What's In A Name - Part Deux

I promised to post the winning name by today and I am keeping my promise. There were lots of great entries, however, since my cute little pink poodle does not seem to have a multiple personality, we can only have one name.

And that name is......(imagine you can hear the drum roll...)

Tammy Faye!

I was leaning toward the French themed names, but I kept coming back to this one and so did my girls.

The name just fits her, especially with those eyelashes. And her namesake, the real Tammy Faye, was really quite fashionable, so it just fits.

The winning name was submitted by Terisa of Running With Scissors.

Thank you, Terisa! Your magic wand will soon be in your hands. :)

Today is a busy day for me at my "grown up" job and I can't post any pics right now. Stay tuned because as soon as I have a free minute or two, I will be back!

What's In A Name?

I was outside this morning, praising God out loud for the fact that there is FINALLY some color in my yard. My gorgeous pink crabapple tree finally exploded overnight. I thought it would never bloom and those tight little buds would just stay tightly closed, stubbornly refusing to share their sweet fragrance and stunning colors.

As I was standing on my deck, looking at the tree, I noticed that there were more shades of pink in the tree than I recalled from last year. Upon closer inspection, the mystery was solved. Somehow, this little stray poodle found her way up into my tree. It must have been the coyotes who patrol our neighborhood every night. How clever she was to hide herself among the pink blooms of my crabapple tree.

She is as sweet as can be and completely house broken. She follows me everywhere. There is only one problem; we do not know what to call the new puppy. We've had a family confab and nothing seems to fit so I've decided to have a Pink Poodle naming contest. The name should be feminine, I mean, just look at those eyelashes! And maybe a bit French-ie, but it doesn't have to be.

And just to make it interesting and worth your while to help us name her, the person who submits the winning name will receive the following: (Imagine you are now hearing the voice of Don Pardo announcing the lovely prize)

"Thank, you, Christine. One lucky winner will receive this gorgeous, hand-made magic wand designed and created by Jillian Haupt! Just imagine it all, ladies, the havoc you can wreak upon your noisy children, snoring husband, barking dog, meddling mother-in-law, crummy boss and nosy neighbors. With just one swoosh, all of the day's irritation can be banished from your existence. Comes complete with a lifetime supply of magic. Some restrictions do apply. Void where prohibited by law. Check your local ordinances. Back to you, Christine."

Thank you, Don! If only the Lovely Carol Merrill were here to help me demonstrate it's usefulness. :) Yes, ladies, with just one "swoosh" of this magic wand, all of those little irritations can be banished from your presence. To me, that's certainly worth a shot at submitting a name for this darling little pink doggie.

And, speaking of life's little irritations, and color combinations that make your eyes bleed, please enjoy the view I had as I came into the kitchen this morning.

There is nothing I can even say that could describe my reaction in socially acceptable terms. Needless to say, that jacket and shirt did not leave the house on his body a second time today. 10 years of therapy will not be able to undo the psychological damage that outfit caused me this morning. sigh.

Back to the contest:

1. Starting today, you can submit as many entries as you want.
2. Entries must be posted on my blog, in response to this post. No email entries, please.
3. The contest ends on Friday, May 16, at 6 pm.
4. I will announce the winner no later than the following Monday so that my daughters will be able to help me review all the entries. The winner's name will be announced on my blog, so be sure to check back. I will also send the winner an email and if the winner has a blog, I will post a winning notification on their blog.

I just know that with the creative talent you all have, someone can come up with a lovely, feminine name for my new little girl.

Jillian, if you win, I will have to think of a different prize for you. I'll come up with something good!

Thanks everyone! Put your thinking caps on and send me some good names!

Hugs to all!
Christine

My One Dollar Chair

I got this chair for $1 at a local auction last summer. When I saw it, I knew I could do something with it. When I finally got the garage de-cluttered, there it was, waiting for a face-lift.

The wood was a nice color, if you are into the dark wood. It has great legs and nice details (unlike me) but that ugly green vinyl seat cover had to go. Thanks to M, from Tales From an O.C. Cottage for her great idea to use that pink curtain from Wal-Mart. As soon as I read her post, I rushed out to Wal-Mart and bought that curtain. Only $6 and change! The green vinyl cushion was rather sunken in the middle, so I doubled up on the batting. Now it is quite the comfy chair.

Voila!

I hadn't turned my back for 2 minutes and when I turned around, Ella had flown right into the chair to claim it as her own. She prefers the sun room to her perch in the powder room. I guess I don't blame her.

So let's recap:

Chair: $1
Curtain: $6
Paint: $4
Batting: $1.76
Cool Chair: Priceless

My Visit with Jillian Haupt

When I woke up this morning, the sun was shining, the birds were singing and the weather looked quite promising. But, alas, winter is hanging on here in Illinois and the rains and dark clouds and cold wind came without any mercy. The weather didn't dampen my excitement, though, because I was going to the Elmhurst Art in the Park show to find Jillian and her wonderful fairy dolls.

I arrived at the show with my friend, Gisele, and we began our search for Jillian. We found her tent, but where was Jillian?


Jillian's friends, Susan and Rosann, told us that Jillian had injured her foot, however she was on her way back from having it taken care of. About 15 minutes later Jillian arrived. Yay! I finally get to meet her! She is as lovely and friendly as can be and I loved every minute I spent visiting with her.


And talented? OMG! I wanted to buy everything she brought to the show, but I've had my eye on Miss Ella since I first saw her on Jillian's blog. Now Miss Ella lives at my house!

