Weekend recap

First and foremost, Happy Monday and Happy Opening Day!!!!

Today I am linking up with B Loved Boston for her weekend recap link up. I hope you'll pop over and read some of those blogs too!

To me the weekend starts when I leave work on Friday.

So... Friday night we went to Ruby Tuesday's for a little belated birthday dinner.

Saturday, the weather was...well, Midwestern!!! We went to Chicago for the day and drove through a few white outs with a bitingly cold wind behind them. (Thanks, Canada...) BUT we had a good lunch, a fairly easy drive and stopped at Woodfield Mall for a couple of hours.

Our first stop was at Berland's House of Tools...

The boys enjoy it!

 We might get a little bored...

and try to amuse ourselves.

Then, on to the city for lunch!

You might have seen it on Diners, Drive Ins & Dives. It doesn't look like much from the outside and we drove past it the first time without seeing it. It was good!

 

 

Then through the blowing snow to the mall:

I got some macaroon from Godiva (SOOOO good!)

 Little Miss got new bedding. 

Before:

 After:

Yesterday (Sunday), we laid pretty low. The weather was sunny, windy and 70. My Mr. and Young Mr. went to work for about an hour. I got some laundry done, worked on our taxes and watched the ACMs.

I got two sets of photos out to clients this weekend and feel good about them.

One was for a 40th surprise party I shot a couple weeks ago:

and another of this sweet pea:

 Taxes are done and it didn't turn out as bad as I was stressing about!

The ACMs I found to be pretty dull, the sound was terrible and the one bright spot for me was this commercial that was on during them:

How was your weekend?

Friday Letters

TGIF!!!!!

Dear Friday,

Dear Mother Nature, You need to get yourself together. It's spring! How about some springtime weather?

Dear Kenny, I am really enjoying your new song. (Have a listen...)

Dear Cubbies, I'm looking for you in the next couple of days. Woot woot!!!!

Dear Readers, Thank you for stopping by. I love your comments.

Dear Bloggers, I am really enjoying reading your blogs. Thank you for the great content and fun!

Have a great Friday and a wonderful weekend!!!!

Taking Stock

Today, on the 42nd anniversary of my entrance to this world, I am "taking stock" of life.


Making:  I have many projects going (per the norm) right now. A couple of them: I am still working on a couple of scrapbooks; knitting a sock
Cooking: As little as possible - I'm not a good cook and I HATE our kitchen!
Drinking: Water and coffee

Reading: Sister Dear by Laura McNeill and hoping to dig into my stack of books on my nightstand
Wanting: Spring-like weather
Playing:  Photographer ;)

Listening: Podcasts - I'm really liking Thrilling Adventure Hour; Satellite Sisters and Serial
Wishing:  For another healthy year (and maybe a million dollars...)

Enjoying:  My kids making me laugh - even when they are hassling me
Liking:  Walks with my Mister, baseball starts in a few more days and the phone calls/emails I am getting for photography inquiries
Hoping:  We can find a new car this year



Needing:  I have what I need - love; family; friends; shelter; food
Thinking:  I wonder what my 42nd year will bring...

Feeling:  Content with life 

 

What about you? I'd love to hear what you are "taking stock" of.

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Happy Hump Day!

I have decided to keep the WILW tradition going...

This week, I am loving:

*My Mr. and our kids - even when they pick on me, they still keep me smiling (most of the time)

*MLB regular season starts in 4 days!

*Blogs! There are SO many fantastic blogs out there [check out my 'Other Blogs You Should be Reading' tab - pick a few and go read them. (Don't forget to leave a comment...)

*My chats with Little Miss on the way to Grandma's house this week - she's on spring break

*I know what a macaroon is. This has been the running joke in our house this week

*Reading a good book!

*Introducing Little Miss to the movie, Uncle Buck and her cracking up, leading to her quoting it for weeks on end.

*10K step a day challenge we have at work right now - it has really made me get up and move around a lot more.

What are YOU loving this week?!

