From: Brandon


It was only 4 years ago that Tara and I sat in Tiger Stadium and watched a sub-par team struggle against a rising Tampa Bay Buccaneers but there are a few reasons why this particular game will stick with me.

This was my first time ever going to a pro football game. Just being in the stadium and not on the couch was an awesome experience. Second, the game was in Tiger Stadium instead of the Superdome. This was due to a little known storm named Hurricane Katrina. Lastly, this is where Ronde Barber (a Tampa Cornerback) almost hit Tara in the head with a football. He was throwing a game ball in the stands and by the time I knew what was happening the ball was whizzing past her head and she was ducking. (I still think she should have gotten my attention so I could have nabbed it or took one for the team). Either way we would have a game ball today.

That year the Saints ended the season 3-13. 2005 was a rough year all around. Now, on to the present.

The Saints are 12-0. Newscasters, analysts, reporters, and the like are now having to eat some humble pie. No longer can they say that this is just a fluke. That this team is consistently inconsistent. They are the real deal. They already clinched the division and is currently working on home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. With Minnesota losing this week it brings them that much closer, and if they do, they will be a force to be reckoned with.

In a couple of weeks Tara and I again will be going to watch a now rising Saints team playing the struggling Buccaneers in the Superdome. The game results should be different from 4 years ago.

At this point I realized I am sounding more like a wannabe sports writer than a blogger so on to other things.....my birthday gift from Tara!





This here is an all-in-one remote. Some may say "What's so great about an all-in-one remote". I say, "....but wait, there's more!!" This isn't your average everyday remote. I can fully program the remote to literally do pretty much everything I want it to do. I can turn on my TV, the XBox, the cable box, the surround system, set the TV and the surround system to the correct inputs, and set the volume all with one click of a button. Pretty awesome, huh?

From: Tara

Wow.  Time can really get away from you when you are not watching.  I knew it had been a while since Brandon and I had blogged, but it's been since Halloween!  So this is a pity blog, because we have been shamefully neglecting our little project.  So let's see....what to write about....

1.  I'm in pain.  I hate dentists.  But I love pain medication!  Not in an addicted give-it-to-me-now sort of way, though.  I simply don't know how people got through procedures and PAIN like this without modern medicine.  And I really have a new understanding for people who live with chronic pain.  To have to live with pain your whole life must be a horrible, terrible thing.  I know that this needed to be done, but it doesn't matter right now!!  I can't believe I paid someone to make me feel so horrible!  But there is a bright spot, other than the pain med.  My Mom sent me flowers!!

2.  Here is a random picture of a town called Weiner.  Eric and I were driving to surprise Philip for his birthday this past July, and came across Weiner, Arkansas.  And Weiner Security Storage!  I wonder what they hold in the Weiner Storage.....  We had no end of fun with Weiner.  (giggle giggle)




~Eleanor Roosevelt

From: Tara

Okay, so I know I've done three blogs in a row, but I have it on good authority that Brandon is thinking about blogging about his visit home (where he currently is now), so we should hear from him soon.

At any rate, HAPPY HALLOWEEN!


They say they change it every year, so I can't wait to go again. 




They had the main Haunted House, and two others called "Redneck Revengence" (which wasn't too scary) and "London Screams, After Midnight" (which had the giant snake).

Next year I want to try out the "Field of Screams with Maniac Maze" and the "Dark Terror-Tory Haunted Hayride".  We didn't really know how long any of the houses would take, but now we know for next year that we will easily have enough time to do everything.  They also had carnival food and a couple of Midway games, and a big outdoor projection screen playing old black and white scary movies. 

All in all, it was kind of cheezy, and a little creepy, but I love cheezy.  And since most of their profits go to charity, I didn't mind spending money on cheezy.  So thanks to Aaron and Amy for going with us.  We had a great time! 

From:  Tara

O, the tragedy!  Those of you who know my obsession will alas be alarmed when I tell the news:  My GT Express 101 Cooker has died!  I plugged it in, and....nothing.  Gone.

From: Tara

So even though there are technically about 7 or so hours left on the poll to the right, I think we can safely call in the jury foreman on this case.  Especially since Brandon had agreed to it before he wrote his blog, AND since we went Monday and bought the kennel.  (was there really any doubt?)  Brandon conceded as well, and even attempted to show Bruno that the kennel was not a bad place by putting himself into the kennel.  By the time I had grabbed the camera, Brandon had quickly weasled out of the cage, but I promise you that


Here are my last Bruno moments for this month.  The X-Box gave us the red ring of death, which is similar to the blue screen of death on a computer.  So Brandon, being ever the handy electronics fix-it guy he is, decided to see if he could fix it.  And he did!  But as you can see, he didn't do it alone.


Bruno told me that this work was for boy's only, and that I had to butt out.

