Christmas Eve

As per tradition, we spent Christmas Eve in Hinsdale at my sister-in-law and brother-in-law's home that is a perfect setting for a family holiday. This year there is even more to celebrate. My niece Margaret is marrying her long time beau, Philip. And my nephew John Kelly (many Johns in our family) is marrying his long time love Kelly. Yes, Kelly, as in Kelly Kelly, but she is now a full fledged Doctor so she will likely keep her maiden name. Anyway....my SIL Lisa knows how to entertain and BIL Patrick is so much fun for as well. If only it were Christmas Eve every night. Then again, I am wiped out with all the shopping and wrapping. Our kids adored their cousins and even were given some Harrods bears from London. Then it was time to pack up and head back home for Santa's arrival.

It's That Time Again...YIPPEEE!!!

"It's the most wonderful time of the year..." Time for our street's progressive dinner on the eve of Christmas Eve. 6 houses and 31 of us strolling between homes for apps, dinner and dessert. After we hosted the apps and cocktails as a kickoff, everyone walked down the street for dinner. There, we had a great dinner while the kids were busy down stairs with ping pong, dancing and gingerbread house decorating. Then, time for another home for Irish coffees and dessert and more gingerbread houses. Every year the kids normally skate outside on one of the houses' rinks, but it has been such a balmy Winter (dare I risk writing that?) we have no ice for skating. Next year!

In the Midst of an Olympic Medalist

This weekend Legacy and I were a part of a clinic by Olympic Gold Medalist Chris Kappler. He has a few other medals as well. He spent the time working with us on just about everything. I find riding is much like golf. There is no perfect game, nor perfect ride. It can be a perfectionist's nightmare at times. Thank God I am not one as I would lose my mind at this point;) It was a great opportunity to meet and work with Chris and in the end, he was very complimentary of Legs as he liked him a lot. That is the world as you can only be as good as your horse. But of course, he is my child....a bit large at 1300 pounds, but my child. Thanks to Laura Sterns and Country Ridge Stables for a great clinic.

Portable North Pole. Got to love technology, I think...

What a great site! Portable North Pole allows you to enter in information about a person (or child) that is sent to Santa and his elves. They will then email a message back to that specific person (or child) and let them know if they have been naughty or nice (you can choose.)Ali and Johnny both found emails from Santa. And although they both were on the nice list, I have heard from others, they have opted for naughty to help snap their kids back in line, ha!

My Annual Decorating Efforts

I am not a decorator. I openly admit that. There are so many talented people out there who can literally transform a room from blah to ta-dah! Not me. Given we have several fireplaces (yes, the builder must have had a thing for them), you would think I would have the ability to atleast handle the mantels. Wrong. Then Christmas arrives and I find the urge to attempt to do something creative. And so for a brief time each year, our home is transformed with lights and ornaments and basic loveliness. And so I share some of it with you as I am quite proud of my efforts. But now what to do for the other 11 months of the year? Any tips or suggestions are welcome.

My New Favorite Movie

From the Christmas pageant to a gathering of Country Ridge riders at Laura Stern's home. We got together to watch the movie "Buck." What an incredible documentary about a young boy who suffered terrible abuse at the hands of his father, but through his foster family, was able to survive and change much of the horse world's thinking when it comes to training. Back in the day, horses would be broken, literally broken, to become rideable. But as Buck teaches, you must have respect from horses(or people)but that respect does not need to come through fear or intimidation. He feels a horse is a mirror to a rider's soul and what their issues may or may not be.His lessons during his clinics are lessons in life about how we all need to treat others. He played an enormous part in the outcome of "The Horse Whisperer," with Robert Redford which is another fantastic movie. My hope is more people will give this indy film a try as it is shot beautifully and winning awards. So much so, I want to go put on some cowboy boots and jeans and head out to Montana for a bit. And I'm not even kidding.

A Pageant of a Different, but Greater Kind

This afternoon the children and I met with Jennifer Naida at the Glenview Community Church for their Christmas pageant. It was outstanding in so many ways and the little angels were so precious. The costuming, the choreography and efforts were so evident along with the message of the pageant itself. Jennifer used to help orchestrate the show and she was absolutely correct; it is one of the best out there to see which is why it was standing room only. Just beautiful!

