Roads Girdle the Globe

Wow - it's been a while...

2009-04-25T19:49:00.001-04:00

I didn't realize it had been so long since I'd posted. I really have no excuse - I've just been a bit anti-social for a while. I feel like a bad friend - I really haven't been keeping up on my friends' blogs, and I haven't been on Croppers Cottage much, I haven't blogged, and I haven't really even been on Facebook. I guess I just needed some time to myself.

Since the last time I blogged, so much has happened. We had Christmas, along with all the attendant craziness, I turned 35 (I know - I'm officially OLD! LOL), then there was Easter, and some craft shows, and now here we are at the start of softball season again. We've been working 58 hours mandatory again, so it's been a bit hectic around here. Since my last post, I've experienced the happiest moment in my life so far, and also the saddest moment. I've seen butterflies at Dow Gardens, Broadway in Saginaw, and my good friend get hypnotized by Anthony Cools in the funniest show I've ever seen.

I've been contemplative lately - thinking about the future and what it holds for all of my friends. Two friends and two cousins are pregnant, and another two of the girls at my church have either just given birth or are about to. That's good news - I can't wait to see all the new babies. On the down side, we are still trying to sell the house that my in-laws rented from us, our renter just up and moved out in the beginning of April, and Brian is laid off again for the summer, just hoping to find a job. Those parts are not so good. I'm wondering if we'll ever sell the house or find a renter, and I'm starting to get a little worried about those prospects - I don't think all the OT in the world will pay my bills plus the bills of two houses. I'm also worried that we won't find a pitcher for our softball team, which will NOT help us win any games - not that I was really expecting to win any games, but still, the hope remains.

About the pitcher, I'm starting to think that the pitcher's position for our team is very similar to the position of the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher in the Harry Potter series. Those of you who have read the books or seen the movies are probably giggling at me right now. For those of you who haven't, let me explain (no, there is too much, let me sum up :). In HP, the DADA position seems to be cursed - none of the teachers in the series made it more than one school year. Our team has been a team in this league for the past two years, and we've had two pitchers. The pitcher from the first year took a batted ball in the shin in the last game of the year, and had a bruise the size of Cleveland on her shin for quite some time afterward. She has not recovered from the trauma and stress of the injury, and consequently declined to play last year (and this year, for that matter). Since she is also a coworker, I suspect the stress of the new system and all the OT we've been doing is a factor as well. I was planning on our pitcher from last year being able to pitch for us again, but she has developed tendonitis, and although she is still planning on playing, pitching is out for her. Soooo, we're looking for a new pitcher. Wish us luck!

Ok - clearly I need to blog more, because it seems that I babble when I haven't. I'll work on being better about that. Until next time, have a great day!

New meme...

2008-11-26T15:30:00.003-05:00

Do it, done it.
Put the items you've done in bold. I've italicized things I want to do.
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie (in 5th grade - we made our own movie for a class project)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House (post 9/11, so we couldn't go in - just outside)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chicken pox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Your turn. What have you done? What would you like to do? I'm starting a tag with this one - Jayne, Rita, and Jeanne. Have fun!

Stories to tell...

2008-11-23T10:10:00.002-05:00

I've been taking the Stories in Hand class over at Jessicasprague.com (where taking equals reading the class e-mails while thinking that I really should actually do some of the assignments, but I digress). Although I haven't had any time to really keep up with the class, I have read all the class e-mails and gone through the many, many (over 1000) prompts that help us to remember what our stories are. During all this, I was reminded that although these "sparks" are meant to help us remember things that happened in the past, our stories are still happening. Every minute of every day, we are living the things that will become our memories, and how we tell them is up to us. Whether you blog them, write them in a diary, tell your friends verbally, or just pull them out to remember to yourself in a quiet moment, you will eventually tell them. This past week, instead of having time to record my stories, I've been living my future stories, and I'd like to share one of them with you now.

From Madonna Concert

Tuesday night, Kate, Kevin, Heather, and I went to see Madonna at Ford Field in Detroit. This story, however, does not begin Tuesday night. It begins way back in the dark ages (or approximately August-ish), when my friend Michelle received an e-mail for advance ticket purchases for Madonna through her credit card. We decided to go, we being Michelle, Jayne, Nancy, and myself, and Michelle ordered the tickets. Fast forward a couple of months, and Michelle, having had some family issues that are going to require her to save money, is the first to fall. So, I e-mail Kate and ask her if she is interested in taking Michelle's ticket. In the meantime, Nancy, who is a district manager, finds out that one of her stores is scheduled for an inventory on Wednesday morning after the concert, so she will have to be at that store by 5 am. This obviously makes going to the concert a very bad idea. I e-mail Kate again to ask if Kevin would like to go also. They agree, and Nancy and Michelle's tickets come to me to hold. Jayne, meanwhile, has been suffering from "contractor's disease", a very prolonged cough/upper respiratory something-or-other, and has been trying to find someone to take her ticket. She asks Shelly, who is considering it, but really doesn't want to spend the money or be out so late on a Tuesday night. The Saturday prior to the concert, we have a bazaar, and I mention that the concert is coming up to Heather. She is very excited about it, and says that she wishes she could go. I tell her that there may be a way, and let Shelly know she's off the hook and Jayne that if she's sure she doesn't want to go that Heather will take her ticket. In this roundabout way, the attendees change almost completely.

From Madonna Concert

Dateline: Tuesday, November 18, 2008. I rush out of work at 4:00, excited to be headed to see Madonna. I've always wanted to see her in concert, and this may be my last chance. The day is chilly, as a cold snap has just moved through the area after some unseasonably warm weather. The plan is to meet Kate and Kevin in Greektown for dinner, then take the PeopleMover down and walk to Ford Field, which is just a couple of blocks from our station. I have just discovered that my winter jacket has a broken zipper - a fact which I had forgotten when I put it away for the winter, so I have with me a fall fleece jacket, over which I will put my dress coat, which is warm, but not long enough in the sleeves for me. It doesn't look the best, but in 20-degree weather, I really don't care. To make the look even more fashionable, I have borrowed Mom's earmuffs. I pick Heather up in Aunt Rose's car, which we are forced to drive because my car was not ready to be picked up from the garage on Monday (a whole different story). I am very grateful that I was able to borrow her car, but I really hate driving it - it's not built for tall people. It also has only a cassette player and a radio, so we are forced to hunt for radio stations during our drive. We arrive in Greektown at about 6:00. Approximately 15 minutes earlier, we had called Kate and Kevin to let them know where we were, and they were waiting for a table at the Pegasus Taverna in Trapper's Alley. We park the car and walk into the restaurant to find that many, many other people had the same idea that we had. When Kate and Kevin arrived, they were told that we would be seated in about 15 minutes. In reality, it was more like 45 minutes to an hour. This has us a bit panicked, as the concert is supposed to start at 7:30, and we had determined that in order to get there in time, we should be on the PeopleMover no later than 7:00. Our waiter arrives, we order, and very shortly after, the food arrives. By 7:10, we have paid our bill and are ready to move. We debate the pros and cons of taking the PeopleMover anyway or just walking there and decide that we are OK with the PeopleMover, so we head up to the station. In a very short time, our train is there, and we hop on and sit (posing for a few pictures along the way). We depart at the Grand Circus station and start walking toward Ford Field. After hiking about half a mile, we reach the stadium, expecting to pretty much walk up to the doors, present our tickets, and find our seats, as the concert is scheduled to start in 10 minutes. Imagine our surprise when we see a line of people, 4 or 5 across, stretching all the way to the other corner of the stadium. We get in line and wonder why it doesn't seem to be moving and what this means for the concert's start time. After waiting about 40 minutes without moving very far, we decide to be line jumpers as most of the others before us have already done, and move to the front of the stadium where we join the throng of people attempting to enter and take a few pictures of the line along the way. By 8:15 we have gained access to the building and have found our seats. We think that maybe the concert might start by 8:30, but aren't very hopeful, given the state of the line outside. Around 8:45, someone walks by in the row ahead of us, saying that he has heard it will start at 9:30. We wait, somewhat dismayed by the prospect, as everyone but Heather has to work in the morning. I am not looking forward to the 2-hour drive back to Saginaw at this point, especially since I've heard that the concert features a 2-hour set list. We continue to wait.

From Madonna Concert

At about 9:20, the giant "M"s to either side of the stage begin to glow pink and the concert is on. Madonna does not look 50 - she is amazingly toned, and I wish I have half of her energy. She sings and dances for almost all of the 2-hour show, barring time for a few costume changes. Her backup dancers are just as awesome. By the time the concert is over, Heather proclaims it the best she's been to. It definitely makes my top 10 favorites, but the 2-hour wait for it to start tarnishes the experience a bit.

From Madonna Concert

Once the concert finishes, we patiently wait our turn to file out of the arena, coming to the conclusion that Ford Field doesn't have very good crowd control plans in place, as we stand at the end of our aisle waiting to ascend the stairs for at least 15 minutes. Once we are finally up the stairs, it's better. In light of the crowds making their way in the direction of the PeopleMover stadium, we decide to walk back to Greektown. It's not a bad walk - probably only about 3/4 of a mile, and we make it back to the casino around midnight. Hugs are exchanged, and Kate and Kevin head for their car and home, while Heather and I decide to hit the casino for a few minutes to allow the traffic to clear out before heading northward.

After about a half hour, we are ready to leave. We trek back to the car, which won't start. It seems the interior light stayed on - I'm not sure if a seatbelt caught in the door or what, and the battery is dead. We go down to the attendant's station, where the lady in the booth tells us that they don't have cables and can't give anyone a jump, but gives us the number for a towing company that can help us. I call them, only to find out that their parking garage truck is not working at present, so they can't make it up to the third floor. We head back down to the booth, but they don't have any other phone numbers for us to try. We decide to go back over to the casino in search of a phone book. On the way over, we see two men and a lady walking back to the garage. Heather asks if they have a set of jumper cables, and they think they do. We follow them to their car, and we're in luck - he has a set. They drive up to the third floor and park next to Aunt Rose's car. I pop the hood, and luckily the two batteries are not so far away that the cables won't stretch. They hook up the cables and turn on their car, and a few minutes later, we are on our way. By 1:00 we're on I-75 heading north. By 2:45, I drop Heather off at her house, after a mostly uneventful trip, with the exception of a deer coming onto the road in front of us, then changing its mind and turning around. I take Aunt Rose's car to her house, as mine is now home for me, and, having waited up for me although I told her not to worry, she drops me off at my house. I fall into bed, exhausted, but having had a great time.

That's all for this story. I know there will be more. Some I will share here, some I will keep to myself. Some may end up in my scrapbook, others just as a folder on my hard drive, or a memory locked in a corner of my mind. But all will affect me in some way. Thanks for letting me share and have a great week.

Skywatch Friday - the Wedding Edition

2008-11-13T22:55:00.000-05:00

I haven't seen any interesting skies this past couple of weeks, so I thought I'd look for some from my pictures of prior events. When I opened up Picasa, I found that I was on the folder containing my cousin's wedding pictures, and I saw the first picture here. This was taken outside of the church where my cousin Candy's wedding was held this spring. I love the church because it's so picturesque, and there is a cemetery attached to it that is older and has some very eye-catching headstones. I also love this picture because of the way the clouds seem to be just painted across the sky like someone took a gigantic brush and put them there.

Once I found the first picture, I decided to see what other skywatch pictures I could find in my various wedding folders. The picture below was taken in August at my friend Kate's wedding. Once again, the day was overcast, and I thought the clouds were interesting, especially the way they seem to showcase the steeple? part of the church.

And finally, because I like to have three pictures - two would just feel incomplete - I was able to find one more sky picture from a wedding day. This picture was taken in Windsor, Canada as we left my friend Shelly's wedding. Guess what - more clouds! I really like the way the Bluewater Bridge looks with the clouds in the background and overhead.

That's all for this week. Check out Skywatch Friday here. Have a great weekend!

Pet Peeves...