That's it for Bruno.  I PROMISE that I will not blog about him for at least another month.  Of course, I'm only speaking for myself.  If Brandon blogs about it him, that's none of my doing.  Honest.  Yep.  All him.  Not me.  Remember that.

From Brandon:

From: Tara

Bruno.  Oh Bruno.  Sometimes my sweet little Cavalier is not so sweet.  Lately we have had seperation anxiety issues, and much to Brandon's dismay, I have decided that we need to start kenneling Bruno when we leave the house.  I think it will be much better for him and Brandon completely disagrees, and that is the impasse we have been at for quite some time now. 

My arguement is as follows:  Even though we have a strict routine that we stick to, we still sometimes end up with destruction.  Case in point, this week I was gone for only two hours and returned to this:

I was only gone for two hours. It's time to admit that he needs a kennel. The sooner we get one, the sooner I can train him with it. It will be large enough that he can move around easily. But what if this tree had fallen on him. And yes, I put the chair by the door, AND YES, I walked him for over 10 minutes before I left.

it looks like he is saying "i dont know what happened?

That's it.  That's all he said.  How can I reason with the two of them???  Bruno is very clearly a "daddy's boy" and that has kept him from the kennel so far.
 
That was my resume, by the way.  So I challenge Brandon to tell me, here on this blog in front of all of our friends and family to tell his side of the story.  Because my side is that Bruno needs to get a little older before he has so much freedom when we are not home, and a kennel would be like a safe bedroom for him to hang out in.  If we were to be gone for over four hours, I would take Bruno to doggy day care.  He loves it there, but it's not feasible to drop him off everytime we go out.  So now I will wait to hear what Brandon has to say. 

On a side note, here is a picture of Bruno's new friend Esther.



  She is a 7 month old Irish Wolfhound, and the sweetest thing!  But Bruno doesn't seem to notice or care about the difference in their size.

 

From: Brandon

Well, here it is…..drum roll please. My first blog post. Ta da!!! When Tara first told me she wanted to start a blog I thought, sounds good as long as I don’t have to write on it. Funny how things change. Anyhow, back to the thought at hand.

The flight is booked and I am ready for the last week of October. I will be off to Lake Charles. Woo hoo!! It’s crazy to think that it’s been 8 months since I’ve been home. A strange thing starts to happen when you move from a place that you thought didn’t have too many redeeming qualities. A place where you were born and raised and spend most of your life. You start to miss it. It’s like that saying “You can’t see the forest for the trees”. I get that now. I know, some might be thinking that I’m nuts and why the hell would you miss mosquitoes, hurricanes, brutal summers, love bugs, the lack of winter and the answer is, I don’t. I don’t miss those things at all. What I do miss is family, friends, the food, drive-thru daiquiris, the southern hospitality (I for one was a big skeptic on this one. I didn’t know it actually still existed until I moved up north). These are the things that trump the bad. These are the things that are important. So, in 2 and a half weeks I will be back home to soak up some of the good.

On a side note, the brutal summers down south are equal to the frigid winters of northern Indiana. Tara and I are on the downward spiral of good weather. The morning news was talking about possible flurries this weekend, blah. Snow is a fun and good until you have to drive in it or do any outside task for that matter. Changing the battery in my truck last winter in sleet and snow wasn’t fun for me. It does make us appreciate the spring though. To give you an idea this picture is from a town about 30 minutes north from where we live. This is a light post, right off the coast of Lake Michigan. I rest my case.

From: Tara
I just finished reading a wonderful book, and the ending was so moving, I feel compelled to share.  The book, "America: The Last Best Hope" was written by William J. Bennett, who served as Regan's Education Secretary.  The book, broken up into two volumes, is a fantastic narrative of our nation's history.  Both books are quite large, but give you a sense of our history like none I've ever read.  I highly recommend it to everyone, especially if you are a history buff.  You will not be disappointed. 

Bennett chose to end the second volume with the end of Regan's presidency, stating that not enough time has passed to "dispassionately describe the relevant history of the past two decades."  Fair enough.  But he concluded the epilogue of the novel with an excerpt from a Reagan speech dating back to 1974.  When I read this speech to Brandon, my darling husband had the same reaction as I did to the moving words of encouragement. 

It made us both very proud.  I encourage you to read it aloud, because it was more meaningful to me when I read it aloud to Brandon.

Regan said:

We are not a sick society.  A sick society could not produce the men that set foot on the moon, or who are now circling the earth above us in the Skylab.  A sick society bereft of morality and courage did not produce the men who went through those years of torture and captivity in Vietnam.  Where did we find such men?  They are typical of this land as the Founding Fathers were typical.  We found them in our streets, in the offices, the shops and the working places of our country and on the farms.  

We cannot escape our destiny, nor should we try to do so.  The leadership of the free world was thrust upon us two centuries ago in that little hall in Philadelphia.  In the days following World War II, when the economic strength and power of America was all that stood between the world and the return to the dark ages, Pope Pius XII said, "The American people have a great genius for splendid and unselfish actions.  Into the hands of America God has placed the destinies of an afflicted mankind."