Ten Pounds All in the Name of CASA.

Several of us gathered at the Westin Northshore to take part in a tasting for the upcoming CASABlanca gala in February for CASA of Lake County. Okay, twist my arm. It was just horrible having to try out dozens of appetizers, salads, entrees and desserts(and some wine). The worst part was deciding what to serve at the benefit as they were each so good. After all that food, we were all stuffed, but I was still able to then meet up with some of of my favorite ladies from Illinois International who chaperone Miss Illinois and Miss Illinois Teen USA. It was impossible to eat anything at that point for fear of exploding, but what a great time with Jennifer, Beverly, Sharon, Sarah and Robin. Love you all!
1)Sushi. I am not normally a fan, but all of it was so worth stepping out of my comfort zone.
2)How cute is this mini mug of tomato soup with a mini grilled cheese in the shape of a heart?

Birthdays, Tailgates and a Rivalry.

From Turkey Day to my Birthday.It was a perfect day spent with my family, my horse (I know)and a fantastic dinner downtown at MK. Even the dessert, with a mini shake, was adorable. The next morning we got up and got organized. Barely. Then John, Summer, Scott and I headed over to Northwestern for the annual NU vs. MSU game. As stated before, my hubby's mom was a professor at NU and he grew up there. However, my brother played football and my sister-in-law played golf at MSU. Trash talking anyone? So we concocted a tailgate complete with jello shots (green) and Bailey's pudding shots (really great and very easy to make)and braved the cold rainy weather. We are wusses though and left at halftime to watch the rest of the game from a nearby pub where it was dry and warm.

Miss Illinois and Miss Teen Illinois USA 2012

For the past few years, I have been a chaperone for the Miss Illinois and Miss Illinois Teen USA competitions. This year, I missed the beginning of the weekend so we could spend time with my parents. Still, you know I wouldn't miss the chance to spend time with the contestants and the other chaperones. So, I dropped off the kids at home and turned back around to head downtown for the day of finals. This year former Mrs. Illinois America Michele Barber was there with us to round out the groups of gals I adore. Every year the production crew runs a flawless show that is so well organized and even though there is only one special person who will win each title, it seems most of the others ladies have a great time and understand the journey is the most important part. Congrats to the new Miss Illinois USA Ashley Hooks and the new Miss Illinois Teen USA Alexandra Plotz. I was lucky enough to work with Alexandra back stage and she was so calm and cool. She was also very sweet and appreciative. All the ladies were a delight and I can't wait to see how the queens do at Miss USA and Miss Teen USA. Thanks to Tim Kretschmann and The Pageant Cast for these pictures as we were too busy to snap many of our own.
1)The Miss contestants in their team photo.
2)The new Queens!
3)Two of my faves, Tim Kretschmann and fellow chaperone, Robin Khayat
4)Sarah Bertrand who is just dynamite. Keep your eye on her!
5)MacDuggal and Nikki Huber in one of his designs. Nikki was in Playboy Club and has some big things on the horizon. She is somethin' special.

Fast but Fun Weekend, and Then Some.

The kids and I ventured down to Carmel, Indiana for a couple days to visit my parents who came in town where my brother and sister-in-law live with Lucy and Sullivan. It was time to celebrate Lucy's 7th birthday as well. There were party hats, swimming and a ton of fun for the kids and us grown-up kids.
1)Party hats courtesy of Nana
2)Lucy's long awaited wheel chair for her American Girl doll.
3)Kiddos with Grandpa
4)Nana and crew
5)Gogles on! Time to Cannon ball.

A New Home

It took much planning and searching and fundraising, but CASA Lake County has a new home in Vernon Hills.That means more space for offices and much needed room for meetings and trainings! Now advocates and our managers will be able to do more from a centralized location instead of splitting up between the court house and the former officers which were farther away. Executive Director Terri Greenburg is the key factor in this coming to fruition. I missed the big open house as it was on John's birthday, but I was able to see it before the party and I am so thrilled for everyone.

