Phunny Photo Phriday

Apparently you don't need to work out to get a 6-pack.



I bet it helps to be a Dale Jr. fan as well...

...classy.
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Spring Must be Coming

Spring MUST be coming. I can't really tell from looking at it outside, but it's coming. How do I know?

Well, I've started taking blog photos again. I took three separate pictures today, and I'm going to start posting them tomorrow. I have also stopped hating life. I still have pregnancy "whatever" going on, but I no longer want to curl up in my bed, watch a chic movie and cry for like 3 weeks straight. I've been able to keep the house straight for an entire week and I even pulled the vacuum out on my non-vacuuming day.

The world is right again. I can feel it!
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I Need Your Help...Yes, You!

Ok, to take my mind off other unsavory happenings in my life, I need everyone's opinions about some things...

As you may have seen from the below, I am trying to pick out baby bedding. My original thought was to do ladybugs, and while I still like the idea, I'm not sold on the all over, repressively pale pink.

In an ideal world, I would just make my own, but this world is far from ideal and I think with my current time constraints, my baby would be 2 before I finished it...SO! I have sort of narrowed down my store-bought choices to about 5 that I think are pretty good. Let me know what you think and any reasoning you might have beind your choice.

Seriously, this is a matter of GRAVE importance...take.this.seriously.

:)

1.)

This was initially my first choice. I like that there are a million accessories that I can buy that match, but again, there is a LOT of repressive pink. I think I may want some bolder colors - not ADD inducing, but bolder.

2.)

I love the femininity of the the flowers plus the vibrant punch of orange is a nice complement to the pink and light blue. It's a good mix of colors and active enough to incite interest after the initial cuteness wears off.

3.)

This one's red. It's my signature color and my go-to favorite. I'm concerned about the stark contrast between the red and white with nothing but grey to soften it. I'm afraid that after a while the sharp contrast will tire out my eyes/the baby's eyes.

4.) \

I just really like this green. I think it would look really great with my crib set. It's sort of a natural fruitwood color in a sleigh bed format. Do you think it's too much of one color? It's not pink, but there is still a lot of green.

5.)

And finally, the pink and green combo. I still get the girly pink, but with the bright punch of green it's a bit more interesting and versatile.

OK. So let me know what you think!!
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Things That Don't Taste Good The Second Time

In honor of my impending move to the third trimester my body has decided to mutiny...and I think the she-baby has joined the fight.

To finish the though presented in my blog title, here is a list of things that I apparently can not keep down...

- Chili and Cornbread (I know, bad choice)
- Oatmeal, plain with 1% milk
- Chicken Broth
- Water

This is just the 'piece de resistance' of the last two weeks that started with a full blow sinus cold, and transformed, mid-cold into all-over-my-body hives (thus resulting in blood work to check out my liver) and finally, because my sinus cold was over and hives apparently get lonely, I have yet to successfully keep anything down since about noon yesterday.

I talked to a friend of mine, wo-ing about my luck getting the stomach flu for the second time, like, EVER - and she looked at me, smiled and said, "honey, you're six months pregnant. You can think you have the stomach flu if you want, but you have skyrocketing hormone levels and a finicky baby pushing all your organs into your throat. Are you sure its not that?"

I have to laugh because she just had a baby and distinctly remembers all of this. I'm glad she's here to keep me grounded.


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Singular Focus

I've noticed some drastic differences in my life lately...

I've felt, in general, that life is multi-faceted to a certain extent. I work, I'm interested in music and art, and I like "creative hobbies". I love books and find trivia very facinating.

All this has changed. I noticed yesterday, that while I still participate in a few of those activities and many of them are still interesting to me, the only this I REALLY focus on in my life right now is...


...the bathroom.

Where is the closest bathroom? How long do I think I can go before I have to start looking for one again? I just had a tiny sip of water - I should probably not go anywhere for the next 3 hours.

Tell me, will it always be like this? Am I forever doomed to boldly go no farther than 10 mintues from the nearest facility?
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Monday, Monday

So, this is kind of funny.



I am totally a blog hog. Everyday, I just look at blogs for like an hour, it's like binge interneting. When I talk about, it totally sounds like a waste of time, but really, it makes me feel so happy some days.

I get to see interesting and sometimes even exciting pictures of friends and I get to hear about what they're doing with their lives. It's great.

I also am a sucker for dogs. It's a fatal flaw I know, and one DH has really had to work with me on. I'm finally admitting my addiction, yet still not able to curb it. For example, this lovely photo posted today. I found this on a blog that I read EVERY.DAY. The entire website comprises cutesy little photos of dogs doing dumb things with even dumber captions.

I can not get enough of this. I don't know if I'm getting sappy with this pregnancy or my problem has finally gotten to the point where I can't keep it hidden anymore, but I LOVE this website...

Although, like a true addict, I have very good reasons for doing what I do. I've noticed that the last few postings on my own blog have been blasé and sort of depressing. I'm going to change that by looking at this website and others like it as often as necessary to increase my outlook on life in general.
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NSAIDS and IcyHot

Somedays, I wonder just how dumb I am...

So, before you get alarmed, I have NOT taken any NSAIDS. I just wish I could.

Last Thursday or there abouts, I'm taking care of some compliance issues at work and I'm shredding sensitive documents and it's no big deal, right?

I have had a rather bad case of tendinitis in my right wrist since about the end of 2005. It's not really a big deal anymore, but something that I definitely have to watch.

Anyway, I'm feeding papers into the shredder, using my right hand of course, and I "tweak" it. I don't really know what happened, i just grabbed some papers and when I fed them into the machine, my arm went numb. Immediate pain from my wrist to my elbow and then radiating up to my shoulder and neck.