2008-11-03T22:20:00.003-05:00

What are your pet peeves? I have many of them, but they can pretty much be condensed into one major theme - inconsiderate people. This morning I was reminded of a perfect example as I drove through Tim Horton's to get a hot chocolate. Someone had thrown their lit cigarette out the window as they waited in the drive-through line. Not only is that inconsiderate because of the whole littering factor, but also for all of us who followed whoever this person was through the line. I happen to be extremely sensitive to cigarette smoke, and waiting to get past the scene of the crime was torture, as the smoke was coming right into my car. Why, oh why, do people have to do things like that? If I'm walking somewhere and see a lit cigarette butt, I'll scuff it out so no one else has to deal with it, but that's rather hard to do in a drive-through line.

Another good example of inconsiderate behavior popped up today as well. My husband and I are landlords - we own a duplex and live in one side and rent the other half out. Our renters recently told us that they were going to have to move because the wife is pregnant, and they couldn't stay in a two bedroom house with three children. They gave us 30 days notice, and were supposed to have been moved out by Friday or Saturday morning. That was fine, because Brian had the entire weekend off, which would allow him to clean/touch up paint/anything else that needed to be done before the new renters moved in. Well, due to a problem with the electricity at their new place, they didn't move out until this morning, and of course Brian had to work today. He was able to get into the back bedroom (the walls of which the kids had written all over with crayon, meaning that he needed to paint the entire room) and paint and steam clean the carpet, but there was still a lot to do. When he got over there this morning, the floors were horribly dirty, and the refrigerator was disgusting! I ended up having to take time off this afternoon to help clean, as there was no way he was going to be able to do it all before he had to leave for work. I can't help comparing this situation to ours - when Brian bought the duplex we had been dating for about a year, and he was living in an apartment. When he moved, we spent an entire night cleaning the fridge, the walls, and anything else we could think of - the place was spotless. Evidently that's not normal for renters, as we have not had anyone leave the place very clean yet. This was by far the worst yet, though.

Anyway, that's my rant on pet peeves. Thanks for hanging in there with me. On a positive note, we had the best bazaar we've had so far this past Saturday. I'm hoping for more like that in the coming weeks! Don't forget to vote tomorrow, and have a great week!

Skywatch Friday

2008-10-30T23:11:00.000-04:00

I said I was going to try to post more pictures for this, so here is another edition of Skywatch Friday. I can't believe it's already been two weeks since the first one I posted. I guess time really does fly when you're having fun. The first two pictures for today were taken in Toledo. Last weekend we attended a handbell conference there, and since there weren't any classes that we wanted to take during the first session, the two other Jens and I walked down to the riverfront. It was very nice, if a bit cold, and I got some pretty neat shots out of it.

The final picture was taken at my in-laws' house. I love the way the clouds show through the tree. You can definitely tell fall is in the air!

That's all for now. Have a great week, everyone, and don't forget to vote next Tuesday!

Sad Day...

2008-10-27T22:24:00.003-04:00

It has arrived. The day I've been dreading for the last 5 weeks. My in-laws are moving away, and taking the kids with them (well, duh - they are their kids, after all). I knew it was not going to be fun, but I didn't think I'd be quite this sad. I actually cried tonight. I'm happy that Roger found a church, but I really wish it wasn't all the way out in Minnesota. It has been so nice having them and the kids nearby and to really have the chance to get to know the rest of Brian's family. I just about lost it today - I took a short break from work to go say goodbye to them, and when I said I had to go back to work, Anna kept telling me "No."

On a happier note, I attended a bell conference in Toledo this weekend. We all had a great time, and I'll leave you with a couple of pictures from it for now.

The park by the river. There were three or four fishermen, and I liked the way they leaned their poles against the chains and leaned back to relax.

5/3 Stadium, home of the Toledo Mud Hens (Detroit's AAA team). This was the view from our hotel window.

At the jazz club. It was the pianist's birthday, as well as Jen B's, so after the band played and sang Happy Birthday to the two of them along with two other birthdays in the house, they brought out and cut a cake, then passed it around to the whole bar.

The big bells. I wish we had these at our church!

Have a great week!

Class Reminder

2008-10-20T16:45:00.002-04:00

If you haven't already done so, head on over to jessicasprague.com and register for the free Stories in Hand class. I'm really excited - it should be a lot of fun! Have a great day, everyone!

Skywatch Friday

2008-10-16T22:47:00.001-04:00

My friend Jeanne has been participating in the Skywatch Friday meme for quite a while now. I've checked it out a couple of times, and I thought that it was time for me to get in on the action. I can't promise pictures every week, but I'll do it as much as I can. This week's pictures are some that I got recently. The moon on Tuesday night was really cool; full, with wispy, mysterious clouds all around it. The top picture is the moon itself, but what I thought was really neat was the middle picture. This was the reflection I saw in the window of our building when I pulled up to go into work. I was very excited that the picture turned out, because to me, the reflection is almost more interesting than the real thing.

I got this picture when we were at the pumpkin farm with the nieces and nephews this past weekend. I love the way the corn is almost silhouetted against the sky, and again with the wispy clouds. What's up with that?

That's all I have for right now. Have a great day!

Pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins!

2008-10-14T20:37:00.003-04:00

We had another busy weekend, but a fun one. On Saturday, I took senior pictures for my coworker's son, and if I don't say so myself, I think they turned out pretty well. If she gives her permission, I'll try to post a few of the better ones later on. On Sunday, we started out making some jewelry after church, then went to the pumpkin farm with Roger and Sherrie and the kids. We had a great time exploring the farm, feeding the goats, watching the trebuchet catapult pumpkins (OK, I didn't actually see that, but Roger, Brian, and the boys did), going through the corn maze, and of course, eating the yummy cider doughnuts and drinking the homemade cider! I've attached a slideshow of the pictures I took below, but be warned - there are a LOT of pictures! Have a great day!

Exciting news...

2008-10-11T10:03:00.002-04:00

I've mentioned it before, but it bears repeating. I LOVE Jessica Sprague. She's an awesome blogger, a great teacher, and her digital/hybrid scrapbooking tips and tricks are to die for. So when I saw this on her blog, I had to share it with all of you. In November, she is offering a new class for FREE. That's right - no charge! The class sounds totally awesome, and it's open to as many people who want to take it, which is great as well. I'm definitely signing up - I've been wanting to take her digital scrapbooking classes for some time now, but time and finances haven't lined up together, so I haven't been able to. I can't do the justice to the explanation of the class, so here's the link to the information. If you've never visited, take a minute and read more of her blog - she's a great writer!

http://spraguelab.squarespace.com/blog/2008/10/10/new-class-stories-in-hand.html

What would you do?

2008-10-03T22:37:00.002-04:00

Did anyone watch Deal or No Deal tonight? The person playing tonight was a guy from Michigan. He started out with five million-dollar cases. When he had four cases left, there were still two with a million in them, as well as $200 and $1000. His offer was $448,000, and he ended up taking it. Of course, we got to talking about it. My philosophy is "go hard or go home." I would have kept going until I knocked out one of the million dollar cases, then taken the offer. Brian probably would have taken an offer before the one the player took. That's the main difference between us. I told him tonight that I wouldn't take him as one of my three advisors because I know what he'd say. The joke between us is that he would open the first six cases and take the first offer, no matter what it was. He might go a little further than that, but I'm not so sure. I figure that I came with nothing, so anything I win would be a bonus. As it turned out, after the offer was accepted and they asked what cases the player would have chosen next, he would have knocked out both the $200 and $1000 cases and have been left with two million-dollar cases. What would you have done?

Monster-iffic!

2008-10-01T17:38:00.002-04:00

Just saw Rita's blog, and she linked to the most awesome giveaway, and a blog that looks like it's going to be one of my new favorites. I'll post more later, but while you're waiting, check out Cally's blog here: http://cally-cruze.blogspot.com/2008/09/monster-friends-givey.html. I'm in awe of the little bit of her talent that I saw.

Quick update...

2008-09-24T20:58:00.002-04:00

Good news on the medical fronts. My nephew's kidney biopsy didn't show any rejection issues, but they think there may be some scar tissue where the kidney connects, so his bladder isn't getting fully emptied. We're hoping and praying for a non-surgical solution, because it doesn't sound like a very fun surgery if it becomes necessary. My mom's biopsy came back clean, so we're thankful for that. In other news, my brother-in-law got a church out in Minnesota. That's kind of a mixed blessing - on the one hand, it's nice that he found a church to pastor, but I'm going to hate having them so far away from us. I've been really glad to have the chance to have the family here near us instead of out in Iowa (where they were previously). It's been nice to get to know my nieces and nephews and to see them grow up right before our eyes.

Prayers needed...

2008-09-16T17:47:00.002-04:00

The next couple of days will be kind of scary for our families. My nephew, Cole, is having a kidney biopsy done tomorrow. He was born with only one kidney which functioned at about 25% capacity and had a kidney transplant about a year and a half ago. He has been doing quite well, but lately one of the levels they measure in kidney patients has been rising, which isn't a good thing. I'm praying that they'll find out that the problem is something that's easily corrected.

The following day, my mom is having a lump removed. It's an outpatient surgery, and the doctor thinks it's just a calcification, but it's still surgery and a bit nervewracking. So if you're a praying person, please take a second and remember Cole and my mom as they go through their procedures.

Have a great day!

I knew it was coming...

2008-09-14T23:14:00.002-04:00

I got ambushed at church today. I knew it was going to happen, just not this soon. I had decided to drop vocal choir while we're so busy at work, so Thursday was my first day of semi-freedom. This morning, Lila (our director) caught me and asked about the Christmas concert. Nothing much - just one or two solos. Hopefully I'll be able to scale back to 50 hours by November so I have some extra time to get these ready. Why, oh why, did I ever decide it would be fun to play bell solos?

Maybe I like 80s music a little too much...

2008-09-09T21:32:00.000-04:00

A while back, Rita had this quiz on her blog, and of course, I had to take it. I don't know what the range of scores is, but I scored a 166.5. Now I have to confess, there were a couple that I guessed at, but there were also several that I thought were quite easy and the person who made the quiz gave more points for because he/she thought they were difficult. Anyway, give it a try and see how you do.

What a weekend...

2008-09-07T20:27:00.005-04:00

We, or at least I, have had quite the weekend. It started off as my weekends usually do, with work on Saturday morning. After I got out of work at 11, we took off for South Higgins Lake State Park for my family reunion. We've been holding it there the weekend after Labor Day for as long as I can remember - I think it's been going since even before I was born. I convinced my sister-in-law to bring the kids up, even though she's on Brian's side and not part of the family that was reunioning, we usually always have at least one friend join someone, and I wanted to be able to show the kids where I've been going for years and years. They had a blast - we ate lunch, then went down to the lake to swim - one of the best things about this park is that the lake is always clean and you can walk out for probably 1/4 mile before it's even up to an adult's knees, so it's great for kids. Anna and I walked out and she giggled all the way. After swimming, the kids played baseball with some of my cousins and some of the other kids whose families were camping there this weekend while the adults sat (or stood) around the fire.

In what seemed like no time at all, it was time to pack up and head home. It was great to be able to see all the cousins that we only see once a year, and I had the added bonus of sharing some of my memories with my nieces and nephews.

Today, my friend Heather had complementary tickets to the Michigan Renaissance Festival. If you live in Michigan and you've never had the opportunity to attend, I highly recommend it. There are all sorts of shops selling things like jewelry, art, leather goods, period costumes, woodcraft, and much more. While you're shopping, you can attend different shows. Probably the most popular and well-known show is the Ded Bob Show. I've seen it several times - so many, in fact, that I could probably do the show as well as the entertainer. It's always fun to catch it, though, and this year was even better, because Heather got picked on to be one of the audience volunteers.

One of the new things they had this year was an area where you could feed lorikeets. We went in and were immediately rewarded with birds on our hands and arms. After they finished the food in my cup, one of them decided that I might taste pretty good and started nibbling on my arm. It didn't hurt, but it was kind of funny.

