Good Bye 2014 and Flowers

It is the last hour of the last day of 2014.  I've had a very hard time keeping up with these two blogs and in fact would have had trouble keeping up with one.

I completely failed to learn Greek in the last three months.  This is what's kept me from writing.  I have been studying at least a half hour a day the last three months and have learned some, but I did not study the 90 minutes to two hours a day and most importantly I did not practice live with someone.

The need is still there.  I still need to learn Greek, and fast.  I do have other responsibilities and goals, so now what I'm going to do is let this blog stop right here.  I will no longer post on this blog at all.  I will make any posts on Illini6 only.  I will push up my Greek studies to a minimum of one hour a day and I must find someone to practice with at least once a week.  I can't do anything until that's done.

Goals for 2015 include getting a different job, loosing 20 lbs (in order to keep healthy and in my current size pants), enrolling in grad school and finishing the "Hate to Say I Told You So" story on Illini6.  I'm not yet sure how these goals will all fit together, but those are what I have.

We had a few exciting things happen in 2014.

• EHL turned 18 and got her first tattoo.
• We went to our first Brazilian steak house
• EHL graduated from high school and started college.
• SEL went to two week Girl Scout camp for high ropes
• SEL applied for and made it into Extension Arts
• SEL helped me take CML back to school in Boston and 
• got to see Boston for the first time
• saw the ocean for the first time
• flew in a plane for the first time
• CML started her final year of college as an RA
• CML started playing Rugby
• I played my first Rugby game with GJL
• We saw the All Blacks vs USA Eagles in Soldier Field
• MAL and I went to a Wolves game
• MAL continued to get awards at work
• MAL traveled to many foreign countries:  UK, Italy, and Kansas
• CML saw her first ballet
• We all visited a pet shelter to view the dogs
• GAK family visited from AZ for Christmas

Καλό Μηνά Christmas Season

Everybody is back at school.  We all had a lovely week of visiting for Thanksgiving.  We went to Oak Lawn on the day itself, and Chicago on Saturday for brunch.

On Wednesday we went down to Da Loop to look at lights and take pictures for our Christmas card.  I don't know if we got any that were good enough, but we'll try to make do.

Tuesday was the Mrs.'s 50th and she got a lot of nice greetings.  She got some lovely cards, a nice dinner at Morgan's, a fruit bouquet, a cupcake cake, a promise of cleaning ladies, and tickets to a Wolves game in December.

I grew a mustache for November, but as far as I can tell no one donated money in my name.  I'm going to keep it until the end of the week.  I'm still hoping for it to really come in.

I'm afraid I'm not nearly as far along in my Greek as I had hoped to be.  I think a lot of that has to do with my not having found a daily language partner.  What I need (what is recommended) is someone who will treat me like a parent treats a two year old.  We all know two year olds who talk but no one can understand them besides their parents.  Instead of correcting a child who calls a theater a, "peuter" they say, "Yes, we can go to the theater and see Frozen again" (turns out that child thought that movie screens were giant computer monitors and was trying to say "computer" but we knew what she meant).

I am much further along than I've ever been, and I still have a month.  I'm going to have to redouble my efforts, and the Mrs has promised to help (though her patience wears thin quickly).

Justice, The Universe and Cheese

The Doctor, Superboy,
and a Bears fan
making the ultimate sacrifice for charity

They outlawed costumes for Halloween at work.  Three rebels bucked the system to fight for justice, the universe and cheese!

I'm going to participate in Movember this Movember by growing a mustache.  The lovely Mrs. doesn't like me in a mustache so you know she is making a supreme sacrifice.

She does like the rugged scruffy look so I'm going to mix the two.

I'm going to use the above picture for my before and hopefully my after will look like this:

However, I should take heed of Borimir's words:

Respectful Memorial Day

I don't want to wish a, "happy" Memorial Day since it is intended to be a day of respect, remembrance and honor for those fallen in our nation's defense as members of the armed forces.

It's been a a long time since I've posted here, and even longer since I've posted my goal progress or family matters.

CML is home from Boston.  EHL graduated from High School.  I mention these in chronological order.

