little blog on the prairie

The other day I got an email that had me more freaked out than the time I saw Cape Fear. It was from Donna Pepper, the woman behind One Week Boutique, saying that she does not have a definitive date or location for the spring sale this year.

Heart attack in an email, my friends. I have become so dependent on OWB as an inexpensive, one-stop way to build my daughter a wardrobe each season, especially when it comes to play clothes that I don’t mind how dirty or stained or worn they get. I also hope to someday become an OWB consignor so I can get some of that money back.

All is not lost, as I’m sure Donna will come through. She mentioned she is still waiting on a few leads. For poor Peanut’s sake, and all little OWB children across C-U, let’s hope something works out. The alternative might get me arrested.

To enjoy a 99-cent Dunkin Donuts small espresso drink between the hours of 1 p.m. and 10 p.m. tonight, a promotion that just happens to coincide with Starbucks closing all of its company-owned stores tonight at 5:30 p.m. for employee training. The first rumor I heard about this indicated that DD was giving out stuff free, but evidently that is just in Chicago. Life goes on.

Yes, I have been listening to more Sesame Street music lately. But this time it’s fitting. Yesterday I got a call from our trash company telling me that despite my note to them that they send their bills out earlier, they give people 10 days and a five-day grace period and that should be sufficient. Thanks for the excellent customer service.

This is absurd. This company sends dinky postcards reminding you to pay within 10 days. I guess they save a lot of money not sending you a real bill with the customary envelope to send back (although in this day and age of online bill pay, that’s pretty unnecessary trash that I can’t recycle because of the plastic window. But I digress.) I do not know of any utility business anywhere that sends out bills asking for them to be remitted within 10 days.

It’s a good thing that we can change our garbage provider in this town, because come spring these folks are getting dumped, pun intended. Now if only we could do the same with the water and electric c0mpanies.

Wouldn’t the soon-to-be-vacated World Market space just be perfect for a Trader Joe’s? There aren’t many retailers that need a space that big. And there’s plenty of parking …

Is winter ever going to end?

Took Peanut to the women’s basketball game last night and she loved it, especially when the little kids who had participated in a cheerleading clinic took the floor at halftime to perform their routines. There’s just one home game left, next Sunday at 3 p.m.

Remember the list by Forbes.com about the nation’s smartest cities and all the love for Iowa City? Well, the Columbia Journalism Review takes Forbes to task in this article for its use of Census Department data. Pretty funny.

OK, that got your attention. A few days ago, Jenna over at A Mom for All Seasons wondered aloud how she can see Oscar-nominated movies that aren’t in the theaters or aren’t on DVD yet. I have a partial answer: rent a cheap hotel room that has the LodgeNet or other On Demand system boasting current selections. Perhaps the hotel will cut you a deal for a marathon. That’s how the Mr. and I saw No Country For Old Men, also known in our household as the “pretentious Cormac McCarthy novel made-into-a-made-for-Oscar flick.”

Of course, that doesn’t help if you are trying to see The Savages, the best Oscar-nominated movie no one has seen in C-U (to my knowledge, it hasn’t appeared in a theater here yet but is “coming soon” to the Art; I saw it on another out-of-town jaunt).

And speaking of Oscars, don’t forget to head over to Champaign Taste, where there is a special Oscar-themed contest going on right now.

I never realized when I traded in my trusty old Honda Accord for the Official Vehicle of Champaign-Urbana how much I would miss this handy little change drawer on the left side of the dash. Although it has 18 cup holders (and yes we counted each one), the OVCU doesn’t have a good place to put change. I am constantly reminded of this development every time I park in downtown Champaign post-meter price hike to 75 cents per hour.

I did, however, get a pleasant surprise the other day when I went to fill my meter. I put two quarters in — not really paying much attention — until I saw that I had two hours on the clock. Two whole hours for two quarters, what a bargain.

I have to go back to this location this afternoon, so I’ll let you know if my meter friend is still in violation of the increase.

and World Market is closing (and not just here but in Springfield too).

and a C-U resident shocked the world. My mom now thinks there are gun shops on every corner here.

and Judy Fraser will have her annual Hoodie Hoo celebration at noon Wednesday at a TBA Urbana location.

Random thoughts:

• Chick-fil-A is open for business at the Illini Union food court (where Mickey D’s used to be). It blessed us with the first batch of waffle fries on Monday.
• Longtime lbotp readers know my fondness for lists. We are green and skinny, but evidently we are not “smart.” Forbes ranked America’s 25 smartest towns, and put several college towns on the list, but we’re not one of them. OK, I’ll grant that the people in Ithaca, N.Y., might be smarter than us — they’re Ivy Leaguers. But Iowa City, Iowa???
• Here’s my annual warning about the high school wrestlers invading town this weekend. It’s actually a really cool event, especially the Grand March of finalists on Saturday night before the championship matches.
• Jupiter’s pizza got some love from ESPN.com’s Pat Forde in a recent column (at the bottom).
• Congrats to Uno, the beagle who captured Best in Show at last night’s Westminster Dog Show. Mr. lbotp and I felt certain that he would not get top billing, since any sentimental crowd favorite is usually overlooked. I’m still angry that Andy the golden retriever didn’t win a couple years ago.

It’s not often that two masters of pop culture come to Champaign-Urbana — on the same day.

One of my favorite reads is deadspin.com, the king of snarky sports blogs. Created by young UI alum Will Leitch, a former Win Ben Stein’s Money contestant and Daily Illini staffer, Leitch guided deadspin to the top of the sports blogosphere.

Leitch, a Mattoon native, will appear tomorrow at the Illini Union Bookstore from 4 to 5 p.m. pimping his new book, God Save the Fan: How Preening Sportscasters, Athletes Who Speak in the Third Person, and the Occasional Convicted Quarterback Have Taken the Fun Out of Sports (And How We Can Get It Back). Leitch is witty and cynical, a great combination. Should be an entertaining afternoon.

But if you haven’t had enough, grab a bite of dinner on Green Street and head over to Foellinger Auditorium at 7 p.m., where Steven Levitt, half of the team who wrote the wildly popular bestseller “Freakonomics” will appear. Your mind will thank you.

My kid is my hero.

She didn’t cry. She wasn’t scared. She didn’t hang on to her daddy for dear life. I, on the other hand, did/was all of those things.

Peanut is bouncing off the walls with energy we didn’t know she had. It seems that being healthy agrees with her. She passed this test with flying colors, hopefully there won’t be another one.

One tip for you all: if Carle Hospital/Carle Clinic becomes your second home, buy a discount parking punch card. It’s $30 for 30 visits, no matter how long you are parked. And it never expires. Granted, it won’t save you enough money to pay those whacked out medical bills, but every little bit helps.

Thanks to everyone for your support.