What's For Breakfast?

Thanks to the Northfield Fire Department, Saturday morning began with pancakes. This has become a yearly tradition for our family. This year, they brought in a PINK fire truck from Buffalo Grove. Her name is "Jessica," on behalf of a sixteen year old who was diagnosed with spinal cancer. She had terrible back pain which was blamed on a heavy school back pack and later on horseback riding. Then she woke up one morning paralyzed. Today, I am told, was her final dose of chemo and she is now able to walk with the aid of a walker and even on her own! Thank you Northfield Fire Department for all you do and best wishes to Jessica on a full remission and recovery.
1)They can never get enough of fire trucks!
2)Jessica and Ali
3)PINK!

Be the Change

Today I spent part of the afternoon at the ITW Headquarters. The campus is gigantic! They are partnered withe the United Way and hoping to inspire their thousands of employees in Illinois to go out and volunteer. They are beginning a pilot project where they will pay employees for their time volunteered to organizations. CASA was invited to take part in their first get together. On behalf of CASA of Lake County, I, along with others from a couple of dozen other agencies and organizations had the chance to speak with some of ITW about what we do and why we do it. It was also a great way for the orgs to network with one another as well. I hope this new project takes off and inspires both employees and other companies to go make a difference!

Day of Learning

Today child advocates through CASA from several counties along with others who work in the juvenile court system, gathered in Lake County for a day long workshop. The session helped us learn how to more effectively build relationships those we serve. Not only was the information great for the work we do as CASAs, but also great in everyday life. Michael Brandwein is an educator,speaker and author who is from Northbrook, but he has spoken on these subjects in dozens of countries and on all continents, but one (Antartica.) His insight on human behavior and conflict resolution has been taught at NASA and the CIA. One of the biggest lessons I learned was that when you are handling a big difference of opinions, the best thing to do is sit back and listen to the "other side," first. REALLY listen to what may be driving their views and then let them know you are hearing them and understanding what they have to say by summarizing what you just heard. Even if you do not agree, most times, an angry person will simmer down a bit if they feel like they are being heard and if they feel the "other side," is trying to understand their views. That's when compromise can more often be found. A simple, "Tell me more..." or "I'm interested to hear what you have to say," can work wonders. And as a CASA, sometimes you find yourself dealing with people who may be upset with the courts, DCFS, services...or just life. The workshop will hopefully help better manage those tougher times. And Michael was just fantastic! He donated his weekend to be with us because he felt the work being done on behalf of children is so important. Thank you Michael for your humor and your wisdom.

For The Men In Our Lives.

A group of us family and friends were part of the SEA Blue Prostate Cancer Walk this weekend at Lincoln Park. SEA stands for S-Support E-Educate A-Advocate. Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in American men and it is the second leading cause of cancer death for men in our country. The event was for all the men in our lives who have, who are and will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. Our team walked in honor of those we have lost to the disease like the great Don Kelly and for my father-in-law, Antone who we affectionately call, "Papa." Papa is a kind soul who gets the most joy from his family. He has battled the disease for over five years. A key treatment for him has been the use of Lupron. The drug arrests cancer and keeps it at bay, but it does not work indefinitely. Sometimes it never works, other times it does its job for 5 years before it stops performing allowing the cancer to metastasize. Once it stops working, there are limited options. Our hope is the walks will fund the research needed to discover new, longer lasting treatments so we can keep men like Papa here as long as we can.
1)Runners and walkers get ready
2)Papa and his groupies
3)Part of our team
4)John and Ali

We've Got Spirit, How 'Bout You?

Saturday night was Spiritfest for Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire. SHS is one of the largest around here with 4200 students, still they manage to have an average class size of only 22 students. This year they dedicated their Spiritfest to CASA of Lake County! They had a 5K walk, a record setting glow stick word spell and fireworks. Their goal was to raise 25-thousand dollars for CASA. This money allows us to provide more services and help for the children we serve as their advocates. It also provides more training for CASAs throughout the year to keep us educated on areas of concern we may face with the families we work with during their cases. So, a HUGE shot out to Stevenson High School!