Christmas in Danville

Steven and I spent Christmas night in Danville with his family. So many people coming in and out of his Gawmaw's house! Holidays in Southfield were always only the six (then four, then three, then two) of us - no extended family to drop in. It was good to see everyone.

Merry Christmas!

No snow, and we barely decorated because of the work on the house, but otherwise "merry." Here's a picture of the tree. I love our ornaments - some are old (from the Heiers I think) and many others are things we collected that have "meaning."


Also in the picture is the beautiful pointsettia sent by Bev and Jim (thanks!) And thanks Mom for the presents! I love the cookbooks. And thanks Billy (brother in law) for the CD and wine, and Sharon for the Lowe's gift cards (much needed given the work on the house!)

I have been off for the past two weeks but spent most of the time sitting in either Sip coffeehouse or Argo Tea (which I love) doing ICAAP work, because home had construction going on. Otherwise, Steven and I spent much of our time off watching "marathons" on satellite TV (Voyager, Top Chef, Law and Order CI, South Park...) And I started playing my Playstation 2 again, unfortunately ... it's relaxing. I finished Frogger and am about halfway through Pac Man World 3 (I only play what I call "little girls'" games, and then only when they are a few years old and sell for under $20!)

Thanksgiving cookies

Not sure who sent this to my company (I was out and one of my staff took a picture). It's a cookie bouquet. Very nice, but they have to bake those cookies so hard and thick they aren't very good.

Busy Week - first, Las Vegas!

My fall trip to Vegas (Steven and I go in July, and I go in November). Stayed at the Monte Carlo, for the second time, since it's fine and pretty cheap. Weather in the 70s, which is good for the time of year. I continue my "addiction" to roulette (I love it!) and actually came back about $200 ahead this year. I love going to the Westin Casuarina - tiny casino a block off the strip but they have "happy hour" gambling where chips are $.25 (instead of $1) for roulette, and the other table games are similarly cheap. But mainly I like to shop, relax and drive around Vegas to see the neighborhoods, locals' casinos, etc. Good food as usual (Mon Ami Gabi, Olives, Mesa Grill, Emeril's Seafood, Il Fornaio).

Next trip may be March 2007 to join my Kathy and Jim at their "annual" final four weekend trip.

.. Then My High School Reunion

My 20th Groves reunion was 11/25/06 at the Westin in Southfield. It was surreal, and I think others would use that word as well. Probably 150 (out of just over 300?) students came back. At one point I'd be talking to old friends and it would feel as natural as it was walking the halls of Groves, and then I'd stop and look around and think about all that had happened in 20 years and how distant that part of my life is now.

Groves High School

Berkshire Middle School


I could write for hours about it but I'll spare everyone. I was so happy to see my friend Katy ... Katy, and Patty, connected with me over the summer and I realized how much I missed them and how sad it is that none of us kept in touch. Both of them seem to be doing great. It was also fun to see Danny (and to be sci-fi geeks again - he is professionally, teaching kids sci-fi literature, and I am pathetically, just watching sci-fi TV) and Chris. Interestingly, the Evergreen Elementary kids gravitated to each other, and it was fun to reminisce with Phil H, Alec R, Quinn S, Emily B, John M, etc. I missed Lainie L and Lily C, and a few others I was closer to in high school.

... And a Visit to the (Nonexistent) Old House

30011 Pleasant Trail is gone! I drove around alot before my high school reunion and visited Cranbrook and our house is gone, replaced with a newer one (see picture). And it's for sale. Otherwise the suburb looked the same, although everything seemed more spread out than it used to.

I spent maybe 4 hours driving around. The Burger King I worked at is there, but the Kmart is gone. All my old record stores are gone too. So sad to grow old.

Bathroom Remodeling Begins

We finally started remodeling the upstairs bathroom. Here's a before picture.

Steven is going to chronicle the remodeling on his blog (www.steventhemusical.blogspot.com) so you can visit that for updates.

AAP NCE In Atlanta

AAP National Conference this year was in Atlanta - the second time I've been there in 2006 and probably the 10th time in as many years. I wasn't planning to attend, but I ended up speaking and having my way paid. It's not my favorite city - it's way too hot and spread out. But after many trips, I was starting to like it. I was into a productive habit of jogging from my downtown hotel(s) out to Piedmont Park and back, found some decent restaurants in downtown and Midtown, found a few good bars and a good wine bar, etc. But this trip was my least favorite (I was mugged). Won't be visiting Altanta again anytime soon.

Star Sighting in Pittsburgh

I was in Pittsburgh this week for the National Academy of State Health Policy conference. (This is the third one I've been to, as a guest because of a grant project we have - this time I was on a panel planning a new project for states to work on developmental screening.) I was working out in the hotel and guess who was there - Jude Law! He looked familiar, then I realized he looked like Jude Law, but I put it out of my head since, well, I was in Pittsburgh. Then I looked around and this woman on another treadmill was frantically trying to make eye contact with the other hotel guests and when she caught me she mouthed "is it him? is it him?" I just smiled and shrugged, but eventually she got up the nerve to ask and he confirmed, yes, it was him. I later saw on the local news that Sienna Miller, whoever she is, was in town for some film festival (and apparently insulted the city while she was there.)