Travel Tuesday, Days 3 & 4

Onward with our Universal Studios adventure

Day 3-We started our day with riding the Mummy roller coaster (after we had eaten a GIANT doughnut [as in it could feed 3-4 people giant]). I ended up almost getting sick so we cooled it for a while and wandered around.  Then off to Simpsons Land...

Waiting to ride The Simpsons Ride

 She got pulled out of the crowd to join in the Minions/Despicable Me parade. She had a blast!

The Mr. decided he wanted to go back to the room and lay down for a while. I stayed with the kids at the park and checked out the Curious George area of the park

When the Mr. returned, we had lunch at the Leaky Cauldron - yum!

We headed to Seuss Landing after lunch. They made an announcement over the PA while we were waiting in line to wish Sara a happy birthday - the entire station yelled it. She was pretty embarrassed - it was fantastic!

We got some snacks, rode a few more rides then went back to the hotel. The movie that night was Despicable Me, so we found chairs and relaxed.

*********************************

Day 4-We went to the park at opening and got in line to ride Minions. We waited an hour (a ride not worth our wait). Grabbed a late breakfast then decided since the park was packed, we would walk over to check out the Hard Rock Hotel.

We played a round of mini golf and had a great time doing that.

Mr. and Young Mr. went to see Deadpool while Little Miss and I went back to the hotel to play in the pool and relax.

We went back to the park for the evening (no one was at Islands of Adventure) so we watched the Harry Potter little stage shows - the Frog Chorus and Triwizard Spirit Rally. Little Miss was in heaven having her picture taken with both groups.

 We wrapped our evening with a ride on Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and a leisurely walk back to the hotel.

Stay tuned for further recap and photos...

Weekend

This past weekend flew by - again! I took zero photos of ANYTHING! Sorry....


Saturday, I woke up with a killer headache. I popped a couple of Aleve and made it through my day at the library. It was in the mid-50s most of the day. My Mr. & I took a long walk after work, it seemed to help clear my head a little.  Then it was pizza for dinner.


Yesterday was a HAPPY EASTER day! It started out cloudy but relatively warm. We had brunch with my in-laws at a local restaurant. Then we watched the last Hunger Games movie with Little Miss (meh...). Then I edited some photos, read a book, napped and did as little as possible the rest of the day.


Oh, and I had a mini-freak out about starting my PPA (Professional Photographers Association) certification process.... There is SO much to learn and know! Not sure if this "old dog" can learn "new tricks" for this venture.


How was your weekend?


Linking up with B Loved Boston today

I've got the itch....

The baseball itch!!!!!!!!

I am dying for the regular season to start (less than a week!).

I haven't seen any spring training games. It is killing me!!!! I catch little snippets of Cubs news here & there.

In our house, baseball is still in the background because hockey is still on. BUT - sorry boys, Sunday afternoon the TV is mine!

Do you follow baseball?

Who is "your" team?

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Thanks for stopping by! It's another edition of Wednesday love.


*Walks with my husband
*The weather being nice enough for parking lot lunches
*My family making me laugh
*Email updates from my siblings
*Less time on Facebook
*Great advance reads on my nightstand & some I have finished (reviews to come...)
*Photo shoots
*The flowers coming up
*More counter space when a small appliance dies
*Blog reading - make sure you check out my list of blogs you should be reading (above)


What are YOU loving this week?

Universal Studios, Days 1 & 2

We went to Universal in mid-February to FINALLY make it to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.


Day 1 - We left Chicago at 10 degrees and landed in Orlando to a sunny, windy mid-50s day. It was jacket weather but nice!


Our hotel - Cabana Bay. We stayed in a suite. The hotel was about a 15 minute meandering walk to the park entrance, so we did a lot of walking back and forth.

We did some shopping and snooped around in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade.

Entering Diagon Alley:

Sara cried when she saw it for the first time. She was SO excited!!!!

We pooped out early that evening because we'd been up since about 3 a.m.

Day 2 - We headed to the parks about mid-morning, rode some rides; ate; rode some more rides; took an afternoon nap; went back to the parks for the evening

And this little piece of "flare" was magical...we got bumped to the front of a few lines; lots of people wished her happy birthday. She had a pretty great day!