I'm a complete genius somedays. The choir is performing on Sunday, I still have to work on Friday, and DH and I are moving food storage and a crib to our storage unit. I don't have time for this. PLUS I CAN'T TAKE ANY ANTI-INFLAMMATORIES!!!!

I get home on Thursday and I put on icyhot. DH works it into my forearm and I take two Tylenol (as IF they would do anything). It's not too bad on Friday, but I definitely can't do anything like type or use a mouse or your know, normal stuff.

On Sunday, I'm practicing my song for the choir and it starts hurting again. I finally suck it up and wrap it knowing full well that it will get tons of unwanted attention from people, when if I could have just taken an NSAID all would have been right with the world.

So, as predicted, I go to Church to play in the choir and I get comments about my ACE bandage. The real kicker is, when the choir gets there, they don't actually know the song well enough to perform it, so we sing a hymn instead and have the organist accompany us. So all that practicing and bandage wearing was for nothing.

This baby better be really nice to me for not taking NSAIDS and giving her 3 heads...
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Soothing Colors

I think gray is soothing.

Does that make me weird? There's something about the muted, graphite intensity that just mesmerizes me.

I'm currently not sure if it's the color or my mood, which has become increasingly despondent as the hours of rain continue, that has encouraged my thinking this today.
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Missed Trains and Make-up

So I've missed my train for the past two days in a row...

It's not such a big deal, because there's another one after it that I can take. I just have a schedule and I don't like to deviate from it much (I know, WAIT until I have a baby...)

So on Monday, I went to replace this eyeshadow that I have and I got sucked in by one of the "make-up artists" and I ended up with a 2 hour lunch break and a whole new face to go to work with. It was fantastic. I found some really gentle cleansers for my skin - something I was pretty sure didn't exist. There's no tightness or dry spots and it doesn't make me break out. It's like a miracle.

Anyway, I bought some eyeshadow and lipstick (and the skin care) I know, I know, that is one expensive eyeshadow replacement...and I've missed my train for the last two days because I have spent like 15 mintues putting on make-up.

I'm still using my concealer and foundation (powder) that I bought awhile back and I'm just integrating my purchases with what I already have.

It's always funny to me how much better I feel when I put even a few extra minutes into my morning make-up routine. I don't even think it's the new colors (which are great by the way), it's the fact that I'm taking the time to put on the concealer and focus on the eyeliner for more than 30 seconds. I just feel like I look better and more put together, which is kind of important since I gained like 7 pounds at my last appointment and I feel a bit "portly"...

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A Celebratory Confection

In honor of the big news...


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I hate people.

I realize, that this is not a great title for a blog post.

Ok. So remember that little incident with the windshield back in December? I drove all the way up to their shop in Wood Dale (you know, home court advantage) so that they could replace the windshield.

I sat in their horrific waiting room for 3 hours with a "sweat pants are good pants" kind of family and a super self-inflated business man.

They still couldn't get it right. I still had condensation on the inside of my windshield and frost the on inside of my windows. NOT. OKAY.

I call them back and in the most pleasant voice I can muster I ask them to fix it. We schedule a time for them to come see me and my house so they can fix it on site. We decide that this morning will be perfect. I will take the day off and they will come by between 8 and noon to fix my windshield.

They call today at 10:15 to confirm my appointment for tomorrow...

I have no pleasant voice left. I explain to them in controlled measures that this situation is unacceptable. It was decided that they would come TODAY, between 8-12 because the car would be unavailable for service tomorrow. They want to reschedule and I explain that I have a job and can't be around for another half day to get this fixed.

Rather exasperated the attendant tells me they can come to my office. (Like, duh, we make on-site visits...).

At this point I lose patience. I tell her I take a train to work and so coming to my OFFICE doesn't help because there is NO CAR THERE!!

I'm put on hold.

The attendant comes back and says they could come out this afternoon. I tell them that's fine, except that I have made appointments for this afternoon (because you were coming THIS MORNING). I will be available after 3:30 and they can come by then. Apparently they can't guarantee that they will be there after 3:30 and I'm like whatever. You are SO not getting a good review from me and my insurance company, who recommended you, will be hearing about this as well.

The icing on the cake? I was told to "have a blessed day". I think I need a nap and maybe some meditation after this...
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Cleopatra, Queen of De-Nial

So, I've finally reached a point where I am giving in to the maternity wardrobe.

I broke down and started wearing maternity pants a while ago, but I was holding out on the maternity shirts. They wouldn't be so bad, except that they totally make you look pregnant!

I know, the reality of my situation still seems to elude me. I bought some maternity shirts while I was in Utah with the help of my excellent SIL, LF. She helped me see the light and get some cute tops.

I'm still a bit self-conscious in them, mostly because other parts of my anatomy have swelled in addition to my belly. I was always very fine with my standing in this matter, but have become increasingly jealous of my more delicately endowed friends.

Oh well, it is what it is, so here's a picture of me in one my brand new maternity shirts looking TOTALLY pregnant.

I'm not going to lie, I look like I haven't had a good night's sleep in about 5 months and that's because it's true.



You'll have to forgive my photographer, he's not really into details like keeping all of my head in the shot. :)
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5 years

So, we celebrated our 5 year anniversary last Friday (the 30th)

DH and I are a really great fit. After 5 years (including a sort of rough 1st year) we still like being with each other. In fact, we like being with each other so much that we don't have to do anything on our anniversary. :)

So we got home from work and were about to go out to dinner when we both realized that we were beat and we didn't want to have to deal with "restaurant stuff". So we made home made pizza (see, I DO love him) and watched TV. It.was.awesome.(not the pizza part, that was just whatever...)

We also decided that this would be the last year for gifts because we've finally reached a point in our relationship where it is no more validated with something than without.

