From Chaos Comes Happiness

Thank you, to each of you, for the most wonderful support a girl could ask for. For your understanding, for your concern, for your suggestions, and for your friendships. I am blessed to have each of you stop by and read my words and be such a dear part of my life. Yesterday, I received a phone call from my oldest and dearest friend who (after reading my rather pathetic blog post about blahblahblah ) insisted on coming over, picking up the girls after school today and keeping them overnight, just so I could do exactly what I wished . . . rest. And, I let her. I say "I let her" . . . because letting go of the guilt and recognizing that I am really not   a  'superwoman' is a hard thing for me to do. But, I did it. And I have to tell  you . . . I feel really good about it.  So tonight, I'll be doing just that. And . . . just maybe . . . I'll . . . listen to quiet hum of the dishwasher as it cleans my dishes  pick up that book "The Help" mo...

My dear, dear friends . . . I'm drained. Photo from Google image search of "Maverick" roller coaster in Cedar Point. I'm tired. I'm stressed. I'm stuffy (my head and chest). I'm cranky.  I'm feeling like all of life around me just jumped on a big ol' high speed roller coaster and I am standing in line waiting for it to stop, yelling, "SLOW DOWN. STOP. WAIT A MINUTE." And I hate it. Shall I go on? No, I don't think so. That was enough, wasn't it?  Maybe it's all the 'NyQuil' that has brought this little bought of negativity out of me. NyQuil has been my friend the last few nights, as I've done just about anything to get a few good hours of sleep in. I've caught some sort of a bug that has found its way to my head, chest, joints, you name it . . . the bug found it. (My ears are popping as I type. Not fun!) Unfortunately, I'm not able to get much of the rest I so desi...

Driving home from work today, I glanced up at my rear view mirror . . . and immediately thought that Stanley Tucci was driving the red '79 Ford pickup truck behind me. I mean, I couldn't really see the person behind me . . . it was more like the silhouette of him. Not that I've ever really thought  about the silhouette of Stanley Tucci, but today I imagined the man behind me looked like what the silhouette of Stanley Tucci would look like. Although, it wasn't . . . of course. Just like it wasn't Kenny Rogers driving the black corvette in front of me. Although, the man driving the car in front of me really did look like Kenny Rogers . . . from behind . Really . . . he looked exactly as I thought he would. But I knew that it couldn't be. I mean, I'm driving around in a south suburb of Chicago . . . we don't have many celebrities around here. When we were in Magic Kingdom last month, I laughed when one of the ride operators at Ma...

Well, it's that time again!!! I missed last weeks award because, quiet frankly, the comments weren't that funny! (KIDDING!!! I think I was just busy on my Apple Orchard excursion and forgot all about posting my winner! Oh, dear! Imagine if the Pulitzer Prize, or Nobel Peace Prize was late in delivery simply because of a field trip. Tisk tisk. Please forgive me!) So here we are with another FANTASTIC week of comments from some wonderful blog friends. You out did yourselves!!! But, like all of the previous "Best Line of the Week" awards, there can only be one winner. Please join me in a great big round of applause for winner Betty over at " Bossy Betty ", who wrote the following line in her comment on my post about "I'm only Human" : "I would have offered each kid 20.00 to forget about the entire incident." Betty! If only I had thought about that FIRST, instead of spending 2 hours trying to put that puzzle eraser back togeth...

We enjoyed such an adventurous stroll through a lovely little forest preserve near our home this past weekend. The sun was shining brightly and the sky was so blue and cloudless that we knew it would be a shame to stay inside. So, we bundled up our little family and headed to the nearest falling leaves for a fun exploration of colors, sites and sounds. As always, we took lots of photos of the adventure on this day. Some of them seem so blogworthy, that I had to share. So please sit back and enjoy a few moments of Fall joy compliments of our non-chaos day. Happy Fall, friends!!!

I’ve been doing some soul searching this week . . . well, actually today. Funny, isn’t it, how one day of heavy thinking can feel like a lifetime? Ah, such is life. I can’t believe that it is mid-October already. The days, months, year is flying by, and it seems like as good of time as any to re-evaluate what I’m doing, where I’ve been, and where I’m going emotionally, physically and spiritually. You know . . . the whole "goals" thing. Goal: The end toward which effort is directed. Goals can be changed, right? At least that’s what my mother-in-law, Rita, reminded me of. I find that I’m coming to terms with the reality of life right now, and am making some changes to my goals. I’m ok with it. I really am. Because I know that my life is a good one. Even when changing my goals. Next year (2011), I will be turning 40 years old. Wow. No longer will I be in the 30-something category. I’m having a flashback to that awesome scene in “When Harry Met Sally” where Sally is ...