I would show you what else I bought, but it's a surprise. Stay tuned because very soon I am going to have a contest and the prize will be an original Jillian Haupt item. Soon, very soon, I promise.

It was so cold and it was raining and I felt so bad for all of the artists. I hope tomorrow will bring them better weather.

After Gisele and I left the show, we decided we were hungry. So off we drove to Oak Brook. Many of you will be able to guess where I wanted to go. Yep, Cheesecake Factory. We began our long lunch with our green vegetable, grilled artichoke.


It was a lot of work but it was oh so yummy. Especially that garlicky dip. My, oh my. By the time the entree came, I was so into my artichoke that I forgot to take a pic for you. It was Bang Bang Chicken and Stuffed Chicken Tortillas with Sweet Corn Cakes. Gisele and I shared both dishes. The entrees were fabulous but they weren't as important as dessert. Pistachio cheesecake. Indescribably yummy.

And the best part of lunch was this little gentleman who was sitting next to me and was quite the little flirt. Such a face! I just wanted to smoosh his little cheeks and bring him home with me and Miss Ella. His mom decided it was probably best if he went home with her. sigh.

Today was a good day. :)

This is the Last Time!

No more tagging me, okay? I'll play along this time, but I declare my blog a tag-free zone from now until Jesus comes to tag me. If He tags me, no worries, I'm home free!

Naughty Linda Jo has tagged me this time. I am supposed to list 6 weird things about myself, link to her, which I already do, and then tag three others. I love ya, Linda Jo, but I can't tag anyone else this time. Didn't Irma start this last epidemic of tagging? Naughty Irma!

Well, where do I begin. I can name 6 weird things about me, Cathy can name 6 more, Francie will be able to name 6 more different than the first 12, and so on and so forth. You get the picture. ;)

Okay, here goes:

1. I am very OCD about things being symmetrical. Sheets and bed covers must be even on both sides of the bed or I can't sleep. It takes me half an hour to get the tablecloth just right and when someone gets up from the table and pulls one side over so it isn't even anymore, I can't eat until I fix it. I straighten the pictures in my friends' homes, whether they want me to or not. I'm so distracted by crooked things that I can't even listen to them if I am looking at a crooked picture. I'm not as bad as Monk, but I'm getting close.

2. I can play 6 musical instruments. Big deal, huh? LOL!! No, one of them is not an orange wax Halloween harmonica (Remember those, Linda Jo?). Although, if you count that, it would be 7 musical instruments.

3. I read a lot of autopsies in my line of work and I once had to hire the wound ballistics expert that was used in the Eric & Lyle Menendez trial. (If you don't know who those boys are, you are younger than I thought). Did you know a lung can hold its form on the cutting board? And if you want to know what "wound ballistics" means, email me. I'll tell you. Eeeeeew!

4. I like to watch the movie, Signs, wearing a tin foil hat. Try it sometime, it's hysterical. Even my kids do it with me now. Ah....memories of dear old Mom. Won't that be a funny tale the family can share long after I'm gone?

5. Stranger than fiction brushes with fame: I was married to Kim Novak's nephew, I went out once with John Mellencamp's brother and my cousin was recently booted from American Idol. If you don't know who Kim Novak is, Google her. I'm not going to explain it. sigh.

6. My favorite movie of all time, okay second favorite movie because Franco Zeffirelli's "Jesus of Nazareth" is really my favorite-favorite, is Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Okay, that's enough now. You all know I'm, well, a little unusual at times. It just makes life more interesting. Who wants to be predictable? I like that I am predictably unpredictable.

Now, on to more interesting stuff:

Tomorrow is the Elmhurst Art in the Park show where the lovely Jillian Haupt will be exhibiting her work and I will be there bright and early. I have my eye on one of her new dolls. I hope it is still there when I get there. I will try to find some blog-worthy photo ops so I can share them with you.

Until next time......

Why I lLove My Job Sometimes

As some of you know, my job requires a lot of driving. I'm on the road for hours and hours every week. In my line of work, we call the hours we spend driving "windshield time".

Sometimes I stop along the way at a new antique shop or a new fabric store that I find in the different towns and cities I travel to. I call the time I spend in those places "Nobody Knows Where I'm At And They Will Never Know" time.

Today I saw the most wonderful place and just had to stop. When I saw the sign it just screamed my name. Christine!!!!! Come here!!!!!! Of course, I pulled in. I would like to share a picture of what I purchased at this new place. I'll be visiting them again the next time I'm out that way.

It was yummy!

Nobody knew where I was and they'll never find out. Unless you tell!

I Love This City

Where else can you go from being out in the country at a flea market on a Sunday and two days later take these great pics of the city, in the span of about 40 miles? It just blows my mind.

I had to go into Chicago today for my grown-up job and while I was there, perched high above the hustle and bustle below, I snapped these pics. Winter in Chicago is for the birds, but spring and summer are awesome. If you have never been here, you should try to visit at least once in your life.

Check out Lake Michigan, between the buildings at the end of the street!

You can see the John Hancock Building hiding behind another high rise below.

You can see the Sears Tower in the pic below, off in the distance (to the right of center).

Looking down from my perch, yes, ladies, I was outside, perched on the 23rd floor. Yikes!
This very old church is being rehabbed.

Well, that was today. Tomorrow I may be posting from St. Louis. I haven't heard for sure yet. For me, every day is an adventure. Not always a welcome adventure, but an adventure nonetheless.

Hope you are all having a wonderful week! I can't wait to finish my work this week and work on the pretties that I've been dreaming up.

Christine