Needless to say, DH got me this:





and because it was a custom ring and he had it made over Christmas - he couldn't wait a WHOLE month to give it to me, so I got it on Christmas day.

On our actual anniversary he got me lovely roses. I really like flowers. There's something about the complete frivolity of flowers that feels so decadent.



So...what did I get him? Well, like a genius I ordered something that was on back order so it's still not here. In the off chance that DH might actually read this post, I'll have to write about it later, if it ever gets here.
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Transportation Woes

I like to call them Toes. Prepare yourself, this is sort of long...

So DH and I take the train to and from work. It's generally not that big of a deal, because we get to save on gas and don't have to fight traffic or pay for parking (both REALLY great things).

However, with the record breaking cold we had the week prior to our leaving Chicago for Utah (it was warmer at the North Pole, btw), riding the train became increasingly difficult. On Wednesday, the 14th. I got out early. I was going to get home and maybe do a load of laundry and start packing. It was going to be great. I arrived at Union Station to find a sea of people milling about the tracks. It sort of reminded me of those pictures you see of the corrals in denver with all the cows. It was kind of like that.

I call DH and I'm like, hey, you should leave early and so should your boss. Our train line is NOT working!!!

It turns out that metal, when left in sub-zero, frigid temperatures doesn't work as well as we humans would like it to. So Amtrak (which also uses our tracks) tried to get into Union Station and lo and behold, the metal switches that allow trains to "switch" from one track to another stuck. The train derailed (no injuries) and shut down ALL THREE TRACKS for the rest of the evening.

I live off one of the busiest lines leaving chicago and so for our track to not work delays 10,000+ people PER COMMUTE and pushes all those people to other train lines or other forms of transportation. It is not pretty.

So I head to the OTHER train station that we have here in chicago and find a line that will take us mostly close to home and if we hurry, we might actually get a seat!

Now, normally, this is bad enough, but because DH and I both work downtown, we have another transportation dilemna once we depart from this alternate line. We are then stuck at the train station with no way to get home...

For this, I would like to thank my Mom. She came and picked us up with ultra heavy traffic and the fact that she was having the LDS missionaries over for dinner that night! My brother stayed home and finished dinner and played host while my mom spent over an hour of her life driving to the middle of some super packed, podunk little town to pick us up and then drop us off at our house which is in no way close to where she needed to go. So...Thanks, Mom. I don't know what we are going to do when you move to Cleveland!

So, with us leaving for Utah that friday, we are thinking, geez - one more day and then we are SO out of here!

Please remember bad things generally come in threes.

On Thursday night, we are completely packed and ready to go. My mom, once again, is saving the day and driving us to the airport at 4:00 Friday morning so we are sleeping at her place to make it easier. We leave our apartment and start driving to my parents house when DH notices this odd thumping noise.

We stop at a parking lot and yep...we have a flat tire. Please remember, it's like 20 below. DH stays out in the cold to change the tire and I go inside the store to shop and whatever. DH's out there for like 20 mintues and I'm trying to figure out what's going on. When we finally reconnect, he tells me that he couldn't get the tire off. It was frozen on! Some good samaritan took pity on him, grabbed our spare tire and proceeded to throw it at the frozen tire. That was the only thing that got it off. :)

So, DH was freezing and couldn't feel his fingers or toes or really most of his legs, but we made it to my parents house and my mom (our savior once again) said she's take our car in to get the tires fixed while we were gone.

And Finally...

We get up on Friday morning and load the car. As we're driving the temperature is -18 (without windchill) and so we were VERY cold for a VERY long time until the car warmed up.

We get to the airport and check our bags, no big deal. Very typical airport stuff. We shoot through security and find our gate, nbd. We are sitting there, waiting to board and they finally open the gates. They call the first zone (we're on Delta) and then stop them before they can board. Something seems to be wrong...

Apparently the emergency lights didn't work. Our crew was working to fix it, but then 30 minutes later they mention something about how they won't work because it's too cold. (It get's better)

We're on the north side of the tarmac and there are no buildings to block the wind from the rest of the runways. It finally comes out that some genius at O'Hare thought it would be a good idea to leave the plane out.overnight.in record breakingly cold weather.

Essentially, we weren't boarding a plane, we were boarding a plane shaped block of ice with a metal frame. About an hour after we were supposed to leave our gate attendant got on the PA and very proudly explained that they got the emergency lights situation fixed! Almost as an afterthough, he added that we still won't be boarding because the plane needs to be de-iced and that can't happen until someone de-iced the de-icing trucks.

Go ahead, you may need a minute to think that one through.

My guess, is that the same brain trust that thought it would be a good idea to park a plane outside, also thought to leave the de-icing trucks out in the same weather.

Finally, we board the plane. It's almost two hours late for departure, but at least everyone was already there and waiting to board.

Ok. This is REALLY long. Congrats on reading that. Now drink some hot cocoa and wrap yourself in a blanket, because that made me cold just writing it!

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Brrr....

I wear commuter shoes to and from the office.

And, like a moron, I left them at work today. I got halfway to the bus stop and I couldn't figure out why I was so amazingly cold. It was like I couldn't feel my toes anymore.

I then looked down and realize it's because I'm wearing "inside shoes" not "outside shoes".

Serious genius at work folks.

Also, I'm totally putting off writing about Utah mostly because of the transportation escapades prior to our trip and the fact that I have like ZERO pictures. Who goes on a trip and doesn't even turn on their camera!?
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Ok. This one's even better.

I really need to get back to work...


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Funny

Ok. I'm getting around to updating the last week or two, but until I do - this is funny.



Who knew you could buy it so cheap?

Try this website. It's full of really fun things that weren't meant to be funny.
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I've had enough!