Last week, Katie came home from school with a lovely little prize she received after participating in a fundraiser at her school. I’ve seen these things before, but never really paid much attention to them. Ella loved it the moment she saw it … the colors, the shapes, the fact that it fit so perfectly in her hand, AND the fact that she could take it apart. The minute she grabbed it from Katie, she did just that . . . and I had WWIII in our house. Katie was so upset with her little sister (the same little sister whose hand she held so lovingly in the photo I shared with you yesterday). It was a rough afternoon. Wanting to restore peace to our home as soon as possible . . . I sat down at the kitchen table to repair the damage done. Ella realized that her sister was quite upset with her, and reassured her, “Don’t worry, Katie. Mommy will fix it.” Oh, great. Thanks for the added pressure. Now I’ve got that to live up to. Hmmmm . . . For 1 hour straight I adjusted and finagled, I pl...

I feel most blessed in this life of mine when I am witness to a special moment shared between my daughters. It's one of those occasions when an exchange of pure kindness is happening between the two of them, and they have absolutely no idea that I am watching them. I find that I wish the clock would stop, for as long as possible, during moment like this. I feel peace. I feel good. Ahhh . . . it's like heaven.  I caught one of these moments on Saturday, during our visit to the apple orchard. The girls were waiting in line for their turn at the pony rides, and I turned towards them to find them holding hands. I quickly grabbed my camera and took a photo . . . They held on to each other for a few minutes, before one of them became interested in something and let go. But for these few moments, I watched them. And my heart was full. Watching them stand there, holding each others hands, and knowing that they were doing that on their own . . . was as good as the firs...

Greetings from this chaos girl and her Apple Clan . . . whose adventure today took us on a lovely drive in the country to do some shopping, apple eating, apple buying, and fall weather lovin' in Speer, Illinois. You didn't know there was a Speer, Illinois? Neither did I. But today, after 2 hours in the car enjoying the fall colors, we ended up at the coolest Apple Orchard. Tanner's Apple Orchard , that is.  Here are a few photos from the day . . .  Don't you love photos with pumpkins?  Ella behind the wheel . . . Uh-Oh!  This awesome Cider Barrel ride took the girls through the orchard . . . they LOVED it!  We can't seem to get away from this Mickey guy . . . he's everywhere these days!  Is this the craziest pumpkin you've ever seen?  Oh, and did I mention . . . there were APPLES! We bought Gala and Johnagold . . . Yummmm!!! Thanks for looking at our Family Fun day! What did you do today? Anything fun? L...

Greetings dear friends! I do hope this post finds you well and and ready to welcome the weekend with open arms. I've got some housekeeping to do here today . . . so please allow me to update you on some exciting things: If you are in need of a story about life, love and photos today, please  tap on over to Leslie's blog at  " {Words of Me} Project " where I have a guest post appearing. There you will learn of another wacky habit of mine, and perhaps come up with a fun photo opportunity in your own life. Thanks, Les, for letting me share in the BLISS of your blog! If you have ever wondered about digital scrapbooking and how that whole thing works, I encourage you to take a look at my dear friend (Cindi) and her blog at "So, That's Why!" where she has spent some time writing a number of informative posts this week on the whole Digital Scrapbooking thing. I am not a digital scrapbooker ... but with Cindi's help, I might just look into it. Whil...

I've had a headache today. All.day.long. One of those “I wish I didn’t have to work today and could just lay my head down for the next 5 hours” kind of headaches. It’s probably because I stayed up until 1:30AM watching CNN, and then woke up at 5:30AM to start the day. This is my body’s way of saying, “HELLO!! You NEED to go to sleep earlier!!! We don’t like it when you keep us up so late.” Ah, well. Driving to work this morning, I took my lovely favorite road. I wrote about it a while ago (click here to be reminded). Here’s a picture of it this morning . . . Yes, things are changing here in Chicago. The wind is blowing and leaves are falling all over the place, and I’m ready to hunker down for the winter (I know, crazy, isn’t it?) My neighbors laugh at me this time of year, as I diligently work at pulling out tomato plants and sunflowers, cutting down hostas and lilies, and putting lawn furniture away for the winter. I’m definitely closing up shop . . . and I love th...

