it's in the way that you look at it.

So I am at work talking to a good friend and colleague about the current state of affairs at my beloved Chicago Sun-Times. The news is not good for us. The paper is suffering through many problems, the worst of which is the failing economy and uncertainty of the newspaper industry's future.

We didn't talk about anything groundbreaking, new or surprising. It was more of a, "aren't you worried... and this really sucks" kind of conversation.

"I'm pretty lucky," they said. My eyes grew wide and I answered, "What!?!"

My colleague went on to say how they've worked at a job they've loved for 25 years, and look... they're still here.

"I feel like I've beat the system," they said. "I mean, I can count on one hand the days I came to work and really didn't want to be here."

I nodded because I understood. They were right. Hardly anyone can honestly say that.

And despite my complaints and rough days, both of which have ebbed and flowed with time, it's absolutely true for me, too.

Where else can I meet politicians and celebrities, sample food from the city's best restaurants and talk to anyone about anything. I've laughed, cried and been scared out of my mind, sometimes all in the same day.

The future is horribly, frighteningly uncertain right now. But as I considered what my colleague said, I figured out that I am also really ahead of the game.

And somehow, I was comforted just by that thought.

i'm thankful for...

God, who never lets me down.
my gift of two extraordinary daughters.
mom and dad, for standing by me no matter what.
my sisters and their husbands, who have reached out and not allowed me to fall.
my nieces and nephews who constantly remind me what's really important.
my extended and extremely wide "friend-family."
my soul sisters. All of them.
friendships, both old and new, that make life worth living.
the Parkview Christian Church Community and Pastor Tim Harlow.
Deb, Joe and Divorce Care.
my Scouts, for teaching me a thing or two.
talent that rediscovers itself every day.
warmth that heats my beautiful home.
angelfood ministries.
drama queens.
jean lachat photography.
the revival project.
a job that provides amazing experiences.
a job that pays the bills.
lia sophia, for the friends and opportunity it has provided.
Barack Obama, the PRESIDENT of the UNITED STATES!
my Nikon D3.
my Prius, for being part of the solution.
my crackberry.
email, text messaging, and facebook.
smugmug.
my blog.
2008, for being infinitely more difficult than any other year of my life.
the amazing possibilities of 2009.
all the laughter, love, happiness, peace and joy awaiting discovery.

What about you?

like a kid in a candy shop.

It's great having kids around during the holidays. Mine are bouncing off the walls with the prospect of a three-day school week and four-day weekend.

It reminds me of everything that is great about being a kid. They truly take joy in the simplest of things: Thanksgiving feast for Jess and PJ day for Bec. No tests, no homework, and time spent with their cousins.

Their excitement is contagious.

I am not working this Thanksgiving for the first time in years. For that, I truly am thankful. Though I have just a few things to be tended to this weekend, I am excited about seeing my family and actually sitting down with them for dinner, instead of arriving an hour after dinner and eating alone in front of everyone, while they enjoy their dessert and coffee, which has been the norm for me on a working holiday.

I have so much to be thankful for this year. I look back at last year at this time and life was filled with uncertainty and sadness. While I still feel like I am working on getting my act together, this year, I feel much more settled. While life has not been perfect, I have enjoyed more moments of joy than sadness. And for me... well, that is just HUGE!

I hope that the same is true for you this year.

Remember to be like a kid this holiday season.

See the simplest things as cause for a wonderful celebration.

channeling ally mcbeal.

Remember her? Calista Flockhart's neurotic attorney character had more issues than any of us can technically claim.

But that show was fun, and I became a semi-regular viewer because Chrissy & Doug talked about it so much. I even became a fan the late, great Barry White, strictly because of that show.

Ally went through a whole lotta therapists during her time on TV. Some were looser than she was; Tracey Ullman's therapist character I have always remembered. Her "therapy" has stuck with me throughout the past 10 plus years.

The good doctor had asked Ally to pick a "theme song" as part of her therapy, something peppy or bouncy to help her feel better when things got rough. Ally would switch around theme songs, which would then spontaneously play during shows as Ally battled her inner demons, mostly involving her love life.

I always thought that was a pretty cool concept. So as I have fought my own demons in my life, I have thought what MY theme song should be during certain circumstances. To this day, Chrissy and I still make jokes about theme songs.

When things get stressful and she and I are dumping on each other and apologizing in the process (as girls tend to do) saying, "I'm so sorry, I don't mean to unload all this on you..." We say/sing to each other, "You Ain't Heavy, You're My Brother..." and we both crack up.