When I left my house this morning it was - 18 degrees Fahrenheit. With the horrendous windchill it was probably closer to the negative 30s.

Since I'm pregnant and I have next to no patience for ANYTHING, we left. We flew out of town and touched down where the scheduled high was almost 50 degrees warmer. Walking off the plane I thought to myself are your kidding me? Why didn't we do this sooner!?

So where is this land of sunshine and warm rainbows? Salt Lake City, UT. Yep. A Prim ski destination is where we chose to warm up. That's the particular brand of crazy we subscribe to out in Chicago.

I have to say, I'm glad to be here and I hope to see any of you that are out here! We have a week of fun and sun and NOTHING ELSE!


***As an aside, I've been asked recently if I've noticed any mood changes with my pregnancy and I have to say I haven't. The only thing I've noticed is that almost everyone that I come in contact with has simultaneously decided to annoy me. a lot.
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weather

It's like this...only no Jake Gyllenhaal


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Oh Lindsaylou, Why do I ever doubt you?

Oh Lindsaylou, why do I ever doubt you?

Your twice pregnant and 3 times a mother-ly wisdom always wins out in the end.

I feel much better than I did on Sunday. I'm still somewhat nauseous, but compared to Sunday, this is an absolute cake walk...on a warm sunny day...with a cool breeze...and slow music...with extra chairs.

I think it was only the stomach flu (as you correctly deduced), which I have never really fully experienced to this magnitude. I'm not surprised I missed it, just embarrassed that I took to my blog to curse mother nature.

Now we're probably going to have an extra long winter.
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I thought this was supposed to get better?

I thought my second trimester was supposed to be the good one!? (warning TMI ahead)

Ok, so some of you may know that I was mostly nauseous almost the entire first trimester. No vomiting, just this desire to do nothing but eat until I felt better or puked (and then felt better).

That never happened...

I am now solidly into my second trimester and I vomited so much and with such intensity this morning I about blacked out. (I warned you about the TMI)I couldn't breathe and I've burst capillaries in my face. I look like "Crater Face" from Saved by the Bell! (Anybody? Obscure SBTB reference?! - I know you all watched it, so don't even act like you don't remember the zit cream episode.)

I'm due on June 23, and I'm seriously not interested in having this continue for the next 6 months. I still have seminary for another 4.5 of those 6 months and I'm still working through all of that.

Not cool, mother nature...not cool.
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A hitch in my get-a-along

I have come to the realization that I can no longer wear heels.

This is distressing to me since most of my shoes have at least a 1in heel or higher.

Why can't I wear heels anymore?

Mostly because for the past four weeks it feels like my right leg is trying to detach itself at the hip and walk away on it's own. I now sleep with an abnormally long pillow between my knees and ankles and have only recently (this morning) realized that heels make it worse. Today is the first day in many that I can get up from my chair at work and not walk like an 80 year old woman. It still has a distinctive pain to it, but it's much less than it was, say yesterday.

You know, times like this cause me to think back to the not so distant past when my view of pregancy was less than flattering. I would look at these women and although I was generally sympathetic to their pains, I was thinking, "Your uterus is expanding will you get a grip? It's not like your leg is going to fall off or your stomach will eat itself".

At this time, I would like to say, I'm sorry. My thinking was so horribly wrong that it's almost laughable. I'm sorry for my unsympathetic thoughts, because now I realize; Pregnancy isn't just about your uterus, it's like a virus that takes over your whole body.
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Tagged by LZA

LZA,

I'm not completely sure that I'm the R that you tagged in your post, so since I'm in doubt, I'll do it anyway and give you all the benefit of my amazing answers! *heavy dose of sarcasm*

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? wrapping paper
2. Real tree or Artificial? artificial - it's the only way to go.
3. When do you put up the tree? this year? Last week :(
4. Do you like eggnog? Alcohol free please!
5. Favorite gift received as a child? wow...my memory is awful.
6. Hardest person to buy for? DH
7. Easiest person to buy for? My neice, MM
8. Do you have a nativity scene? I made one in highschool?
9. Mail or email Christmas cards? neither this year (I know, bah humbug)
10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Large & In Charge - a workout video from the 80s for the more plump aerobicist.
11. Favorite Christmas Movie? White Christmas -are there any others?
12. When do you start shopping? December 15
13. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No
14. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? cookies
15. Lights on the tree? white
16. Favorite Christmas song? All I want for Christmas is You - with the video that has that guy with the weird hair.
17. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home.
18. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Yes
19. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star
20. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning
21. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Target commercials
22. Favorite ornament theme or color? My mom had purple berries and green pears one year. That was really great.
23. Favorite for Christmas dinner? turkey
24. What do you want for Christmas this year? China

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Candi, This is for You.

Tag 1: Six Random things about me.

1. I moved 6 times in college.

2. I broke my left arm at age 6.

3. I have 6 winter coats in my closet. (Sadly, it hardly seems like enough!)

4. I teach seminary which STARTS at 6am.

5. Dave and I take the same train home which get's us to our apartment at 6p most nights.

6. 6 of my coworkers were fired on my very first day at Tribune Co. (Boy that was weird)
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*Disclaimer*

Please read before opening the following two posts.

I am readily willing to admit that I am over using the italics, bold, and capitalization functions in the following two posts. I also overuse the !!!exclamation point!!!

Consider it part of my pregnancy. As I share my little adventures (Here I go AGAIN!!!) I will occasionally be more emotionally attached to certain memories, like cereal and ice scrapers.

There is no explanation for this, so, as a collective blogging community, let's work together and hope this doesn't continue for another 6 months until little Schlomo or Bertha Jo arrives.
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The BEST day EVER!!!

Be Prepared for the awesomeness to come...