I'll close with a few pictures I took at the Zucchini Brothers, Ric Roc, and the Rogue Blades shows. Have a great week!

Guess what came today?

2008-09-02T22:07:00.000-04:00

That's right! Now I can read books two through four!! If you don't hear from me, you know what I'll be doing...

My Best Friend's Wedding, or How I Ended Up Wearing Slippers

2008-08-30T21:44:00.011-04:00

I promised, and I aim to please. So, without further ado, here is the story you've all been waiting for (or not, but here's the story anyway). Could I have a drum roll, please?

Almost a year ago, my best friend of 27 years announced that she was engaged. A while after that, I was asked to participate in the wedding. Of course, I agreed, and the planning went on as you would expect, complete with dresses and shoes, flowers and rehearsal dinners, but not things like showers and bachelorette parties, because that's just not Kate. Our story, however, begins with the flowers.

The flowers, which were alstroemeria, also known as Peruvian lilies, were beautiful. There were also half a ton of them. Because we were making our own bouquets, Kate had ordered a LOT of flowers. We picked up three buckets of them from the florist's shop on Wednesday evening, which pretty much filled the back end of my car with lilies. We then stored them in her back room to keep the cat from eating the leaves before we were even ready to use the flowers. Fast forward through our girls' night out on Wednesday (complete with Jello shots we didn't end up eating),

through the (totally not worth it) manicures and pedicures on Thursday morning,

and through our lunch at the Greek restaurant (complete with saganaki - OPA!).

After all this hard work, we went back to Kate's house to assemble the bouquets before the rehearsal. We managed to get the flowers to the dining room without incident, and got the bouquets pulled together and taped. As we were putting the bouquets

and the bajillions of extra flowers back into the back room, I managed to catch my pinky toe on the vacuum cleaner. It hurt, but I didn't think that much of it - after all, I've stubbed my toes many times and been fine. Unfortunately for me, I had to put shoes on to go out to the car. At this point, I realized that this may not be just a stubbed toe. The minute I put my shoes on and attempted to walk, I was in excruciating pain. Knowing that I would never make it through the rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, and the afterparty at the pub like that, Kate and I made the third of four Meijer's runs of the week. I found a pair of flip-flops that were my size, as well as a pair of Dearfoams bedroom slippers (like these, only in black), because I feared the worst - that I wouldn't be able to wear the pretty shoes I bought to go with my dress. As it turned out, I was correct. It seems (and I have not gone to the doctor, so I may be way off base with this) that I have broken my toe, and so, instead of these: I ended up with these:

because my toe looked like this:

In the end, however, everything worked out. The cake and the bride were both beautiful,
Jill and I made her cry with our toast, which included a letter and picture from her sister and brother-in-law, who weren't able to make it to the wedding, and a good time was had by all, even Aunt Rose.

Congratulations, you two. I couldn't be happier for you.

And the Brillante goes to...

2008-08-16T09:27:00.004-04:00

A very, very long time ago, when I still knew what a computer was and how to access it, Jeanne bestowed upon me the award above. The rules for the award are very simple:

Display logo and link to who gave it to you.
Nominate at least 7 blogs.
Add links to those 7 blogs.
Leave the nominees a message that they received the award.

Now that I actually have half a minute to breathe, I wanted to share with you my nominees. Without further ado, I'd like to present the Brillante Premio 2008 awards to the following wonderful ladies:

Jayne, who is always my go-to person for the strange, unusual, and just plain weird side of the Internet. How she finds these things is beyond me... and I'm not quite sure I want to know. Don't look at the post about the Sour Toe Cocktails - that one is just scary.
Jayne's sister, Nancy, who I wish would post more. She always has cute anecdotes and cuter pictures.
Rita absolutely cracks me up sometimes. She is a gifted writer and has a knack for getting to the sweet side of the story. She also shares my passion for 80s music - does it get any better?
I love to read Dawn's blog. Her creativity (as evidenced in the layouts and other projects she posts) is amazing! She also has great pictures and experiences to share on a regular basis.
Suzanna's stories about her boys are so cute to read. She also has an amazing store at Etsy with beautiful wall decor - check it out.
Last, but certainly not least, I have to give this award right back to Jeanne. I love the fact that she posts every day, not to mention that what she's posting are the most beautiful photos and layouts and the best stories. This woman is amazing, and I'm so glad to have found her blog.

That's it for this post, but watch this space. Coming soon: My Best Friend's Wedding, or How I Ended Up Wearing Slippers. I also have the results of a fun little music quiz to share with you, so don't touch that dial!

Check this out...

2008-07-20T21:14:00.000-04:00

I know - two posts in one day, but I had to share this picture. Brian and I went to explore the wildlife refuge nearby, but since it started raining, we couldn't go on the trail. Before the rain really got going, I got out to take some pictures in the parking area, and caught this one. I've cropped it down to showcase the reflection in the water drop - I think this might be the neatest thing I've ever captured on camera.

Photo time!

2008-07-20T18:36:00.003-04:00

Ok - I have a lot of news/updates to share, but don't have the time to do so right at the moment. I do, however want to leave some pictures from the past week in the form of not one, but two slideshows!

Brian and I took the nieces and nephews (including my sister-in-law and our newest niece) to the park one night last week, and of course I had to take my camera. These are some of my favorite shots from our trip there. We decided to check out the park near my parents' house, as they had just installed a new playplace. The kids had a great time, and so did we.

I've been meaning to get out into our backyard and take some pictures of some of our flowers and of the neighbor's hollyhocks, so when Brian told me the $.99 rose that I got from Menard's earlier in the season was blooming, I thought it would be the perfect time. While we were out there, we saw the two bunnies by the fence on the far side of the yard, and I was able to sneak a few pictures of them. Way cool!

In other news, my very awesome Cottage buddy Jeanne bestowed an award on me recently. I'll write more about it and pass on my compliments when I have time to do it justice. That's all for now, but watch for updates in upcoming days! Have a great day!

Happy Independence Day!!

2008-07-04T23:59:00.002-04:00

Happy 4th of July to all my friends out there! We (as in Brian and me, along with his brother and sister-in-law and their 4.9 kids [she's due any day now], and my BFF Shelly) went to the Saginaw fireworks tonight - they were great as always, and we were able to get really great seats thanks to my having taken pictures at a parade earlier today for a friend who is running for sheriff. Evidently some of the people working with the campaign had planned to go to the fireworks, and one of the ladies that I talked to at the parade and her husband had been camped out there since 6:30pm and were saving spots for more of the volunteers. As we were walking up to the bridge where we were hoping to find seats, the husband saw me and told me they were saving space in the center of the bridge and to go on up and sit with them. It was very, very awesome - one of the things that I really like about Saginaw is that they don't just do the up in the air fireworks, they use a nearby bridge and shoot lower things off of it, and we were in a perfect spot to see everything. I took half a million pictures, but most of them didn't turn out so well. Some of the ones that did are in the slideshow above.

That's all for now - here's hoping that your day was wonderful, and your weekend is even better!

I was scrappy today...

2008-06-24T21:52:00.000-04:00

With the June commitment club looming over my head at Cropper's Cottage, I realized that I had to get busy and do some croppin'. Without further ado, I present to you my two pages for the month.

This is a layout of some of the pictures I took at Kate & Kevin's engagement/bachelorette/friends and martinis party this weekend. We went to MGM Grand in Detroit and had dinner at the very good, but very pricey buffet, then gambled the night away. It looks like some of the gang hit the bar for martinis later, but Brian and I left early-ish in order to make it home that night, so we missed that.

These are pictures from Emily & Alaina's birthday party a few weekends ago. The kids had a blast playing with balls that were meant to be soaked in water, then put in a slingshot to throw at your friends and enemies, but we found they were easier just to throw. A good time was had by all.

That's all for this episode. Stay tuned for more wacky antics... when I have time to have some, that is...

Update on the squirrel...

2008-06-23T20:58:00.003-04:00

So, I was talking to a coworker who lives in Town A, where I saw the very scary sign advertising ground squirrel the other day. She thinks that the store is not a meat market, but a pet store, which still makes me say "Huh?", since I don't think you're allowed to sell squirrels as pets, but does make me relieved, as it's not quite as scary. Whew...

In other news, Go Live is upon us. I probably won't be around much for a while, but I'll try to write as much as I possibly can. Have a great week!

Random miscellany...

2008-06-17T18:56:00.004-04:00

So, if this works, this slideshow will show the long-promised pictures from the baby animal farm. If it doesn't, there will just be a big black box in the middle of my blog and I'll feel really dumb... Be forewarned... The last two pictures in the slideshow are from Cascade Falls Park in Jackson. Brian was able to come hang out with me in Jackson a couple of weeks ago, and we got to visit the falls. They are a man-made, concrete structure about 80 years old that are lit every evening from 8:30 - 11:00pm. There are steps all around them and you can walk up and around if you so desire. We went up, but came back down the same side, since the wind was blowing quite strongly and making the other side rather wet. I would definitely go back to the park - it was really interesting and very pretty.

And now for the next edition of things that are just plain wrong and/or disturbing. As I was driving home today, I decided to take the more rural route instead of the expressway that I normally take. Now I know why I take the expressway. The first thing I saw when I arrived at the first little town I passed through was a sign for a meat market or something like that advertising "Ground Squirrel". That, my friends, is not a market I would like to shop at. I have this mental picture of a meat counter with signs for ground chuck, ground round, ground turkey, and... ground squirrel?? What the heck!?!?! Anyway, after that incident, I continued on until I reached the next little town I had to pass through. In this town, they are apparently going to do some updating and will be conducting a "Sanitary Sewer Project". Excuse me??? What other kind of a sewer project would you have?? Luckily, I made it home without further incident, but the squirrel thing still weirds me out.

Sad, sad news alert... I've been battling a pain in my forearm for the last couple of weeks that was apparently set off during softball practice with some kind of weird throw, so I haven't been able to play in our games, although I did go in in a pinch the first game. However, when I throw the ball, it really hurts, which was my first clue that maybe I should go see the doctor. Well, I went yesterday, and she diagnosed me with tennis elbow. I have to wear a tennis elbow brace (which turns out to be a hard foam half-circle that goes on my forearm just under my elbow and straps snugly around my arm to keep the inflammation in one area) for the next 4 to 6 weeks while it heals. Oh, and no softball, either. HUH?!? I'm very disgusted with this - I played with a broken foot last year, but a mere muscle is laying me low this year? Humph! So, I'm on the disabled list for most, if not all, of the rest of the season. Sad, sad news indeed.

I'll leave you with a picture of Amanda on the rolly slide. She teaches with Mom and will be sharing the disabled list on our softball team with me this year, as she is recovering from back surgery. This picture was taken at the park we went to for lunch and playtime after the baby animals. Have an awesome week, and avoid the ground squirrel!

Countdown to Chaos...

2008-06-03T20:05:00.003-04:00

Well, we are officially going live with the new system on July 1st. I'm glad - I don't think we would have handled any more delays very well, but on the other hand, the upcoming Go Live means that for the next few weeks I don't have a clue whether I'm coming or going - or for that matter where I'm coming from or going to. :) It's going to be a good thing once we're past the learning curve, but I think the learning curve just might be similar to a bunch of hairpin curves coming down the side of a mountain - with your brakes failing. I can't wait!

In other news, I joined a couple of the classes from my mom's school on a field trip to the baby animal farm yesterday. I'll try to post some of the pictures when I'm back in Saginaw, but we had a lot of fun. We got to feed the goats, and two of the kids got to feed the calves their bottles. We saw baby goats, held bunnies and chicks and kittens, and went on a hayride. And I had my leg kissed by a calf. Evidently I looked tasty... Have a great week!

The power of friends...

2008-05-31T10:12:00.002-04:00

Think about someone you've known for a long, long time. Someone outside your family, that is. What would your life be like if you'd never met that person? It probably would be different; most of us would probably say that we would be worse off. I got started thinking about this while looking for shoes to wear in my best friend's wedding. That led me into thinking about the aforementioned best friend, and from there into "What might (not) have been..."

