Seems like it was only yesterday that my little family was enjoying the Beijing Olympics 2008 Opening Ceremonies over a Dinner of Olympic Proportions. Well, time flies when you’re having fun, kids. After watching hour upon hour of excitement: one fantastic swimmer getting a record 8 golds, beach volleyball, a Redeem Team who won more than the game, a cute-as-a-button powerhouse American gymnast (I’m currently trying to find one of her on Amazon because my sister would like to have one to carry in her pocket), a strikingly beautiful Russian-American gymnast with a gold medal pedigree (and now a couple of her own), a Gold-medal Diving Australian guy, a 41-year-old…
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The Best Thing Ever When You’re At Home For Breakfast, Eatin’ Sausage and Syrupy Things
The other day I mentioned that our mall Dippin’ Dots has gone the way of so many Orange Julius mall locations (CLOSED!). After thinking about it, I suppose that Orange Julius was not ever in every single mall in the country; rather, I probably thought that because there was one in each of the few malls I frequented when I was a kid/teen. (Which weren’t many, actually; I’m pretty certain that a mall as we know it today was a pretty new thing in the ’70s anyway! My first mall? Lincoln Mall in Matteson, Illinois: opened in 1973!) My mention of Orange Julius locations being fewer and far between sent…
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A Dinner of Olympic Proportions
I am a diehard Olympic fan. I love the drama. I love the stories about the athletes, and I love the fanfare. I was overjoyed when, years ago, it was decided that they would make an adjustment so that we only had to wait two years between Winter and Summer Olympics, instead of waiting four years and having them both in the same year like the olden days. (1992 was the last year in which both Summer and Winter Olympics were held the same year.) In the Winter Olympics, my all-time favorite athletes were Grinkov and Gordeeva (I read her book “My Sergei”: WHAT a love story!), and I rooted…
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Chicago…My Kind of Town (Part 2)
Oh, hi there. Welcome to Part 2 of Melisa’s Excellent Adventure. What? You didn’t read Part 1? Well, slow down Mister. You’ve got to do that first. Click here. Okay, now you’re caught up. On to Part 2… After the CAF River Cruise, I headed across the Michigan Avenue bridge to the Tribune Tower. I was on my way to the McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum. As I approached the building, I saw something that caught my eye. The outside walls of the building were dotted with elements of different shapes and colors. Now, I have passed this building countless times on countless trips downtown over the years and never noticed…
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Chicago…My Kind of Town (Part 1)
If you follow me on Twitter (you DID know that I’m on Twitter, right? It’s just a hop, skip, and a jump from where your eyes are right now. Look at the left-hand column of this page. NO: Your other left! Ah, there it is.), you had an inkling yesterday that I was in the city. I have so much to share that I’m going to have to split it up into 3 posts! And by the way, I really want to put mass quantities of hyperlinks into these posts so you can do some more reading, but I’m not going to because it takes lots of time to type…
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Oh, To Be Free To Eat What We Want…
Before you read this post, I have to issue a few disclaimers for you to consider. If you:1. are grossed out by photographs of raw ground beef2. have any problem with people who eat beef3. don’t care to learn a new recipe …please don’t read any further. It’ll be a waste of your time. Also, I can not be held responsible in any way if:1. by reading this post, your cholesterol level increases by more than fifty points2. by reading this post, you gain about ten pounds3. you are feeling a little jealous of my family’s mad cooking skills.Are we ready now? Good. If you’re still with me, read on!…
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This One’s For My Chi-town Peeps
…Okay, and anyone else who wants to see, take a look! Remember our trip to Key Lime Cove over spring break? We took a little detour on the way home. This place has been on my list for several months now, and I was really excited to go there for lunch. We LOVED it. L-O-V-E-D it. Though the thirteen-year-old will be less than thrilled to see that they used the photo which includes him, front-and-center, with his mouth full of food, I love the way the page looks. Besides online, it will be in the Summer 2008 edition of Chicago Parent Going Places Magazine. Wanna see? Click here.
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The Aftermath of a Great Day: It’s a Good Thing!
I hope everybody out there had a lovely Mother’s Day! I had a fine day; thanks for asking. As is customary, I got four cards: one from Jim, one from each of the kids (they picked out those musical Hallmark cards: SO CUTE!), and one from Roxie. I may have to scan the card that Roxie “picked out” and post it tomorrow; Jim is hilarious. Although I had to teach my religious school class in the morning—meaning no leisurely breakfast in bed—the rest of the day was fabulously low-key, which is just what I needed. We went to see “Baby Mama”, which is a cute movie but not riproaringly hilarious…
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Passing Down the Passover 4-1-1
Hello again, my little Jew Stuff students…it’s time to talk a little bit about the Jewish holiday that begins at sundown this evening: Passover. If you would like to read more detail than I will post here, go to this place and you can learn all about it. I am more interested today in writing about one of our favorite Passover foods than the historical significance of the holiday. But since I’m here and you are all usually pretty receptive about learning, I’ll summarize. To make a long story short, Passover celebrates the Exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt, led by Moses. The name of the holiday comes from…
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Perhaps Julia Child Wasn’t On Time Very Often, Either.
Yes, yes, so my sister arrived about two hours later than she said she would, but the dinner was worth the wait, I am happy to announce. (I guess that can be the fourth thing that is for sure: that any meal my sister prepares is absolutely fabulous) The menu? Steak au Poivre, potato salad (not just any potato salad: this recipe was phenomenal.), and Roasted Broccoli with crispy Parmesan and Lemon. Is your mouth watering yet? I didn’t take photos of the entire preparation process because, frankly, I wanted to just relax and enjoy myself. But when Julie told me that she had to flame up the steak with…