Sunday was a really warm day. It was like 51 degrees. In December, in Chicago, you just can't beat that. There was a little rain, but nothing a good wiper blade couldn't handle.

Anyway, I should know better seeing that I'm from here, but it got cold Sunday night.

Really cold.

But don't worry. It kept raining. And then icing.

I wake up on Monday morning for seminary and remember that I'm driving. Oh man, I'll need to make sure I leave early so I can scrape my car. I bet it's going to be just covered!

So in my mind, I'm having this dialogue: "Self, you better hurry.", "I know, Self, I'm going to give myself 10 extra minutes to scrape my car.", "Good thing, Self, because you're probably going to need it", "Self, don't be such a pessimist, you'll be fine with 10 minutes. It's not like someone dipped your car in ice and then froze it like an ice cube".

I walk outside and practically fell on my face. The parking lot is covered in a certifiably skate-able sheet of ice. I get to my car and I look at the windows. "Self, I think you are totally screwed", "Self, that doesn't help right now. How 'bout we open the stupid door and turn on the defroster?"

It takes me the 1st 5 minutes of my extra 10 minutes to OPEN THE DOOR. I turn on my car and let the defrosters start working. Has anyone else noticed the futility of blowing barely warm air on a piece of glass that is covered in almost 3/16 of an inch of ice?

So I start scraping. I realize my lame-o scraper from Utah (where they get normal snow) isn't going to cut it, but I don't have any other options. I'm hardly making a dent and after another 15 minutes (5:40) I have 4 inches of visibility on the drivers side only. Awesome.

I call the other teacher that I carpool with. Her car is in a nice dry garage. Can she drive today? TJ says yes, because she's awesome. I turn off my car and go inside. I can't believe that this is happening. we are SO totally late. TJ calls me back at about 5:45-5:47. Her garage door won't open. It's frozen shut. She has a clean car, but she can't get into it.

I go and start scraping again. By 6:00 (BTW, we start seminary at 6) I have 12 inches of visibility on my side and 5 inches on the passenger side. Good enough. I go and pick up 2 students and TJ. We get to church at 6:20 and some students have already come and gone. It's a sad day.

Hilariously enough. That's not even the best of it. As we are driving to seminary. We're talking about how those dumb seminary teachers should have cancelled seminary, and that we are never going to get there when out of nowhere, my windshield cracks.

Yep. starboard to port in two swift pops. It's taken me till today to write this post because if I wrote it yesterday I would have used words that would STILL get me in trouble with my Mom. And NO ONE wants to make her mad. (j/k mom) :)

So, as a recap, the best day ever included a car shaped ice cube. three stooges like antics, and a broken windshield. And it's not even 6:30am.
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Lots of goings on.

Okay, so I'm probably going to have to post something like a million entries. I've been tagged 3 times, and I've had some very interesting happenings in the last few days.

Okay (this is no the most eventful happening, but it is certainly on the forefront of my mind).

So I eat cereal for breakfast. This is a fairly recent change from my normal breakfast intake of...air. So I have purchased a few options. I have an old box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch that I absolutely can NOT touch (more on that later), a box of honey nut cheerios, and a brand new box of flavorless bran flakes. All good choices.

I had bran flakes yesterday so I was feeling pretty fiberful, and thought I'd indulge in a big bowl of yummy honey covered oat rings. I got my milk, my bowl, my spoon and my cereal. I said my prayer, because I don't like soggy cereal, and what if my prayer is long!?

I then open that glorious box of cereal to find...Cinnamon Toast Crunch!!!!!! Oh, the horror!

Here's the problem. Due my particular condition, I have a rather strong aversion to things, like bean soup, and oatmeal, but most of all CINNAMON! I can't stand the smell or even thinking of it. *spine shudder*

Remember, I have seminary so it's like 5:15 and I yell DH's name in vain! HE must have done this!! The EVIL FIEND!! (OK, so maybe I'm a little hormonal) He comes running thinking that I've fallen to my death on the kitchen floor and then I feel bad. I tell him to go back to bed and that he wasn't supposed to hear that.

I then settle for bran flakes, day 2.
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teeth

So, remember this post?

Well, the filling just fell out. How's that for awesome? Now I have a giant hole on the side of my tooth and absolutely no contact between my two teeth. It sure makes food fun to eat. I invariably save some for later.

Luckily, my appointment isn't for like another week. *sarcasm*
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hmmm....

So I don't really know how to approach this topic. It requires some delicacy and forethought, neither of which are core competencies for me.

This happened,



Then this happened,



and then this happened,

and then finally, this happened...


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Bankruptcy...

Big news at the office...

Yep. Tribune Co., and almost all of it's subsidiaries, is filing for bankruptcy. Chapter 11 to be exact. That means we have a crapload of debt and a really poor way of managing it.

Thusly, we were given the option to file for bankruptcy or post our Q4 ad sales and have our debt to profit ration exceed the allowable limit set forth by our many creditors.

Needless to say, it has been a very busy afternoon. I'm very tired from all the conversations that I've had with vendors and contractors trying to calm them down. No one is losing their job and no one will be defaulting on payments (hopefully...), it's just a mell of a hess.
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Tagged

Okay, so I've mostly been putting this off, because I don't think that I have any fun pictures on any computer that I use. I finally found this one and thought is was pretty good, so here you go. BTW, no 4th folder anything, I'm lucky I have a "photos" folder let alone anything organized inside it.

This is DH and I at the Thanksgiving Point gardens back in May. Obviously the sun is in our eyes, hence the goofy expression on DH's face and the mildly annoyed expression on mine.

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Dear CTA...an open letter

Dear CTA,

I want to tell you how much I love you. For 2 dollars I can go practically anywhere and at practically any time.

