.

After the long Memorial Day weekend, I headed back to beautiful Texas for my second week in a row. Needless to say, unpacking, organizing and moving the rest of our stuff has been a low priority.

This past weekend was the annual LaGrange Pet Parade where Steve, PorTillo and I got to hang out with the Grosskopf/Schmit and friends clan. It was gorgeous weather and we all enjoyed getting to see many of the cousins before some of them depart for Montana and the land of Cheese. PorTillo provided clean-up assistance as he ate every chip and cracker that hit the ground (and a brownie).

Somehow in the last week I was able to squeeze in addressing wedding invitations, which will be completed tonight. If I was forward-thinking and had a digital camera, I would include a picture of the invite here. Just going to have wait for it to come in the mail - sorry.

It is only appropriate that I acknowledge today's date as 6-6-06, since we were engaged on 5-5-05 and a few people recommended this for our wedding date. As a true sign of coincidence, I noticed that it is also 66 days until our wedding today, which only confirms my suspicisions.

It will surely be hot on my wedding day in August!

more pics of the house.........................