 We had lunch at Breadbox Sandwich Company. Good food!!!!

Adventure recap to continue...

Happy March!

WOW - February flew right by!


How was your weekend? Mine was super quick. I worked at the library on Saturday. Sunday we ran some errands and watched the Oscars (lots of surprises, in my opinion!). I found a cute spring/summer dress at Goodwill. Tis the season for skirt and dress shopping - yea!


Today would have been my Grandpa's 92nd birthday. Happy birthday, Grandpa!


How was your weekend?

TGIF!

FINALLY!
Thank you to all of you who have left a comment here or sent me an email the past couple of weeks. I truly appreciate you stopping by and keeping in touch!


It has been a crap-tastic week at work. I am beyond frustrated and am blaming the full moon that was Monday night! My coming weekend will be short, as I have to work at the library tomorrow. So Sunday, I'm hoping for a day of nothing since I will have worked 7 days in a row.


I am going to encourage you to stop by my "Blogs You Should be Reading" tab, above. There are some fun and fantastic blogs there!

That's about all I have for today. What are you up to this weekend?

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

In keeping with the Wednesday blogging tradition, welcome to another

WHAT I'M LOVING WEDNESDAY!!!!!!!!

*We had a nice spring-like weekend, last weekend.
*Good books
*A nice movie
*Surprise friendly emails
*Baseball is back!
*Blogging friends
*My cousin's HS basketball team going to the state championship this weekend (also my HS alma mater)
*Making dinner that no one in my family wrinkles their nose at
*A new fitness challenge at work


What are YOU loving this week?

Literary Junkies

Good Tuesday morning!

I am jumping into the February Literary Junkies link up

I did not read the book selection this month, Swans of Fifth Avenue - but am going to join in anyway.


This month's questions:

1. What are you reading right now? Tell us about it. Currently Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. At my daughter's encouragement, I am going to read the last two books of the series.

2. Have you ever read a book that made you want to immediately travel to that destination? YES! I have read a couple of books set in Italy. It always makes me want to jump on a plane.

3. What is your ideal reading spot? (Ex. Reading nook in a library, in bed, in a hammock on the beach, etc)  I can read just about anywhere. I like my rocker in the family room; outside in the sun; put a book in my hands and I'm good.

4. If you wrote a memoir, what would the title be?  This Crazy Life

5. One of our great literary giants has recently passed, author of To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee. Did you read the book? Thoughts/opinions. What about Go Set a Watchman? (Surprisingly enough, our February Book Club read was all about Truman Capote (The Swans of Fifth Avenue) who was childhood best friends with Harper Lee!)  Yes I have read Mockingbird several times - I love it! I have also read Go Set a Watchman - didn't like it as much but still enjoyed it.




Feel free to answer these questions on your blog. March's Junkies selection is Seven Letters from Paris.

Happy Monday!

I hope you had a good weekend. It went WAY too fast for me.
Saturday was a beautiful day here - sunny, 60. It felt like a springtime tease. I spent a lot of time finishing vacation laundry, cleaning and organizing.
We went grocery shopping on Saturday evening (always an adventure) and rented The Intern (with Anne Hathaway & Robert DeNiro) - we really enjoyed it!
I worked at the library yesterday and started working on some photography stuff.


As a photography reminder...if you have/know a senior, I am booking spring photos for them right now. I am also booking for just about anything else right now. Email me (photosbyjenmcgee@gmail.com) for dates or details.


How was your weekend?

Hello Friday!

For a short week, it's been a long one!


I'm sorry for not blogging more. February has been a crazy one! *Today is Little Miss's 12th birthday! 
*We are back from vacation (recap to come).
*We took our car shopping to a different level (the Auto Show).
*Spring training is ON!
*Putting some photography promos out there and getting some bites for this spring.


Looking forward to a nice weekend! What do you have planned?

Friday Eve

It's what got me out of bed this morning - tomorrow is Friday!

