Sixteen Candles and Jake Ryan=The best!

Recognize this house? If you're a true 80's fan, then you know it's Samatha Baker's house (a.k.a Molly Ringwald) in the John Hughes film "Sixteen Candles." During the opening scene of the movie, Hughes shows a paper boy throwing a newspaper towards this house, it sets of the alarm, and everyone wakes up. Funny thing is, in the movie there is also a Volkswagen parked out front in the exact same spot.

This is a house I've wanted to see for years because Sixteen Candles is truly my favorite movie. I've probably watched it 100 times. Online, it says people of all ages come to take a pic of this house, and sometimes lay in the grass out front where Long Duk Dong was found in his drunken stupor. Remember such great lines as, "No more Yanky my Wanky, the Donger need food!" How did Hughes even come up with that??

This house is in Evanston, Illinois in the 3000 block of Payne Street. It's near Northwestern University's Campus, in truly one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in this country. I told Mike, "I think this is where they invented Apple Pie." It's truly Americana.

So what is it about this movie that people, typically women, just love? In it, Jake Ryan is the object of Samatha's affection. He's the popular and totally hot high school senior, and Samatha is a nerdy and awkward sophomore. Throughout the movie, Jake slowly falls for Samatha, and in the end he picks her up in his red Porsche and they kiss sitting on top of his kitchen table, with a birthday cake and candles for her 16th birthday. Awe.

For years, women of all races and ages proclaim they love Jake Ryan! Celebs even wear t-shirts that say so. The Washington Post even did an article entitled, "Why real men can't hold a candle to Jake Ryan." In it it says that this movie gives women a false hope that the perfect good-looking man will fall for them, even if they're the dorky, wall-flower type. The article says women still swoon when they even just hear his name.

Yes, I'll admit it, I've been in love with Jake Ryan for 25 years. I first saw the movie when I was about 7 years old, and I've been hooked ever since. His cool hair, stylish clothes, coy smile, ridiculous good looks, and yes, the Porsche, made me fall hard.

Going to the house where he stood outside and rang the doorbell, asking Long Duk Dong where Samatha was, was a very cool experience for me. Even cooler, I got to go with my real-life Jake Ryan.




Up, please!

After living for nearly a year 31 floors up, I feel like I'm the master of the elevator. I've figured out elevators all across this town, and know which ones have doors that close no matter what, so you don't want to chance throwing a limb in between the doors. I also know which ones have sensors, so I can throw an arm or Chihuahua in front of them so they don't close. I always double check before getting on that it's actually going the direction I want it to go.

What I've noticed about many other Chicagoans is that they're a hot mess when it comes to elevators. Perhaps preoccupied by life, these people are never sure if the elevator is going up or down, and which floor they're getting off on.

Tonight Mike and I took the dogs outside, and as we were heading back upstairs we stopped on the 21st floor. A woman was waiting to get on, and we informed her we were going up. She politely smiled and got on anyway. Then as we began going upwards, she realized she meant to go down. We warned her!

Yesterday when I got on the elevator there was already a women inside, yet no buttons were pushed. That means she was just going to ride around from floor to floor until someone got in and hit Lobby.

And on more than one occasion I've seen someone hit floor 40 or higher. When I get off on floor 31, they distractedly follow me off the elevator. Then they cuss, and realize they got off too soon. They turn around, but it's too late, the doors have shut behind them. What are we, sheep?

Isn't it scary that some people are so distracted? Usually they are texting or listening to an Ipod. I hope when they finally get off the elevator they aren't getting into a car, because that would be scary.

You can run but you can't hide!

Technology is making it increasingly hard to hide or be anonymous. When posting something on Twitter, you can add your location via GPS. When you're on Facebook, unless you block yourself, your friends can see you're logged on, and can send you instant messages. Same with Yahoo or G-mail accounts.

With Facebook, you can usually tell when your friends must be busy because they don't post much, or you know when they're likely bored because they are posting tons of stuff, like "TGIF!"

Facebook is also how you can tell if someone's avoiding you. If you send them a message, and don't hear back, you can see if they've made any recent posts. If they have, that means they've logged on, but are ignoring you. This technology is exactly how I know one of my friends is avoiding me. It's a weird situation. For a year before my wedding, she kept telling me how excited she was to come. She RSVP'd yes for her and her boyfriend. Then on the day of the wedding? They were no shows. Ouch. If you're familiar with how weddings work (surely you are by now with this blog!) you know that you have to give your final number of guests 3-7 days before the big event, and then you're stuck paying for them.

What makes it worse is that I never heard from her after that. No e-mail saying how sorry she was. So finally about a week ago, I sent her a Facebook message asking if she was okay, that I was worried she didn't come.

Nothing.

Here's the thing, I know she's okay because the weekend of the wedding she posted, "I just love the 4th of July," and recently she's posted that, "She has an awful headache!" or "She loves her dog so much!"

So if you're planning on blowing someone off, just remember in this Facebook age, you can run, but you can't hide!

