A Weekend from Bad to Great...

This weekend was nutty-crazy. I had one roommate move out, and another one move in. Welcome to the north side, Maegen!! =)

The roommate moving out really surprised me. She's always been passive aggressive, but took it to a whole new level of petty these past two weeks. It really shocked me, bc it's not the type of behavior I've ever seen out of her, and I've lived with her for two years. I'm hoping in her new environment she can get back to her old self. Let's just say that every little detail about her moving out and Maegen moving in was d-i-f-f-i-c-u-l-t to the extreme and incredibly stressfull.


My weekend brightened when I went to see Hairspray on Sunday. LOVED IT! It's a must see. It's hard, at first, to get past John Travolta in that role, but he did do a good job. The movie was cast so well. Take your girlfriends, teenage daughters, etc. Loved it!!




I also saw Last Holiday, with Queen Latifah. Not what I thought it was goign to be about, but ended up liking it. It's light-hearted and fun, a good 'pick-me-up' movie. And LL Cool J is HOT.


The finale of my long weekend was seeing Natalie Cole last night at Ravinia, an outdoor concert. She was, in a word, lovely. It was such a mellow night and so enjoyable. It was uber-romantic, so any Natalie fans should definitely hit her concert and expect adorable couples dancing the night away to her beautiful crooning. My two favorites were "Smile" and some other song whose name is escaping me right now. At any rate, a beautiful evening.

The Illusionist and The Good Shepherd

I watched The Illusionist this weekend while I was at mom and dad's house. LOVED it. Jessica Biel is a decent actress. I haven't seen her in much more than teeny-bopper type movies, and never thought that much of her as an actress on 7th Heaven. But this redeemed her. Edward Norton is hard to co-star with and not look ridiculous, bc he's such a good actor. Excellent movie. I didn't see the end coming, at all. I normally can predict what's going to happen, so I particularly enjoy it when I am surprised.

Watched this one last night. VERY good. You'll need to be in the mood to concentrate and give it your full attention, or you'll be lost. I tried to do some stuff in my room while watching it, and finally had to go back to the beginning and start over with my full attention. Well worth the 2 hours and 40 minutes. It felt like an hour.

Helena Handbasket

Seriously...what's wrong with the celebutantes of today? Britney's pregnant and proudly proclaiming she doesn't know who the father is; Paris has already been in jail; Lindsay and Nicole are both likely going to jail. Again I say TRAIN WRECK! The world is going to hell in a handbasket.

Talk to your daughters, your neices, your friend's daughters... Ask them what they think about this stuff, and how it makes them feel. Talk about what their impression of these celebutantes' behavior was a year ago, and ask them if they have friends that behave similarly. One or all of these young ladies are likely role models for them in terms of movies, music, clothing or pop culture in general. They need to process what they think about it, and aren't likely able to do that on their own. Teenagers (especially those in junior high and early high school) aren't really capable of non-abstract thinking on their own at this point in their adolescent development.

Tucker's First Cubs Game

My aunt Lori and uncle Jim came to visit this weekend with their daughter Jill, her husband, Rob, and their 10 month old son Tucker in tow. My cousin Chris (their oldest child) also lives in Chicago, and he had received some free tickets to the Cubs game on Saturday, hence the trip. This is my aunt Lori (aka Grandma) with Tucker.

It was officially Tucker's first Cubs game. As he was born into the very athletic and sports-loving Kaufmann family, it was a big occasion.


He also loved taking the train to the game. So cute!! This is Tucker with his momma, Jill.

More Movie Reviews

Finally saw The Pursuit of Happyness. It was good. Not quite what I expected, but I enjoyed it. I didn't like the fact that 'happiness' seemed to coincide with money. I'm curious as to what Chris Gardner finds important, now.
I could NOT get into this movie. I know Helen Mirren got so many accolades for this movie, but I finally shut it off after 20 minutes. Good thing I netflix, or I'd ask for my $10 back.

Hugs and Kisses

So my little bugaboo was super cute tonight. I have mentioned, previously, that she doesn't really respond to affection by adults other than her parents. Earlier this week she gave me a hug, and tonight I got a whole lot of baby-affection.