I've known Kate since 3rd grade when we started carpooling to school together. That means we've been friends for 27 years now. If we had never carpooled/never met, my life would be very different. Never becoming friends with Kate would mean that I wouldn't have someone to share fond memories of sleepovers at Aunt Rose's house - watching MTV Rock Blocks (and always seeing "Is This Love" by Whitesnake), and eating cold pizza and warm pop at 3am. It would mean that I wouldn't have had anyone to drive over the "bump" behind 7-11 with and bounce our heads off the top of my car when we got airborne. It would also mean that we wouldn't have been able to take Kevin (Kate's fiancee) over the bump a few weeks ago when they were in town. I wouldn't have "graduated" from U of M by wearing a cap and gown and sitting in the stands with Kate because she couldn't get any extra tickets. I would never have been exposed to most of my favorite music groups today - when Kate went down to Ann Arbor and heard XTC, she came home and we had to go looking for "Nonsuch", and I fell in love when I heard the first few notes of "The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead" emanating from the speakers in my car. XTC led me to listen to other music that I probably wouldn't have heard of if it weren't for liking their music, like They Might Be Giants, Yazbek, and Ben Folds Five.

If I hadn't met Kate, I probably never would have gone to Cancun or climbed Chichen Itza. I wouldn't have had anyone to go to the Olympics in Salt Lake City with, and there would have been no one to break up the two weeks spent vacationing with Aunt Rose in Arizona and California. I never would have visited Milwaukee several times while she was living there, and I wouldn't have gotten to go to Chicago the weekend they lit the Christmas lights with her and our other friends - I met them through her. I also wouldn't have anyone to be planning a trip to Swindon, England with for our "golden anniversary" in 23 more years.

If I hadn't met Kate, my life would definitely be very different. We have so many memories and in-jokes that would never have happened. I'm very blessed to have such a wonderful friend, and honored to have been asked to be part of her wedding. Aunt Rose was friends with "Aunt" Ginny, her best friend for over 60 years. Hopefully Kate and I will be able to beat that record - I couldn't imagine my life without her in it.

Getting there...

2008-05-27T19:56:00.002-04:00

I realized on my way to Jackson this morning that I probably won't be having to drive back and forth much longer, which will be nice. Maybe another month, then I'll be a whole 'nother type of busy! I'll probably love it, too - that's just me.

Softball starts next Thursday - pray for us. The girls decided at practice the other night that our goal should be two runs per game, so that's what we'll aim for. It ought to be interesting, that's for sure. And if nothing else, it'll be a blast. We actually are turning out to have quite a large team this year, so that's nice. I'm cautiously optimistic - maybe we'll win a game this year.

Happy Memorial Day - Hug a Veteran

2008-05-26T09:56:00.004-04:00

Happy Memorial Day to everyone out there. Although a lot of times we forget the reasons behind the holidays and just see them as an extra day off work, take a minute and remember our veterans today. They're the reason that we're able to enjoy this day off in whatever way we choose to do it. Thank you to all the veterans out there - we wouldn't be here without you! Have a great day!

Eggs...

2008-05-25T11:02:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, we were out at the in-laws for some roofing and burgers and S'mores, pretty much in that order. My sister-in-law decided to take a walk around their path in the back 40 - it's a nice little path and kind of meanders around the back area that just kind of grows wild. While she was walking, she got dive-bombed by a robin. This robin was protecting a nest that was in a branch of a tree back there, and the nest was only about four feet off the ground. So Sherrie came back and told me about it, and we took my camera out there.

We figured, correctly, as you can see, that the robin would be protecting something - probably eggs. So, Sherrie and Cheryl (my stepmother-in-law) and I moseyed on back, and waited to get dive-bombed. The robin, probably guessing that she couldn't take three of us, retreated to the next tree over, leaving us to hunt for the eggs.

After pulling the branch that the nest was on down a bit so I could get in with my camera, I carefully extended my arm, with the camera still attached to it, over the nest and started shooting. The whole time, the mama robin was chirping at us, scolding us to leave her babies alone. I took several shots, not knowing which ones were going to be decent and which ones wouldn't. The top one is my favorite, the bottom two are a couple of the others that I took. Hopefully we didn't traumatize mama robin too much, but I almost feel like it was worth it to have the chance to see something like this.

Flower Power

2008-05-24T22:32:00.000-04:00

Well, after much tribulation, I finally finished my May ATCs, and of course, who better to share it with than my loyal reader? This is a photo of either my aunt's or my stepmother-in-law's lilac bush from last spring. I added the quote in Photoshop, then printed it on textured cardstock. I distressed and inked the edges of the cardstock base and distressed the picture edges also, then put them together with a silver brad recolored with alcohol inks. I think I like the way they turned out - they're out of my comfort zone a little, so I'm not quite sure.

Have you ever...

2008-05-24T00:57:00.002-04:00

... ridden an elevator facing away from the doors?
... when you were the only one in it?

It's a weird feeling. We're so programmed to face forward, that it takes a conscious effort to ride it "backwards". I did it the other night, and that one floor descent was about the longest 15 seconds of my life.

Have a great Memorial Day, everyone! If I don't get the chance to get back this weekend, please help remember all of our military men and women, both those currently serving, and all those that have gone before. We wouldn't be where we are today if it weren't for them.

Musings From the Road, or The Perils of Giving Me Too Much Time To Think...

2008-05-19T19:29:00.003-04:00

It probably comes as no surprise to anyone who's read any of my back posts that giving me too much time to think can have some... unpredictable results. After all, that's where the whole camera eyes and streets named after Clue and Scooby Doo characters thing came from. Lately I've been having way too much time to think as a result of my travels for work. So, I took off way earlier than any normal person should be traveling this morning, and, as is totally possible (really), got to thinking. The thought for today was this: What if it were possible to look at something and see the potential in it? For an easy example, let's say you could look at a dying tree and see it at full strength, blossoming, swaying in the breeze, whatever it is that healthy trees do. Let's make it a little harder - what if you could look at a kid in high school who, although smart enough, got hooked on drugs and has no ambition and see them graduating from college/tech school/whatever and successful in their life? Would that be the most awesome thing ever, or the saddest, to be able to see the potential there but not be able to do anything about it? Would optimists see the positive potential, and pessimists see the negative, i.e. see the tree fully dead and the kid on welfare, just looking to score his/her next fix? I think that having an ability like that would be beautiful and heartbreaking, in that the world you see would be wonderful, but you would have to go through life knowing that none of it was real. What do you think?

Fun stuff...

2008-05-13T19:26:00.003-04:00

While looking at Jeanne's blog, I saw her link to The Daily Meme, and while stumbling around there, I found a couple of cool things. Here's the first:

There will be an RAK for the first person to name that tune...

Music Meme
Here's how it works:
1. Grab the nearest CD.
2. Put it in your CD-Player (or start your mp3-player, I-tunes, etc.).
3. Skip to Song 3 (or load the 3rd song in your 3rd playlist) **I had my iPod on shuffle, so I skipped 3 songs forward**
4. Post the first verse in your journal (blog) along with these instructions. Don’t name the band, nor the album-title

For a fabulous prize, name that tune (and the artist(s))...
"Back in high school I knew a girl
Not too simple and not too kind
We both grew up, but I heard she'd changed
From a new wave fan to another kind..."

The second one was also pretty fun. Over at World66, you can tell it all the states that you've visited, and it will show you a map like the one below. Clearly, I have some catching up to do as far as states I need to visit.

create your own personalized map of the USA

Oh, and I also took a geek test, which told me that I'm a "Major Geek". No big surprise there, right?

That's all for now, folks! Have a great week!

Happy Birthday to... someone!

2008-05-10T00:18:00.005-04:00

Ok, it's not the best picture, but I just had to share the card I made for our birthday card swap over at Cropper's Cottage. I'm really happy with the way they turned out. We started out with a crew of seven who were supposed to be cropping tonight at one of the local scrapbook stores, and ended up having five of them cancel for various reasons, so it ended up being just me and my sister-in-law. We had a great time and I got a lot done, even though I was really upset that I left my supplies for my ATCs at home. :(

This is the first page of the layout I did using my two favorite butterfly pictures from Dow Gardens. I used the new KI Memories lace paper - love it! It's kind of a pain to get it to stick to the regular cardstock, though.

Here's page 2.

That's all for now. Have a great weekend, everyone!

I'm getting too old for this...

2008-05-05T19:25:00.000-04:00

Well, our first softball practice of the year was last night, and as usual, I'm SORE!! Every year I swear I'm going to try to get into better shape before the first practice, and every year, I ache and "ouch" under my breath for a couple of days after practice. Our team this year should be about as good as last year - please understand that I'm using that term very loosely. Last year, we won 1/2 a game. That's right - 1/2. That was because both our team and our opponents had to forfeit. We may not have had a winning record, but we had a lot of fun. And I think that's what's important to remember. So, while we'll keep last year's goal of trying to score at least one run per game, in the end, if we don't score anything all season, we'll still have fun. Yeah, winning is fun, but being able to lose with dignity is important, too. And I think our team will have a lot of practice at that again this year.

Just a quick note...

2008-05-01T23:35:00.000-04:00

Fact: I did not die of embarrassment from flubbing the solo last Sunday.
Fact: I am not, in fact, dead at all.
Fact: This has been an incredibly busy week so far, and it's just going to get worse before it gets better.
Fact: The three facts above combine to mean I haven't had time to blog.

I will say, however, that giving me too much time to think about things can be bad (after all, that is how I came up with my wish for camera eyes!), and that I'm discovering a heretofore very deeply buried sappy side that is surprising me. More about those later. Until I have time to breathe and sleep again, have a wonderful weekend!

Wish me luck...

2008-04-26T23:29:00.001-04:00

In just over 12 hours I will be attempting to play "Phantom of the Opera" and "Think of Me" on the handbells. By myself. Without screwing it up. This could be bad. But hey, it's for a good cause. Oh yeah, and did I mention they're having me go first. I'm thinking learning how to say "No" is a good 4.5 months after New Year's resolution to be making...

ATCs, baby!!

2008-04-23T21:11:00.000-04:00

You, my loyal reader, are getting a sneak peek at my April ATCs. Don't all woo hoo at once on me. The theme for this month was music, and being the true 80s chick that I am, here's what I came up with:

I cut the heart out of grungeboard with my Cuttlebug (love it!), and the wings were a Photoshop brush that I colored blue. I used Stickles on the wings and the heart and doodled the rest. Check out those rockin' music notes, eh?

I also want to share with you a couple of butterfly pictures that I took this weekend at Dow Gardens butterfly exhibit:

The butterflies were so pretty - I loved them! Aunt Rose enjoyed it, but thought it was too long a walk there and back (the butterflies were in the conservatory - probably about 1/2 mile round trip, but up and down some hills). That's it for now - have I bored you enough? Have a great day!

The cost of driving...

2008-04-22T20:06:00.000-04:00

I was blog hopping earlier, and I saw LoriAnn's post about gas prices, which got me thinking. Do the rising gas prices make you feel trapped? They really are forcing me to think more about where I drive and how I use my car. I've been more conscious of where I'm going and what else I could do while I'm in that area. I won't just hop into the car to drive across town for a couple of groceries anymore. Yet, at the same time, I resent the fact that I have to think about these things. Yes, it's a good idea to do it no matter how much gas costs, but it feels like my gas tank is taking away some of my freedom. For example, while I'm working in Jackson, I'm about 30 minutes closer to a place that I could meet my friends Kate and Kevin for dinner or something, and when gas was cheaper, I've gone over there a couple of times and had a lot of fun. Now that gas is 3.69 (just hit that peak today), I can't really justify that anymore, which makes me sad. The price of gas is also going to make us really consider where we go for vacation this year. The last couple of years, we've gone out to Pennsylvania and Atlantic City and to Washington DC, but this year we might have to stay in the state just to be able to afford it. To make matters worse, our public transportation system is not a very robust one, so it would be impractical to try and use it to get anywhere. I'm going to start riding my bike to work in the next few weeks, but that only works when I'm not down in Jackson - biking 120 miles isn't really an option! So, my question for the day is: What kinds of changes are you making because of the pain at the pumps?

