the tragedy not at the mall?

The good news: I haven’t been to the mall recently (although I plan to go Friday to confirm) but a  poster on the CU Humane Society’s Facebook Fan Page says that UPDATE: TTATM has closed. I saw it with my own eyes! (hip hip HOORAY!)

The bad news: TTATM will soon be “moving.” According to its Web site, TTATM plans to take up residence at the Baytowne Shoppes, the strip mall where Buffalo Wild Wings is located off of North Prospect in Champaign.

Rumor has it that earlier this month, several unlucky puppies tested positive for the deadly parvo virus. This was, of course, not the first time; an April outbreak is documented here.

I have never objected to a store in the mall selling pet supplies. I objected to them *selling puppies* (she preaches to the choir). If you are looking to spoil your pup, there will soon be a new option, as reported by the News-Gazette. Bone Appetit Pet Boutique and Bakery, which will open Aug. 1 in  Champaign’s Round Barn Centre, will feature  gourmet treats, clothing, leashes, dishes and other accessories. I also enjoy the folks at Cousins Dog Biscuit Company, who are regulars at Urbana’s Market at the Square on Saturdays.

(NEW: Go to the categories pull-down menu to find an archive of TTATM posts).

my future realtor

Peanut may be only 3 years old, but I believe this year marked at least her third (of four possible) trips to the Showcase of Homes. As we toured this year’s six homes (four was probably enough for her) on display in Savoy, it was clear that our recent house-hunting endeavors have made an impression on her.

My future Realtor opened closets, commented on decorations, picked out “her room” in the house. She wanted to get in the bathtubs and try them out. She checked out the decks and the patios, and peeked into drawers. She would have been happy if I handed her the keys to any one of the houses, but especially the one with the girls room that had a fancy play kitchen.

The Showcase of Homes is always a wonderful event for voyeurs like me. I like to walk and gawk at the houses with their modern amenities, sometimes odd ideas, and the space that I covet but can’t afford to heat.

What I liked: The Celebration House. Great layout for a family; I love the Jack n’ Jill bathroom, the mudroom with the locker cabinetry, the great basement. Not the fanciest or the biggest, but the one I felt I could be the most comfortable in. But at 350K, a bit beyond what we want to spend, ha. …. Love tile backsplashes. If I had the money, I would do that. … Love the high ceilings in the basements. … Love all the laundry rooms with sinks. A feature I covet, to be sure.

What I didn’t like: In every master suite, you had to walk through the bathroom to get to the closet. Not a big fan of that. … Two different color cabinets in the kitchen? What’s up with that? The cabinets on the island were different than the ones on the walls in one home. … Putting the microwave down in the island or a cabinet below waist-level. Odd. … All the counter-height tables. I don’t get their popularity.

This is just a partial list, of course. I spent most of our time at S of H making sure my little Realtor wannabe didn’t disappear.

it’s your business

I go to the Showcase of Homes (now ongoing) just to ogle at the closets, with all their bells and whistles, and get ideas. The linen closet in our bathroom is a particular problem. It has heavy wooden shelves that are held up by slats, and some of which are missing (I’m sure this is original to the house, which is older than I am). One wrong move by a child, and those shelves could come down. This is a safety issue, pure and simple; it’s a not a place where I would normally sink a lot of money. But something has to be done, so I called a local company that specializes in “designing and installing custom organizing solutions.” I was able to get an appointment within just a few days.

A woman came to my home and spent at least 40 minutes here. She looked at the linen closet, measured, gave me ideas. She also looked at a couple other closets and said she would give me some ideas to make them more functional. I went out to her car and looked at wood samples. We talked. She cheerfully said she would get back to me.

Evidently, in this economy, the closet business is booming. Evidently, my little space (but perhaps bigger job, depending on response) wasn’t enough. Evidently, this company doesn’t need my money. It has now been over a month since that woman visited my home, and I haven’t heard ONE word from her. No I’m-really-swamped-will-get-back-to-you-within-a-week email. No snail mail. No check-in phone call. No nothing.

Here I am, wanting to give you my good will and my cash and even a good referral (ha). But you are nowhere to be found. I’m no MBA, but it doesn’t take a fancy degree to figure out that even in prosperous times, that’s not a good way to conduct business.

breaking out on top

We here at lbotp headquarters are breaking out of of the new baby fog. Jellybean is almost seven months old, sitting up and playing by herself. She’s almost (OMG!) crawling. And her schedule is somewhat predictable, even if she does wake up super early and go to bed almost the same.

