little blog on the prairie

Perhaps some of you longtime lbotp readers are wondering why it has taken me so long (OK, 22.5 hours) to comment on the news that Banana Republic has signed a lease to become a merchant in our fine mall.

Perhaps some of you remember that I did the chicken dance the last time “banana republic” and Champaign were mentioned in the same sentence. Of course, that was more than TWO YEARS AGO.

The N-G story says that Banana has been considering putting a store here for the past three years.  I’m certainly no expert on corporate retailers, but that seems to be an awful long time.

But tonight it’s all about Friday. Friday Night Lights, that is.

If you’re not watching this show — the season finale airs on NBC tonight at 7 p.m. — you’re missing something special. This show may have the pretense that it’s about football — after all, the lead character is the head football coach in a small town in pigskin-crazy Texas — but it’s really about the people who play the game, the coaches who coach it, and the people that love them. While they’re all connected by football, it’s the relationships — husbands and wives, parents and children, coaches and students, etc., that cement them together.

It’s not often that I’m this passionate about a television show, especially one that airs on the big three networks. But that’s what makes this show so compelling, is that it makes you genuinely care about the characters.  No show is perfect — I don’t like how several of the “kids” playing high schoolers are old enough to have master’s degrees — even so this show reminds me that in this “reality TV” world, television may have redeeming qualities after all.

Unfortunately, FNL hasn’t found as many fans as crazy about it as I am. So there’s some concern that the show might be a one-year wonder. Here’s an excellent synopsis on why this show is deserving of another go-around.  If you haven’t seen the show, you can watch every episode of Season One online.

Although I Tivo most of the TV shows I watch, I’m going to try to watch this one live, if Peanut cooperates. And I’m going to check out the live blog. Wow, I am officially a groupie.

I had a little time to myself recently (that’s like gold these days) and I decided to treat myself to a new pair of jeans. This sounds like something most normal people do but for me it’s almost the equivalent of shopping for a bathing suit. I have no butt and skinny legs, but well-defined hips. So it’s not like I can walk into the Gap or Old Navy and find something that fits.

So I decided to venture over to Paris’ Boutique in their location in the strip mall between Target and the Mall. I had been to her store once or twice in the old location, but since pregnancy and motherhood interrupted my life, it had been awhile. Since it was a Monday afternoon, I was the only customer there for most of the time. Paris herself helped me out, and after trying on about 10 pair, I found the one that was meant for me all along. But what most enthralled me at Paris’ was the beautiful Adina Reyter jewelry … you know, mother’s day is coming up …

In other shopping news:

• Went to the new bella home store in Urbana during their open house last week. Run, don’t walk, over there. It’s unlike any shopping experience in C-U. I didn’t buy anything, and believe me I will have to save my pennies before I do, but not everything is price-prohibitive. For those of you who remember the old p.j. luxe (which was located where the Ruben’s Chocolates store is now at Shoppes at Knollwood) it channels a little bit of that place. They are carrying one of my favorite gift lines, Mariposa, as well as this line of gorgeous dishware.
• After Leeanthro pointed out that the new Motherhood Maternity store is open at the mall, I made sure to pay it a visit the last time I was there (out of curiousity, people). It’s somewhat small, especially compared to the Blooomington-Normal store. Perhaps they think America is the new China or something, that everyone is only allowed to have one kid, because I don’t see how anyone could get a stroller in there.
• This weekend being Mom’s Weekend at the University, there are many “special events” designed to extort money from mom. One such soiree is the Fashion Focus CU, which is on Saturday from 11 to 2 p.m. at the Illini Media Building.

You have to see this to believe it. What’s your favorite?

Deer season has long passed, but there will be lots of hunting licenses distributed this week. Egg hunts have sprouted up everywhere as Easter approaches. And around here, egg hunts are not just child’s play.

Nite Lite Egg Pursuit XIV, the Champaign Park District’s annual egg hunt for adults (over 18), will take place Friday,  at 8 p.m. in Hessel Park. Earlier that day, the Park District will also have an egg hunt for Seniors (55 plus).

For kids, there’s the really cool underwater egg hunt at the Urbana Indoor Aquatic Center (registration required) on April 7. The Champaign Park District’s Easter Eggstravaganza — a free egg hunt for kids 1 to 8 — is at 10 a.m. Saturday at West Side Park.

Oh, and don’t worry about those of us who don’t celebrate Easter. We had our own hunt — for matzah — at our Passover seders. Unfortunately, matzah doesn’t taste as  good as all that chocolate.

The other day I received in my mailbox the latest edition of Central Illinois Health, a magazine published by the News-Gazette that purports to want to inform me about my health in Central Illinois.

I don’t really see the point of this magazine, except to extort advertising dollars from local health care organizations and thereby contributing to our ever-rising health insurance costs. The stories are fairly evergreen, written perhaps by the Associated Press or other news services. Some are then localized by interviewing a local physician or other health care worker.

This rant has been brought to you by Carle Clinic, which makes me feel very bad about the state of Central Illinois’ Health. Last week we had Peanut’s one-year well-baby appointment, and despite scheduling the first appointment of the day, we were still there for almost an hour — just to be measured, weighed, given a couple of shots, and a five-minute visit with her pediatrician. And although this pediatrician came highly recommended by a variety of friends and acquaintances, we’re just not jiving. We left there feeling as if our child was at risk because she’s not saying “Ma-ma” or “Da-Da” yet. So it’s time to search for someone else, I think. But don’t look in Central Illinois Health for a listing of pediatricians. No, they haven’t bought any ads — yet.