I like to read but I am also busy with so many other things so I don't read a lot. While I am anxiously awaiting a new book from a favorite author, I thought I would share some of my favorites. Maybe you can pick one up, read it, and it may be one of your favorites too.
Author: Lisa Genova
She has written two books that I absolutely love, Still Alice and Left Neglected. The first book is about a Harvard Psychology professor that has early onset Alzheimer's Disease. The book is written from her point of view. It is amazing. The second book is about a woman who suffers from a traumatic brain injury. One side of her brain is neglected due to the injury. This book will change your life.
Book: My Stroke of Insight
Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor is a brain scientist. This is a story of her own stroke that she suffered one morning at her home along with her miraculous recover. In my opinion, this is a MUST READ and MUST RECOMMEND to anyone that is affected by a stroke or the stroke of a friend.
Book: Don't Leave Me This Way
This book by Julie Fox Garrison is about her own massive brain hemorrhage and paralyzing stroke when she was in her thirties. This an excellent of humor being good medicine. The only thing I didn't like about this book is that it is written in second person.
Book: Season of Second Chances
This book by Diane Meier is a nice read about seasons of life and change.
Book: Saving CeeCee Honeycutt
This one is about a 12 year old and how she deals with life with her psychotic mother. You won't be able to put the book down. Then you will be sad when it is all over. Oh, then you will want to visit or move to Savannah, Georgia.
Book: The Help
Kathryn Stockett wrote this book that is full if interesting characters. Set in Mississippi in 1962, you will live through these characters and never look at chocolate pie the same. The movie is a fabulous adaptation of the book. Be sure you read the book first though.
Book: The Last Lecture
This is truly the last lecture given by Randy Pausch on September 18, 2007. He lost is battle with pancreatic cancer in July of 2008. His lecture is titled "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams." You can also watch his lecture here on YouTube.
Author: Mitch Albom
I have read four of his books and will now be getting The Timekeeper and reading it. I enjoy all of his books and recommend them. They are very thought provoking books and usually easy reads.
Book: Eat, Pray, Love
This book was read at the right time in my life. Elizabeth Gilbert authored this book about a particular journey in her life to Italy, India, and Indonesia. Slow start but a good read. Don't compare the book to the movie. I did not like the movie at all.
Book: Every 21 Seconds
Someone suffers from a traumatic brain injury every 21 second. Brian Sweeney writes about how his life was affected by his own TBI.
Speakers/Authors: The Women of Faith speakers
I have been to several Women of Faith conferences and I've loved them all. The speakers, singers, and motivators that they put together for the conferences are outstanding. I have books from years past and I highly recommend them if you are looking for a more spiritual read.
I am currently waiting for Lisa Genova's newst book called Love Anthony that is coming out late September 2012. Here is a review. I watched her book trailer on her fb page (Simon & Schuster) and I am sooo excited about the book.
Keep reading!
Friday, July 27, 2012
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Grace
I just have to share about an old/new friend. Grace was my typing teacher at Eastridge High School when I was a freshman. I had her typing class for one semester, I think. She taught typing and shorthand classes at Eastridge for many years. She retired when the two high schools combined to make Kankakee High School in the fall 1983. I didn't have her for any other class, nor did I see her around town after she retired. While I was fairly shy in my younger days, I am very much a people person now. I love running into former teachers and chatting for a few minutes when I am out and about.
Here are the pictures of her from my '81 and '82 Eastridge Yearbooks.
One of my co-workers is the chaplain for a local retirement facility. Late last summer she talked about a couple of residents and that the husband was very sick. He had been battling cancer for eight years. Eventually she said the wife's name. It was Grace! I asked if she had white hair, glasses, slender build, and so forth. It was Grace! She mentioned how Grace and David didn't have any children and David was close to going home to Jesus. I took a picture of my kids and me from Randy's wedding in June and wrote a note and sent it to Grace through Carol, my co-worker. Grace replied the next week with a note about her and her life. You know, her handwriting hadn't changed a bit in all those years. Then, in October, David died. I found out through Carol that Grace never left his side in the eight years that he had cancer. They would have meals brought up to their apartment. She was right there with him through it all. True love.
