28 is Pretty Great!

Hooray! Today is Greg's 28th birthday, and we celebrated by rocking out to his new birthday present: Rock Band for the XBox 360. We started a band called the Obamanations. Greg plays the drums and I play the guitar. This evening we won a jet so we can now perform all over the world. Good times. Greg got to stay home from work today because he hasn't been feeling well--nor have I. We think he has the cold/flu bug (thankfully not the stomach flu), and I think I'm getting a cold. Playing Rock Band helped us both feel better. Then we had some yummy birthday pie. The only birthday candles I could find in Athens were called "sparkling candles" (complements of the Village Market). Yes, they sound dangerous, and when they started shooting off sparks like 4th of July sparklers, we figured it was time for Greg to blow them out. We like to live dangerously around here.

Today I got a call from the Abraham Lincoln Home. They said that I'm on the top of their list for both positions I applied for! I am going to meet with them tomorrow, so everyone keep your fingers crossed that I can get a job there. That would be a great place to work. I contemplated wearing my Abe Lincoln "Would I Lie to You?" t-shirt tomorrow, but Mom and I decided that might be a little much. I'll save that shirt for Lincoln's birthday next week.

Super Yummy!

Yummmmmm. Yesterday Greg made some delicious eats for the fun Super Bowl party we had at his boss Rich's house after we got home from church. He made some delicious crab dip and some lime-marinated, bacon-wrapped shrimp. My job was to pull the tails off the shrimp--which, several years ago before I went to New Orleans and learned to like shrimp, would have made me sick :-) But it was actually kind of fun. This shrimp appetizer was especially good--it was a BIG hit at the party!

Going, Going, GONE!!!

Oh, happy day! The sun is out and the birds are singing in Illinois today (literally). We woke up to a new governor this morning. King Blagojevich has been dethroned! Yesterday was a great day. Blago made an appearance at the senate hearing in Springfield. He was just in time to hear the 59-0 UNANIMOUS vote to oust him from office! Greg and I watched the vote online and couldn't believe that it was unanimous. We were so excited. I also listened to the senate speeches, and a lot of them were saying what a sad day it was for Illinois, blah, blah, blah. But then one of them said, "Actually, today is a happy day for Illinois." Right on! I agree with that guy. Yes, this state has become the laughing stock of the world, but at least Blago's removal from office shows that there is still a little bit of sanity here. Blago is now referred to as "the former governor." The new governor, Pat Quinn, is another Democrat, but at least he didn't agree with Blago's budget cuts. He said that he will clean things up and try to right Blago's wrongs. Hooray for Governor Quinn!

I have been quite disturbed by some of the things President Obama has done during his first week in office. He signed an order to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay which means that the terrorists there will either be put into prisons in the U. S. or they will be released. There's a bad idea! Obama thought that imprisonment at Guantanamo Bay was a violation of the terrorists' "Constitutional rights"--what Constitutional rights? They don't care about our Constitution. But the saddest thing Obama did this week was restoring federal funding for abortions. President Bush had revoked all federal abortion funding, but Obama restored it. And, Obama made it possible for the government to provide funding for abortions not just in the U. S., but all over the world. How can you care about the Constitutional rights of the terrorists, but not of the little unborn babies??? That makes me really sad. Democrats defend abortion by saying that women should have the right to choose what happens to their bodies--but they do have a choice--they can choose not to do things that cause babies to form! People should be accountable for their choices, and the babies that result from certain choices should be given a chance at life. So, while I will always respect the office of the President of the United States, I'm having a hard time respecting the current President as a person.

When Greg and I were at Ulysses Grant's house the other day, we noticed a very interesting quote from him in the museum exhibit. He said, "If we are to have another contest of our national existence, I predict that the dividing line will not be Mason and Dixon's but between patriotism and intelligence on the one side, and superstition, ambition, and ignorance on the other."

Animal House

All of the animal children were being quite naughty this morning. Big Spike was pooping everywhere (so he was banished to his bedroom), Little Spike was constantly barking, and Lily was trying to annoy Little Spike. I was lucky to catch Lily on camera as she woke Little up from his morning snooze. They are so funny! I think Big Spike needs doggy diapers. Are there such things?

Yesterday I had a fun lunch with Linda at my new favorite Springfield restaurant: Thailand Cuisine. It made me feel very much at home to have some tasty Thai food. We were celebrating both Linda's birthday and the first day of Blago's impeachment trial. Meanwhile Blago was in New York on a media blitz making himself (and Illinois) look even more foolish than before! He even said that he had considered Oprah for Obama's senate seat. The man truly is insane. Word on the street is that when Blago is removed from office, the directors of all of the state agencies would need to step down as well--and that would include Jan Grimes who is the mean IHPA director! That would be good. Linda is doing really well and is keeping busy with contract projects for the Lincoln Home and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. We had fun eating Thai food and catching up on things.

Today I had a fun time over at the Athens library. I'm going to be volunteering in the special collections room on Tuesdays. The ladies who work there are funny.

Meet Me in St. Louie

Yesterday Greg and I had a delightful mini-road trip to St. Louie. It was a beautiful sunny day though the temperature only made it to the mid-20s. I love St. Louis. Not only is it the home of the best baseball team: the Cardinals, it also has a really cool skyline.


St. Louis also has funny billboards.


I have always wanted to visit the Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site on the south side of the city. The home is named "White Haven," though it seems that "Green Haven" might have been more appropriate :-) In talking with the ranger who took us on the tour, we learned that the original green paint was made with arsenic--and we think lead paint is bad! This was the house where Grant's wife Julia grew up. He purchased it from her father and planned to retire there after the Civil War, but instead of settling at White Haven, they spent eight years at the White House. It is a really neat house, and we had a great time there.

They have a pretty cool museum exhibit in Grant's barn. Although, this totally random panel in the kids' section is a little too random :-)

After White Haven, we had some delicious St. Louis-style thin crust pizza at Imo's. Then we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and checking out sports card shops and antique malls. We went to the largest antique mall I've ever seen! We were accidentally in there for three hours--and had no idea it had been that long. It was a great day, and I'm glad that we live so close to such fun places.