You are so great. Your drivers almost always know where they're going and your suggested, but not quite accurate, schedule always keeps me guessing.

I have to say though, today was a bad day. I hopped on your 151 to Union Station thinking to myself, "what luck! I only had to wait a few minutes and I even got a seat!" Then you disappointed me CTA, your bus crapped out in the middle of Michigan Ave., only two blocks from where I was picked up.

I would have had a picture to show you, but it was so cold there was no way I was stopping. Besides, I needed to find a new bus to get me to the train station. You see, CTA, I have a head cold. A very nasty one, that required me to leave work early. It was so nice of you to accommodate my needs on the quick pick-up, but to then dash my hopes of a speedy trip two blocks down was abominable.

I would like to propose a solution. We are in this together and so we MUST work this out. How about you check your buses on a consistent basis for things like working batteries, and even alternators, and I'll not look for alternative transportation.

Deal?

All my love,

Rae
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scheduling

So, being that I'm a little behind the times, I just figured out how to schedule posts.

Seriously, this is awesome. I wrote this yesterday. I am that cool.
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Pizza

Do you ever have those days?



I got home on Monday, DH had class and wouldn't be home until long after I went to sleep. I didn't feel like cooking and there was no food in the house (i.e. nothing I thought I wanted to eat).

So I ordered pizza. In general, I don't like pizza, it's greasy, cheesy, and heavy. Most pizza places are dark, serve root beer and beer, and all their appetizers (veggies included) are batter dipped and fried.

Often DH has to do something extraordinarily nice for me to even consider the thought of eating pizza. So you can imagine how DH felt when he got home and saw a pizza box with pizza still in it and he didn't suggest that it be purchased.

It's like I'm compromising my morals.

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He Won One

So Saturday Morning, we were in the car on the way to my parents house. It's pretty much what we do on Saturdays.

We were driving along as we normally do, and DH decided to take a different road than we normally took. Right as he was turning he asked me if I thought it was a good idea. I told him, "No, this road is longer than the other one, it will take us longer to get there". To which he replied, "Why didn't you say something sooner?"

Often this is how our driving conversations go. To most it would be sad, but it's just normal for us.

So anyway, we were talking about other things and he explained why he picked the road he did (he just can't let things go...) and he started talking about speed limits, and traffic and it actually made sense. I looked at him and said, "That makes sense, I rescind my previous comment" - because that's how we talk to each other.

To which he replied the following...












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Working from home

Have you ever had one of those morning?

The alarm went off, and I was having the seriously most WEIRDEST dream ever! (I know, bad grammar - I'm trying to prove a point!!) I didn't even eat anything weird last night, but there were people in my dream that I didn't even remember I forgot.

DH was moving around a lot last night too so I kept dreaming in this half awake/half asleep daze. I start moving and get reading for work and seminary. Everything seems to be normal. I'm driving this week and I'm actually on time (shocker).

The goofy part comes in when I get home. There are a LOT of people at the train station outside our window...too many, in fact. I turn on the news and, yep. The trains are delayed.

I decide to make myself some breakfast. As I'm stirring my cream of wheat, I think about my day and realize every meeting I have is on the phone. I can do this anywhere! Gosh, those pajamas sure look comfy.
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My 3 Saviors

So I passed out on the bus today.

Yep. I'm just standing there minding my own business when it feels like my internal body temperature just jumped about 800 degrees. I start peeling off my scarf and unzipping my coat. I put my mp3 player away and try to keep my knees bent.

It's not working, lights are looking really bright and everything seems "over-developed". My peripheral vision is fading to black so I finally turn to the man standing next to me and I say, "excuse me, I'm about to pass out, can you help me?"

My voice sounds tinny and then there is just a jumbling of words all around me. The bus has stopped. We are at an actual bus stop. I feel hands and arms around me as I am unceremoniously shoved off the bus and made to sit down on my new bright red coat.

I slowly realize that there are still 3 people around me. They are asking if I'm okay. One of them is running to the nearest store to get juice and water, another is hailing a cab. After 5 minutes, I can thank them for their help. After another 5, the cab shows up. I am personally mortified at this point and they then offer to pay for my cab. I have no cash, so I accept.

As I'm walking to the cab, we finally introduce ourselves. So to my Saviors of the day, Jeff, Juliana, and Brandy...Thanks.
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Cute...Overload!

Baah! I Love tiny dogs!!



Anyway, I thought this was hilarious. Get it? A Dachshund? That's where the name "hot dog" came from?

Does anyone else besides me appreciate the humor of this?

You can find more awesome-ness here.
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So Tired

So, in honor of Veteran's day, there was no seminary.

I still planned a lesson last night, made DH buy ribbon for an object lesson on his way home from class, and then I woke up early, showered, dressed, and walked down to the lobby of my building. I waited there for 15 minutes before I realized...we don't have seminary today.

I was a little frustrated with myself. :) Now I'm super tired and can't get out of the funk I picked up from my confusion this morning. I just need a good nap and maybe a book.

My boss probably won't mind, right? It's not like I'm paid to work or anything...
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...For Amy

So this post is for my friend Amy (AD from here on out)..

AD - I've sent you emails, but I have the sneaking suspicion that they are not getting to you. It may be that I can't type to save my life, or I have the wrong address or something equally silly. I'm posting my email address so that you can invite me on your own, since I can't seem to get my act together...

rachelmossferguson@gmail dot com

You're great. Thanks for dealing with my technical ineptitude. :)
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Copper-Bopper

This is what my mom calls the dog. The dog that loves me best...:)






As you can see, Copper loves her costume. It's a black t-shirt (very slimming) with a spider cape attached at the collar and then a hat that conveniently covers ears with a giant spider on top.