I decided that I needed Grace in my life and she needed me. Well, maybe need is a strong word but we could sure enjoy each other’s company regularly. Carol provides a church service every other Sunday so I decided that I would visit on the opposite Sundays. My friend and I go visit at about 2:00 and stay for a couple of hours. We talk about all kinds of stuff too, movies, books, school, teachers, church, faith, my kids. She loves movies and loves to read. I found out that she used to be a counselor at UIC before coming to Kankakee. She tells us about David and how he left so many journals that she has been reading through. She is a sharp gal! We hear about their trips to Italy, Israel, Paris, and Asia. She has been all over! We hear stories about how poor she was growing up and how she got oranges for Christmas and that was great! Grace is a treasure! She loves classical music and orchestras. We've taken her to hear Olivet's gospel choir, KVSO and KVYSO, as well as other orchestral performances. We also went to Olive Garden for dinner (since we finally got one in Bradley). This weekend we will be going to IHOP. She loves Belgian Waffles.
I hope you enjoy these pictures of Grace.
I hope you are all staying cool and staying inside today!
Ciao!
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Finally finished the bathroom!
We always struggled with the main bathroom in the house.
There were two red heat lamps that could be turned on with the fan that
caused the little fairies eyes to glow in the wallpaper.
Creepy. We coped with it and just didn't use the red lights.
That didn't get rid of the fairies though. Also, the vanity top was
long with one sink bowl in the middle...it was blue with white swirls. A
few years ago we stripped the wallpaper and found a velvety wallpaper under
that. What a mess. We were lucky that there was ceramic wall tile
up to about the four foot mark so we were dealing with less than half the wall
space. Anyway, we got the wallpaper off, spackled, and painted a khaki color.
We went for a beach theme and found a stipple roller and used a lighter
tan over top. We thought it looked alright at the time. We also
thought the ceiling would be cool if it had a sky/cloud thing going on.
That was just a bad idea all around because we painted it blue and then
had clouds painted on that did not look like clouds. Then we painted the
blue over the bad clouds. It sat that way for several years.
I had always wanted a two bowl sink in there since Randy and Madi
shared that bathroom. I also did not like the blue and white swirled
vanity. Last summer we found a white two bowl vanity on freecycle with
the faucets included. We went and picked it up and then it sat in the
garage for a couple of months. A friend was able to come over and we installed
the new-to-us vanity and got all of the plumbing hooked up. So now we got
rid of the blue sink but still had the sand walls and blue ceiling. Baby
steps, right?
Earlier this spring, maybe March, I bought a new ceiling fan and
had arranged for a friend to install it for me. That worked well and got rid of
those red heat lamps. The only problem with that fan now is that it
pushes out so much heat that we don't run it. It has to be rewired: another
project for another time. We also had to sand down the lighter tan paint that
we used for a sandy texture before we could paint the new color or the texture
paint would show through. I pulled out my Kirby vacuum sander attachment
and Mindy and I took turns sanding. Once that was complete she taped the
trim and tile and I started priming the ceiling and walls. It took four
coats of primer to cover the blue. Four coats! The walls just took
a couple because we sanded them pretty well and the color was lighter. We
purchased a new khaki paint color for the walls and got a couple of coats on
there as well as white for the ceiling. The bathroom was looking pretty
decent by now.
Now it was time to accessorize. We took a wall tile to
Target to match up the blue swirl in the tile with a shower curtain. We
got this really pretty shower curtain that had a gradient blue that matched
perfectly. We found a couple of nice floor mats as well at Bed, Bath, and
Beyond. We accessorized the vanity with a bowl and some votives.
We finished the bathroom up while Madi was in Africa. We were quite busy when she was gone! We are pleased with the bathroom
now. No more glowing fairy eyes is a huge improvement.
Monday, June 11, 2012
While she was out
Those of you who know me, know that Madi, my daughter, recently went on a mission trip to Kenya and Tanzania for 18 days. She went with a group through college. She had a fabulous time, wanted to bring all the kids back with her, and she wants to go back again soon! She moved back home from school on May 4th and then left for her mission trip on May 6th. Close your eyes and visualize a 19 year old female’s bedroom on say, May 5th. Imagine her car as well. Exactly! The day she left, Mindy and I decided that we would do a major While You Were Out to her bedroom and car.
Phase one: Emptying her room. Really there is one word for this phase…WOW! I should also point out here that in January of 2012 she went to England on a literary tour and there were still many remnants from THAT trip. She returned two days before starting the spring semester at college and never truly unpacked. When we were halfway through this phase, we realized we had not taken before pictures. Oh well, we couldn’t go back and do that at this point. This empty phase was not a cleaning phase so we pretty much picked up things and stacked them elsewhere…Mindy’s room, my room, even Madi’s bathroom held her stuff. During phase one we went to Lowe’s to select carpeting and installation. We soon found out that the carpet we selected would take 10-14 business days for delivery to Lowe’s, then several days after that for installation; as Asteroid from the Jetson’s would say: Rut ro. We had to move to plan B: select carpet that is in stock at Lowe’s. There isn’t a wide selection, maybe 15 to 20 rolls in all. And of those there were really just a few that were options for Madi’s room. So, we selected one and placed our order. We realized that the selection was perfect when we brought home the 3”x3” sample: the right color tan and enough flecks to hide future spills and messes. We now had several days to get the room all the way empty and remove the old, nasty, stained, gross carpet. Luckily I mentioned that the tack strip around the perimeter is always a pain because Adam (Lowe’s flooring dept. worker) said they can be reused and to leave it! Praise God! A couple of days later, the room was empty. Phase one was complete.
