Team Saturdazzle: The One With Downtown Chicago

Third Saturday of the year. Third Team Saturdazzle post. For Christmas this year I gave Amy tickets to a Bulls game. We used them this weekend and drove to the city to watch The Bulls lose a close one to the Charlotte Hornets. Amy likes either playing sports or watching them live. I like those as well as watching sports on TV. , listening to sports on the radio and reading the accounts of a game in a newspaper or online.  But being with Amy makes everything even losing to the Hornets better.

Horace Grant 87-94 Bulls (1st 3 championships)
Randy Brown 95-00 Bulls (Last 3 championships)

A case in point is after I gave Amy the tickets she decided that staying overnight in Chicago would be better than driving back to our home in the suburbs. This is why I sit here at a Chicago hotel chronicling our adventure so far early on a Saturday morning.

One thing Amy and I like about staying in a hotel is television. In the 26-plus years we’ve been married many of those years have been spent without a TV. A few more years have been spent owning a TV. You can only watch DVDs or video cassettes.  So on those  occasions when we have stayed in hotel rooms we have enjoyed watching broadcast television. Yesterday after the game we watched a couple episodes of Seinfeld followed by an episode of Friends.  After that we turned on TUBI and watched a part of an episode of What's Happening and part of an episode of The Floor,  We watched the former because one of the Bull's bench players, Jalen Smith gives off a big Roger vibe from the show.

The latter is because we have been catching up on the 2nd season of the Fox game show sporadically over the past few months.  

This morning I went downstairs for some breakfast and I encountered a young man with a Hornets hoody and a Bulls Cap.  It's the kind of thing I would do with Cubs and Sox gear so he let me take a pic of him. The breakfast was good.  I don't see grits as an offering very much in the Chicago area but was glass to partake.

Bulls Cap Hornets Hoodie

Breakfast these days takes grits and hard-boiled determination.

Checkout at the hotel wasn't until noon.  So we lingered and then on the way home we stopped by a restaurant I'd seen on Friday that appealed to several parts of my nature.  

1. It's a classic Chicago Hotdog spot.

2. The name of the place, LuLu's is also one of our nicknames for our youngest daughter.

3. Three Words: Home Made Chili

4. Art work reminiscent of the Little Lulu comics without giving any of the credit. 

5.  When I went  in I decided I would see if they could put Chili on my Polish.  Not only could they but the Chili Cheese Polish, which I thought I had invented seconds before, was their special of the day.

While I don't subscribe to the no ketchup on hot dog 

theory, I do appreciate the wry wit of this poster.

For the last 3 years our Saturdays were too busy in the winter to get away for the weekend.  Almost every weekend, we were judging a speech tournament which took a huge portion of our Saturdays.  Even yesterday we drove by a high school on our way home blissfully unaware that the Larkin Speech Team was participating in a tournament there.  

Last 5 Sporting Events

1/17/2025 Charlotte Hornets Defeat Chicago Bulls 125-123 @ The United Center Chicago Illinois

11/16/2024 Class 7A Football Quarterfinal IHSA Batavia 17 Downers Grove North 7 @Batavia High Scool Batavia IL

11/2/2024 Dad's Day Weekend Minnesota 25 Illinois 17 Memorial Stadium Champaign IL 

10/26 Mt Carmel 34 Loyola Academy 20 Mt. Carmel High School, Chicago IL

10/19 100th anniversary game of Dedication of Memorial Stadium Illinois 21 Michigan 7 Memorial Stadium Champaign IL 

 

Team Saturdazzle: The One That Got Post Dated

I had big plans for the Team Saturdazzle segment in 2025.

First, I was going to post content for the segment to be published each Saturday of the new year.

Then, I would attempt to generate a little readership for it by linking it through the blogosphere via other established blogs , memes, and various Social networking sites.

After a while, I would gauge interest in making it one of those segments that others could link their content to.

All these plans were contingent on stringing a number of Weekly Saturdazzle posts together.

the Jan 5th edition went fine, in the sense that there was a Jan 5th edition. I had a few ideas for this edition. 