I have spent the past 24 hours with eyes glued to my television, watching the rescue of the 33 Chilean miners, as I'm sure so many of you have. With tears in my eyes, and a lump in my throat, I wept as these men, one by one, were brought back to life. As I listened to the words of the miners, and thought about the ordeal they have gone through, I am reminded of the strength of faith. It seems I've been struggling with religion lately . . . struggling with the church, with where it all fits in my life. I've been thinking about meeting a blog friend to discuss how she fits it in hers. I've been concerned that I'm not doing enough to bring God into our home, and haven't done enough to talk to my children about my beliefs. I've always had "faith", but I've not been very good at practicing my faith. This has weighed heavily on my mind for quite some time. I pray often, but not in a church. I believe in the 10 commandments and try to live my li...

Words I would have sworn would never part my lips, did just that. And here I sit, with happy thoughts of love and bliss, all thanks to this man. Howard Stern. Yes, the radio guy. Don’t judge me yet. PG (Phil Guy, my husband) is a fan of Howard Stern. Don’t judge PG yet. While he doesn’t support the vulgar Stern show stuff (stuff that I would surely turn my nose up to), PG swears that Howard Stern is a fantastic interviewer. Years ago, when Howard Stern went off of regular radio and switched to satellite radio, PG approached me about getting the set up for Sirius Radio in his car . . . so he could listen to Howard Stern. “You’ve got to be kidding me?” I think, was my first response, “I listen to NPR. Seriously? Stern?” But after realizing that this man of mine really doesn’t ask for that much out of life, and recognizing that he has a long commute to and from work (and this is one thing that would really make his commute a little bit more pleasant), I agreed. So, he has spent the ...

Remember me? I know, I know, "Where have you been?" you might be asking. Or, perhaps you didn't even realize that I've been a little absent from commenting this week. I'm sending apologies by way of this quick little post, and also giving you a very short update on the chaos of me. Yes, always chaos. But, it's all good. After a major heart-to-heart w/PG over us both stepping up and being a little more attentive to the family, the house, the laundry (augh) and each other . . . I committed to taking a break from the computer (i.e., BLOGLAND. AUGH! What was I thinking?) I guess a girl just has to do what a girl has to do. It seems every 6 months or so, PG and I have this little calling of the minds, when I really sit down and hash out the things that are getting to me. Poor guy. Not a fun night in our house for PG when this happens. The good thing, we come out stronger. I like that. So, I've prom...

Wow! That week flew by for me - how was it for you? I can't believe it's time for my second . . . This week's winner surely did not disappoint! Please join me in a great big round of applause for winner Nat over at "Just Nat" ,  who wrote the following line in her comment on my post about " Maximum Occupancy ": "I've been wondering why there are TV adverts for antiperspirant deodorants that offer "48 hour" protection....surely most people shower at least once a day, washing off said deo? Or are they encouraging bad hygiene habits? :)" So SO funny! I absolutely LOVE to find people who share in the fine art of "Random Thinking Moments" and Nat's thought about the 48 hour antiperspirant CRACKS ME UP!!! Thank you SO MUCH, NAT, for the chuckles! LOVE this comment - it MADE MY DAY! Feel free to grab a button to showcase your award below! And if anyone else wants to pass it on . . . grab one too! <center...

Last month, PG and I spent a couple of weekends sorting through boxes of memories in our storage area, looking for items that would be appropriate to sell in our upcoming garage sale. We laughed, we sneezed (lots of dusty boxes there), and I cried . . . a little. Actually, I was more like a blubbering idiot. All over a few dice. One of the boxes I came upon was full of my Grandma Josephine’s things. Stuff that I brought home from Grandma’s house after her passing, back in 2001. It contained crocheted samples of party favors Gram had made through the years, an old moo-moo of hers that she often wore, and a gallon size storage bag that held her Yahtzee game. When I pulled out this gallon size bag and saw what was inside of it, tears immediately filled my eyes. Oh, Gram. We LOVED playing Yahtzee with Grandma. It was what we did most when visiting her, and the way I spent my very last afternoon with her, the weekend before she died. I remember that afternoon like i...

