December 2013 Book Club

Our book club has gotten off to a strong start this year. We always have a good crowd and wonderful conversation. All sisters are more than welcome to join us at any time! In December we met at Beer House in Lombard and also did a book exchange. In January, we'll discuss the novella, Disquiet, as well as the books we took home from the exchange.

Our book club leader, Yvonne, dealt out her super cool University of Chicago cards for the book exchange.

Natalie and Kate

Our sister Angela (from Louisiana, Arizona, and, currently, California) was in Chicago for a convention and came out to the suburbs to hang out with us for the night. She schooled us on how to pronounce these yummy treats-"prah-leans." Thank you for joining us, Angela!

Lori made delectable "reindeer crack" for dessert!

2013 WTTW Pledge Drive

Our sisters, once again, donated their time to "work the phones" for our local public television station's annual pledge drive.

Jennifer is in the back row!

This is Vicky! She is our wonderful Publicity officer who organizes these fun events for us and has a heart of gold!

Holiday Gift/Ornament Exchange

We had a lovely time at Natalie R.'s home.  We enjoyed Natalie's beautiful Christmas decorations and all of the yummy food that she and co-hostess, Kathy, served.  Thank you Natalie and Kathy for making such a wonderful evening for us.  It was so nice to get together and relax with sisters during such a busy season.  We enjoyed having Judy (Nu Iota), Amy (Iota), and Jen (Iota) join us for the first time this evening.  Our 1960s Nu Iota and 1990s Iota sisters had impromptu mini reunions that night!

How cute are these two??!!  Judy and Kathy (and Jan) are Nu Iota pledge sisters from 1964...celebrating 50 years of sisterhood together this year!!!

These Iota sisters together called 706 S. Mathews Ave., Urbana *home* in the mid-1990s.

This picture perfectly captures what we're all about - sisterhood and fun.... Even when the holidays keep us crazy busy, we find time to be together.

Ellen, Dina, Judie, Amy, and Natalie G.

There's no need to have dinner at home before a meeting.  We'll take care of you!

Ellen getting the gift exchange going

Kathy and her new ornaments!

Amanda and her sassy shoes!

Natalie took out her glass Christmas tree for us.  With two little boys, it doesn't come out as often as it used to : )

Welcome to AOII, Audrey!

On Sunday, November 24, 2013, Karen H.'s daughter, Audrey, initiated as an alumna into Phi Chi Chapter at the University of Chicago and also became a member of Chicago West Suburban Alumnae Chapter! We are thrilled that Audrey made the decision to join our sisterhood, and we're sure her mom, Karen's, love and enthusiasm for AOII may have had something to do with it!  Welcome, Audrey!

Audrey and Karen H.

 Jessie W-G, Audrey, and Karen H.

Lake County Alumnae Chapter's 25th Anniversary

Congratulations to our Lake County Alumnae Chapter sisters who are celebrating 25 years of sisterhood this year!  We enjoyed celebrating with them at their anniversary luncheon on November 9, 2013.  We always appreciate an opportunity to visit with them.  They are a wonderful group of women whose dedication to each other and our Fraternity is inspiring.

More Nuts for Sale

We have some extra nuts to sell!  They are at Natalie R’s home (location of the December meeting).  Please let Natalie know if you would like any of them so they can be saved for you or picked up before the meeting.

Available Nuts:

Light Walnuts (3 bags)  $8.00 ea

Yogurt Raisins (3 bags) $5.50 ea

Chocolate Cranberries (3 bags) $6.00 ea

Pecan Pralines (1 bag) $8.50 ea

Pecans (1 bag) $9.50 ea

Almond Cranberry Granola (3 bags) $5.50 ea

Milk Chocolate Raisins (3 bags) $5.50 ea

Gummies (1 bag) $5.00 ea

November Meeting at Debby's Mouse House

We always enjoy going to Debby's house. If you love Disney, her home is a must-see, filled floor to ceiling with Disneyana!


Debby's Mickey light is always shining when we arrive, helping us find her house.....except for the time the power went out on her block right before our meeting.



Terri Lynn nuts, candies, and granola are super yummy!



Being social and eating yummy snacks!



We wrote over 200 holiday cards to military personnel for Operation Holiday Card! We always enjoy honoring our soldiers through this activity.

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November 2013 Book Club Meeting

Our book club meeting on November 13th involved a short discussion of how none of us like the book, A Dual Inheritance by Johanna Hershon.  Most of us finished the book just so we could move on to the next one (The Third Coast by Thomas Dyja.)  Instead we just had a great night of dinner, drinks, and desserts at DOC Wine Bar.

Don't all the desserts look yummy!

Sorting Nuts at Debby's House

One of our most successful fundraisers is selling Terri Lynn nuts, chocolates, and such.  Debby graciously offers her Mouse House to be our nut-sorting headquarters.  Thank you to everyone who helped sort and who purchased nuts from us.  We really appreciate your support!

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These are only some of the boxes.  The rest were spread through Debby's dining room.

Amy, our Ways and Means officer, is our resident "nut expert."

We worked in teams to make sure everyone's order was accurate.  Carolyn and Debby filled several orders together!

Patti and Jeanne are such a great team!

Karen F. and Amy

One of our newer choices

We used Debby's stairs to doublecheck orders.

These are all of the nuts that Patti sold!

This is Amy realizing she was the cause of a few minutes of panic.  Our count was off, and it took a while for Amy to remember that she didn't fill out an order form.  We all breathed a sigh of relief!

Debby served us a delicious lunch!  Thank you so much Debby!  We really appreciate you and your gift of hospitality!

Building Pandas for Comer Children's Hospital

On November 6, a group of us headed to Build-a-Bear Workshop in Oakbrook to make pandas for the children at Comer Children's Hospital.  We're sure the young patients there will feel comforted cuddling with these special bears.  Afterward, we headed to Houlihan's for dinner.  It was a wonderful fall evening spent with sisters, and the mall wasn't crowded.  Thank you to everyone who joined us!

Julie, Kathy, Natalie R., Chris M., Debby, and Chris A.

Choosing

Choosing hearts

We rubbed the pandas' hearts on our hearts.

Stuffing

Grooming

Creating birth certificates

Heading to Houlihan's!