Phase two: Paint the ceiling and have the carpeting installed. When Madi was a tween, she had a loft bed with a desk underneath to maximize her space. During that time she got those glow-in-the-dark stars that you stick on the ceiling. Well, she must have arranged them in a million different patterns on her ceiling because there was sticky stuff and dirty fingerprints all over the area just above where her loft bed used to be. After all, it was the only part she could reach. I had to scrape off some sticky residue that remained and spackle some areas around her room to prepare for the paint. The next night was paint night and the day after that was carpet installation day! Her ceiling fan blades were removed for painting and therefore washed while they were down. They get so dusty! During these days I also got mini blinds for her window. She had a pull shade that never quite worked. Finally, the ceiling was painted, the mini blinds were installed, and the carpet was installed. The Lowe’s carpet installers even vacuumed! Phase two was complete.
Phase three: Moving back the furniture we wanted to keep (bed, chest of drawers, under-bed drawer, and nightstand). Part of our goal was to prepare her room for a 20 year old and remove those items that were teenagery. So that meant the stripy mirror and fuchsia hooks had to go as well as the lime green and hot pink IKEA tables. Luckily we know a certain 12 year old girl who took them off our hands =) We purchased a white shelf unit along with purple and tan bins to replace the tables. She still had stuff that needed a home that everyone else didn’t have to look at. We thought the bins were a great way to pull in some color and make it look grown up. In essence, Phase three was complete.
Phase four: This phase was all me. Mindy thought it best to step out of this one. I would organize her stuff on her nightstand, shelving unit, chest, closet, and under-bed drawer. The under-bed drawer was never one to stay together before. The bottom would fall out from the weight of the stuff that Madi shoved in it. While her room was empty, I repaired the drawer with fabulous Gorilla Glue and clamps. That bottom will NEVER fall out again =) So night after night I would bring in bins, boxes, and baskets from other areas of the house and clean them out, stacking, organizing, throwing away items they contained. That gum wrapper may have come from that cute guy at that concert but it went in the trash when I found it! This took a while, maybe four evenings in all. It was coming together very nicely. During this entire time, we didn’t once post on fb that we were doing this. We told a few people but that is it. We didn’t want Madi catching a whiff of this on fb or from any of her friends. I believe all in all I did five loads of laundry and threw away about 50 individual socks that had no match. Everything finally had a home. I was proud to say that phase four was complete.
Phase five: The final touches. Madi took several hundred pictures when she was in England in January and never really posted them on fb. Mindy was in charge of this phase. She selected six pictures that Madi took and touched up using Lightroom. She played with the color and the composition, cropping them just so. She ordered them from a website to have a metallic finish and be mounted on styrene for frameless hanging. I brought a couple other posters that Madi had to The Learning Tree for Skip to laminate and also purchased some 3M poster hangers since duct tape never worked well. We hung her mirror, new hooks, various pictures/posters, as well as the England collage. Her room was looking very nice. Phase five complete.
Phase six: We decided that we needed to clean out her car too since most of that stuff either belonged in her room at home, or would go back to campus in the fall. We emptied her car and I carefully went through her things organizing them as I had the contents of her bedroom. The campus items went into the basement for safekeeping until late August, trash and recycling went to its appropriate location. As I sorted through her things Mindy armed herself with a roll of paper towels and cleaning sprays. She did call on me to use my putty knife to scrape the gunk out of the cup holders. We still have no clue what it was. It was white and waxy. No clue. We washed her car, vacuumed it out, and filled the gas tank.
A small prize will be awarded to the first reader who correctly guesses how many water bottles I found in her car =)
Welcome home Mads! She absolutely loves her room and her clean car. This type of project will not be happening again.