I dislike laundry. I try to live a happy life and enjoy all of it. But laundry … augh. I can almost venture to say that I “hate” laundry … and “hate” is a word I really despise. But laundry , I think it might actually warrant a little “hate”. I can’t figure out where this feeling comes from. My father was the “King of the Laundry Room” in our house. That man had a system, and kept up with it daily (I think even hourly) when I was younger. He could fold like nobody else on this earth … you could bounce a quarter off of his folded sheets (top and bottoms). But I definitely lost out on the laundry gene in my family. Because I do NOT like it AT ALL. Maybe it’s the socks that mysteriously get eaten up by my machine. Maybe it’s the pure volume of laundry . . . Katie seems to think that I like it, because she SO ENJOYS changing outfits multiple times throughout the day. Phil seems to think I like it, too, because he manages to take all of his clothing off in one full swoop, which mea...

Time for another “ Random Thinking Moment ” – it’s been way too long, don’t you think? This one came to me after lunch one day a few weeks ago . . . I often wonder, when I see these “Maximum Occupancy” signs, how they come up with the maximum number? Do they allow a certain amount of square footage per person, and then do the simple math to determine how many people can fit into a space? What if one person takes up more square footage than another person? Do they take that into consideration? How about the space that the general public doesn’t go into, but perhaps the working staff occupies? Do they deduct that square footage from the other space, and adjust the number that way? What about elevators? I often thought about how they post the weight limit on an elevator . . . I would imagine that the elevator people test it and determine what maximum weight an elevator can withstand. However, how do you really know the weight of the people riding the elevator, ...

I used to know things. Really cool things. Things that would impress even the toughest critic. Things that would have me winning at a game of Trivial Pursuit . Things that would make you say, "Wow, she knows things."  I used to know things about theater, and what the latest and greatest play on Broadway was. I used to know things about history, and could recite the order of Henry VIII's wives in 10 seconds flat. I used to know things about old Hollywood, and details of the tragedy of Marilyn Monroe. I used to know things about art, about music, about literature. I used to know a lot. Then, I had kids. Two of them. And as thoughts of 2AM feedings, piles of laundry, and "when did she last poop?" came into my brain . . . all those other things went out. It's been 7 years since I had my first daughter.  I still know things. But now the things I know are a little different. Like, now I know the names to each of the Jonas brother...

I don’t like missing “good-byes”. It’s sort of a pet peeve of mine, when someone leaves and they don’t say goodbye. PG used to be famous for this when we were first married. In the morning, he would be the first to rise. He’d hop in the shower, dress, and head downstairs to the kitchen. I would wake up, hop in the shower, and come out to find that he had left for work . . . without saying good bye. It would drive me crazy. I would usually call him on his cell phone and say, “I would really appreciate it if you would say ‘good bye’ before leaving the house,” and go on and on with one of those guilty sagas “what if something happened to either of us and we died and we never said good bye” and scenarios. It took him a while, but he finally caught on. Now, rarely will he leave without a proper good bye. And if he happens to be traveling, I get a phone call before the plane takes off every single time. While it may be a tag morbid to some, for me, that phone call means absolutely everyt...

Happy Weekend, Friends! I hope you are enjoying your weekend and this post finds you HAPPY! I've got something new a brewin' here in the land of "From Chaos Comes Happiness" that I am so very excited to share with you . . . called, simply, the "Best Line of the Week Award!" Like so many of you, I am enlightened and blessed to be the receiver of some of the best comments in the world! I swear, you folks really out-do yourself post after post. This week, while a particular comment really tickled my funny bone, I decided that I needed to share this line with EVERYONE! So, I decided to implement a new weekly feature in which I share with you one comment line from the week that absolutely MADE MY DAY!!! Sounds like fun, don't you think? This week's "Best Line of the Week" is being awarded to Yenta Mary over at Food Floozie , who wrote the following line in her comment on my post about " Embracing ALL of Me ": "Tis better to...

I think I’m in an unhealthy relationship. No, not with PG . . . that relationship is absolutely wonderful. The relationship I am concerned about is the one I am having . . . with my blog. The other day, while taking a short break in my local Starbucks, I observed someone who LOOKED like they should have a blog. You know the type, right? (Don’t you think bloggers have the same sort of “blogger” look?) Anyway, this person was on their laptop and focused very intently on what they were doing, which, I was certain, was blogging. I received my coffee from the Barista and made my way to a table next to this “I Look like a Blogger” person. She glanced up at me and smiled politely, and I did the same. A few seconds went by, and I was dying to know what she was doing, so I tried to, ever so nonchalantly, look at what was on her monitor (by “nonchalant”, I guess I mean that I practically fell off of my chair trying to see what she was typing.) After a few minutes, she glanced up and saw me lo...