She wallered all over me while we were playing on the floor, then I was pulling her close to me and making a kiss-noise like "mmmmmm-mah!" and give her a kiss on the cheek during the "mah!" part of the noise. She loved it and made the noise with me several times. So sweet and cute!!

Then, and this is my favorite part, I thought she was asleep and I stopped singing to her. (You are my Sunshine and Twinkle Twinkle are her favorite songs.) She started patting my shoulder and sang a little bit, herself, as if to say, "Sing some more, Alison!" So cute!!

Fried Corn and other Yummy Things...

So 'the boy' made me some really good food this weekend. One phenomenon I had never had was fried corn. Anyone had it? It's delicious, yummy, albeit dangerous, goodness!!!

You put a little butter or margarine in a frying pan, then add some frozen or fresh corn. After it's thawed out, add a can of creamed corn, and cook it until the juices have cooked off. OMGosh....so good it's dangerous. Corn may be a vegetable, but it's essentially just starch. Alison's advice: only make it when there are people over who will help eat it gone!

Other yummies were BBQ catfish and salmon, some sausage, DELICIOUS baked beans (see below), then at another meal, salmon croquettes and biscuits dipped in molasses. MMMMMMM.

The Boy's Baked Bean Recipe:
Fat free Bush's baked beans, some mustard, little bit of brown sugar, some BBQ sauce, chopped onion, chopped green pepper, and add some vegetarian hamburger crumbles or some chicken sausage. Also add a dash of worcester sauce. Let simmer. MMMMMMMMMM!!!!

Sounds so good I think I'll make some for my dinner....

Because I Said So

Another GREAT movie. I liked this one because it centers around a young woman (Mandy Moore) who's mother won't let her be an adult without meddling and trying to make decisions for her. I loved it. Also, Lauren Graham and Piper Perabo had great chemistry with Mandy Moore as sisters, and Diane Keaton is always one of my favorites. =)

Worth the Watch

This movie was so good! Be warned that some parts will be difficult to watch, but it's worth it.

My Little Bugaboo...

I have taken to calling the little girl I babysit 'bugaboo.' I'm not sure why, but I do, and I daresay she's starting to answer to it.

I helped with her during her parent's party the other day, and two things made my month: a) I saw a photo from their Cancun vacation where she had made the 'fish face' (see below) and b) she gave me a huge, sandy hug while we were playing in the park sandbox.

We have been working on various faces and noises, bc she thinks they're hilarious and she tries really hard to do them, herself. We've been working on the fish face for some time now, and she hasnt' been able to do it. Seeing that picture in Mexico got me SO excited. I'm choosing to believe she was missing me and did the face. Her mom was so tickled to learn that I've been teaching it to her.

The sandy hug was huge! She's not a baby who chooses to give much affection to adults other than her parents. She loves to be held, but doesn't really react when you kiss her or hug her. I put her down in the sandbox, she went nuts (bc she loves the feeling of the sand on her legs) then she lurched across the space between us and gave me a huge, sandy hug while she squealed and squealed. Needless to say, it pulled at my little heart strings. I already adore the child, but that made me fall in love with her.

A Taste of John Mayer

So I succumbed to the pressure. Today, I went to a John Mayer concert. It was free...it was the Taste of Chicago.

Let me sum it up as quickly as possible.
Hot as hell.
Too Crowded.
My attitude was not unlike how I get at amusement parks on a summer day.
People WAY in my space.
2+2 = Alison was NOT feeling it and got a sunburn.

But I do kind of see what all the hoopla is about - he's way better live that on his cds, mainly bc he's an incredible musician. What made all the angst worth it? When Buddy Guy stepped out to do "Gravity" and "Sweet Home Chicago." Why a picture of the jumbotron? Bc that's as close as we were. =)

The super duper plus side was that I was with Traci, Maegen and Tricia. I love them! We did get some good photos from the day, and I will post them soon. I would advise you to check out Maegen's blog in the next day or two, as I'm sure she will post a funny account of some of our 'experiences.'



I think it's obvious how hot and tired I was. That's Tricia, Traci and Maegen. Traci is my roommate, and Maegen will begin moving in to replace Jenny this weekend. YAY for Maegen moving in with me and Traci!!


Post concert, post 'tasting' at the Taste, post sunburn.