He was smaller than you'd think (especially after Gattaca - wasn't he the tall one and Ethan Hawke had to have his legs extended to be his double?). Web sites say 5' 11'' but I don't think so. Very charismatic and attractive in person even though I've never thought that watching him on screen. He had those grungy workout clothes on that, upon closer inspection, were probably designer clothes that cost thousands of dollars. He answered his cell phone maybe 10 times during his (pretty intense) workout. He also brought down his iPod and speakers ... maybe he expected a private fitness center?

Pittsburgh, BTW, was very pretty and seemed like it could be an interesting city. (Steven was there for a longer period for his association's conference, and would probably disagree.) I had the same positive response to Cleveland when Steven and I stayed there for one night on the way back from Poplar Tree Bay in August ... it felt like a big city, and a few blocks from downtown there were gorgeous, huge houses which I assume (perhaps offensively to the citizens of Cleveland) must be really cheap. The more I visit these mid-size cities the more I realize I could probably live in any one of them. Somewhere in the south would be nice ... cheap real estate, a few good restaurants (which is all we really need anymore - we are in such a rut in Chicago), little traffic, and (ideally) better weather. Like we will ever be motivated enough to move, but the thought does cross my mind.

Fun Family Pictures

I finally got around to scanning these fun old pictures of my family. They are sort of a matching early 70s set. I am only posting my Mom and me. The other four (Dad, Kathy, Dawn, Nancy) are really fun too, but Dad looks angry and my sisters might not be happy to be exposed to the world like that.


Isn't Mom's hair fun? It was tall. When I was little I could look up in the security mirrors at grocery stores and see her hair sticking up in other aisles so I would know where she was.

Yes, They Really Do Use "Big Checks"

One of the more interesting tasks of my job lately was attending a benefit at the Field Museum where I took part in the presentation of a large, fake check. ICAAP received a grant from the Aetna Foundation to support our project on maternal depression. (I was not the lead grantwriter - this is a joint project with a local health system, which has a whole development department - but I helped write it). Apparently, we competed against Johns Hopkins and other notable institutions so Aetna and the health system wanted to make a big deal out of the grant. Hence the photo op. Pictured below are some partner groups, the Aetna rep, and me.

It was an eventful summer for me and media events. This was about the same time I was invited to stand with our Governor, Rod Blagojevich (bla-GOY-uh-vich, for those not local to Illinois) at a press conference. I was ushered into a "green room" with other organizational representatives, to wait for His appearance. He's taller and skinnier than you'd think. We each shook his hand while an official photographer took our picture with him, then we were all lead out in front of the cameras. Unforunately, the media was totally disinterested in the topic of his press conference (electronic medical records), so it received virtually no coverage.

Las Vegas is HOT in July

Steven and I took our annual trip to Vegas in July - stayed at the Flamingo Hilton, lost some money, ate really well, etc. Here's a picture of us from the shark exhibit at Mandalay Bay (very cool exhibit).

First Trip to Poplar Tree Bay!

My sister Kathy and I bought a property on the St. Lawrence River last October. The cottage/camp (trailer) is nothing special, but it's on a double lot close to the water, with a great shared dock and beautiful sunsets. These photos are from our first trip up to see what we bought, over Memorial Day weekend.

Here's the trailer from the corner of the property. It's a 2-bedroom, one bath with a den added on, a shed, and a small front deck. Surprisingly comfortable. And fully-furnished (not necessarily my taste, but certainly a plus not to need any furniture, dishes, or tacky knick-knacks.)

The water access - a deck built onto some large rocks. There is a second shared water access down a few houses that is shallower and has boat ramps. The swimming is good, although it gets deep pretty quickly and there are some large rocks and weeds to contend with. The St. Lawrence is amazingly clear because of zebra mussels. This photo looks toward the center of the bay.

Me, my sister Kathy, and her husband Jim enjoying the sunset from the water access. Probably with cocktails in hand.

One of many beautiful sunsets we saw this summer. (Frankly, I'm not big on sunsets, but you'll probably see many of them posted on this blog.)

My Letter Made the Tribune

My letter in response to an article on teen drinking was published in the Chicago Tribune! In the print edition, and signed by me, no less (we send in quite a few letters from work, signed by pediatricians, and they inevitably get published in the online version). The letter was posted on the Chicago Tribune site but is only accessible now by paying for access. Yes, I know there's irony in an Allen family member sending in a letter on the evils of drinking. But teen drinking - bad (hear that, nieces and nephew?)

Calvin and Abner Spring 2006

You can never post too many cat pictures. Here are Calvin (grey, 11 years, stocky) and Abner (orange, 10 years, obese), posing for the camera, sometime this past spring.

Enjoying the floor heater on one of the last chilly days of the season. Shortly, we will enjoy the coolness of the air conditioner from this same, magical spot on the floor. And yes, there are many other vents in the floor, but we prefer to share this one, thank you.

And this one, in Stool Leg Forest (in the kitchen, close to the food).

Abner, looking slimmer than usual (this is Scott's current screen saver at work).

Calvin, in ecstasy, on the bathroom rug.

Starting a Blog . . .

Since Steven's entire family (well, not Jake or Gawmaw, but almost) has a blog I thought I should probably start one too. We'll see if I keep it up.