Tag: neighborhoods

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House Envy

Last night, I woke up around midnight. No kids were crying out for me; they were snoring soundly in their beds. Why had I woken up? The wind was howling outside, and then…I noticed a flipflipflipppp sound. A small section of the plastic Ed put up on the windows to help insulate our house had come loose, and was making this most annoying sound.

“Are you awake?” I whispered softly to Ed. No answer. I got up to see what I could do. The double-stick tape had peeled off, and wasn’t sticky anymore. I wanted to rip the whole thing off, but didn’t want to wake anyone. I tucked the offending piece of plastic in, and went back to bed. That stopped the flipipipip. Just as I was about to fall back into dreamland, the wind blew hard. FLIPIPIPIPPPP!! ARGH! I tried to tune it out, and went back to sleep. We just can’t afford new windows right now, and the plastic will have to do until spring. Then…watch out! Let ‘er rip!

My neighbor was over the other day, and I was talking about a beautiful house I had just been to for a playdate. So then we began comparing our houses. I love her kitchen cabinets (they are not falling apart) and her gas fireplace. (No matter what he tries, Ed smokes us out when he starts a fire in our fireplace. We have learned to get the fire going BEFORE company comes over.) Even though our houses are about the same age, her house has been redecorated beautifully. She loves our bay window, which really opens up our living room. We also have bedrooms on the top level; the bedrooms in her house are on the same level as the kitchen and dining room, so she’s afraid she’ll make too much noise the kitchen while her baby is sleeping. I want a laundry room on the main level, she wants bigger rooms. *sigh* The grass is always greener on the other side. Talking with her made me appreciate what I do have, though.

Speaking of grass, we both love our backyards. Their yard faces a field behind a school, and although we have a backyard neighbor, they live on a cul-de-sac. Their house is over to the side, and we just see their beautiful big yard behind our yard.

We also have a nice breakfast nook in our kitchen. We spend a lot of time in our kitchen, crummy cabinets and all. Someday, though….

What would you change about your house? What do you love about your house? Tell me; I want to know!

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We, the People of Illinois, Are Confused

No, we’re not confused that Gov. Blagojevich was arrested. I’m sure we’re not even surprised. The last poll of approval that I read about had him at 13%. THIRTEEN PERCENT of the people of Illinois approved of our governor. And this was before he was arrested? How did he ever get re-elected?

This is why we’re confused. At the beginning of November, our little part of Illinois was feeling rather good about itself. You see, we were named one of the best places to raise kids, according to BusinessWeek. Mount Prospect “is a middle-class community with low crime, affordable homes, award-winning schools, ethnic restaurants, a major regional mall, and a small-town charm that makes the big city less than an hour away seem much farther away.” We were praised for our neighborliness, such as sharing generators during power outages and bringing meals to neighbors in need. Ed and I love our neighborhood. We chose our house because we have a great backyard and we can walk to the playground and the elementary school. We love the diversity our neighborhood offers; we’ve eaten Filipino foods at our neighbor’s birthday parties, and English is not always the primary language spoken at the park. Not only that, but President Elect Obama is from Illinois. And he’s the cat’s pajamas, don’t ya know?

‘”If it isn’t the most corrupt state in the United States, it’s certainly one hell of a competitor,” said Robert Grant, special agent in charge of Chicago’s FBI office.’ reported the Chicago Tribune yesterday. Wow. Is Gov. Blagojevich the new Al Capone? I’m pretty sure Capone was a lot smarter.

That’s what we get for bragging. We puffed ourselves up, convinced ourselves that this really is the best place to live and raise our kids. And now, I’m embarrassed to be from Illinois.

But wait; our neck of the woods really is rather nice. Our neighbors haven’t changed, and we’re still walking distance from the playground. We have a fresh layer of snow on the ground, which makes everything look clean. Unlike our government seems to be. With this arrest and subsequent charges, we can only hope that Illinois soon does become an even better place to raise kids.