A Spoonful of Sugar

For girls like me who have a severe sweet tooth.

Humpilates. Genius.

Jimmy Kimmel's Hottie Body Humpilates.  One of the funniest things I've ever seen on tv.

Some people smoke or drink....

Is there a Real Housewives rehab?

My #1 Housewives addiction:

The New Jersey ladies sucked me in and now I watch New York, Orange County, Atlanta, & Beverly Hills.  It has to be some kind of addiction, and considering one of the 10 versions is on 24 hours a day there may need to be a rehabilitation center for people who need to get back to their daily lives.  Like me.

Faces I Miss 2

These are 3 of the girls that helped me stay <relatively> sane every weekend for years in an environment rich in drama and cigarette smoke.  These girls are rich with inspiration and strength, though, and I was blessed to have been able to be around them so often.  They taught me a lot about having a thicker skin and being able to laugh at those who try to make you upset.  I really miss being able to see each of you so often.

Faces I Miss

 I really miss seeing your faces every day!  I have so many fun memories with you guys.  There are many days I wish I could get in my car and drive to Schaumburg, ride the elevator up to the 7th floor (?), and watch Kristen stomp around in her big boots and string hat.  I hope you guys have fun memories from our time together too. 

Chocolate/Vanilla Swirl

Does anyone know why I chose the name Stop 'n Chat?

This is the best picture I could find, so if anyone has a better one please share! 

Stop n' Chat was a little ice cream stand in Westmont, Illinois on Cass Avenue.  It had amazing soft serve ice cream.  I ordered the chocolate/vanilla swirl in a cone each time.  My family, along with many families in the area, spent time every summer sitting on picnic benches outside enjoying the ice cream.  It's one of those childhood memories that stand out for me, and I was sad when they tore it down.  I've heard a lot of people were sad because of the memories attached to this little building, especially for families like mine with multiple generations from the same area.  My mother went to DGN and her father owned a dry cleaning business in Westmont.  My father went to Benet and his mother was a grade school teacher at Lester Elementary School in Downers.  I went to DGS and grew up in Downers Grove.  I decided to name this blog Stop 'n Chat because a little ice cream shop where old friends and neighbors run into each other on a warm, summer evening is the kind of positive spirit I would love to maintain here.



Ciao, Adios, Au revoir, Aloha my beloved Facebook

Hi guys!  Thanks so much for visiting. 

I know this blog is a lot less convenient to visit than my page on facebook.  After a lot of consideration, I decided I'd prefer to visit with friends using this connection instead.  I hope you will all stop by once in a while and say hi.  I plan on sharing pictures, stories, news, whatever, but all here instead of the social networking site that has taken over the world.  I'm not a fan of facebook drama, but even more I'm opting out of allowing my personal information to be secretly shared by the company.  I'm very thankful to those who kept alerting me to the changes facebook makes behind our backs, but I'm deciding not to try to keep up anymore. 

With that said, I realize I probably won't be able to keep in touch with as many people as I did on facebook, so I thank all of you who do come and visit!