Ned Stark Was Right, "Winter Is Coming."

 Look at all that snow on the trees.  It really came down for Thanksgiving.  While I missed seeing friends and family in Michigan, I am so happy I didn't have to drive in that mess.  That and that the power was only out for 8 hours (7 of which I slept through).

"THIS SNOW IS TOO DEEP TO PEE IN!"

 That's a nice cap on the light.  Glad I didn't have to drive for a few days and Megan parked at the end of the driveway.  Saved myself from a bit of shoveling.

 The deer stopped by to check out the tree limb that fell down.  Guess we'll have plenty of firewood for next summer.

If you want to know where Calvin and Hobbes live, let me know.  This is the best part about living in this neighborhood.

Not too much else to report.  Thanksgiving was good.  I now know what 10 pounds of mashed potatoes looks like.  Lots of chores.  Lots of relaxation.  Trained the dog to ring some bells when she needs to go to the bathroom.  Success...

How Pinteresting

Here's Athena, my newest office mate.  This is the look she gives me when she wants me to stop running queries on the computer.


Okay, I'll give you a few minutes...


Now for the arts and craft section of the blog.  He's a centerpiece for our gala: A Night of Purrr Imagination.


The things you can do with cupcake wrappers and candy...


A giraffe in a fez.  Of course that would be on a cupcake wrapper.  


And now for the home decorating portion of arts and crafts, Here's our new swag lamp Megan made over the weekend.  


Another piece of evidence that Spring is here.  

Well, pretty glad to see the Red Wings (hockey version for the Rochester folk) were able to pull off their 22nd consecutive trip to the playoffs.  But, won't be watching the game tonight since it doesn't kick off until 10:30pm...  That is all.

As Some of You Might Know, No One Uses MySpace Anymore...

Welcome to my new blog. Since MySpace has been relegated to the land of Prodigy, AOL,
Livejournal, and other dinosaurs, I've decided to start this up in it's place. Hopefully, I will
post more frequently once again. Enjoy!

Megan enjoying her Thanksgiving Indian (Indian Indian; not Native American) food up on
Devon Ave.

One of dozens of houses in a neighborhood of Spring Lake, Michigan that was orchestrated
to music and timed as well...

Megan and I's first compromise Christmas tree

My co-worker, Mauricio, got us frosting with a cupcake

These must be old because this was from the first snowfall of 2009 and we are about to have
the last days of winter around here.

A view of State Street from the Wit Hotel

An "award" I got at one of my 4 work x-mas parties. I hope it interesting like "Wow!

That guy is really interesting. I'd like to know him better" and not "Whoa. That guy

is... um... interesting" and no one likes him. Either way, it came with a Trader Joe's

gift card.

SANTA TRAIN!

Noah and his demon cats from Ghostbusters

For the xmas season at work, we each took turns bringing in treats themed to 12 days of xmas. This was 6 geese a laying and it's on an egg mcmuffin.

Megan and Sarah waiting to watch It's A Wonderful Life on the big screen in Buffalo, NY.
They take this movie very seriously and don't take kindly to making fun of Zuzu...

I don't think I've ever seen the Bills win. Here, they lost to the Patriots. I think Brady only
threw one pass the entire game and it was a TD to Moss. Go figure...

Stever's candy in Rochester

High Falls in Rochester. If you aren't from Rochester, you probably

wouldn't know there was a giant 100ft waterfall in their downtown.

If you did, you probably wouldn't have an easy time finding it.

With a little work, this could be a huge asset to Rochester.

High Falls Brewing has the prime real estate on the High Falls.

A view of the Brown's Race/High Falls Village neighborhood on the other side of the falls

A castle in Highland Park in Rochester. This is one place Megan and I will have our wedding
photos taken

There should be less snow here in June...

Megan's xmas socks

I'll let Megan tell you about this

My new favorite shirt. THANKS NICK!

That's about it and look for more postings in the near future. I probably have a few hundred
photos on my camera from the car show, new years, and all sorts of other nonsense...

German Christmas Village Santa Train Party Christmas Explosion

Downtown Chicago. The tree (or hundreds of little trees making a large one) in Daley Plaza with the skyscraper church in the background.


Kristkindlmarkt (aka German Christmas Village) in Daley Plaza


Even Jesus had a booth at the German x-mas village...


Someday, I will have a mantle over the fireplace that looks like this...


Pretty trees


Governor Blagojevich's home, which is down the street from ours. There are several news vans and a helicopter here at all times. I'm still trying to figure out how what he did is worse than any other politician. I mean, people and corporations don't give millions of dollars ($1 billion alone between Barrack Obama and John McCain) to politicians because of their "ideals" or they are "good people." They give money because they expect something in return. Ask Dick Cheney about Haliburton. Is it because he got caught and swears? I'm not a supporter or a fan of Blago, but I still don't see what the big fuss is all about.


SANTA TRAIN! Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Train! Megan and I took this to Katherine's X-mas party. My favorite is the CTA employee dressed as an elf giving out candy canes. She said this is her eighth year doing this.


Even the seats!












My "White Elephant" or "Yankee Gift Exchange" present was a frog shower cap. It goes nicely with my x-mas sweater!


Katherine and another couple at Katherine's party


Katherine was very proud of her real tree with bubbler lights. And, for you Michiganders, she did get them from Bonner's in Frankenmuth...


Megan and I checked out a few places this weekend. Here's one with a view of Soldier Field.


Now, imagine this as my home with socks and art supplies on the floor. Oh, look how well that 1999 iMac looks shoved in the corner...




A view of the Clark House (I think that's what it's called), which is the oldest home in Chicago.


Look at all the trains. There are a couple of "El" lines and freight trains in this area. The South Loop is an old train yard area. Lots of tracks remain and the train companies still own the land. But recently, they have begun to lease the "air rights" over the rails for 99 years to developers to put up buildings. The area north of Grant Park is the same way. There's a whole underground city and infrastructure around there.


Here's the view from the new Museum Park building overlooking Grant Park. Not bad. I mean, I'd expect more from a place that ranges between $1.6 - $2 million...


Here's my wife, Ann Fairbanks, deciding whether or not this property would be a good investment. "It would be nice for events..."


It's snowing like crazy out there. First, it snowed. Then in was nice and warm and melted the snow. Then, it got cold and hell and froze all the melted snow and iced everything up. Now, there's all of this. I'm so glad I don't drive...

I hope everyone is doing as well as I am these days. Lots of x-mas parties lately and a ton more to come. I think I have three more this week, one was today, and a few last week. Then there's x-mas itself... Busy...

xoxo,

Mike