Drum roll, please...

2008-04-17T23:35:00.000-04:00

Here it is - the first layout of my grand plan! These are my 10 impossible wishes in layout form.

10 by 10

2008-04-16T21:30:00.001-04:00

So, as I was driving home today, I had an idea. It started out thinking that I wish I had camera eyes so I could take pictures of whatever cool things I saw without having my camera with me. Wouldn't that be cool? That moved into a list of impossible wishes that I came up with, which of course, moved into "Oh, what a cool idea for a scrapbook page about me." So far, so good. My subconscious, though, can't be satisfied with just one little idea, and thus 10 by 10 was born. My new idea is to make a scrapbook with 10 lists of 10 different things, like my 10 impossible wishes. So I sat down tonight and made my lists, and once I've finished with my ATCs, I'll start trying to scrap my 10 by 10. Just as an example, here's my 10 impossible wishes in no particular order:

10 Impossible Wishes I Have
1. I wish I had camera eyes so I could take pictures of exactly what I was seeing whenever I wanted to
2. I wish I could see a UFO, but not be abducted by aliens
3. I wish I could be a princess (but just for a day)
4. I wish there was no more abuse and violence
5. I wish chocolate ice cream made you lose weight and zucchini made you gain
6. I wish I lived in a subdivision where the streets were named after Clue characters and the cross streets were named after characters from Scooby Doo
7. I wish money really did grow on trees
8. I wish that life didn’t have to be painful in order to feel the joy
9. I wish that people had the Christmas spirit every day, not just one or two days of the year.
10. I wish that I was famous (but only for a day again – I don’t want to get bored).

What are your impossible wishes?

What a weekend!

2008-04-14T21:03:00.000-04:00

Wow. This weekend was extremely busy. I mean really busy. It started out with a game night with our friends Chris and Amanda. Chris just got a Nintendo Wii, so we decided to play that. Let me just say that now I want one - they are way too fun!! Chris and I played Super Mario Brothers (the classic version) for a while, then I went to get Brian from work and when we got back we had dinner (tacos - yum!), then played the bowling that comes with the Wii. I bowled a 179 - a feat I'll never manage in the real world. After that, Chris and I played baseball, which I played approximately as well as I play softball. I really think I want a Wii now, but the price will have to drop significantly before that happens.

Saturday, we had tickets to see Eric Church and Blake Shelton at the casino. We left a bit early and went to the buffet for dinner, then went to the concert. I wasn't all that impressed with Eric Church - all the songs sounded the same, and I'm pretty sure every single one of them mentioned beer, which is OK for one or two songs, but gets old after ten or twelve. Blake Shelton, on the other hand, was phenomenal! I think Brian said it best - he said "the first guy could sing, but this guy (Blake Shelton) actually has a voice." We didn't get home until about 12:30, but it was so worth it.

Sunday, I had to play bells for early church, which meant being there by 7:15 - way too early, in my opinion. After church, I met my friend Shelly at the movie theater so we could go to The Bucket List, which I highly recommend (even though it made me cry, which annoys me). Then back to our house so Shelly could work on her paper for school, and over to Mom & Dad's for lasagne - yum! After dinner, Mom and I had our last Broadway in Saginaw performance for the year. It was Billy Joel's Movin' Out, and was very good. I'm not that big a fan of the interpretive dance type thing, but they did a really great job, and the one guy who was playing one of the main characters was just amazing - I don't know how he can do it! All in all, even though it was a busy weekend, it was great. Next weekend is probably going to be about as busy - my cousin is getting married up North, so we will be traveling to Charlevoix for that and spending the night. It will be nice to get away for a bit, and hopefully the weather is either really nice, or really nasty - my cousin wants the wedding outside, which could be quite cold up there this time of year.

I've heard it all...

2008-04-10T22:04:00.001-04:00

Well, maybe not, but I do think I've found the most interesting song order I could possibly have on the shuffle setting on my iPod. This morning, on my way to Jackson, I went from "You Must Love Me" by Madonna (from Evita) to "Up All Night" by Slaughter. It was the most jarring transition I've heard yet. Crazy!

We had a live chat at Cropper's Cottage tonight with Emily Falconbridge. Let me just say, she is super sweet, and so creative it's not even fair! I'm glad I was able to make the chat. That's all for now. Have a great weekend, everyone!!

Scrappiness...

2008-04-09T20:49:00.000-04:00

So normally I would just upload my digital layouts to Cropper's Cottage and be done with it, but I evidently broke the gallery over there, so I will inflict my pages on my loyal? reader. Let me say that my first love is paper cropping, but I am loving me some Photoshop right now. There are a lot of cool things you can do with the digi layouts, and I'm only starting to scratch the surface. Since my second love is learning new things, you can see why I'm so excited by the digi thing. The first layout is of pictures taken when Jenn and Bill were back for the weekend in the beginning of March. Unfortunately, they were back because Bill's uncle was very sick (he passed away shortly after they left), but we did get to see them while they were here, which was great. Cole was having a blast playing with the piano, and I got these shots of him. He cracks me up the way he does the head tilt pose thing - so cute!! The second layout includes my favorite picture that I've ever taken - the North Window at Arches National Park. I didn't realize until I got home that the adult and child were framed and silhouetted in the arch - I just think that's so cool. So, those are my layouts. Have a super scrappy week!

Songs that bother me...

2008-04-08T21:48:00.000-04:00

Anyone who knows me even moderately well knows that I'm not only a grammar freak, I have this extremely technical streak. I can't help pointing out the technicalities when someone mentions something that's not quite right. I really can't. It's a sickness. So I'm sure you can imagine that there are things out there that really, really bother me. Some of these things are songs. There are four songs that bother me for different reasons. First of all, and probably the most bothersome is "It's Five o'clock Somewhere" by Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett. Don't get me wrong - I like the song, it's a catchy tune, but think about this... When they sing "Pour me something tall and strong, make it a hurricane before I go insane, it's only half past twelve, but I don't care. It's 5 o'clock somewhere" I cringe. I can't help it. Stick with me for a minute, here. Half past twelve is 12:30, right? Of course it is. So if it's 12:30 where they are, it can't possibly be 5:00 anywhere. It can be 4:30, it can be 5:30. There's no way it can be 5:00. Ever since the first time I heard this song, I can't stop thinking of it, which kind of takes something out of hearing it for me.

Song number two is "Blue Clear Sky", by George Strait. The word order just bugs the heck out of me. I really, really, want it to be the normal "clear blue sky", because I'm pretty sure that if something is clear, it can't also be blue (since "blue" in that order modifies "clear"). I could be wrong, but it doesn't make sense to me.

The last two songs that bother me do so because of the subject matter. First, "Escape (the Pina Colada Song)" by Rupert Holmes. Again, I like the song, it's catchy, and a great 80s song. But am I the only one who is really disturbed that not only is the main guy in the song planning to cheat on his partner, but she's also already looking around for a replacement on him? That's just wrong to me. Along the same line is the last song that bugs me. "Lips of an Angel" by Hinder (I think). Again, it really bothers me that the narrator (if you will) is not only cheating on his whatever she is - she's in the NEXT ROOM! I realize that cheating and its associated issues make very good song fodder - heck, that's what country music was founded on - but these two songs really disturb me for some reason. Anyway, that's enough ranting for today. Go forth and ponder. See if you ever hear "It's Five o'clock Somewhere" the same way again.

Tag... I'm it!

2008-04-05T22:33:00.000-04:00

My buddy Rita hit me with a tag the other day, so here goes:

A: Attached or single: Attached
B: Best friend(s): Kate and Shelly
C: Cake or pie: Cake - as long as it's chocolate (and preferably with chocolate frosting)
D: Day of choice: It depends on my mood - probably Saturday most of the time
E: Essential item: My camera or a book
F: Favorite type of music: Just about anything - pop, rock, country, Broadway show tunes - you name it!
G: Gummy Bears or Worms: Gummy bears
H: Hometown: Saginaw, MI
I: Indulgences: Double chocolate chip creme frappucinos from Barnes & Noble café (or Starbucks)
J: January or July: Both - I like the new year and the fireworks
K: Kids: None yet
L: Last movie: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
M: Marriage date: November 25, 2005
N: Number of Siblings: One brother
O: Oranges or apples: apples
P: Phobias or fears: bugs, especially spiders (OK, I know technically they're arachnids) and bees
Q: Quote(s): "You're worried there might not be anything at all inside/That you're worried should tell you that's not right." - Ben Folds Five - "Jane"
R: Reason to smile: My wonderful husband, sunsets, my nieces and nephews, and the best reason - just because!
S: Season: Spring
T: Tag four : Jayne, Nancy, and anyone else who wants to take on the challenge
U: Unknown Fact about me: I wanted to be an actress when I was in high school
(I have no idea what the question is for "V" -- it wasn't attached!)
W: Worst Habit: Brian would say it's snoring...
X: X-rays or Ultrasounds: Either
Y: Your favorite food: Chinese, pizza, or chicken parmigiana
Z: Zodiac: Pisces

Happy tagging!!

Typing Test...

2008-03-31T10:33:00.000-04:00

Rita posted this on her blog, and I had to check it out. I was amazed - I didn't really think I type that fast. I guess all the e-mails and stuff at work help out!

126 words

Speed test

In other news, I have been sick with some kind of creeping crud for a week and a half now. I'm really sick of being sick!! I also have no new interesting news to share, so I'm going to go sign off and take a nap now. Have a great day!

*** After posting this, I went back and tried again and both times I was in the 65-wpm range, which I find a bit more believable. I think the first one was a fluke!

Happy Bunny Day!!

2008-03-23T08:40:00.000-04:00

Hey, if we can call Thanksgiving "Turkey Day", I don't see why the Easter Bunny has to be left out! Just a quick post to wish everyone out there a happy and blessed Easter. May your chocolate bunnies never lose their ears!

G Whiz...

2008-03-12T21:55:00.000-04:00

Ok, so it's been a while since I worked on the Encyclopedia of Me, so here goes "G":

Geese: My maiden name. Actually pronounced "gay-zee" if you live in Germany or want to spend your life explaining to everyone you meet that it's pronounced that way but spelled like the birds that fly over your house in the fall. It really wasn't a bad name as far as names go, other than the fact that I was always known as "Geesey" in elementary school. Oh yeah, and when I was teaching I got "Miss Goose" a LOT.

Grammar: I am a self-proclaimed grammar freak. Seeing stuff written that is just plain wrong, especially when it's in an official capacity just drives me nuts. We are undergoing training right now, and let's just say that some of the training materials weren't proofread as good as they could have been. We'll leave it at that. Take my word for it, the apostrophe is your friend, as are commas and capital letters.

Grandparents: I only really remember one of my grandparents - my Grandma Geese. The others all died before I was two years old. I can vaguely remember my grandfather on my mother's side coming to visit Aunt Rose's house when I was very little. He was blind, and we have pictures of my playing with his cane and the old-man hat he wore. The pictures are cute, because believe it or not, I was actually cute until I hit 5 years old or so. I don't know what happened then. The other thing I will always remember about my grandparents is that my paternal grandfather refused to hold me when I was first born because he was afraid he would break me. He died when I was about two or three months old, and never held me.

That's about all the "G" words I can come up with right now. Stay tuned for another exciting blog entry (where exciting means slightly more fun than watching paint dry, anyway).

Hello out there....