Over on my photography blog today, I posted my Bucket List for the year. I hope to stay really busy over there and book lots of shoots. (Hold on for shameless self-promotion....)  If you know anyone in the northern Illinois/southern Wisconsin area who needs/wants a photographer (for any reason), I'd love to talk to them!
My email is: photosbyjenmcgee@gmail.com
My photography Facebook is here: Photos by Jen McGee
My photography Pinterest is here: Photos by Jen McGee


Other than that, I have a couple knitting projects I have neglected all week. I need a good TV viewing night so I can just sit, watch and knit.


Not too much planned for the weekend. I work on Saturday; Sunday will be housework and if the weather cooperates, maybe a photo walkabout.


Have a great Thursday!

Ha!

I love laughter!

I love to laugh!

I love listening to others laugh!

When I hear a laugh - I just have to smile.

Keep laughing my friends!

Happy Monday!

Welcome back to the "work week". For those of you on the East Coast, I hope you weathered Jonas ok. We had a decent January weekend here in Illinois. There are birds everywhere (which is unusual for January) - I woke up to birds outside my bedroom window this weekend.


Our weekend wasn't SUPER exciting - we did some shopping and errands on Saturday. Yesterday, we all worked.


The Mr. had a gift card to Berland's House of Tools so we went there on Saturday. He & Young Mr. walked around and drooled for about 1 1/2 hours.


We came across this display while we were waiting for them...and Little Miss started dying laughing. 'It says "Tough Guy" and he's wearing a lei.' So she had to pose with "Tough Guy"

 A boy's wonderland

And then the kids found this hard hat and each had to pose with it on. Who wore it better?

Then on to lunch at Chik-Fil-A. And further shopping. I went to Clothes Mentor - and scored!

That's right: a pair jeans; a pair of khaki pants; 2 skirts; 3 shirts and a coat for $60. Yet another step toward recreating my closet.

Then to Barnes & Noble (oh how I miss our B & N!). And I made this haul...Little Miss also made a pretty good haul too!

We stopped at the violin shop to get Little Miss some resin - she found it in purple and was ecstatic! She also found some sheet music and will probably start working on that soon.

Yesterday, just work at the library for me and Mr. and Young Mr. worked at customer's house on redoing a bathroom.

How was your weekend? What did you do?

Friday Fun

For those of you affected by Winter Storm Jonas...

I hope you stocked up!

Be SAFE!!!!!

My kids say this is going to be my Mr. & I. And I say - YES, probably! (He does have a personal vendetta against squirrels)

Have a great Friday and a wonderful weekend.

Book Review - Mr. Monk & the Blue Flu

I gave this 4 stars!

Mr. Monk has an obsessive disorder. He is a member of the San Francisco police department. When the SFPD "calls in sick" - Mr. Monk steps in to help solve the case of a serial killer.

This book has lots of humor, a fun mystery and action story.

I haven't watched the show but LOVED the book. I can't wait to read more of them.

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Happy Wednesday, my friends! I hope your week is going well. Another Wednesday, another What I'm Loving segment.


*Baseball is less than a month away!
*My husband keeping me calm the past few days
*We might shake this bitter cold weather
*Sunshine (even when it's cold)
*The support & encouragement my photography has gotten the past couple of weeks
*A good book (I am enjoying the sound of the ARCs I've been receiving - now to get reading...)
*Texts and emails from family and friends
*Blog reading (you bloggers are awesome!)


What are YOU loving this week?

The weekend is over

It's Tuesday...I think. 


It was a busy weekend! Between getting ready at the library for the grand opening yesterday; housework; grocery shopping; a little relaxing time - the weekend flew by. Oh PS - - - the work I had hoped to get done cleaning up my craft corner...didn't happen. It was TOO cold to be out there for very long.


The library grand opening yesterday was good. It was a FRIGID day (high of about 3F) but we had a good turnout and there was foot traffic until about 8 p.m. I feel fortunate to work in that wonderful building. When the second phase (remodeling the old part of the building) is done, it should be absolutely fantastic!


We watched a couple of movies this weekend. The Martian - I loved the book when I read it last summer! The movie did not disappoint!
Hotel Transylvania 2 - it was ok. Cute but a little too forced with some of the humor.