One idea came to me when I took my waiting with my Mom on one of her recent doctor appointments. She kept on talking about going to get cookies. My Mom often brings cookies up to her room which she gets from the dining room at the place where she and my Dad stay. Instead of eating her desserts in the dining room she brings them up to her room and puts them in her refrigerator aka the place where desserts go to die.

This was made on Christmas by my youngest daughter and my Mom. Left to 
 my mom’s devices it would have stayed in her fridge until the 15th anniversary of Covid.

As my Mom kept on talking about cookies, I thought that it might be cool to bring my daughters over there on Saturday and do some baking.  My parents have been living in  a senior living facility for the past few years where there meals are served to them.  While they have an oven and stove int heir apartment neither one of them is really able to use it anymore.  I thought it would be nice to have the sweet smell of baked goods wafting through their kitchen.

Due to being triple and quadruple booked for most of the weekend, we did not get over there on Saturday.  This was actually a good thing as it gave me a moment in the madness of a weekend with little sleep to rest a while.  We rescheduled the baking for Sunday when a number of us visit my folks anyway, which seemed like a good solution.  

The only problem was that the baking expedition was going to be the main point of my Saturdazzle feauture and now I would need to write about something else.  Then I remembered technology.  Blogger allows me to predate my posts and it also allows me for some reason to post date them.  So here's what I did, I went baking on Sunday am blogging about it now and back dating the post so it looks like it appeared on Saturday.  This was if and when I build a following with Saturdazzle, and the Saturdazzled (tm) pending are looking for back issues there will be continuity that it gets posted each Saturday.

Here are the pics from our multi generational cookie day

Gather the ingredients at home

Assembling The Troops



Giving the aged sharp objects

Giving the aged with sharp objects supervision

Obligatory Baking Picture (OBP) #1

   

OBP #2

OBP #3

Finished Product: Happy Parents

Overall the event was highly successful.  My Dad kept on saying he didn't remember the last time someone came over to bake for him.  We left a good amount of cookies in a tupperware on the table and took the rest home so none would be subjected to the refrigerator where desserts go to die. 

The first comment of the year

To many.  comments are the currency of the blogging world.  To some, it's page views, but having someone stop by and write about your content is a gratifying thing.  I blog for me.  I would like to have a large readership, but it doesn't matter that I don't have much of one.  

I post on other people's blogs and participate in their blogging events in part so either people will see and comment on my blog.  But even when they don't I still like to post content here and comment on their content there.  

SO it wasn't surprising on January 8th that I still did not have one single comment on any of my posts since last year.  I was glad that I got 3 comments in somewhat rapid succession the next day.  I work both my jobs in Wednesday and and in between them I stopped at McDonalsd for a snack knowing I wouldn't be eating dinner until 9:30.  I got one of my favorite snacks, a deconstructed root beer float.  That's my name for an ice cream cone and a glass of root beer,

While eating it, I remembered there is a way to post my content by sending an e-mail and did that.  I posted it on here, and linked it to the Wordless Wednesday page of Comedy Plus. On Thursday Morning I received this nice comment from Sandee the proprietor of Comedy Plus.  I received two more a few minutes later from another one of my posts.

Well that's it for this weeks installment of Team Saturdazzle.  Next time I hope to actually release it on Satuday and not fix it in post.  

Team Saturdazzle: The One With a New Title?

Team Saturdazzle 

Welcome to the 1st 2024 Iteration of Team Sturdazzle, a hopefully weekly postpourri of random thoughts and regular segments.  

Occasionally I will try to curate ideas from my FB pages and share some of the comments here. Today was supposed to be one of those occasions.  On Thursday night I posted the following on both my personal FB page and the FB page for my blog:

Am approaching the 16th anniversary of my blog. On Jan 6th 2009 I published the first post there http://dave-homeschooldad.blogspot.com/2009/01/why-we-home-school.html A few years ago I changed the name from Home School Dad to Leap of Dave. I’m considering changing the name once again. Here are some ideas I have for a new name:

1. Sustainable Bedlam

2. Toaster Pastries w/o A Toaster

3. Blogging, People Still Do That?

4. A Hat, A Brooch, A Pterodactyl

Let me know which one you like, or If I should stick with Leap of Dave, or perhaps make a title suggestion of your own. I'll post results and suggestions in my next Team Saturdazzle post.

