ICY WA-WA!

We had a pretty amazing ice storm here over the weekend. Conditions weren't too cold, but they were just right to form little ice crystals on the trees. The kids marveled at this commenting that the tree's looked spiky. :)

And in case you can't already tell, I am LOVING my new camera! :)

American Idol

My Wednesday nights have been pretty tame lately.  

While flipping through the channels a few weeks ago I came across American Idol.  

I have to admit, I rolled my eyes and didn't think that I would stay on the channel for more than a few minutes.  Then something really weird happened.  This Ryan Seacrest fella started telling back stories on all of these wanna-be singers.  They were heart-wrenching.  People that were homeless...their parents were dead...parents were in jail...they had 5 kids and no baby daddy!  The list went on and on.  Each one of these underdog stories had me rooting for them and hoping that they could actually sing.  

The cool thing about the auditions, is that you get to see a wide variety of talent.  I felt for the people that could probably sing, but were so nervous in front of Paula, Randy, Simon and The New Girl, that they came out sounding more like a goat in heat (or what I imagine that to sound like).

A few times I laughed right along with the judges when someone thought they had talent, but were apparently tone deaf and didn't realize they sounded awful.  It was weird to watch people huff away telling the cameras that the judges had made a mistake by not giving them a pass to Hollywood.  Yeah right.

This past week the contestants have been at Hollywood and they have whittled the prospective singers down to 36.  

I am hooked.  

Although I can't watch Tuesday (Biggest Loser trumps American Idol), I will be tuning in on Wednesday nights to see if these average people can actually make their dreams come true.  

Blogger's Block

I think I am suffering from Bloggers Block.  Not sure if that is a real ailment, but you get the gist.  So in order to force myself out of this funk, I am just going to ramble.  

- My friend Bethany (college roommate and teammate) had triplets last week.  They were born at almost 29 weeks.  So far all are doing well despite being born teeny-tiny.  I cannot imagine what it would be like to have three children at one time.  Its funny too, because she was probably the LAST person I would have imagined becoming a mother of three.  I have no doubt that she will rise to the occasion and be a damn good mommy to those little ones.  Olivia, Samuel and George are VERY lucky.  Congrats B (if you ever get time to read this...doubtful). :)

- I have been doing a little daycare reflection lately.  It has been almost a year since I was "terminated" (doesn't that sound like I was murdered or something?) from my old job and decided to watch children out of my home.  I am SO lucky.  Not only do I have a wonderful batch of kids, but they all have fantastic parents.  Not trying to be sappy or seem like I am blowing smoke, but I really like the parents of the children I care for.  They are thoughtful, they are attentive (and believe-you-me at my old job I witnessed some terribly inattentive parents) and they in-turn have great kids.

- I miss my mom and dad.

- I recently went bridesmaid dress shopping.  I shaved my legs (at least the bottom half) and everything.  I ended up with a flowy little number.  I think it will work nicely for the Cayman Islands.  Now I just have to work on my pasty white skin.  You can't be pale and wear aqua-green...can you?

- Starchy's birthday was this past weekend.  Old man is now 31.  His mom invited us over for brunch on Sunday.  I made lemon poppy seed mini-muffins.  They were nasty.  I think I baked them too long because they were hard as a rock.  Luckily my mother-in-law made some hot curried fruit that went over "like a fart in church" and her disaster made mine pale in comparison.  

- I am obsessed with blue cheese.  I went as far as put it on a baked potato along with some bar-b-que sauce.  It was surprisingly good.  Look out Pioneer Woman (yeah right)!

-  We are going to Minneapolis this weekend.  Our good friend Mike is turning 30 so we are going to celebrate with him.  The kids are staying with Yamma and Pappa so it should be a fun grown-up's weekend.  Although, whenever we get together with college friends grown-ups is the LAST thing we resemble.

I guess that's all the purging I have for now.  If you have made it to the end of this post I commend you.  Hopefully all of this writing will get me back in the action again.  If you have any ideas or topics you would like to see in upcoming posts please do share!

Peace out!

Rikki

Random Rikki...

I have been neglecting the blog.  Sorry.  

I think I over celebrated with my 100th post and got burnt out.  That, and the fact that my camera has been sitting on the microwave with a dead battery leaves my blog pretty sad looking.  And, I have been glued to the TV watching Obama for the past 3 days straight.  I think I have a politi-crush...WHAT?  He's cute.  And smart.  And the next President (thank GOD!).

Plus, things here have been uber busy.

Daycare is rocking and the kids and I have been enjoying the last few days of fall.  They are calling for snow showers this weekend.  Which leads me to this question...

Is it wrong for me to want to get my Christmas decorations out already?

Now before you judge, think about this.  

I am going to Canada on Dec. 17th.  If I do the typical American thing and get my decorations up after Thanksgiving (for my commonwealth readers it is November 27th), I will only have two-ish weeks to get in the mood.  