2008-03-05T19:48:00.000-05:00

Ok, I swear I didn't really fall off the face of the earth - it just seems like it! Last week was grueling - I had four days of training - three of them pretty much scheduled for 8 hours. By the end of the week, I was so happy to not be in a training class, I wouldn't care what I did. I survived, however, to have a fabulous weekend. Since it was my birthday and the nearby casino gives $20 in free slot play to those who come in on their birthdays, Brian and I decided to head that way for a while, then spend the night somewhere nearby. After he (and I, for that matter) got out of work on Saturday, we took off for parts unknown (not really, but hey, if you can't use a little bit of literary license when talking about a trip, when can you use it?). We stopped for totally yummy Cold Stone Creamery ice cream, who by the way have added chocolate cake batter ice cream to their repetoire - oh my GOSH is it good!!, then headed to the hotel to check into our Jacuzzi room. After depositing our stuff, we went to the casino, where I cashed out $19.98 on the free $20.00, and Brian lost, then went to dinner at Bennigan's, where the fries were actually hot, unlike the one in Saginaw most of the time. Then it was back to the room to lounge in the Jacuzzi. I would have gone swimming, but there was some kind of a tournament with about ten thousand elementary school boys staying at the hotel, and they were all swimming both Saturday night and Sunday morning. That's OK - the Jacuzzi made up for it! Sunday evening, we went to dinner with my family, then went back to Aunt Rose's house for cake (chocolate with chocolate whipped frosting - can we say yum?). All in all, a very enjoyable birthday weekend. I'm also looking forward to my birthday present from Mom - we're going to see Little Shop of Horrors at the local theatre on Friday. Yay! Feed me, Seymour! Well, sing to me, at least! Have a great rest of the week, everyone! Peace!!

I'll take "Things that are moving" for $200, Alex...

2008-02-20T20:24:00.000-05:00

Let me get one thing out on the table right now. I love the theatre. I especially love being front-row center at a show. And the best part is that that's where our season tickets for Broadway in Saginaw are. Wow. Last night, amid all the chaos that is my life this week, my friend Shelly and I took two and a half hours out to go see Rent as part of the Broadway in Saginaw series. On the way to the theatre, we were talking about what is quite possibly the most powerful and moving theatre experience in my lifetime, which is when we went to Toronto and had box seats for Lion King. In the beginning of the show, performers were scattered throughout the theatre for the African chant part (if you've seen the movie, you probably know what I'm talking about; if not, I can't describe it), and one of them was right next to us! The sheer power and emotion of it brought me to tears, which, if you know me, you'll know is not an easy thing to do. I've never been accused of being overly emotional, if you know what I mean. So anyway, while we were talking about it, I mentioned to Shelly that I thought that was the only show that had ever made me cry. Flash forward to the second act of Rent - the scene where Angel dies. I had completely forgotten that this show, too, was very moving, had also brought me to tears when I first saw it, and did it again last night. Comparitively speaking, I think I liked the first cast better - last night's Joanne had a lisp or weird accent of some kind, and her voice was kind of annoying to me, and I don't know how anyone could ever top the Angel that I originally saw, but the cast last night did an extremely good job. I also see that Anwar from American Idol was playing Collins, so if you know who that is and it impresses you, so be it. I have no clue who he is/was, but the lady next to us was very excited about it, and he did a wonderful job playing Collins, so there you have it.

Meme challenge... thanks, Jayne!

2008-02-20T19:14:00.000-05:00

The rules go like this. You link to five of your favorite posts(of yourself) but they have to have the following criteria:

1. must be about family:
Catch Up... - rereading this one made me tear up remembering Aunt Ginny, who passed away almost a year ago. Family isn't always just blood relations - it's so much more.

2. must be about friends:
Friends - one of my very first posts, but still very true.

3. must be about yourself:
Encyclopedia of Your Ordinary Life - all about me, and the start of my ongoing encyclopedia project

4. must be something you love:
The Happy Couple - includes not only the husband that I love, but part of one of the songs that I love - what could be better

5. can be about anything you choose:
California dreamin' - another earlier post, reminding me of the fun Kate and I had in California with Aunt Rose.

I'm going to tag Rita for this one. You go, girl!

Crazy me!

2008-02-17T23:18:00.000-05:00

For anyone who didn't know, we got rained on last night/this morning. That's right, on top of the snow we had piled up. Needless to say, it didn't make for very good roads this morning. Well, guess who had to sing at early service at our church today. That's right! So, I set off to pick up Mom and head to warm-up. We were supposed to be at church by 7:40, and I was supposed to pick Mom up at 7:30 for the seven minute journey across town. As I turned onto her street, I knew I should probably just head home, because I went into a spin and ended up facing opposite the way I wanted to go. Not a good sign... But, we persevered, and at about 7:53, pulled into the parking lot. Let me just say that any time it takes 23 minutes to drive what should be a seven minute trip, you've got trouble, my friends. To make a long story short, we arrived, got inside, and found that we were two of 22 people at church, including the pastor. Fully half of these people were crazy choir members just like us. Once I got back home, I settled in to relax and read, and my friend Shelly came knocking on the door. I forgot about the baby shower I was supposed to go to with her, even though she'd reminded me Friday and Saturday about it. So it's official... I'm certifiably insane. I'm going to run away and join a different circus - this one's getting too strange even for me!

Happy Weekend!

2008-02-16T11:16:00.000-05:00

Not much going on around here today, but I just wanted to pop in and say Happy Weekend to anyone who cares to read it! Wish me luck - my 4-wheel drive quit working at some point in the last 6 years (I just discovered it during our 14-inches-of-snow-storm), so I have to take my car up to the dreaded dealership, with which I have had many, many, many problems in the past. The nice thing is that they're going to have a loaner car for me to use in my travels this coming week, which will be many - back and forth to Jackson twice, and a side-trip to Grand Rapids thrown in there as well. So, if I don't post much this week, you'll know why - it's hard to type while driving a car... Have a great week, everyone!

Open your Encyclopedia to F...

2008-02-13T21:29:00.000-05:00

As part of my commitment to myself to finish my life encyclopedia (if not in the cute scrapbook album that I made for it at CKU, at least here in my blog), I bring you, my faithful reader, the letter F:

F

Family: I have been incredibly blessed to have a great family, even my brother - sometimes. I have been even more blessed in the in-laws that I inherited a little over two years ago. I've always thought my family was kind of unusual - my aunt is 25 years older than my mom because their side of the family was a "his, hers, and ours" type of thing. So I have cousins who are older than my mother, which is a little freaky when you think of it.

Family Reunion: The weekend after Labor Day every year, without fail. It's always held at South Higgins Lake State Park, and is always a good time.

Friends: Just as with my family, I am so blessed in my friends. They have been there for me in good times and bad, and I wouldn't trade them for a moment. If I ever had to hide a body, I could definitely call at least a couple of them, and they'd help me do it. That's just the kind of friends they are. Another couple of them would go a bit further and scrapbook the experience, but, hey - I probably would, too!

Fonts: I am a HUGE fontaholic. I think I have over 1500 fonts on my PC right now, and would probably have more if I didn't keep myself away from the font sites. Sigh...

French: I wish I had taken more semesters in college. I remember very little anymore.

Proud of myself...

2008-02-11T21:53:00.000-05:00

I know it's a little thing, but I'm very proud of myself right now. I just cooked my first roast for dinner tonight. That's right. I did it. You may all applaud now. Hee hee. I was very apprehensive, but I even managed to make gravy to go along with it, even though it wasn't as good as Dad's is. My father makes the best gravy ever. I don't know what he does to it, but yum! Anyway, I digress. I got up this morning and put a little pork roast and a little beef roast in the crockpot on low, and by the time Brian got home at 8:45, it was super tender and yummy. I feel more confident now. It's amazing what a little bit of cooking success can do to you. Next thing you know, I'll be using that springform pan I bought a year and a half ago - just because I might need it someday. Or my Kitchenaid mixer that I've only used once. There's no stopping me now! Watch out, Emeril - here I come!

Tagged again...

2008-02-11T17:32:00.001-05:00

Jayne got me again, even though she knows I have no one to tag back (well, unless you count her). This one's a book meme.

The rules as stated are:
1.Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2.Open the book to page 123.
3.Find the fifth sentence.
4.Post the next three sentences.
5.Tag five people.

Here's what I get:

Voice would go faster. Jani berated herself as a series of Lyssa's files disappeared in a rainbow flash. Then she rehacked her way through the document tangle, once more by touch.

From Code of Conduct by Kristine Smith - a sci-fi book I'm keeping at work to read on lunch.

My First ATC.

2008-02-09T21:11:00.000-05:00

Well, here it is. My very first ATC. Sorry for the bad angle on the picture - I couldn't get my scanner to work today. I'm pretty happy with this design, and Jayne assures me that it's up to snuff, so to speak, so here it is. Coming soon - snow pictures...

Snowy Days...

2008-02-09T21:09:00.000-05:00

These are some of the things I came home from Jackson (4-5 inches of snow) to Saginaw (12 - 16 inches of snow) to see:

Exhibit A: Snow getting ready to fall off of Aunt Rose's garage roof.

Exhibit B: A whole ton of snow where I could see remnants of grass when I left Tuesday morning.

Exhibit C: Aunt Rose's backyard - those hedges are probably about three feet tall.

As you can see, there was a bit of snow. Not exactly what I wanted to come home to, but we do what we have to do. Unfortunately, instead of warming up so some of this junk can melt off, we're supposed to be in the single-digit temperatures tomorrow, and I'm not looking forward to getting up before the sun to play bells for church. If you see a Jen-sicle along the road tomorrow, please stop and thaw me out - I'll need it!

I'd like to thank the Academy...

2008-02-06T19:39:00.001-05:00

...Or at least my most excellent friend, Jayne! Thanks for the award - you're too sweet!! Now, for the most excellent of all blogs that I read:

1. Jayne - of course. How you find all the wacky, wonderful (except for the mouth eyes - those were just plain scary) things you do, I'll never know. I bow before your abilities.

2. Nancy - I love reading your blog, especially since I don't get to see you as much as I would like. Your organizational talents shock and awe me! :)

3. Rita - a new blog for me, but still very excellent. I'm loving the song titles game!!

4. Even though they'll never know it, I have to give props to Jessica Sprague and Candice Stringham. I am in serious awe of Jessica's writing style, not to mention the major digital scrapbooking talent/knowledge that she has. And Candice's pictures - WOW is the only word I can come up with.

Keep up the excellence, guys! Love y'all!!

Double play!

2008-02-04T20:54:00.001-05:00

Well, just as I finished the last post, I got a comment from J-Fab that I've been tagged, so here goes...

Jayne tagged me with an informative and innovative game -- here are the rules --
1. You have to post the rules before you give your answers.
2. You must list one fact about yourself beginning with each letter of your middle name. (If you don’t have a middle name, use your maiden name. {If you don't have a maiden name or a middle name, I don't know what to tell you - pick something}).
3. After you are tagged, you need to update your blog with your middle name and your answers.
4. At the end of your blog post, you need to tag one person for each letter of your middle name. (Be sure to leave them a comment telling them they’ve been tagged and that they need to read your blog for details.)

OK - here goes...

My middle name is Lynn...

L - The softball team I coached and played on lost every game last year, but we had so much fun no one cared.
Y - Yazbek is one of my favorite musical artists that no one has ever heard of.
N - It's true - I'm a nerd. :)
N - I am SO not organized - at all. I need help.

I'm supposed to tag four people, but it looks like all the people I know have been tagged already, so I'm gonna have to break the chain. Sorry!

I wish...

2008-02-04T20:26:00.000-05:00

If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. Today I had the Rascall Flatts song (I think it's called "My Wish") in my head, and I got to thinking about wishes and the sorts of things I wish for. For example, I really wish that I could get up the motivation to exercise. I know there are people who enjoy it, and I wish I were one of them. But alas, I'm not. I wish that I could start writing on my blog and think of something so profound that people would weep when they read it (well, maybe not, but you get the idea). I wish I was better at money management. I wish I could draw/paint. I wish I could speak Spanish more than a few words. I wish we got together with the extended family more than twice a year. I wish that XTC would reform and release many more albums. I wish abundant happiness for all my friends. I wish that people wouldn't be so quick to discriminate against others because of the color of their skin, where they worship, or who they love. I wish that I could remember not to be crabby and irritated with the people who love me, because we never know how long we'll have with them. These are my wishes. Some are spoken, some are unspoken. Some things I don't know I wish for yet. Some I don't know how to articulate. But they are wishes, and they are mine. So when you find that magic lamp with the genie in it, send it my way - I could use the help.