Phase one: Emptying her room. Really there is one word for this phase…WOW! I should also point out here that in January of 2012 she went to England on a literary tour and there were still many remnants from THAT trip. She returned two days before starting the spring semester at college and never truly unpacked. When we were halfway through this phase, we realized we had not taken before pictures. Oh well, we couldn’t go back and do that at this point. This empty phase was not a cleaning phase so we pretty much picked up things and stacked them elsewhere…Mindy’s room, my room, even Madi’s bathroom held her stuff. During phase one we went to Lowe’s to select carpeting and installation. We soon found out that the carpet we selected would take 10-14 business days for delivery to Lowe’s, then several days after that for installation; as Asteroid from the Jetson’s would say: Rut ro. We had to move to plan B: select carpet that is in stock at Lowe’s. There isn’t a wide selection, maybe 15 to 20 rolls in all. And of those there were really just a few that were options for Madi’s room. So, we selected one and placed our order. We realized that the selection was perfect when we brought home the 3”x3” sample: the right color tan and enough flecks to hide future spills and messes. We now had several days to get the room all the way empty and remove the old, nasty, stained, gross carpet. Luckily I mentioned that the tack strip around the perimeter is always a pain because Adam (Lowe’s flooring dept. worker) said they can be reused and to leave it! Praise God! A couple of days later, the room was empty. Phase one was complete.
Phase two: Paint the ceiling and have the carpeting installed. When Madi was a tween, she had a loft bed with a desk underneath to maximize her space. During that time she got those glow-in-the-dark stars that you stick on the ceiling. Well, she must have arranged them in a million different patterns on her ceiling because there was sticky stuff and dirty fingerprints all over the area just above where her loft bed used to be. After all, it was the only part she could reach. I had to scrape off some sticky residue that remained and spackle some areas around her room to prepare for the paint. The next night was paint night and the day after that was carpet installation day! Her ceiling fan blades were removed for painting and therefore washed while they were down. They get so dusty! During these days I also got mini blinds for her window. She had a pull shade that never quite worked. Finally, the ceiling was painted, the mini blinds were installed, and the carpet was installed. The Lowe’s carpet installers even vacuumed! Phase two was complete.
Phase three: Moving back the furniture we wanted to keep (bed, chest of drawers, under-bed drawer, and nightstand). Part of our goal was to prepare her room for a 20 year old and remove those items that were teenagery. So that meant the stripy mirror and fuchsia hooks had to go as well as the lime green and hot pink IKEA tables. Luckily we know a certain 12 year old girl who took them off our hands =) We purchased a white shelf unit along with purple and tan bins to replace the tables. She still had stuff that needed a home that everyone else didn’t have to look at. We thought the bins were a great way to pull in some color and make it look grown up. In essence, Phase three was complete.
Phase four: This phase was all me. Mindy thought it best to step out of this one. I would organize her stuff on her nightstand, shelving unit, chest, closet, and under-bed drawer. The under-bed drawer was never one to stay together before. The bottom would fall out from the weight of the stuff that Madi shoved in it. While her room was empty, I repaired the drawer with fabulous Gorilla Glue and clamps. That bottom will NEVER fall out again =) So night after night I would bring in bins, boxes, and baskets from other areas of the house and clean them out, stacking, organizing, throwing away items they contained. That gum wrapper may have come from that cute guy at that concert but it went in the trash when I found it! This took a while, maybe four evenings in all. It was coming together very nicely. During this entire time, we didn’t once post on fb that we were doing this. We told a few people but that is it. We didn’t want Madi catching a whiff of this on fb or from any of her friends. I believe all in all I did five loads of laundry and threw away about 50 individual socks that had no match. Everything finally had a home. I was proud to say that phase four was complete.
Phase five: The final touches. Madi took several hundred pictures when she was in England in January and never really posted them on fb. Mindy was in charge of this phase. She selected six pictures that Madi took and touched up using Lightroom. She played with the color and the composition, cropping them just so. She ordered them from a website to have a metallic finish and be mounted on styrene for frameless hanging. I brought a couple other posters that Madi had to The Learning Tree for Skip to laminate and also purchased some 3M poster hangers since duct tape never worked well. We hung her mirror, new hooks, various pictures/posters, as well as the England collage. Her room was looking very nice. Phase five complete.
Phase six: We decided that we needed to clean out her car too since most of that stuff either belonged in her room at home, or would go back to campus in the fall. We emptied her car and I carefully went through her things organizing them as I had the contents of her bedroom. The campus items went into the basement for safekeeping until late August, trash and recycling went to its appropriate location. As I sorted through her things Mindy armed herself with a roll of paper towels and cleaning sprays. She did call on me to use my putty knife to scrape the gunk out of the cup holders. We still have no clue what it was. It was white and waxy. No clue. We washed her car, vacuumed it out, and filled the gas tank.