So, as your "assignment" for this day/week/year, which as I know has been particularly more stressful for some of you, choose a theme song for yourself.

I am going to do some thinking and get back to you on it! Feel free to comment here on your own great ideas!

Have a great week, and a blessed Thanksgiving.

partying like it's 1987.

Wow! That's all I can say about my night...

Hung out with some of my all-time favorite people.

Ate a fantastic dinner.

Then saw Dirty Dancing on stage.

Doesn't get any better than that. MBJ gathered a gift together for my 41st birthday, from many of my wonderful friends, and presented me with a gift certificate for the show.

It was soooo cool. It had all the "cheese" of the original movie, plus extra scenes, a few more songs and a little more character and plot depth than the film version. The dancing was phenomenal, and then I got to have a photo taken with the male lead, Josef Brown, aka "Johnny Castle," while holding a watermelon prop from the show.

I will never forget this night. It was perfect.

Thank you, friends. Again.

maxim, a sales manager and no wedding ring...

... is what Mary and I first noticed as we interviewed a sales manager at a certain auto dealership in the south suburbs today. It was part of our assignment on the horrible economy.

Unknowingly, we both found it ridiculously funny.

"Did you see the Maxim under his desk..." we said in unison while crossing the street back to the lot where our cars were parked.

The manager bore a resemblance to Nicholas Cage, but just slightly and at a certain angle.
In his office, a Maxim magazine featuring "the HOTTEST Bond girl ever," was in plain view.
He was probably in his late 40s and spoke of his son, but he didn't wear a wedding ring.

I love irony.

I asked her if she thought guys noticed wedding rings as much as girls do.

We thought probably not.

We thoroughly enjoyed a good laugh, which is just what we needed at the end of a day of interviews.

And in case you were wondering... yes, the economy does suck.

friends and weekends.

Doesn't that sound like a Paul Simon song?

I had a perfect weekend... packed with my fun work, my girls and absolutely unbeatable fun with friends.

My highlights:

Bears party with my vacation family: Pennellwood cousins, and some of my all-time favorite people, ever.

Hanging out with my Parkview family.

Bowling and laughing till I (almost) wet my pants.
Staying out till 1AM. (when's the last time that happened!?!)
The first snowfall of the year.
Griffy's "guns."
The shamrock game.
Extra money :)
Awesome portrait sessions. (check out the new gallery being posted by tomorrow night!)
The non-threatening Question game.

I love the process of getting to know people better, and the surprises I enjoy as I find out we are all connected... somehow, someway.

I also love planning, which we did for the holidays and the months to come.

On the schedule:

Partylite at She's
Mexican New Year's Eve.
Jack's Texas Hold 'Em. (cupholders included)
Craps.
More bowling.
A weekend in Indiana.
A week in Minnesota.

More great memories in the making.

Planning sometimes makes life's daily struggles seem less significant and less daunting.

I ran like crazy this weekend, from point A to points B, C, D, E and F.

I wouldn't have it any other way.

ready, set, think.

Thanks Nancy for forwarding on these adorable little emails she gets from:

www.tut.com ®.

Check this one out. It's kind of like "The Secret" in e-mail Cliff's Notes. You can sign up to get brief, inspiring messages delivered to your inbox on a regular basis (you pick deliver days).

You will see what I mean when the come to you. They are short, sweet and inspiring.

The one I received today was, "If you don't know what to think, think positive. If you don't what to do, do anything."

I don't want to trivialize the grand concept at work here, but it so obvious, it's deep.

My weekend is shaping up to be chock-full of fun and opportunities. Time with the girls. Time with friends. A couple lia sophia parties. A couple portrait visits. Bowling and the Bears.

Ready, set, go.

Hope yours is positively great, too.

the b. is back!

Back from the Happiest Place on Earth, no one was happier than I to have Patti back within shouting distance of me.

She just laughed as I told her how it "felt like she had died..." (even though Kailey texted me regularly all week.) That I needed to, but didn't, take notes on all the stuff I normally would have told her during our regular 5-7 phone calls a day. That I reached for my cellphone and sadly put it back down, remembering my promise to only call in the event of a real emergency.

Running into "a certain Chicago photographer," warranted a few texts in secret code to Kailey, who read them to her mom, but did not constitute an "emergency." sigh...

"President OBAMA! whoop whoop whoop!"
Another text... sigh...

Anyway, she's back and my life earth has returned on its regular axis, and for that I am thankful. And she's read the blog, the emails and seen all the invites for the next month.

Everyone needs a "Patti." Maybe you have one. The friend who finishes your sentences and you can say exactly one word to and both of you immediately understand all the implications.