As of 11:30 Friday night I had no comments on either page.  I did ask 3 members of my family the same question over a rousing game of Catopoly, which I am winning.  The results were mixed: my wife Amy prefers Sustainable Bedlam,  my daughter Emma is a fan of Toaster Pastries w/o a Toaster, my daughter Lucy likes Blogging, people still do that?, and I am fond of A Hat, A Brooch, A Pterodactyl.  Certainly, there is no consensus on the nonsensical.  

I will put this post on both my FB pages again and see if I can get more votes.  If you happen to be reading this, please leave a comment with which one you prefer or a suggestion of your own.  

The Mountain Dew Code Red of Trailers

On January 3rd, 2022, I published a post called The Mountain Dew Code Red of Trailers about a movie trailer for The Unbreakable Boy, which was due in theatres in March 2022. The movie, based on a book based on a true story, starred Chuck actor Zachary Levi as the father of a middle school boy who had brittle bone disease and autism.  

Days before the March 22 release date The Unbreakable Boy was pulled from its release schedule with little to no explanation.  Fast forward to yesterday, January 3, 2025 when I was working at my movie theatre 3 years from the date of my original post.  I was patrolling the theatre and ensuring all the movies started successfully when I saw this new trailer for The Unbreakable Boy:

Apparently, Lionsgate has a February 21st 2025 release date.  I'll believe it when I see it.  

Team Saturdazzle At The Movies

Powered by Box Office Mojo

Top 25 Films 2024

25. The Fall Guy 92.9 M 24. Red One 96.81 M  23. Bob Marley, One Love 96.89 M 

22. Alien Romulus 105.31 M 21. IF 111.15 M  20. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire 113.38 M 

19. Mufasa: The Lion King 128.14 M 18. A Quiet Place: Day One 138.93 M 

17. Venom: The Last Dance 137.73M 16. The Wild Robot 143.19 M 15. It Ends With Us 148.51 M

14. Sonic The Hedgehog 3 151.56M 13. Gladiator II 164.55 M 

12. Kingdom of the Planet pf the Apes 171.13 M 11. Bad Boys: Ride or Die 193.57 M 

10. Kung Fu Panda 4 193.59 M 9. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire 196.35 M 8. Twisters 267.76 M

7. Dune:  Part Two 282.14 M 6. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice  294.1 M 5. Despicable Me 4 361 M 

4. Moana 2 404.02 M 3. Wicked 432.94 M 2. Deadpool & Wolverine 636.75 M 

1. Inside Out 2 652.98 M (Movies I watched are in bold)

10 highest-grossing movies I watched this year by rank on Box Office Mojo

90. Here  70. Cabrini 68. Unsung Hero 53. The Forge 52. Reagan 51. The Boys in the Boat  27. Wonka and the aforementioned The Wild Robot (16), Twisters (8), and Wicked (3). 

Top 10 Films December 2024

10. Interstellar 2024 Re-release 

9. Kraven The Hunter

8. Red One - Down 3 from November

7. A Complete Unknown 

6. Nosefartu

5. Gladiator II - Down 2 from November

4. Mufasa: The Lion King

3. Sonic The Hedgehog 3

2. Wicked  Down 1 from November

1. Moana 2 - Up 1 from November

Top 5 Films for 2025

5. Wicked

4. Nosferatu

3. Moana 2

2. Sonic The Hedgehog 3

1. Mufasa The Lion King

That's all I have today, for your weekly dose of Saturdazzle.  Please comment especially about changing the blog's name or anything else that struck your fancy today.  