We are, indeed, and we are today, the last best hope of man on earth.     

The meaning is as relevant today as it was in 1974. There are times when we doubt our nation, and doubt our leaders, and doubt ourselves. And today, the day after the anniversary of an act designed by those who wish to destroy the American ideal, I felt these words to be very moving and inspiring. I wish I could thank the author for sharing them with me.  It reminds me of why millions of people around the world still dream of coming to America in the hopes of a better future, despite all the negativity our country faces, despite the critisism of many other countries.  We are still the last best hope. 

From: Tara

After reading the following article, I felt compelled to ressurect a phrase by my friend Eric. He rightly said that there are many people in this world who need a reality check. The guy from this article is one of them. But really, the title says it all.


Fellow Robbers: (snickering) Yeah, man, absolutely. We'll hold your loot for you while you go.

Idiot-boy: Gee, thanks guys! You're the best!

Even the police sergent said "We are not exactly sure what he was thinking at the time."  And so, to use Eric's quote:  Idiot-boy, this has been your reality check.  Don't spend it all in one place.

From: Tara

I love traveling, and have been to a few great places. Galveston, San Antonio, and Key West are some of my favorites that instantly come to mind. Even St. Louis ranks on the list, by day. By night, no thanks, too many crazies, and not at all like the regular kind of crazy you find in New Orleans.

Up until about a year ago, I would have said my favorite city to visit was Galveston. I love the water, I love the history, and I adore the people and the shopping and the sights. I love Moody Gardens, and Schlitterban … oh well, the list goes on and on.

However, slowly but surely, a change is occurring. Galveston is still one of my absolute favorite places to be, especially with friends, but the more I go into Chicago, the more I love it.
I love how easy it is to get to by train from our apartment. The train stop is literally about ten minutes from our front door. It’s WONDERFUL to have someone else deal with the traffic, the parking, the hassle of maneuvering around stupid people who never quite learned the meaning of GO at a green light. I wish places back South had commuter trains like this one. Imagine living in Lake Charles, but still being able to commute to Lafayette in only about 45 minutes as a passenger! And have train stops at convenient walking distance to wherever you need to go. Of course, my dear friend Eric answered this question for me. He said that the South did in fact have trains until a man named Sherman screwed them all up about a hundred years ago. Sigh. Damn Yankees!

I also love the museums. The Art Institute is a must for anyone, not just art addicts. Brandon and I once spent a day just in the museum. I could go back again and again and again. When you have such masterpieces as American Gothic, the Cy Twombly exhibits, Monet's, Georgia O'Keefe, and works dating back to the time of the Crusades. Some of our favorites are the miniature rooms in the Thorne Exhibit.



The Field Museum is the home of Sue, one of the largest T-Rex's ever discovered intact, as well as having numerous stuffed animals, including the two man-eating lions from movie "The Ghost and the Darkness", and many natural history exhibits.

I'm a nerd, I know.

The Aquarium, the Planetarium, the Science and Industry museum...all incredible.

And I love the view from the Willis Tower, formerly known by her maiden name, the Sears Tower. The coolest feature of the Tower is the Ledge, a clear plastic box that you can step out onto and feel as if you are going to plummet into the river and street below. Seriously not for people with a fear of heights. But once you get past that first step, it's pretty neat. Although I will admit that my toes kept clinching as though searching for something to hang on to! My very brave Brandon had no problems whatsoever, and wants to go back when he can lay down completely on the floor of the ledge and look down. Did I mention it's 1450 feet in the air and is the tallest building in the Northern Hemisphere!!


Then you have Navy Pier, and Grant Park, and the Big Bean, a sculpture who's actual name is Cloud Gate. So, to friends and family who have not yet come to see me. Come and see me! But come either before or after the winter puts this on Lake Michigan


and this in our backyard.

Unless that's what you want to see and play in. In which case, PARTY at the LANDRY's for a Happy New YEAR!

So for our first blog, it simply has to be about Bruno. Bruno is our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. He is about 15 months old. And yes, I'm biased in saying he is the cutest puppy on the block, but frankly, he is the cutest puppy on the block. I know this, because people in the neighborhood do not know my name. I'm known simply as "Bruno's Mom." I was called this recently when I was searching in a neighbor's yard for a lost cat. The next door neighbor saw me walking around the yard and came to investigate. And she said, and I quote, "Oh, you're Bruno's mom, aren't you?" (The cat was found safe and sound, btw)

Everyday Bruno does something to make us laugh. Literally every day. One day I was folding laundry in the bedroom, and realized Bruno had been quiet for a long time. Just like a child, I knew something had happened if he wasn't with me AND was quiet. Sure enough....
Notice the blue, completely ignored, dog toy next to him.
He's such a sweet little guy, and so helpful around the house. Here, he and Brandon are helping with the laundry.