A small prize will be awarded to the first reader who correctly guesses how many water bottles I found in her car =)
Welcome home Mads! She absolutely loves her room and her clean car. This type of project will not be happening again.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
My journey to take back my maiden name
Back in 2000 when I got divorced, my attorney asked me if I wanted to take back Fiore as my last name. It didn't take me long to say no because I did not want to create confusion for my 7 and 11 year old kids. I've worked in the public schools and it is just confusing for them and many, in my opinion. That was that. My attorney said nothing more.
After a time, I decided that once they were adults and or married, I would return to Fiore.
Fast forward: I began asking question last summer about how to go about changing my name back. I asked attorneys at first and was finding that the price tag started at $1000. Why in the world would it cost that much? I was asked by several, why didn't I do it when I got divorced. I explained my reasoning and was told that I could have done it then but waited to change it with the SSA and driver's license bureau when I was ready. Now is a fine time to find THAT out. Oh well. I wasn't going to settle for $1000 to have an attorney do this for me so I ventured onto the World Wide Web for some answers. There are so many answers out there I figured this was a simple question and the answers should be there. I also asked advise from a former legal secretary, a couple of people that have their Juris Doctorate degree but aren't practicing attorney's, as well as my facebook friends. Boy, did I get answers! I found an awesome website that literally walked me through the process. One of my attorney friends recommended that site as well. I knew I was on my way! This site created those legal-looking forms that I needed to file.
Okay, so I had some answers, I had my forms, now I needed to find out the process itself. Well, I called the Circuit Clerk's Office many times until I got all of the answers I needed. Every one I spoke to there told me that they could not give legal advice and that I could call Prairie State Legal services for legal advice. I told them (I called several times) that I was not asking them for advice. I wanted to know the procedure, basically, 1) who do I give these papers to, 2) when does it need to be in the paper, before or after, 3) how much will this cost me and who do I pay. Really, that is not advice but just procedural. I started getting answers and taking many notes. I took names and numbers so I would know who to call when I had more questions to get the right answers.
I found out that it would cost $151 to file the papers at the Circuit Clerk's office. This had to be done before it went in the paper because the newspaper needed a document from the Clerk's office. Are ya still with me? This is where it gets confusing. So I went to the court house with cash in hand :) and my papers from that handy website. The gal at the Circuit Clerk's office must have rolled her eyes a dozen times. I didn't care...I was saving a significant amount of money by doing this myself. She didn't like my paperwork. She handed me back papers that were not necessary and then she even printed off a form of her own and had me fill that one out instead. Fine with me. I got an eye roll when she asked if it had been published yet. I told her that I was told I had to file the petition here first. She took my money, some papers, gave me a receipt, and I was on my way to the Daily Journal.
When I got to the newspaper all was well until they wanted a copy of the petition with the "filed" stamp on it. I told her that they didn't give me one because it needs to be published before it was filed. She said they always have to send people back to the court house for this paper. Oh, I about fell over when I paid the publication fee...$184.00! Yep! It had to run in the newspaper one day for three consecutive weeks. I really wish I had been sitting. I think the lady taking care of me heard my jaw hit her counter when she told me the price. Anyway, thank heavens for plastic because I wasn't prepared for that price. I left at this point and went back to the courthouse to get the right paper. Yep, back to the eye roll gal. She couldn't understand why the Journal needed that paper. She said we don't have a date yet to put on it since it is not filed yet. Seems I was in a catch-22 but I was not leaving there until I got the form I needed. She reluctantly put that day's date on it, stamped it, and sent me on my way. Back to the newspaper to turn in the correct form. She charged me that outrageous amount I mentioned before and I left.
I was on my way!! Woohoo!! The announcement was to run the next day (Thursday) and the next two Thursday's. Before I left the Circuit Clerk's office with the right paper I asked what my next step was. So after the announcement ran for the three times, I picked up the Publisher's Certificate from the Journal on a Friday, March 2nd, and brought it to the Circuit Clerk's Office. This trip was full of adventures! I started in the Circuit Clerk's office, then was sent to Judge Albrecht's Clerk on the first floor to get a court date. I got there and found out that Ardith is her clerk and she was in a court room. I went to the court room and no one was in there so I asked at the next court room where I could find Ardith. This gal said she is either in the court room next door or in her office. So back to her office I went hoping we had just passed each other in the hallway. Sure enough, her co-workers had just told her that I was looking for her. When she looked at my publisher's certificate, she said that it was Judge Gerts that does these and sent me to Room 105 for his clerk. Oh my! I was determined so I smiled and headed for another office. After a short wait in this office I scheduled the court date for Judge Gerts to review my petition and make his ruling. I left with the date of March 27 at 1:30 in court room #104.