You Can't Take It With You - Saturdazzle Adjacent Post

The past coupla Saturdays I've tried and failed to put out a Team Saturdazzle post. The truth is my Fridays have been frenzied lately and my Saturdays have been swamped. The phrase 20 pounds in a 5-pound bag aptly describes them. My best friend noticed yesterday that yesterday at least until mid to late afternoon was anything but dazzling and told me to stop what I was doing, go home, and spend a quiet evening with my wife. This worked out well for my best friend and my wife as they are the same person.  

So I went home, and we watched a movie together.  The Movie was the 1938 Film: You Can't Take It With You.  I have blogged about it before here,  as the Y entry in "A Month at the Movies" from the  2023 A to Z challenge.  

It did Saturdazzle my weekend right up.  So much so, that I am taking some time on a Sunday to breathe a little and blog a little.  In the A to Z post, I shared the below YouTube video which is a good synopsis and review of the movie.  

 

T.V. in the Background: A Very Brady Christmas 

Team Saturdazzle: What Phrase Do You Hate?

 TEAM SATURDAZZLE

Today, on my Facebook page, I asked: What is a phrase you hate? Here are the answers I received. I have listed the contributors by First Name, Last Initial, and where I  first encountered them.

• Have a good one. Dave R - Mother's Womb, Illinois
• Welcome in. Amy R - Macomb, Illinois
• Behind your back Patrick G - Elk Grove Village, Illinois
• A whole nuther. Valerie T - Peoria, Illinois
• God showed up. Stephanie D - Elgin, Illinois

I will leave my question out there for a little longer if I get any more responses I'll add them here.  

Yo Yo Man

First, the good news.  I have lost 20.2 lbs this year, 7 lbs this week alone.  The bad news in addition to losing 20.2 lbs this year, I have also gained 13.2 lbs.  In other words, the 7 lbs. I lost this week is the only weight I truly lost all year.  And since I tend to gain back all the weight I lose, we really can't be certain that those 7lbs we'll stay gone.

At the end of last year, I weighed myself as I do every Saturday and I weighed 259.6 lbs.  I estimated by losing 1 lb a week for 10 weeks I could be below 250 by Saturday, March 11th. Today is March 11th and I now weigh 252.6 pounds.  During those 10 weeks, I lost weight 6 different times and I gained weight 4 times. 

Perhaps a little historical perspective would be helpful here.  I weighed 174 lbs when I was a Freshman in high school. When I graduated high school I weighed 174 lbs.  During high school, I could eat all the time and never gain weight which is exactly what I did.  Between 18 and 33 the year I got married my weight went up gradually to somewhere between 200 and 220.  In the first 16 or so years of my marriage it continued to go up until about 8 years ago I weighed myself and saw that I was 285 lbs.  

In the past 8 years is when the yo-yo-ing began.  Yo-yo-ing is only marginally better than unchecked gradual increases.  Since June of  2021, I've gone from 262 pounds in June to 227.6 on Christmas Day 2021 but was back up to 263 by January of this year. That's a year 1/2 long yo-yo. 

I've been wanting to post about my weight loss/weight gain struggles here for a while.  I feel a little like Piglet in the opening of Winnie The Pooh and The Blustery day. He's raking leaves and generally gets blown around by the wind when he says I don't mind the leaves that are leaving, But I don't like the ones that are coming.  I don't mind losing 20 lbs in 2.5 months. I just hope the next time I say that I weigh 20.5 lbs less than I did 2.5 months before not just 7. 

Januarying

 January 2023 is in the books, more proof that the calendar plays for keeps.  My wife thinks that this January would never end and was glad to see the back of it (Sorry, she had Downton Abbey on , and I couldn't help myself.). For me, January ended too quickly, I hadn't finished all my Januarying. 

I've always been  a little bit uncertain when it comes to  what I think about New Year's resolutions.  On one hand, I think that they are a colossal waste of time because we should always be trying to improve ourselves and we  don't need December 31st telling us what to do.  On the other hand, there are definitely things I like to try to accomplish every year and January 1st seems like a good time to start accomplishing those things.

Some of these goals (I do like goals better than resolutions) vary from year to year and many of them don't get accomplished.  I do spend quite a bit of time each January planning to accomplish them, which is why I call making a game plan for the goals, Januarying. 