By the look of pure joy on her face, you can tell she's glad that I'm there...making her put on a stupid costume...that doesn't really fit...
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Numb

So I had another dentist's appointment today.

Has anyone ever tried to put make-up on when your face is numb up to your eyeballs? Applying concealer required a whole new skill set...
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He-larious

So I forgot that I had like this hugely important vendor meeting today, so what did I wear to an office that no longer has a dress code?

Yep. Jeans and a cotton v-neck gap sweater in orange...seriously. I had my hair in a ponytail and next to no make-up on. It was not pretty.

So I did a quick search and figured out when the nearest Ann Taylor opened (10am, perfect for an 11:30) meeting and I found the closest sales person and told them I needed an ensemble.

It was fantastic, 20 minutes later I had a glorious pair of wool slacks, a synthetic blend plum colored sweater and a creamy undershirt. I looked professional (except for the shoes, but I hit a payless on the way back and got a cute pair of kitten heels in a goldish cream.

I fixed my ponytail, put on some make-up from my emergency work stash, and off I went.

Anyway, as I was racing to Ann Taylor I saw this guy walking along Michigan. Now I get it, we all have to have a place to put important things and sometimes pockets are just not big enough. Besides, what better way to show your manly-ness than with a camouflage fannypack!




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The infamous cord

A-ha! I found the mini-usb to usb cable to connect my card reader to my computer and I "stole" it back. I'm pretty sure since DH never reads this blog, he'll never know it was me who went into his super secret hiding place and took out like the only white cord there...

So does anyone else always want to spell cord with and h, i.e. chord? As in chord for music? Maybe it's just me and my musical geekiness (I did play 3 instruments in jr. high)

Anyway, this will probably mean tons more posts with lots of pictures (hopefully).

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sad

I haven't posted any pictures.

DH took my memory card reader (actually he took the usb to mini-usb cable that I used with my memory card reader) so, no fun pictures.

Which is kind of sad, because this weekend we dressed my parents dog up in her Halloween costume from last year and took tons of super cute pictures.

Poor Copper was so unhappy. She had to be squeezed into a shirt that was too small with a dorky cape attached to it, and THEN to add insult to injury, it came with a little hat that Velcros around her head with a wiggly spider on it.

It cute and mostly hilarious because she can't stand to have it on for more than a few minutes and only allows for us to dress her because it's me, and she doesn't bite me. :)

So...someday soon, I may actually get another cable and I will yet again, post photos like a fiend.
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Walking...It's an Art not a Science

I walk a lot in the city. I walk from the train station to my office or to the bus stop. I walk to pick up lunch, and I walk around Michigan Ave. just to get some air.

Because of this, I get to see a lot of people. How they walk, who they're with, what they're doing that day. It's interesting. When I worked in the Loop, I would always seem to be frustrated about how people couldn't seem to walk at a "normal" pace (which was whatever pace I was at that day).

I've since slowed down a bit and really noticed the people that are around me. Some walk fast, some slow. Some swing their hips a la Marilyn Monroe, and others act like their smushing bugs with each purposeful stomp.

I decided last Friday, that walking is really more of an Art than a Science. The mechanics are all pretty much the same; left, right, left, right, in a forward or backward motion, but the execution is as varied as the people.
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What a weekend!

DH and I are trying to be more social. We tend to be really busy and so when the weekend rolls around we're lucky if our laundry gets done and food gets replenished. Doing things "just for fun" has just been too much work!

But, I have been feeling antsy. I needed social interaction with people, so about a month and a half a go we, along with two other couples, bought tickets to a play. A musical even. Yes. A musical. DH was such a good sport to go to an expensive restaurant for lunch, deal with all the traffic and people downtown on a Saturday and sit through a performance that he wasn't entirely sure about.

The play was called Turn of the Century and it had Jeff Daniels in it (that's how I got DH to buy into it) :) It was really entertaining and reworked a lot of classic bradway showtunes as well as a few modern classics from this decade and last.




All in all it was a really great Saturday spent with some really great friends in a really awesome city.

Now, lest you think that this is all we could muster, we went for broke this weekend. We had a Stake Conference for our Church this weekend so our Sunday meetings went from about 5 hours to about 2. It was a huge blessing, because my mom had invited us for dinner and she made her famous lasagna.

As soon as he heard, DH canceled any plans he had for the afternoon just to be sure we wouldn't miss that cheesy goodness. It was delicious. Mom, you do great lasagna, it's like you lived in Italy for 18 months or something.

After sleeping off the lasagna for most of the afternoon, we met two other couples that night, for a quick game of Settlers of Catan. It's a super fun game.

We had no idea how seriously involved they were though. Frankly, I was shocked at the level of skill shown to me last night. Although one of the players has a "good luck charm" of sorts, as witnessed below...

Yep. That's his wife, being totally embarassed. :) They're super cute together though, don't you think?

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Sailboats. Do they stay in the harbor all winter?

For those of you who are curious. We have like a gazillion sailboats hanging out on the harbor all summer, but we happen to live in the midwest, where it gets cold and windy. The waves get pretty bad in the winter and so sailboat owners have to put their toys away for the season. How do they do this? They're on a gian lake that only leads to other giant lakes in colder weather?

Well, we have the Chicago river. To be honest I don't really know where they go after they get on the river, but frankly, it can't be as interested as when they go along the river. See what I mean.

.

Yup. All the bridges along the Chicago River open up. They stop traffic (generally during rush hour) and have all the sailboats just float on through. To get a better visual, watch Batman Begins and when they are lifting the bridges to isolate The Narrows, they're actually just keeping all those North Siders on their side of the river. :) It's just like that only with boats in the water and no batmobile. or famous people.

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It Rained again today...