MAL and I flew to Boston and drove back with our eldest on the weekend of the 10th.  It was fairly uneventful except that we had to stay overnight in her dorm and discovered a mattress that is even more painful than our own.  As an aside, MAL and I went on a sort of date to see The Amazing Spiderman 2 (least of several evils) and a dinner at the Bull and Finch (the "Cheers") pub. CML has been working there as a receptionist.

EHL graduated last weekend.  It was a grand affair in the Sears Center Arena in Hoffman Estates. Brazil Express Churrasco Grill in Schaumburg.  It was a small place in a strip mall but very good, and the service was excellent.  I would recommend it as just as good as Fogo de Chao in Chicago.  The Brazil Express will tell you it's cheaper, but I don't think by much.  Apparently now the restaurants of choice for Mundelein birthdays and events are Brazilian steakhouses.  I don't think we will completely abandon our old standbys of Bob Chin's Crab House or Tsukasa in Vernon Hills.
 Afterwards we had dinner at

As far as goals go, I've been behind in my writing because of lack of time.  It is a real lack of time and not a lack of priorities as I do not have enough actual, real time to do everything my family needs, exercise, work and get more than about 4 hours of sleep a night.  I'm really not sure how I'm going to get everything done, but something is going to have to suffer.  It is just a matter of what and how badly.

I have been studying Greek nearly every day, but it's not the kind of study that will get me forward very quickly.  I'm going to have to bite the bullet here and make some very big sacrifices as this is absolutely the highest priority.

Καλό Μήνα, Λιοντάρι

Not Simba nor Nala

Happy new month, lion.

March is in like a lamb, out like a lion.  I've also heard, in like a lion, our like a lamb.  This is the lionest March 1st that I can remember.

Our last poll was what kind of Christmas tree do you have.  3 respondents said inorganic (aka artificial), 1 said organic (sometimes known as live even though it is cut down and dead) and 1 said other.  Since I also had a "None" choice I'm guessing the "Other" was a holy-gram or something else virtual.

My new post is based on something that one of my daughters pointed out to me, a video about the Disney Princesses.  I posted my opinion about the video, but here I thought I'd ask, in the name of my three Mundelein Princesses, who is your favorite Disney Princess?

Happy Saint Valentine's Day!

I'm having a good Valentine's Day so far.  I bought Mrs. Prop a shrubbery.


Actually it was more of a potted plant, to show that our love is a living thing.

I also got her candy and made a card all in Greek that I left on the bed for her to wake to.

She suggested we get a Chicago Style Pizza and spend a romantic evening snuggling and watching a movie.

I don't know what movie yet (go to Illini6 for my discussion on manly romantic movies).

Hope you all have a very romantic or at least nice holiday.

Don't fight it

As you wish

Kαλό Μήνα, Gopher!

Okay, so it wasn't a gopher, it was a groundhog (at least the Bill Murray part was right), and I totally missed the first, and the second (which was actual Groundhog's Day).  Can you blame me though, I mean this weather, and the gopher, er groundhog says we have to have six more weeks, ugh!

I want to share with you a wrap up of my goals for 2013.  It is very late, but I've been having trouble getting my thoughts together about it, and I'm switching things up from Illini6.  Up until this year I always did my goals and New Year's Resolutions in Illini6, but this year if it isn't about writing and professional stuff it doesn't go there.

My goals for last year were discussed on Illini6 as I went along.  I went round and round, but I finalized them here.

Here is a recap, and how I did:

1. P90X - I completed this.
2. Learn Greek to level S2 or B1 - I failed
3. Quarterly Dates - I failed utterly
4. Get a New Job - Failed, but I am still employed at my current job
5. Get Girl Scout Training - done
6. Get Journey to Excellence Gold level for the Aptakisic District for which I'm District Commissioner - Silver
7. Fortnightly Chicago History podcast - canceled
8. Learn the Trees in my Neighborhood - canceled
9. Participate in an Archaeology Activity - postponed
10. Join a Club - canceled

I had realized I had bitten off more than I could or should chew about half way through the year so I canceled some things.  That was also about the time I learned that I would be going to Tanzania for a month.