I am still working on knitting a baby blanket. And I "might" have started a sock over the weekend...


How was your weekend?

Yes...

And shout out if you agree...

A word on blogging

9 1/2 years ago, I began this little old spot of mine.

It has changed a lot on that time!

I have changed a lot in that time!

I have found some wonderful bloggers and enjoyed their blogs. I feel like I have come to know them very well - we could sit down with a drink and just chat away. I love that feeling!

I took a mini-hiatus from blogging at the end of last year. Photography was busy; I was busy with my family; and I needed to step away to clear my mind of it. I'm glad I did! I realized I don't care if anyone reads it - I like to write about what I want, when I want to.

I love reading others' blogs! (psst - you should check some of my favorites out under the "Other Blogs You Should be Reading" tab, above) There are some incredibly talented bloggers and storytellers out there - I admire you all. Thank you for sharing your lives, activities, fashions and projects. You inspire me to jump back in and post what I want to.

So if you are inspired, I say - blog what you want.

PS: If your blog isn't in the tab above, leave a link in the comments below and I will get it added!

Hello Friday!

Oh has it been a LONG week!!!! I fought (and lost) a migraine yesterday. It's better today but still aching a little.


Welcome to some Friday ramblings...
It feels good to be back blogging (writing and reading) again.


I saw this and it just cracked me up.

The Cubs Convention is this weekend - I will live vicariously and pretend that I'm there. BUT - it means baseball is just a month away....


I started cleaning up my craft corner last weekend - I didn't get very far.(This is the before)  It's supposed to be a high of 3F on Sunday, so I can see some more work getting done on this...I hope!

Our library reopens on Monday after completing a huge expansion-I will be photographing the Grand Opening. It should be fun, we've been working hard to get it all ready.


Wishing you a great Friday and wonderful weekend.

Treasures from the Shelves, Vol. 1

I am introducing a new "series" on my blog.

I am going to use my quality time at the library for some entertainment purposes too. Welcome to:

TREASURES FROM THE SHELVES! 

I plan to share some of the fun titles/books I find on the library shelves.

I found these last week and they both cracked me up:

Yes - this book is about "the deed". And apparently, we have about 6 other books about dinosaur sex. HUH???!!!!

That's right - just buy your vehicle of choice and you can build your own time machine.

Check out your local library and just peruse one shelf, I bet you can find some fun titles.

Until next time....




PS: I am linking up with Sincerely, Paula for the No Rules Weekend Blog Party. Stop by and check out some blogs!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I think the link up I did for this has fizzled out but I will continue to post it on my blog anyway. (Who doesn't want/need some positive stuff in their life!?)

So - here's what I'm loving right now:

*A warm house (it's been in the single digits since Sunday)

*A car that starts (knocking on wood here...)

*Celebrating my Mr's birthday yesterday (dinner out and dessert with some friends)

*Our new couch (SUPER comfy)

*Good books (I've read a couple good ones lately...and Netgalley has sent me a few ARCs that I'm looking forward to reading)

*Busy knitting needles (working on a baby blanket and have a few more small projects cued up to start soon)

*Powerball being a $1.4 billion jackpot - WHAT?!  (I would settle for a million...)

*Baseball is right around the corner!!!!

*Some photo shoots on the horizon

What are YOU loving???


PS: Tomorrow I am introducing a new blog series here....stay tuned!

Show Us Your Books - December

Today I'm linking up with Steph and Jana for:

This link up happens the second Tuesday of every month.

The next one is Tuesday, February 9, 2016. 

My December Reads (my reading was a little light due to vacation and the holidays):

What the Lady Wants by Renee Rosen. I gave it 4 stars. The story of Marshall Field's rise and his love affairs. There was a lot of interesting Chicago history in this book.

The Art Forger by Barbara A. Shapiro. I gave this 3 stars. This is the story of Claire Roth and the deal she makes to forge a painting in exchange for her own art show. It was ok but I struggled to hold my interest with this one.

The First Ladies by Feather Schwartz Foster. I gave this 3 stars. There were some interesting tidbits on several of the First Ladies of the United States. If you want a quick read - this would be a pretty good pick up.