So that means we have been able to get out with both kids at the same time more frequently, and we’ve been brave enough to take them out to eat. And one of our first stops was back to an old favorite. Maybe you’ve been to Flat Top Grill in Campustown, the make-your-own stir-fry place, for dinner or lunch. We like their weekend breakfast (Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to noon).

First, the bad news. One of the drawbacks of having brunch there is the price for kids — $5.99 — when they don’t charge for kids 4 and under at lunch and dinner (I believe on Monday kids under 10 eat free). We asked the manager about it, and he couldn’t really explain the discrepancy; it must be chain-wide. But the convenience somewhat makes up for that. Since it is make-your-own, the minute we get there we nab some fruit and pastry off the buffet to sustain Peanut.

Then it’s time to decide to be a saint (eggs/omelette) or sinner (french toast or pancakes).You pick what you want in an omelette or scramble from a vast array of veggies (similar to the stirfry) or add sweets and fruits to pancakes or french toast. (Since it’s all-you-can-eat, you can always go back for one or the other.) At the end you can add on bacon or hash browns to your order, or — my favorite — turkey sausage links. Peanut and I are big turkey sausage eaters, and probably could eat the value of our meal in that alone. Believe me, turkey sausage is a rarity in this town (although I think they have patties at the Courier Cafe).

So if you’re in the mood to try something new, head over to Flat Top for breakfast/brunch. And do it before the students head back to town.

trending topics

• Kudos to the Champaign Park District, which actually listened to the feedback of its patrons (and taxpayers) by adding healthy foods to its menu at Sholem Aquatic Center.  Instituting a new policy banning outside food on pool grounds this year without consideration of the product they were selling was incredibly short-sighted. After several weeks of complaints, as well as bad publicity in the N-G, the CPD has taken the first step to correct this issue. Now let’s see the price list …

• Wish I could temporarily discard my mommy and work hats to head over to the Beverly Theater for the Harry Potter movie marathon on Tuesday, which will culminate in the 12:01 showing of the Half-Blood Prince. It has been so long since the last one …

• There is no excuse not to see some live music this summer, especially when there are so many *free* concerts to be enjoyed. I am particularly dismayed we will miss this Friday night’s Outside at the Park event due to a previous engagement …

frozen on the move

It’s no secret that I have a passion for real estate. I enjoy looking at houses and pondering about what I would like (and would not like) to have in some future fictional home, or just in my dreams. I know I am not alone. I often see the same people wondering in and out of the same open houses that I frequent. (Unfortunately, the ones I most want to see don’t usually have open houses. Did you know there is a Champaign home on the market listed for $2 million??? It’s on Armory, the street that borders Champaign Country Club.)

Last year, before we even knew about my pregnancy with Jellybean, I started a quest to find a new home.  I was desperately seeking a (dry) basement, as well as a little more elbow room, knowing we were hoping to complete our family soon. We put in a bid on one house, and retreated after a rather odd sequence of events. And that was that. I always keep my eyes open and aware, but nothing else has fit the bill since.

That’s until we got a call the other day from our realtor, who I hadn’t talked to in ages. “I have a house for you,” she said. It fits most of our criteria, including the location (check), finished dry basement (check) and sink in laundry room (don’t ask). It is dated, and needs a little bit of a facelift. But as my mom says, it has “good bones.”

So why am I so ambivalent? Because the idea of getting our house ready to sell makes me want to throw things. Because the idea of living through showings, and keeping the Killer Cockapoo in check, makes my head spin. Because two > one. Oh, and did I mention the packing? Even if it would be to move five blocks away?

Mr. lbotp went to see the house today and we both agreed — for several reasons, this house would be great for us five or six years from now, but not right now. So I think we will pass. I just hope I don’t regret it.

take out the papers and the trash

We are on our third trash provider here at the lbotp household. At the end of the month, we will celebrate our sixth anniversary in our Champaign home, so that’s an average of one every two years. Finally, I think we have found the right one (we dumped these guys, pun intended). They take the most recyclables of any trash company out there, something that is very important to me. And they don’t require stickers or a ridiculous flat monthly fee for yard waste collection. They have been reliable and affordable and we haven’t had a problem.

Until now. One of the drawbacks of this company — let’s face it, none are perfect — is that they charge extra for you to use their toter. We had our own cans, so we decided to use those. The problem? After six years, our cans have an indelible stench that has made them, well, trash.

Problem: How do you get the trash collector to take the trash can as trash?

For two weeks, Mr. lbotp has put out our old trashed cans with the shiny new ones. But after two weeks, they remain at our curb.

So, now we’ll have to get aggressive. We may have to devise a note of some sort. Or we’ll have to stalk them and figure out what time they might arrive.

If only trash cans were recyclable. Then I could take them to the recycling drop-off site!