Now we wait two and a half weeks for a judge to tell me I could take back my maiden name. What choice did I have right? So I get to court at 1:20 on the 28th. Many colorful characters also had court in room #105 on the 27th at 1:30. There were even three that came in with orange jumpsuits on, handcuffs and ankle cuffs on. I simply wanted to take back my maiden name. Since there were attorneys present and detainees present, they got to go first. About 2:10 or so Judge Gerts called my case number and I approached the bench. That Judge Gerts, he's a nice guy don't let anyone tell you differently :) asked me a few questions and signed my petition. It was all done! He stated that I needed to get a certified copy from his clerk the next day to change my social security card, driver's license, and other things. I told her I would see her tomorrow and I left the court room.
It was all official but I needed that proof. That piece of paper signed by Judge Ronald Gerts. I still needed that in my hot little hands. So I waited, what's one more day in this journey that began mid-February. So on March 28th I ventured to the court house hoping this was my final visit to the circuit clerk's office for my certified copy of the court order.
Eye roller gal: "That will be $12."
Me: "Do you take debit?"
Eye roller gal: "No, cash only."
Me: (sigh) "I'll be right back."
I went to Jewel and bought a can of Pringles and got cash back. All this running was on my lunch hour and needed some sort of sustenance. I felt that the Pringles was a yummy choice. I went back to the circuit clerk's office with cash in hand. I kind of smiled when I realized the eye roller gal had gone to lunch, so a different gal took my cash, gave me a receipt, and the beloved certified copy of my legal name change that Judge Ron Gerts signed the previous day.
It was finished.
After a time, I decided that once they were adults and or married, I would return to Fiore.
Fast forward: I began asking question last summer about how to go about changing my name back. I asked attorneys at first and was finding that the price tag started at $1000. Why in the world would it cost that much? I was asked by several, why didn't I do it when I got divorced. I explained my reasoning and was told that I could have done it then but waited to change it with the SSA and driver's license bureau when I was ready. Now is a fine time to find THAT out. Oh well. I wasn't going to settle for $1000 to have an attorney do this for me so I ventured onto the World Wide Web for some answers. There are so many answers out there I figured this was a simple question and the answers should be there. I also asked advise from a former legal secretary, a couple of people that have their Juris Doctorate degree but aren't practicing attorney's, as well as my facebook friends. Boy, did I get answers! I found an awesome website that literally walked me through the process. One of my attorney friends recommended that site as well. I knew I was on my way! This site created those legal-looking forms that I needed to file.
Okay, so I had some answers, I had my forms, now I needed to find out the process itself. Well, I called the Circuit Clerk's Office many times until I got all of the answers I needed. Every one I spoke to there told me that they could not give legal advice and that I could call Prairie State Legal services for legal advice. I told them (I called several times) that I was not asking them for advice. I wanted to know the procedure, basically, 1) who do I give these papers to, 2) when does it need to be in the paper, before or after, 3) how much will this cost me and who do I pay. Really, that is not advice but just procedural. I started getting answers and taking many notes. I took names and numbers so I would know who to call when I had more questions to get the right answers.
I found out that it would cost $151 to file the papers at the Circuit Clerk's office. This had to be done before it went in the paper because the newspaper needed a document from the Clerk's office. Are ya still with me? This is where it gets confusing. So I went to the court house with cash in hand :) and my papers from that handy website. The gal at the Circuit Clerk's office must have rolled her eyes a dozen times. I didn't care...I was saving a significant amount of money by doing this myself. She didn't like my paperwork. She handed me back papers that were not necessary and then she even printed off a form of her own and had me fill that one out instead. Fine with me. I got an eye roll when she asked if it had been published yet. I told her that I was told I had to file the petition here first. She took my money, some papers, gave me a receipt, and I was on my way to the Daily Journal.
When I got to the newspaper all was well until they wanted a copy of the petition with the "filed" stamp on it. I told her that they didn't give me one because it needs to be published before it was filed. She said they always have to send people back to the court house for this paper. Oh, I about fell over when I paid the publication fee...$184.00! Yep! It had to run in the newspaper one day for three consecutive weeks. I really wish I had been sitting. I think the lady taking care of me heard my jaw hit her counter when she told me the price. Anyway, thank heavens for plastic because I wasn't prepared for that price. I left at this point and went back to the courthouse to get the right paper. Yep, back to the eye roll gal. She couldn't understand why the Journal needed that paper. She said we don't have a date yet to put on it since it is not filed yet. Seems I was in a catch-22 but I was not leaving there until I got the form I needed. She reluctantly put that day's date on it, stamped it, and sent me on my way. Back to the newspaper to turn in the correct form. She charged me that outrageous amount I mentioned before and I left.
