little blog on the prairie

Soon-to-be C-U resident Amy has issued us a challenge over at her blog. She wants to know why we like where we live, even though we have no Pottery Barn, Williams-Sonoma, J. Crew, Banana Republic, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, or Costco.

But hey, up until a year ago we didn’t even have Starbucks. Somehow we managed that long.

Giggle.

But this is serious business. Amy wants to know where we shop, where we eat, where we buy coffee beans.

Be a good neighbor and help a girl out. She really needs our support.

I don’t know whether to be appalled or intrigued that Mix 94.5 is searching for East Central Illinois’ most beautiful babies (their italics, not mine) in a contest it calls the “The MIX Babes of Summer.”

The station has teamed up with a local photography studio to take photos of children from 3 months to 3 years old for the next three Saturdays at various locations. Someone (it doesn’t say who) will judge the photos, and the semi-finalists will be posted on the MIX web site each week. The babies who receive the most votes will advance to the final judging at the Urbana Sweetcorn Festival on August 26.

What makes this contest appealing is the prize — a $1,000 shopping spree (it doesn’t say where ) and a free photo shoot. That doesn’t take away from what makes it appalling. I just don’t think that in good conscience I could put my daughter in this thing. Perhaps it would be more of a blow to my ego than her future ego if she didn’t win. But the whole idea is disturbing on so many levels. Would I really want strangers to “vote” online if my Peanut was more or less beautiful than the baby next to her? The bottom line is, that I don’t need anyone to confirm to me how beautiful she is.

They should have made this contest for pets. KC is no doubt the most adorable canine in Champaign County, there’s no bones about it!

The killer cockapoo has been having some eye issues in the past few months. We’d been to the vet several times, tried several medications, with no relief to the puppy dog’s suffering. He referred us to the U of I Vet Med clinic, where there happens to be a small animal opthomalogy specialist. In the several weeks after getting an appointment, KC’s eye problem considerably improved. Even so, we recently took her in for a looksie, in an ode to being safe rather than sorry.

The students who evaluated KC were very professional, as was the resident. The good news is that KC is fine for now; the bad news is that the problem might reoccur.

Although I know some people who haven’t been thrilled with the services at the small animal clinic, I personally have only good feelings toward it. When I was a kid, my aunt drove her very sick dog — whom I loved as my own — from Chicago down to the clinic in the middle of the night. They were able to save her life, and that was more than two decades ago. We — and our animals — are pretty lucky to have such a fine facility in our midst.

• It seems that Shaun Chaiyabhat has left WCIA 3, continuing the mass exodus from that station. That might not be so interesting except for the google search I did on him to find out if I could locate where he is headed. Instead, I found out that he was an extra in the Bill Murray-Andie MacDowell comedy “Groundhog Day.” He was the “boy in tree.” Unless there is some other Shaun Chaiyabhat floating around. I never realized what a celebrity we had in our midst.

• Say what you want about our Guv, he just signed a bill that will allow folks to take home unfinished bottles of wine from restaurants. Winos will have to “seal the partially consumed bottles of wine securely in tamper-proof bags that would remain sealed during the trip home.” Sounds good to me, not that I’ve had a drink in … ages.

• The U of I vet med clinic has been called upon to do post-mortem exams of racehorses that breakdown at Arlington Park. Eighteen horses have been euthanized over the course of the current meet, but officials have not been able to pinpoint a cause.

• Speaking of animals, the Champaign Park District hasn’t forgotten about a potential “dog activity park.” The minutes from this February CPD meeting indicate that at least 400 Champaign residents have inquired about a dog park, and that it would cost between $40,000 and $80,000 dollars. (Personally, I love the part where they say it hasn’t been a “high priority.”) However, sources tell lbotp that the CPD has identified a location on the West side of I-57 , and pending neighbor approval, may even be up and running by next spring. Of course, we’ve heard that before.

Americans love rankings and lists, there’s no question.

And we here at lbotp are no different.

Check out Money magazine’s latest listings of the “Best Places in America” and you can’t help but chuckle when it comes to this category: skinniest. Our very own Champaign ranks as the 12th sveltest city in America, using average body mass index as the indicator. (Evidently they haven’t factored in my post-baby waistline. Did they realize how much Custard Cup people eat here??)

Oddly enough, Houston, which Men’s Fitness named as American’s Fattest City in 2005, is ranked No. 3.

Other tidings:

• The UI alumnus behind Deadspin.com, a great blog that I should add to my favorites, is coming to town for a book signing on Thursday afternoon.
• In case you missed it, Becky Mabry’s story on the Amish produce auction in Monday’s N-G was fantastic.

Thoughts from a hot and humid shopping trip up on North Prospect …

• Is it me or is our Target falling apart? They are constantly out of things lately; shelves are empty or half full. I expect more from Big Red.
• Raise your hand if you knew that Bennigan’s has cashed it in. That location seems to be doomed, as now two tried-and-true good ol’ American chains have failed there. I’m taking suggestions for what should go into that building (a stand-alone Trader Joe’s!!), as well as the long-empty Dog N’ Suds edifice. Some letters are now missing from the marquee; I’d really like the “N”.
• You think the city of Champaign could do something about the weeds growing in the median on Town Center Boulevard. Not only are they ugly, but also a safety hazard to be sure.
• When shopping at Famous Barr on Sunday, the clerk put my purchase in a Macy’s bag. This FAQ says the name will be changed by September. The St. Louis branch of the family is devastated.

pAll of a sudden it’s hip to be a tourist in central Illinois.

Yesterday, the old gray lady posted the latest installment of its popular “36 Hours” travel series, and took a detour from sexy destinations such as Hollywood and Boston to profile our humble Springfield.

But even better is a piece produced by local Chicago cable network CLTV. It recently spotlighted C-U as a “weekend getaway.” (Scroll down for video.) Reporter Beth Bennett sounds genuinely surprised at how much “culture” she found here. And we even have bars that serve fancypants martinis! But at the end, our new friend Beth says C-U is worth going back to. AWWW, shucks.

It’s taken me a couple days to get through my back issues of the N-G while I was gone, and boy was there a doozy of an article in Friday’s paper that also happens to be online.

So it turns out another developer is building yet another strip mall, and they have made inquiries to attract “an organic grocer” for The Pines at Stone Creek Commons.

The developer person interviewed proceeds to drop the names of two desired tenants. Guess who? Our dear friends Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s.

OK, I’m officially annoyed. I know that these are just preliminary talks, but why even mention it and get the hopes up of chumps like me? So I’m declaring war on these developers. Stop toying with my fragile postpartum emotions. Enough is enough. But if Mr. or Ms. Developer, if you do somehow entice either one, give me a buzz. I’ll bake you some (organic) brownies.

• If you know the rest of the words, you are as thrilled as I am that Pee Wee’s Playhouse returns to television this evening.

• The sun-baked folks at Classic Tan know that their target clientele must be morons. Their effusive radio ads indicate that their Neil Street location is open until 11 p.m. every day, even on weekends!! Are there nine days in a calendar week?

• In the drugstore files: It was odd to see Osco turn into CVS overnight. I noticed that the Walgreens on Springfield and Mattis was quick to take advantage of the change, offering to fill prescriptions for the Osco faithful. Not that I ever frequented Osco, anyway.

• It’s nice to be back after a week away from home.