Yes, it's on...

2008-02-03T20:18:00.000-05:00

It's official - I am still alive... just very, very busy right now. I'm still travelling three days a week (four this week), and now our training has started, too, so I'm not going to be around much for a while.

Anyway, it's probably time to get back to ye olde dictionarie... this post brought to you by the letter "E"

E

Excel: I love Excel. I like to play with formulas - the more complex, the better. I've found very little that I can't do in Excel, and frankly, I like that.

Evita: One of my favorite musicals by Andrew Lloyd Weber, who happens to be one of my favorite composers of Broadway stuff. I even liked the movie version with Madonna - who knew Antonio Banderas could sing?

ethereal: A fun word to say - I've always liked it for that.

emotional: I don't think I tend to be very emotional. I'm not the kind of person who cries at the Brady Bunch reunion - I'll leave that up to Mom. It's not that I don't feel anything - I just tend to keep it inside and it takes a lot to get me all choked up.

This was a difficult letter for me - it was hard to think of "E" words to use. What's your favorite "E" word?

New Obsession

2008-01-21T17:25:00.000-05:00

I know it seems like every time I go to a show I get this way, but my new obsession is with The Producers. We saw it a week and a half ago at Broadway in Saginaw, and I loved it! I ordered the soundtrack and it came the other day, and I've been listening to it pretty much non-stop. I also ordered the DVD, so I think I'll be watching that this weekend. I can't wait!

Cyber Stuff...

2008-01-14T20:39:00.000-05:00

I participated in my very first cyber crop at Cropper's Cottage yesterday. I'm really enjoying the board - there are lots of great people on there, and they understand my "habits". (Really, I can stop taking pictures any time - I'm not addicted... hee hee) I worked on a couple more digital layouts. I haven't decided if going digital is faster for me or not. On the one hand, it limits the types of embellishments I can use, which can be a good thing, but on the other hand, I spend a lot of time looking for the brushes I want to use and trying to figure out how to do the things I want to do. I'm enjoying it, though, and I have really been revitalized after taking pictures of the nieces and nephews around Christmas. I guess I was getting a bit bored with travel stuff.

You Might As Well Face It, You're Addicted to...

2008-01-08T20:50:00.001-05:00

I'm starting to worry that I might be addicted to CSI (the original Las Vegas version - not the knockoffs). This got me thinking about the other things I worry that I might be addicted to: chocolate (duh), reading, overtime, The Sims (actually, I know I was addicted to that - it's why it's not loaded on my computer now), my iPod - the list could go on. I don't think I have an addictive personality - but would I know if I did? Maybe I'm just channeling my addictions into safer things than alcohol, tobacco, and/or illegal drugs. Anyway, on with the post. I'm thinking I really need to continue with my encyclopedia, so here goes:

D

Dunkin' Doughnuts - I love their chocolate chip muffins. Unfortunately, the one closest to my house hasn't carried them for at least a year. Hmmm... that's another thing that I'd have to worry about being addicted to if I could actually get them.

Douglas Adams - One of my favorite authors, and the mastermind behind The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I was very sad when he passed away because that meant one more author who would never release a new book for me to look forward to. Sigh.

Dogs - I miss having a dog in the house, even though right now with me being gone to Jackson so much of the week, it's probably good that we don't have one. Still, hopefully one day we'll be able to say we are the proud parents of a small, hypoallergenic dog.

Dork - Yep, I am one. And darn proud of it, too.

I got creative today!

2007-12-21T23:57:00.000-05:00

I am happy at myself! I created not one, but two digital layouts of the pictures I took of my niece and nephews last weekend. I was reading my scrapbooking magazines and felt the urge to come do some digi-scrapping, and here's the result. I'm pretty happy with it - especially considering that this is only my second ever digital layout.

In other news, I am NOT ready for Christmas yet, but I'm getting closer. Unfortunately, the fates are conspiring against me - the husband of one of my fellow choir members passed away and his funeral is tomorrow, and the choir has been asked to sing, so that will take some time out of the day. I'm just hoping I can sing - I've been coughing pretty badly the last couple of days, but so far, so good - I haven't lost my voice.

Here's wishing everyone out there a very merry Christmas!

Good news...

2007-12-18T19:18:00.000-05:00

In the past couple of weeks, we've gotten some pretty good news from several different people. First of all, we found out that my mother-in-law is coming up from Arkansas to visit for Christmas. This is good news because it's probably the only Christmas for a long time that all of her kids will be in the same general area for Christmas, since Brian's brother and his family just moved to Saginaw temporarily while he looks for a church and Brian's sister and her family will be moving to Boston after the new year (which isn't all that great of news, because we'll miss them, but is good news because Bill will enjoy his new job). Secondly, we found out that both of my sisters-in-law are pregnant and due sometime this summer, so I'll be an aunt twice over again next year. That's good news - more kids to spoil! :) And Christmas is just a couple of days away - also good news, because it means the nerve-wracking part of preparing bell solos and knowing that by the time Christmas Eve is over my brain will be fried will be over soon, not to mention that we get to spend time with both of our families.

Anyway, while I was thinking about all of the good news we've gotten lately, it made me think about Christmas, too. Lately I've been kind of bah humbug-ish - tired and kind of crabby, and just not in the Christmas spirit. I didn't really care if we put up a tree or made cookies, or any of that stuff. I was (well, still am) sick of the traffic in town and the way people get really crazy with their driving and cranky in line behind you (like the lady behind me in the self-checkout at Wal-Mart who counted my items and made a huge deal out of the fact that I had more than 10). But then I stopped, and had a blinding flash of inspiration (it's a good thing I can touch-type, eh?). I realized that I was acting more like the Grinch than anything, and that I need to focus on the real reason that we celebrate Christmas. It's not about Santa, or shopping, or slapping stuff on the tree so you can win the best decoration prize. It's not about the inflatables, or the blinking lights, or the presents. It's about love, and about compassion, and about being a better person, even if I don't remember that all the time. It's about what out department at work is doing - adopting a family and making sure that they have a good Christmas, but even then it's not about the "stuff" - it's about being able to help someone who needs it. I'm amazed at what we've been able to do for our Christmas family - a single mother with four kids under ten years old. And it makes me feel good to know what a great bunch of people I work with, because I know that none of us are doing it just to mark it off on a checklist as something you "have to do" at Christmas time. That's what Christmas is about - taking the time to help those who need it. It's also about letting the people you know know that they are loved and important to you. So here's to my friends and my family. I love you all and cherish the fact that you are in my life. Have a merry Christmas, and may Santa bring you everything you want!

Bad to the bone...

2007-12-16T09:53:00.000-05:00

I know, I know - I've been a very bad girl - no posts for 11 days! It's just been a little crazy around here trying to get ready for the holidays (and prepare two bell solos) while still going back and forth out of town. I'll make it through, though, and I'll be sure to post again soon. Until then, stay warm and cozy - and out of the winter storm we're experiencing right now. Yuck!

C is for cookie, that's good enough for me...

2007-12-05T21:26:00.000-05:00

Since I need to get back to my encyclopedia before I totally forget about it, here goes....

C

Cookie Monster: I just had to add him because of my title for this post. I'm so glad the rumors about him changing into the Veggie Monster were just that - rumors.

Cool Websites: I love to find cool new sites, usually from other people. My current fave - freerice.com. You can improve your vocabulary and donate food for people who need it at the same time. Who wouldn't love that?

Commas: Very important things, but it's also possible to have too many of them. Many, many written passages are ruined because of comma overusage. It's a sad thing when people get comma-happy.

Cole: My youngest nephew. He has been through so much in his short two years, it's amazing. I can't imagine going through everything that my sister- and brother-in-law have been through with him. He was born with kidney problems - one didn't function at all, and the other one functioned at only about 25% capacity. He had a kidney transplant last year, and is doing very well, but it was pretty scary for the first few months of his life.

Cooking: I didn't know how much I would enjoy cooking until I moved out of my parents' house. The chance to do more than just the basics was exactly what I needed - I've branched out, and cook a lot of different things that were never served at our house when I was growing up. And you know what - it's fun!

Comments: I love to see them! Please don't be shy! :)

Things that are just plain wrong...

2007-11-30T00:44:00.000-05:00

Right there at the top of my list of things that are just plain wrong: Burger King Ketchup
and Fries Flavored Potato Snacks. I just can't imagine them tasting the least bit good. If
you're interested in them, they're probably still in our vending machine - just give me a call...

Commit me now!

2007-11-23T16:40:00.000-05:00

Well, I did it again. The thing I swore never to do again. That's right - I went shopping on Black Friday. It's official - I'm certifiably insane and should now be sent posthaste to a mental institution. It's all Mom's fault. I was quite happily ignoring the ads, secure in the knowledge that I would be sleeping in, tucked snugly in my nice, warm, comfortable bed, my husband snoring gently by my side, when she pointed out that Circuit City had a laptop for $299.00. I knew what that meant - it was the death-knell tolling for my plans to hide out under the covers away from all the crazy people that thrive on that kind of stuff. So, we got up - I picked her up at 4:50 so we could get to Circuit City by the ungodly hour of 5:00am. When we arrived, it wasn't quite 5 yet, and the parking lot was packed. Seriously packed. Cars as far as the eye could see. And the line! I don't think Ellis Island ever had such a teeming mass of humanity, waiting to enter the land of milk and honey (and electronics), hoping for that magical moment when the gates would open and they could rush forth into a shopper's paradise, abounding with deals galore. Needless to say, we did not wait in line. Instead, we found a parking spot and sat for a minute, then joined the throng as the end of the line passed our position. Amazingly enough, we also ran into my friend Scott, which, if it hadn't been 5:00 in the morning, would have made the trip worthwhile. When we finally got into the store, we made a beeline for the computer area, where we milled about with other hopeful shoppers, until a lady informed us that they had given out vouchers in line earlier, and if you didn't have a voucher, you weren't getting a laptop. Seeing that we didn't have a voucher, yep, that's right - we got up at the butt-crack of dawn for no earthly reason. I made a feeble attempt to get over to the DVDs that had been advertised, hoping to snag a James Bond set, but I couldn't even push my way through to the containers they were in, and gave it up as a bad job. Besides, from the state of the lines, we weren't getting to a cash register any time soon, anyway. So, we left and headed to the next stop on the list.

Since JoAnn's is in the same plaza, and they had beads for 40% off, plus a coupon for 20% off our entire purchase, I thought we should check it out. The problem was that they didn't open until 6:00, and it was now 5:15. We decided to stay the course, and waited in the car for the remainder of the time, while we watched a line form there, too. By this time, I was seriously wondering what everyone was in line for, since I couldn't see anything, other than a 7.5 foot tree for 29.99, that should be garnering that amount of interest. Finally, the clock struck 6, and we raced back to the bead area. We were pretty much the only ones back there, so there wasn't the pushing, shoving, and general chaos that there was at Circuit City. We waited in a relatively manageable line, and made it out of there by 6:30. Since Mom wanted to pick up some milk at Walgreen's, we decided to make that our last stop. By the time we got there, it was about 6:45, and we found out that they didn't open until 7:00. Of course, there was the ubiquitous line. I never knew that even Walgreen's would have a line. Unbelieveable.

I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving, and isn't too stuffed with good food to move. If you're one of the people who actually likes the whole Black Friday thing, I commend you. I'm getting too old for this stuff...

Spam not of the Monty Python variety...

2007-11-19T20:23:00.000-05:00

No, we're talking e-mail spam, baby! Even though gmail filters out the spam, I still go in and check - partly because the ever-increasing number of messages in the folder makes me nervous, partly because I'm afraid something I really want might get lost in there, and partly because I think some of the message titles (I never open any of them) are hilarious. I've been noticing in about the last week I keep getting titles like "SOLD OUT - Limited Time Offer." Um, excuse me? If it's sold out, why exactly are you offering it to me? I would certainly say that would be a limited time - NO TIME! Run that one past me again, please?? Too funny!