You can see that I only actually accomplished two things on the list.  Of those, the P90X exercise program was a bitter win.  I often would have to take days off or heavily modify the exercises because of injuries (my joints are no longer capable of doing plyometric exercises at all).  In the end my right elbow still bothers me, and I feel like I'm less fit at this time than I was when I started the program last year.

On the plus side, I did get accepted to go to Tanzania and I spent a once in a life time month working there.  Also, I completed a novel in November.  I think Hidden Temple to the Lost Gods is my best effort so far.

So, that was 2013.  I feel in general it was a big disappointment.

I'll be back with 2014's goals.  They will be leaner, if not meaner; and I'll be wanting help from all of you to get them done.

Thanks ahead of time.

(Possibly) First Ever Flowers of Mundelein Poll!

Kicked to the curb

I don't remember ever doing a poll here before so this may be the very first.

We are struggling to get Christmas packed up here at our house (in fact that's what I should be doing rather than writing this blog post).

It got me to thinking, what kind of trees do ya'll use (I think, "Ya'll" is a perfectly good word to use that helps distinguish between you (singular) and you (plural) and I support its use, even north of the Mason Dixon line)?

You can answer in the poll over on the right column.  If you want to talk about it, you can add a comment to this lil' ole post (grr, I gots to talkin' in Southern n' I jus' kent stop muself).

Enjoy!

Χρόνα Πόλλα καί Καλό Μένα!

Happy New Year Everybody!  Happy First of the Month too!

I wanted to write about my goals for 2014.  I shared them in general on Illini6 but I want to keep that blog for professional items, writing in other words.  In this blog I want to keep the more personal stuff.

I think my goals for 2014 will be (in this order):

1. Learn Greek
2. Archaeology
3. Writing - this belongs squarely in Illini6 and will be covered there.
4. New Job
5. Commissioner

These aren't written as goals, but I want to go over them and write them up as legitimate goals for the year.

In general learning Greek is pretty straightforward, but I'm going to set steps, milestones and specific measurable results that will define is more precisely.

What I mean about Archaeology is I have been wanting to keep Archaeology fresh in my mind.  My BA is in Anthropology and eventually I want to go back to school and get my PhD.  Archaeology is a discipline of Anthropology.  I had originally wanted to get my degree in Marine Archaeology, with a big dive watch, awesome tan, diving on sites off the Greek islands.

I think I may have to modify that just a little bit, but I do want to stay involved and informed on the subject.

New Job is a pretty clear goal, or so it would seem so.  Again I need to set up steps, milestones and specify exactly what I mean by it (different vs new).

Commissioner really doesn't have a meaning by itself.  I am currently the District Commissioner for our local Boy Scout District (Aptakisic District of Northeastern Illinois Council).  Last year I had a goal to have our District earn a Gold level in Journey to Excellence.  We didn't make it.  I need to set goals for myself in this role of my life.  Should I carry forward my goal from last year or make a new goal?

I'm going to take the next couple of days to review and chew of these until I get my goals for 2014.

I'm also going to review what I did with my 2013 goals.  My initial feeling is that it wasn't a successful year, but I may need to take a closer look to see what positive things I have from last year, and if they outweigh the negative.

Kαλό μήνα, Time to Write a Novel

I'm going to try to keep working on my other goals AND write a novel entirely in the month of November.  I started today.  I have to be done at the end of the month.

Wish me luck.

Happy Oxi Day!

Today is Oxi Day.  It is the anniversary of the day in 1940 when the Greek Prime Minister told the Italian Ambassador that they would not surrender (oxi means no) and allow Italy to occupy Greece.

It was gutsy and defiant.  The Greeks were not the powerhouse the Italians were at the time.  What ended up happening was Greece fought the best they could and eventually Hitler had to send in German troops to help the Italians.  Greece was eventually conquered, but it was long and very costly for both the Axis countries.  Some even credit it with delaying the German invasion of the Soviet Union until so late in the year that they ended up fighting in winter and losing badly.

You may see it spelled "Ohi" or "Ochi" but I don't like either of those.  The Greek letter x is pronounced like you're trying to pronounce H while clearing your throat.  I would say the closest way to spell it in English is oh-khee.

If you see this before you see any of my in-laws, my kids or any Greek person you know, remember to wish them Happy Oxi Day!