Like, "Crafty."

She's my go-to gal who loves all of my friends, and who has stood by me through thick, thin and thick, thin, thick, thick, thick. And hopefully thin again.

This b. loves you!!!

Welcome home!

just another mother of two.

Michelle Obama (oh, and her husband, Barack) were photographed this morning exiting their daughters' school this morning, following a parent/teacher conference.

You gotta love Michelle...

Sweatpants, no make-up. Hair in a ponytail, covered by an Oprah baseball cap. 

That's our first lady!

She looks exactly like I will next Friday when I rush out of the house at 7:55AM to meet with the girls' teachers at 8AM.

How awesome is that? 

I am happy to delight in these small observations while we wait and see what happens in the months and years ahead. This is so cool!

Have a great weekend y'all.

what a day!

What's the mood like in Chicago? MBR texted me today from Ohio to find out how things were going at Obama's home base.

Honestly, it was a lot like when the Bulls were winning championship after championship in the 90s. Everyone was smiling at each other, walking with a light step, and being extra kind

Mayor Daley was positively giddy during a press conference this morning.

It was like a club that we all gained membership to in one fell swoop. Downtown glowed, and the warm weather wrapped it's arms around the City of Big Shoulders. We could feel proud, and hopeful and together.

It was awesome, and nothing could ruin the moment.

Lots of high fives... plenty of positive comments from strangers.

I wouldn't trade November 5, 2008 in Chicago to be anywhere else. Because there is nowhere else I would rather be than where Daley described as, "the city that is the envy of the world."

Home, sweet home.

yes we can. yes we did!

This is so incredible. I try to wrap my head around it. And in explaining to the girls this morning about the significance of a black president, I realized it truly is mind-boggling.

GO BARACK!

Now, after experiencing history, I hope and pray Obama demonstrates the knowledge, intelligence and good judgment to lead this country for all of us in the direction it needs to go.

I feel hopeful, for the first time in a long time about the state of our nation.

Now for the humor...

I had lunch with Michelle Obama when Barack was running for senator. Deb Pickett was doing her "Sunday Lunch with..." column and I went along with her to a restaurant in Hyde Park. Michelle was awesome. Smart, beautiful, funny and in so many ways, the kind of person I would want to be friends with if given the chance.

For lunch, I ordered chicken breast on the bone. It was delivered to the table, and as I stuck a fork in it and went to cut the meat off the bone, the piece of chicken flew across the table. I was totally mortified and apologized immediately. Michelle leaned over and said, "That's why I never order anything with a bone in it."

We all laughed and lunch went on. She was as delightful as she was smart, and I know she will make an excellent First Lady.

Enjoy this week, and the gift of beautiful weather.
Enjoy also this moment in history.

making history.

The first thought that popped in my head this morning when I opened my eyes was, "I gotta go vote!" Like a kid on Christmas morning, I headed up to Mokena Village Hall and did just that, participating in possibly the most significant presidential election in my lifetime.

It was empowering.

Even though I have never, ever missed voting in an election since I was old enough to vote, I just love the process.

I love how my town's Village Hall is a "Village Hall." I love the election judges; retired folks who move at their own pace, oblivious to the other commitments you have for the day.

I love the unsteady cardboard booths, and the fact that in this technological age, I still fill a circle with a pen on my ballot.

It's the ultimate in a democracy, and I am filled with hope that this time, change really can occur and it will occur in ways we as Americans never dreamed possible.

Today I voted for me and for my kids.

I hope you did too.

Jesus is driving the bus and God is my co-pilot.

Or something like that. Patti saw this on a bumper sticker and called me (while she was driving, no less) to tell me she was going to find one for me.

I love the humor in this truth. I spent last evening in the company of my friends from Divorce Care and the Singles Ministry at PCC, and we had a great time. I found out that a few of the guys are "allmysoulsisters" too. And I mean that in the most wonderful way possible. So, a big shout-out to Jack and Rick, thanks for reading!

I am an Evangelical Christian, aka, "born again."

It's easier to say that to myself; harder to say it out loud. It's been an enlightening, spiritual and really wonderful journey so far. I have learned so much, and have been filled with a joy and calmness I haven't experienced in recent memory.

But spending the evening with my PCC buddies makes me realize that I am experiencing something that makes me a better person. It has not taken away from "me," but has just added the understanding that I am "me" because I am a child of God, and I am living the life He so wants me to have.

And when I can go out with other Christians and be throwing back beers, talking about "Weiner Wednesday, " boobs and Chinese donuts, I realized that Jesus can drive the bus, and I am truly along for the ride of my life.