Due to popular demand (Okay, MH - this is for you) I am posting a photo of me with my sassy coat and way fun boots. I try to stick my pants in my boots to show them off properly, but these pants are a thicker gabardine and I tend to look like a drag-queen pirate if I do...

Here's a fun photo of DH. He's humoring me and my mad camera skills on a Sunday morning heading to church.

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Concealer

I think I'm finally getting older...beware, scary pictures ahead.

I've always had pretty good skin growing up, so foundation was never really something that I ever used a lot of, and concealer was only used about 2 months of the year during the darkest days of seminary (and that one week right before the HS production of Faustus my junior year).

I took a picture of myself yesterday wearing my awesome green shoes and I looked at my face and thought, jeez...have you heard of make-up? So today, I wore concealer AND pressed powder. Besides the sleepy eyelids, it's shocking how much healthier my skin looks and frankly how much more awake and put together I feel.

In the pictures below, I have the exact same colors on. Seriously. Concealer and Pressed Powder are the only add ons.

(don't mind the creepy red-eye. I'm working with my photographer on that)

So sad. I'm too young to get older...
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My DH, what a guy

So this is why I love my DH. While I am gone at seminary, he gets up and makes me a lunch and packs it in my appropriately girly lunch box. What a guy...


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"Matchy, Matchy, Green Squared"

...Movie quote? Anyone? Come on. It's only like the #10 best chic-flic filmed in Chicago. Still nothing? Okay. It's at the bottom of the post.


I love matching. It's a documented issue. I would rather have ugly and matching than beautiful and mismatched. Thus, when I find something truly beautiful and 'matchy', the sun shines and the world is at peace.

Exhibit A: These truly awe-inspiring green shoes that match my favorite green sweater. I'm part Irish, so I tend to think this emeraldy goodness suits me.

?Return to Me? Come on. David Duchovny, Minnie Driver...Bonnie Hunt? Jim Belushi?

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It rained on Wednesday

I actually really like the rain here in the midwest. For so long I was in Utah where it mostly just spits dirty raindrops over everything causing serious irritation and then gloomy Guses seem to appear out of nowhere.

But not here in Chi-town! We have beautifully torrential rain that would sooner flood your basement than spit at you!!

Anyway. Rain out here makes me happy, mostly because of the accessories that I get to wear.

These are my rain boots. I have an awesome rain coat too. I don't have a picture of my exact coat. But it sort of looks like this. Mine isn't double breasted, it's just a plain trench. I still love it. I wear it with my sassy boots and then I feel great.

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Love at First Sight

Okay. Lose the ooky model with the bad hair and just look at this dress...just breathe it all in...ahh.



I feel as though life has just improved for the better.


For those that care this is from Marchesa (spring 2009, ready-to-wear).

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Conference Weekend

I stayed in all weekend and watched conference.

For those who are unaware, I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

I really enjoy our semi-annual conferences. They are so very uplifting and hopeful. I felt like a bit of a boob this weekend, because I was tearing up at just about every talk. Two that really struck me this weekend were in the Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning sessions.

Saturday Afternoon Elder Jeffrey R. Holland spoke about the ministering of angels and how the Lord sends special messengers to deliver ordinances and doctrine that are too important to miss. Being that I'm a seminary teacher and we are studying the New Testament, I think about how often Christ was ministered unto, and how many of those key players in the restoration of the Gospel in the meridian of time also played key roles in the final restoration in this dispensation.

The other speaker that really resonated with me was Elder Henry B. Eyring. He wrote the home teaching message last month and it was on a similar topic. He spoke of Unity and it's importance in our lives here on earth and in the life to come. I thought about Dave and I, how we are unified as a couple as well as being a part of a unified extended family, both on his side and mine. It reminded me to be more of a peacemaker and advocate for my family so as to help build a greater unity of purpose and inclusion.

If you're interested in seeing these talks, or missed them the first time. Click here, and then select the speaker that you would like to hear.
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What Could Have Been

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Back to Conformity

So apparently we were only supposed to be different for about a week.

I was looking out my window at some of the seriously awesome architecture here in Chicago and I have a really great view of the Carbon and Carbide Building.


It was built during prohibition, so...guess what they were missing?? (Can you say Champagne!!) Anyway, DH has another name for it, but it's not approriate for mixed company.

Speaking of champagne, I heard a funny quote yesterday, "Champagne for me real friends, and real pain for my sham friends". Get it? Hilarious.

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Looking Out My Window

This is the view from my office. I have a nice office with a door and a window and real wood cabinets. My favorite part has got to be the view from my window. It doesn't show very well in this picture, but I can see the Chicago river from my office and all of the goings on in the plaza. It makes my day great.

So I was watching people out my window last Friday and I saw them constructing this goofy looking Chicago sign, so after work I went to take a look...

I'm not completely sure what this is about, but it is TOTALLY awesome. The entire sign was made of "green". It wasn't up when I got back in on Monday so I'm not sure what purpose it served over the weekend, but it was still neat to see.

So yesterday I came in to work, sat down and got to work on some leftover projects from Monday when all of a sudden I heard a thud...and then another...and another. This is what I found.

Yep. I had a feathered friend attacking my window. Apparently when the sun hits the window just right it becomes a mirror and this little guy was defending his territory (against himself). It always brightens my day to see wildlife downtown (other than pigeons and purse dogs), he only stayed for about an hour and then I guess the sun no longer reflected his image.

Funny Story. Tribune Tower just recently unlocked all their windows so that people can open them and get a little fresh air. A lady on the 6th floor left her window open overnight and came back to an office with a trespasser. A bird had flown in during the night and couldn't get out! It had ruffled all her papers and made a royal mess of her office...I guess this isn't that funny. Seriously, you had to be there.
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