Something I could do without

Do you ever get eaten alive by mosquitoes, but the person next to you thinks your crazy because they aren't getting a single bite? Annoying. I can be around 100 people, but I'm the "chosen one."

On my way to work today I got two bites, including one of my forehead that caused a nice big, red bump. Pretty. Why are mosquitoes even in Chicago? They seem more likely residents of small towns like Effingham, Illinois. (Isn't Effingham a funny word? It's like you're trying to throw out the F bomb, but you put ham at the end to clean it up.)

When Mike and I enjoyed a movie in the park the other night (16 Candles. My favorite! And filmed in Chicago!) I got 10 bites on my legs, arms, even my middle finger. Mike got? None. The day before our wedding I got a nice one on my eyelid. It was bright red and swollen, which is every bride's dream.

So I did a little research and found out they are attracted to certain natural odors people put off. Apparently some people put off "good odors" which they like. They are also attracted to flowery scents. I'm almost always wearing a fruity or flowery Bath and Body Works lotion, so that helps explain it. I also read that if you eat certain foods like salty foods, i.e. chips, or foods high in potassium, they are more likely to bite. Guess what my dinner was last night? Doritos and a banana. Hah! Apparently, mosquitoes don't really bite, they suck out your blood. Ew! I'm pretty sure I need that blood! Also, female mosquitoes need blood for their eggs, so females are the only ones that "bite." No surprises there.

I googled "Why are mosquitoes needed?" and the best answer I found is that they are food to other animals and insects like bats and spiders.

"Okay God, it will be tough, but I'm okay if you take away all mosquitoes, bats and spiders.
Amen."

Brazilian Baby Dancing Samba

Occasionally YouTube provides a good laugh, or a moment of "How did they do that?" but this video may be the funniest thing I've ever seen. Enjoy! This should make your week a whole lot better. (Please watch the whole thing, it's only like 3 minutes long)

My proposal advice

I love sharing the story of how Mike proposed to me. It was in Chicago two years ago over the July 4th weekend. We were walking to dinner, when he asked me to walk into the courtyard of a beautiful church with him. It's the 4th Presbyterian Church on Michigan Ave., across from the Hancock Building. I was looking at the fountain in the middle and when I turned around, he was on one knee. Then when I looked up, our families began walking in one by one underneath the archways. They had all flown into/or driven to Chicago to surprise me! I cried harder with each new person I saw. We then took horse-drawn carriages to dinner at Smith & Wollensky's on the river. This picture was taken there. Awe, so romantic. Mike? He scored big points with that proposal. Women still cry when I tell them the story.

What made me think of this is a girl from work got engaged over the weekend, so we were all sharing our engagement stories with each other yesterday. Come to find out she got asked to be her boyfriend's wife in the most romantic spot you can think of for a proposal: in bed.

Ugh, I hate the "in bed" proposal stories! Can't these guys come up with anything more creative? Whenever someone shares this kind of story, you suddenly begin thinking they were probably naked, living in sin, and the guy got caught up in the moment, and blurted out, "Marry me!" I know you're thinking the same thing. Then when they tell their parents and grandparents the story, the first thing they'll think of is that their little girl isn't pure anymore, when they should be thinking how excited they are.

So men: I'm not saying you have to spend a ton of money, but get a little more creative than just being in your bedroom. You need to remember, you'll be telling this story for years to come, including to your children. Do you really want the kiddos having bad thoughts of mommy and daddy?

Why do I keep missing the excitement?

Our neighborhood was once again the hot spot for filming "Transformers 3." If you're a regular blog follower, you know they were shooting scenes for the movie a couple of weeks ago in our 'hood. Mike and I were super excited...but we missed the whole thing. We apparently slept through the helicopter/parachuting scene in the park right outside our window. Oops!

On Thursday, Michael Bay brought the crew back to our

neighborhood to shoot more scenes. Up until a few years ago, this area was a golf course, hence why there's so much green space right smack dab in the middle of a city. It's great for our dogs, and apparently stuntmen jumping out of helicopters. Last last week, there was another action packed scene involving parachuters, helicopters, explosions and debris.

What was it like?

According to my neighbors, it was "wicked awesome." But I, of course, missed it. I was too busy buying $10 shirts at H&M on Michigan Avenue. Dang it!

I did have one scary moment though. I was taking pictures of this leftover debris, when I saw the security guard coming towards me. This was our encounter...

Him: "Did you just take a picture?"

Me: "Yes."

Him: "Of what?"

Me: "Um, the debris over there."

Him: "That right there?" (He points to it)

Me: "Yes."

Him: "I'm sorry, I'm going to have to take your film."

Me: "What??"

Him: "I'm sorry, you can't take pictures, I'm going to have to take your film."

Me: "Well, it's not a film camera. Do you want me to delete the pictures?"

Him: "Yes."

I started getting my camera out, and without him even having to tell me why, my apparent fear of authority lead me to nearly delete the pictures. Then he flashed a big smile and said, "Ha, ha. Just f***ing with you!"

He got me good. I thought I had just threatened national security or something, because Michael Bay can cause worldly doom. (Think Armageddon)