One goal I have every year is to average 10,000 steps a day for the year.  2022 is the only year so far I have met that goal.  I had come close in 2021 averaging around 9,200 steps a day.  It really was a tale of two halves where I averaged just 7,000 steps from January to June and then averaged close to 11,500 to close out the year.  I made my goal for 2022 to be averaging at least 10,000 steps for the entire year (In 2005 White Sox parlance we call that going wire to wire). To that end I walked 26,122 steps on Jauary 1st.  We had a small party at out house on New Years Eve  and after our guests left, I walked our neighborhood for a little while.  Most of the steps came later that day when I got the job of patrolling the movie theatre where I work which means walking up and down 12 theatres every 20 or 30 minutes to make sure  the equipment and audience members are behaving appropriately.  

This year I decided to approach repeating my accomplishment differently. I made a calendar in my mind and decided in advance how many steps I wanted to get on the given month.  At the end of the year, If I make all my goals I will have again averaged  over 10,000 steps for the year.  In January, I set my goal for far lower than 10,000 but still beat the average I set for myself by more than 1,000 steps a day.  

Some of my other Januarying goals have to do with or are chronicled on my blog.  I will be posting more soon about my goals of watching 12 new movies (to me) and reviewing them here, and my reading goal for the year.  So. Ill just table such discussion for now, except to say that I have spent quite a bit of Januarying plotting out some of the books and films I want to consume this year and going about consuming them.  Each December and January I spend time redesigning my blog. I have especially enjoyed  linking some new blogs to mine in a space called Blog Try Outs. One such blog is called Laws of Gravity The caretaker of Laws of Gravity is a substitute teacher like myself.

At my advanced age of 58 years, 4 months, 1 week, 4 days and 12 hours (It's actually 11 hours, but I still have to edit this post.) , I am beginning to hear more and more about finishing well.  I feel like I might be a tad young for that, but Januarying has been instrumental in helping me start well.  

Snow Kidding!

These "kids" are now 17 to 23

 

Roller Time

 This week I finished a 6 week subbing assignment relieving a 1:1 aide who was on maternity leaveem.  I worked with the same student for 6 weeks which was new and very rewarding for me. Each morning I would pick the student up at the bus and bring them to the class room.  Each afternoon I would take the student back to the bus.  Usually by the end of the day, my student would start to get very excited about going home and would start repeating momma time over and over again.  Sometimes if the student was having a particularly difficult day they might start saying momma time before it was near to the time school ended.  I Kind of  saw it as a suggestion/protest. One day Momma Time was being chanted at about 8:30 a.m.  

One morning  3 or 4 weeks into the assignment as I was picking my student up from the bus, the bus driver asked me what my name was.  I said it was Mr. Roller. She said that explains it, your student has been repeating Roller time, Roller time for the last 15 minutes.  I hope that means that I made as much of an impression on my student as  they did to me.  

💓💓💓💓💓💓💓💓💓💓💓💓💓

Yesterday I almost went to a movie.  That's right I almost went to the movie theatre with my wife and watched a movie.  It's been almost a year since I've even thought of doing that.  The reason we didn't go was not because of any co-vid concerns, we e looked the movie up in my favorite ratings website, Plugged In, and realized that it might not be for us.  Our daughters went to the Disney dragon movie and both enjoyed it. 

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

Speaking of Disney, my younger daughter and I have been watching Wandavision on the Disney App.  We have been watching it the Friday it drops and watched the 9th and final installment yesterday.  If I were reviewing the show, my review would be uneven.  I'm not reviewing, it though.  I will say this, it's been super fun having a little vestige of appointment television and the experience was well worth the effort.

📺📺📺📺📺📺📺📺📺

My Other Blogs

Besides this blog, I have 3 other active blogs.  Here are links to my most recent posts in each of them.

Crazy Uncle Dave's Sports Blog

Hall of Fame Voting Results 2021 - 2/13/21

Dave Out Loud

Quick Random Takes: A to Z Challenge 3/6/21 (currently now quickly becoming then)

Random Acts of Roller

Born on March 2nd 3/2/21