What did you read?

Please make sure you stop by Steph and Jana's blogs.


PS: You can find me at Goodreads here: Jen

TGIF!

Happy FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!

It's the first full week I've worked in a few weeks. Man, it's been a long one!

Happy Birthday to Elvis.  ;)

We don't have any big plans for the weekend.

*Housework and laundry (of course)

*Photo editing

*Start organizing and cleaning my crafty corner

*Reading and knitting

We may see a movie... It's a fly by the seat of our pants kind of weekend.

What are you up to this weekend?

Any good movie recommendations?

Welcome 2016!

I feel ready for you! I am hoping for a busy photography year. We also hope to end our search for a new car successfully. (We've been looking for over a year...) We also hope to move some time this year (this one is the biggest hope...)


I have already started working toward my goal of updating my wardrobe. You should check your area to see if there is a Clothes Mentor near you. They have wonderful clothes at very reasonable prices (and frequent sales). I have also recently found ThredUp and have been perusing there with plans to purchase some clothes.


I started my first book of 2016 - The Cuckoo's Calling. I am about halfway through it and am really enjoying it! My to read list keeps growing...


I hope your new year has started out well. Thanks for stopping by!

Happy New Year!

Wishing you and yours a happy, healthy 2016!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cheers to 2015!

2015 was a busy year for us. My husband's business kept him very busy. We did some traveling. I launched my photography biz and it kept me pretty busy.

I look forward to 2016! I hope my business continues to grow.

I have a few goals for the new year:

Photograph at least 3 shoots/month

Improve/update my wardrobe

Do a more "nice" things for myself

Read 50 books

Exercise 3 times/week

Wishing you a Happy New Year!!!!

Christmas Week

Christmas is a week away! WOW!!!!!

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday.

20 Questions

Rachel over at This Italian Family posted a 20 questions post a little while ago. I will take this idea from her. Thank you, Rachel!


1. Favorite Food  Chocolate (especially Snickers and Milky Way bars); I enjoy a good sandwich or pizza


2. Flip Flops or High Heels I would have to say flip flops, BUT I do like wearing heels now and then


3. Favorite Place to Shop for Yourself  Goodwill, Clothes Mentor and Kohls


4. Standard Coffee Order  Either black with a cream or a white chocolate mocha (depends on my mood)


5. Road Trip Must Have Snack Pretzels and Twizzlers


6. DIY or Hire Out I am married to a professional handyman - if it's hired out, there's a BIG problem!


7. 5 Favorite TV Shows Ooooo - tough one!   Friends; Chicago Fire; Outlander; Survivor and Modern Family


8. Favorite Book  One book?! I like too many of them to be able to pick just one.


9. Favorite Form of Exercise Walking


10. How tall are you? 5'5"


11. Do you try something new at restaurants or stick to favorites? I like to try new things.


12. One make up item you can't live without Eye shadow


13. What's on your nightstand? A lamp; alarm clock; a stack of books to be read and chapstick


14. What is one thing motherhood has taught you? Expect the unexpected; "don't tell mom" moments that get shared with mom usually cause more grey hair


15. Music that reminds you of high school Anything from the 80s and early 90s


16. If you could live anywhere besides your current location, where would it be? San Francisco; I left my heart there when we visited in 2007 and I can't wait to go back!


17. Tell us something we might not know I'm a pretty open book. If you want to know something - ask!


18. Website you browse/read besides blogs Amazon; several photography sites


19. Morning person or night owl Morning person


20. What's your best feature? Listening. I listen to a lot of people about a lot of things.




Feel free to share this on your blog. Are we similar/different?

Season's Greetings!

I hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season so far! It's amazing how fast this year has flown by.


I read quite a few books this year (I know my reviews are lacking here...). I got a few things crocheted and I have hopes of completing a few more projects this winter.


My photography started to take off this year. I love it and hope that 2016 will continue grow my business.


I'm sorry I have neglected my blog. One of my goals for next year is to blog at least twice a week.


Here's wishing you and yours a healthy, joyful holiday season!