I was on my way!! Woohoo!! The announcement was to run the next day (Thursday) and the next two Thursday's. Before I left the Circuit Clerk's office with the right paper I asked what my next step was. So after the announcement ran for the three times, I picked up the Publisher's Certificate from the Journal on a Friday, March 2nd, and brought it to the Circuit Clerk's Office. This trip was full of adventures! I started in the Circuit Clerk's office, then was sent to Judge Albrecht's Clerk on the first floor to get a court date. I got there and found out that Ardith is her clerk and she was in a court room. I went to the court room and no one was in there so I asked at the next court room where I could find Ardith. This gal said she is either in the court room next door or in her office. So back to her office I went hoping we had just passed each other in the hallway. Sure enough, her co-workers had just told her that I was looking for her. When she looked at my publisher's certificate, she said that it was Judge Gerts that does these and sent me to Room 105 for his clerk. Oh my! I was determined so I smiled and headed for another office. After a short wait in this office I scheduled the court date for Judge Gerts to review my petition and make his ruling. I left with the date of March 27 at 1:30 in court room #104.
Now we wait two and a half weeks for a judge to tell me I could take back my maiden name. What choice did I have right? So I get to court at 1:20 on the 28th. Many colorful characters also had court in room #105 on the 27th at 1:30. There were even three that came in with orange jumpsuits on, handcuffs and ankle cuffs on. I simply wanted to take back my maiden name. Since there were attorneys present and detainees present, they got to go first. About 2:10 or so Judge Gerts called my case number and I approached the bench. That Judge Gerts, he's a nice guy don't let anyone tell you differently :) asked me a few questions and signed my petition. It was all done! He stated that I needed to get a certified copy from his clerk the next day to change my social security card, driver's license, and other things. I told her I would see her tomorrow and I left the court room.
It was all official but I needed that proof. That piece of paper signed by Judge Ronald Gerts. I still needed that in my hot little hands. So I waited, what's one more day in this journey that began mid-February. So on March 28th I ventured to the court house hoping this was my final visit to the circuit clerk's office for my certified copy of the court order.
Eye roller gal: "That will be $12."
Me: "Do you take debit?"
Eye roller gal: "No, cash only."
Me: (sigh) "I'll be right back."
I went to Jewel and bought a can of Pringles and got cash back. All this running was on my lunch hour and needed some sort of sustenance. I felt that the Pringles was a yummy choice. I went back to the circuit clerk's office with cash in hand. I kind of smiled when I realized the eye roller gal had gone to lunch, so a different gal took my cash, gave me a receipt, and the beloved certified copy of my legal name change that Judge Ron Gerts signed the previous day.
It was finished.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Tomato Cheese Ravioli Soup
I've made this several times and it is so easy and delicious I thought it was time to share:
Tomato and Cheese Ravioli Soup
Ingredients:
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can stewed tomatoes
1 (14 1/4-ounce) can fat-free, reduced sodium vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
3 cups fresh cheese ravioli or tortellini (about 10 ounces)
1 small zucchini, sliced
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Preparation:
Combine first 3 ingredients in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Add ravioli, zucchini, and pepper; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 7 to 8 minutes or until pasta and zucchini are tender.
I usually double the above recipe and get the larger can of tomatoes since a full package of ravioli and vegetable stock are already doubled. I have even removed the tomatoes and pureed them in the food processor since some in my family don't care for the chunks of tomatoes.
The above recipe came from here.
I have made a grilled garlic and mozzarella cheese sandwich to go with it. This is my favorite! Tonight I made the following recipe and it was also very good.
Stuffed Cheese Bread with Herbs
Take a loaf of crusty bread and slice in half.
Scoop out the middle, and save the insides for breadcrumbs for use later.
You will need:
2 tbsp of chopped fresh basil
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp of chopped fresh spinach leaves
1 cup of shredded mozzarella (or your favorite cheese)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
salt & pepper
In a bowl, combine the stuffing ingredients and mound into the hollowed out bread.
Put the lid back on the bread to cover and wrap tightly in aluminum foil.
Bake at 350F for 30 minutes. Wait until cool enough to slice.
I changed it a little but you can find the original recipe from here.
I love to try new recipes that are simple and delicious. Both of these are fabulous additions to my recipe book.
Mangia!