I love Christmas.  It is my favorite time of the year.  Which is why I think I am going to have Starchy put Christmas lights on the house this weekend (shh...don't tell him, he doesn't know yet)...and go all out and decorate the house the following weekend.

Call me crazy, but I am getting the itch.

*Rikki stands up and raises her right hand*

"My name is Rikki, and I am a Christmasaholic".

Anyone else want to bum-rush Christmas with me? :)

Numero 100!

HOORAY!

This is my 100th post (whoot-whoot, *Rikki does the happy dance at her computer...although VERY quietly because all of the chitlins are sleeping*)!

When I started this blog in April, it was simply a quest to allow my parents in Canada to feel better connected to what was going on here.

It has grown (to my surprise) in to something even better.

I have met some new people that I would consider my blogger friends (Hi LiteralDan, Mrs.4444 and Xbox!).

I have developed serious blog crushes on Ree, Danny, Bossy and Crystal.

I have connected with people I know (or hope to meet) in real life.

I have delved deep into my memory banks to recollect stories of my toenail-biting brother, my giant-hearted grandpa and the rest of my crazy family.

I have posted, what seems like, thousands of pictures of the lovable munchkins that I have pleasure of caring for on a daily basis.

For every ounce of effort I have put in to my little slice of cyberspace, I have been rewarded ten-fold.

Thanks for reading! 

Love, 

Rikki

Dirty Humor

I saw these pictures here and knew that I had to use them on my own blog.  This is totally my sense of humor (if Starchy was writing this, he would say it is my Canadian side).

Happy Halloween (I thank the good Lord that this is not my ass)!

This one is entitled "Dickhead in the Pool".   Ba ha ha ha!

Remember when...

You know when we all rallied around Ivy, the little girl who was denied medicine to make her quality of life better?  

Well...it worked!

There were enough signatures to have the "board" take a second look and they have agreed to treat her!  

Isn't the blog world wonderful!

Way to go guys!

I've been tagged!

Apparently in the blogger world you can play virtual "tag".  How it works (I think) is that someone makes a post (usually a list of sorts) about themselves and then "tags" other blogs to do the same.

I have been tagged by Jen (Peanut's Mom) who has just listed six Quirky things about herself here.

So, without further adieu...

Six Quirky Things About Me...

1.  I LOVE vacuum lines.  Seeing the clean appear right before my eyes...its bliss.  Growing up we had Berber carpet in our basement.  Although I got slight satisfaction knowing the floors were clean, it was not NEAR the elation I felt once I realized the carpet I have now left lines.  It takes me to my happy place.  Throw in a little carpet potpourri and I am downright in heaven.

2.  I can't stand liquid cough syrup.  I especially have a strong aversion to the cherry kind.  Why you ask?  When I was about 13, and REALLY sick, my mom thought it would be a good idea to mix cherry cough syrup and milk.  *shudder*  What I ended up trying to drink, was the most God awful concoction known to man.  Even the smell of Red Bull gives me the dry heaves.

3.  I am a really good lip reader.  This stems from me having hearing loss in my left ear.  Sometimes, for fun, I watch the news with no sound just to challenge myself to pick up what they are saying.  Good times eh? *eyeroll*

4.  When it comes to the Chicago Bears, I am very superstitious.  I am convinced that they lost last Sunday, because I was wearing a new Bears shirt (that is now tainted).  If I'd have just wore the shirt I wore in their win against Indy, we would be sitting pretty...

5.  I am a meticulous bed-maker.  Bedspread must be just so...pillows at right angles...sheets smooth...if I see an unmade bed, I immediately get the urge to make it.  My mom (the cough syrup queen) would be proud.

6.  I Ziploc poopy diapers.  I know it is not economical or enviro-friendly.  I like knowing that the poo is contained and the smell cannot escape.  Its another one of those "happy place" things...

Ike's Aftermath

Even here in the Midwest, we are feeling the effects of hurricane Ike.  

It rained buckets all weekend long, and although it was very conducive to having movie marathons and baking chocolate chip cookies, it is wreaking havoc on the rivers in our town.

One of the best things about the town that I live in, is the two rivers that converge and flow through the heart of downtown.  The Fox and Illinois rivers are beautiful (as evidenced by our canoe trip last weekend) but are taking a turn for the worse.  

Today, I would describe the rivers as downright scary.

The national weather service has issued flood warnings and you can literally see the river getting higher.

Starchy is a teacher at the high school.  There are no classes today because the school is located right on the river.  He went this morning to see for himself and took these pictures from his iPhone.  

The wall in the foreground is the only thing preventing the river from spilling over into the school's parking lot.

You can see the water level teetering and looking as if it is almost at the breaking point.  Notice the roof of a gazebo on the other side of the river!

This picture was taken from Starchy's classroom.  

The next 24 hours are going to be key.  Starchy is at the high school now filling sandbags.  I will keep everyone posted!