Tomato and Cheese Ravioli Soup
Ingredients:
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can stewed tomatoes
1 (14 1/4-ounce) can fat-free, reduced sodium vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
3 cups fresh cheese ravioli or tortellini (about 10 ounces)
1 small zucchini, sliced
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Preparation:
Combine first 3 ingredients in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Add ravioli, zucchini, and pepper; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 7 to 8 minutes or until pasta and zucchini are tender.
I usually double the above recipe and get the larger can of tomatoes since a full package of ravioli and vegetable stock are already doubled. I have even removed the tomatoes and pureed them in the food processor since some in my family don't care for the chunks of tomatoes.
The above recipe came from here.
I have made a grilled garlic and mozzarella cheese sandwich to go with it. This is my favorite! Tonight I made the following recipe and it was also very good.
Stuffed Cheese Bread with Herbs
Take a loaf of crusty bread and slice in half.
Scoop out the middle, and save the insides for breadcrumbs for use later.
You will need:
2 tbsp of chopped fresh basil
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp of chopped fresh spinach leaves
1 cup of shredded mozzarella (or your favorite cheese)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
salt & pepper
In a bowl, combine the stuffing ingredients and mound into the hollowed out bread.
Put the lid back on the bread to cover and wrap tightly in aluminum foil.
Bake at 350F for 30 minutes. Wait until cool enough to slice.
I changed it a little but you can find the original recipe from here.
I love to try new recipes that are simple and delicious. Both of these are fabulous additions to my recipe book.
Mangia!
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
DIY Laundry Room
This is my first major DIY Project. One I did from floor to ceiling. I thought it was only appropriate to showcase it as my first blog post. Project dates: 9.29.11 to 10.3.11
It was not a desirable room to be in for anything, especially laundry, ironing, folding clothes, hanging clothes. That is about to change!
First order of business was to empty the room. Remove cabinets that were being relocated, remove doors that were being painted, and remove the laundry sink. The old washer and dryer went to the curb. There was grime, dust, and dog hair caked on the floor underneath the old washer and dryer. We lived here for seven years and had never cleaned nor seen under these machines. That hideous wallpaper, yes those were squares of contact paper that were maybe 12″ x 12″. Such a pain in the butt to remove.
The next step was putting down the backer board. It was screwed right to the floor. The mortar would adhere the tiles to the backer board. One person at Lowe’s had me convinced to go with the ready to use mortar (no mixing necessary). The next day I was back at Lowe’s and the two guys there that day convinced me otherwise so I bought the powdered mortar and the large mixing drill bit among many other items. So my neighbor and friend Andre’ helped get me started with putting down the tiles. He had done flooring before so I found that extremely helpful. He showed me the right consistency of the mortar and then he was in charge of cutting the edge tiles since I wasn't very good at that part.
After the tile was down and set, it was my chance to get the walls completed. I cleaned up the tiles and readied the walls for paint. Needed to mud some areas as you can see how the lovely wallpaper came off and took some wallboard with it. Once that was done, I painted, nailed the base trim, attached the bead board, nailed the chair rail. Also painted the cabinets and the removed doors white.
I was very pleased with how this turned out and the new washer and dryer hadn't even been delivered yet.
The next part was my favorite part I think. Grouting. I watched professional and non-professional YouTube videos. They were so helpful. While I watched the pros do it, I realized that was best case on what I wanted. As I watched the DIYer, I imagined this was how it was going to go for me. I liked this part, did I mention that? Right. Then that night I cleaned the grout haze and installed a new ceiling light. Nothing fancy, just didn't want to have the circa 1968 light still in this bright new laundry room.
Frank’s Appliance Center delivered the Whirlpool Duet Washer and Dryer on Monday morning as planned. I re installed the laundry sink when I got home from work at 4:45 that day. Put down a rug, rehung the doors back on the cabinets. It was coming together very nicely.
Mindy saw this ladder idea from someone’s blog. I just loved the idea. I hang a lot of clothes to dry and this was perfect. I didn't want to see the plastic coated wire shelving in my beautiful new laundry room. I got an old wooden ladder from a friend but as I was stripping that I realized that this laundry room has nothing rustic or old in it. I decided to make my own ladder. Off to Lowe’s again for some dowel rods, 1×3′s, screws, and yellow paint. A couple of nights later I hung the pictures, the ladder, and the ironing board hanger.
It is so nice bright, fresh, and new...I just love my laundry room. After the washer and dryer (purchased from Frank's Appliance Center) were delivered, my roommate and I sat against the wall and just watched the first load wash for about 30 minutes. It is so nice, bright, fresh, and new…I just love my laundry room. After the washer and dryer were delivered, my roommate and I sat against the wall and just watched the first load wash for about 30 minutes.
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