B is for...

2007-11-14T22:22:00.000-05:00

Welcome to another edition of my encyclopedia - the things that matter to me. Today's post is brought to you by the letter "B".

B

Brian: This was totally a gimme. My husband of not-quite two years, and the love of my life. Working in Jackson has helped me realize just how very much I love him, even when he's driving me nuts sometimes. It's hard to get to sleep in the hotel some nights, because I know that no one's going to be cuddling up with me in a few hours (I always go to bed first - he's the one who gets to sleep in - no fair!), and there's no one to give me a good night kiss. When I'm away, we talk on the phone at least twice each night - generally more. I couldn't imagine life without him - it's like trying to imagine your life without one of your senses - they're such integral parts of you that you can't imagine losing them. How this could happen so quickly I'll never know.

Books: The other totally integral part of my life. I seriously read all the time. I mean, if I'm awake and not at work or doing something else, I have a book in my hand. These books are about 93 percent science fiction/fantasy, and I may or may not have read them before - I don't have any problems re-reading. My best guess is that I probably read between 400 and 500 books on average in a year. I know it sounds like a lot, but consider this. The first week I came to Jackson, I read 2.5 books in the hotel that night. What can I say - I'm a fast reader...

Beads: My new craft obsession. I took a class in January, and by July I had a booth at the Bay City Fireworks Festival selling all the goodies I'd made. Crazy, huh? I'm having a blast with it, and it's nice because Dad has found that he likes to bead, too, so that gives us a chance to bond. Dad, Heather, and I are the designers of Gems by Jen, and Mom is our lackey. It's her fault - she says she doesn't want to design, so I don't make her, but Dad can't string his stuff, so she does that, plus helps keep me organized.

Burda: My best friend for the past 26 years. It seems like just yesterday we were carpooling to third grade at Handley, but now we're all grown up, with grown up responsibilities, and jobs, and lives. She lives down in Berkley (another "B") now, and I don't get to see her as often as I would like to, but every time we do manage to get together, it's just as wild and crazy as sleepovers at Aunt Rose's, watching MTV rock blocks and drinking warm pop. As of August 8th, 2008, she'll have a new last name, but she'll always be Burda to me.

Burda's Berkley Hide-A-Way: "Where you've always got a place to stay!" What I christened Kate's house the first time I saw it about five years ago. It just fits. Excuse me, I've got to go book a room for December now...

Encyclopedia of Your Ordinary Life...

2007-11-13T20:08:00.000-05:00

Ok, so this was the album track I took at CKU this spring, and I really enjoyed it. The track was based on the book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, and I thought it was just such an awesome idea that I had to do it. Of course, I also promised myself that I would finish my wedding album first, and since that's not done, only the first few letters of the scrapbook are done. Anyway, I am going to try to adapt the concept for my blog. So, here goes:

Apple Cider: Love it!

Airplanes: I'd never been in an airplane until I was 20, but sometimes I think I've made up for lost time. I'm not one of those people who is afraid of planes, so I really enjoy flying.

Aunt Rose: My "little old lady." At times infuriating and stubborn, but I love her anyway. She enjoys the casino, so Brian and I always make time to take her over there, as well as watching Tigers games with her and playing cards/dominoes/other games with her and Phyllis, her friend. She turned 87 this year, and we took her to the Tigers game vs. the New York Yankees (turned out to be the only game in the 4-game series that they lost), and had her name put on the scoreboard during the birthdays. She didn't say it in so many words, but I think she secretly loved it - I know she enjoyed the trip to Detroit, especially since we went to Greektown beforehand!

A: The only grade I was happy with when I was in school.

Aimee Mann: Great musician with a gorgeous voice and intelligent lyrics (which totally gets me interested in the music - I can forgive a lot for a little intelligence in my music).

This week's blog posts brought to you by the letter "A". Stay tuned for "B"...

Of Hotels and hotel rooms...

2007-11-07T20:56:00.000-05:00

As my loyal reader well knows, this is my fourth week of traveling for work. I'm enjoying the work - testing the new computer system we'll be getting very soon - but the hotel part - well, let's just say not so much. I'm staying at a Holiday Inn that has seen better days, but is in the process of being renovated. The staff is excellent - everyone I've dealt with has been super nice and very friendly. But the rooms seem to have gone downhill as my stays have progressed. It's somewhat to be expected - at first I was booked into executive rooms - very nice - king-sized beds, a nice desk, couch, roomy bathroom, refrigerator and microwave, and popcorn and bottled water left for me. Wow. Very comfy, except for the room the second week, which had a leak in the bathroom ceiling that went drip, drip, drip all night the first night. No big deal, though - I put towels down to muffle the dripping noises and left a note for the housekeeper to have maintenance look at it, and by the next night I was good to go. So I can accept that after this, I might be a bit spoiled. The third week, I was in just a regular king-sized room - no couch, but it still had a decently comfortable chair and a fridge and microwave. However, the bathroom had gone from roomy to one you couldn't swing even a very small kitten in and no popcorn or water (which I didn't need or use in the executive room anyway). Oh yeah, and it's an outside entrance, making it a little harder to go swimming in the pool or relax in the hot tub which isn't currently operational. OK - I can deal with this - not too bad. When I checked into my room this week, I officially hit rock bottom. The room has two double beds - not a problem, since that's what we have at home, but they're basically not very comfortable for actually sleeping in - two straight-backed chairs more appropriate for a torture chamber, and a slightly smaller bathroom than the previous week's. Oh, and by the way, the bathtub doesn't drain well when you're showering. There is also no refrigerator, which is kind of a problem for me, since I've been bringing my water and storing it in the fridge, which gives me something cold to imbibe at night. I did check with the travel arrangers at our company today, and they've changed my reservations for the remaining time to rooms with refrigerators. Hey - a girl's gotta have some comfort, right? All in all, I'm happy with my traveling and with the hotel - especially since I'm earning triple points for my stays, which should give us some nice free nights for the next vacation we go on. Yay!!

The plus side of traveling is that I get to visit places and people that I've never seen/don't get to see often. For example, last week I discovered a paint-your-own-pottery place and painted a mask for myself, which I picked up today and am very pleased with. Last night I trekked up to Novi and had dinner with Kate and Kevin, got updated on the wedding plans, such as they are, and had a generally great time. We ate at BW3s, then sat around and talked for another two hours. A good time was definitely had by all!

Things I think about while driving...

2007-11-01T22:30:00.000-04:00

Anyone who knows me knows that I can be pretty silly/punchy/goofy/whatever you want to call it, especially when I am tired. This is often the case when I wake up at the butt-crack of dawn, jump in the car, and drive hell-for-leather to Jackson for work. So it should come as no surprise that I think of very strange things at six-something in the morning. This week, I decided that it would be very, very cool to live in a subdivision where the streets were named after the characters from Clue. Just think - wouldn't it be great to be able to say, "Yeah, turn right onto Colonel Peacock - we're the fourth house on the left - you can't miss it." Even better, the cross streets could be named after the characters from Scooby Doo. "Yeah, we're right on the corner of Fred and Miss Scarlet - it's the green house with the pink awnings." Think about it. I'd buy a house in that sub. Yeah...

I've been tagged....

2007-10-28T19:59:00.000-04:00

Here are the rules which must be posted on your blog if you are tagged.
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself: some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
4. Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

Since I don't know 7 other people with blogs, I'll have to end it here, but here are my 7 facts:

1. I am a self-professed "bell geek", and have arranged two handbell pieces, one of which was played at my wedding.

2. My favorite restaurant is Mongolian Barbecue, my least favorite is Denny's.

3. Like Jayne, I'm constantly checking my e-mail, and if I don't have something new I'm disappointed. I also like to get snail mail even if it's junk mail.

4. I take it as a compliment when someone tells me that I'm weird.

5. My dream job would be to own my own photo studio.

6. I have a good memory for numbers and remember my last four license plate numbers.

7. My favorite Christmas songs are "O Come, O Come Emmanuel", "O Holy Night", and "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas".

Sweets for the Sweet

2007-10-20T20:41:00.001-04:00

Well, today was an absolutely beautiful day. It was the kind of day that makes you want to go out and take tons of pictures. Unfortunately, it was the day I was stuck inside at a craft show. Not that that would have been a bad thing, but in six hours, we only had about three customers that actually bought anything, which was discouraging, but not as much as if everyone around us had been selling a lot of stuff while we sat there. We were at the Midland Armory craft show, and there just was NO traffic. Not even a little bit. None. My theory is that it was so nasty and rainy the last few days that everyone was doing yard work and cleaning up storm damage while they had a nice day. No one was thinking about doing any Christmas/craft-type shopping. Bummer.

So, today is Sweetest Day. Happy Hallmark holiday, everyone. I've always wondered why we really need Sweetest Day. Isn't Valentine's Day enough? What is the purpose of having Valentine's Day, part II? Or is it just that we need something to get people buying cards again after the long drought from Easter till now? I mean, really, you don't go around buying Memorial Day cards. Fourth of July cards? Nah. Labor Day? Nope. And forget about Veteran's Day and Columbus Day. They're not hardly holidays (unless you work for the USPS or a bank or something like that). So I'm thinking that Sweetest Day is meant to slide you into the card-buying mood again. Think about it. While you're in the store, picking out the perfect card for your honey, you see the Halloween cards. You think about the kids that you know who would just love to get a card from you for Halloween. Oh, yeah, and that reminds you that you should probably send a Thanksgiving card to your kids' teacher and your grandmother in Nebraska. She'd probably get a kick out of that. And then there are the Christmas cards. Multitudes of them. You've got to send those out with the obligatory annual update that everyone writes and very few people read. It's a must. Then after Christmas, just when you thought it was safe, boom - here comes V-Day again. Oh yeah, Hallmark knows what they're doing. You think you're off the hook, but they're just giving you rope to hang yourself with.

The other reason Sweetest Day was invented was to give all the single and lonely people out there a second chance to reflect on life and try to figure out just what's wrong with them. I mean, come on, when you're single and these lovey-dovey days come around, you might as well just lock yourself in a closet somewhere. You can't go anywhere without seeing the happy couples all around you. Every flower shop, candy store, and jeweler has to remind you that people will be getting flowers, candy, and jewelry in the near future - you're just not one of them. And the card aisles at the stores are full of thousands of people, looking for the perfect card that you're not going to get. When you're single on Sweetest Day, it can be depressing. Trust me - I went through it for 10+ years. I know whereof I speak.

So Happy Sweetest Day to all those out there. And get out there and enjoy the fall weather and the beautiful colors while you can - they won't be here for long!

TGI (almost) M?!?

2007-10-14T20:58:00.000-04:00

Yes, you read it right - Thank God it's (almost) Monday. This weekend was crazy busy for me, but in
the end, everything worked out very well. It all started a few weeks ago when I was talking to Mom and we decided we really should do something for Dad's 70th birthday. You know, like a party or something. After deciding that, we decided that we should do it while my cousin Christine was in town from California. That meant we had to do it yesterday (October 13th). We decided we should have it at our church, since none of us have a house big enough. We put our names on the calendar, which was empty at the time, and went on ahead with the preparations. Later that week, we found out that the church, rather than being empty that day, was booked for the women's rally, and I had to play two handbell solos that day. So, we changed the time of the party (which ended up working out very well), and I began to prepare the solos. After much sneaking around, which included telling Dad that Mom and I had to serve dinner to the ladies before they left to return home, we got everything arranged. So my weekend schedule so far looks like this: Saturday 1:00 - 1:45: play solos; 4:00 - 5:00: get party ready; 5:00 - 8:00: party; 8:00 - ?: clean up church. Sunday 8:00 service: play solo (yeah, that's right, I got coerced into playing a solo for church this morning, since I was already doing them for the rally, I might as well play in church as well, right? I goofed it up, by the way); 10:45 service: choir sings; 1:00 - ??: clean at Shelly's house (more on that later).

So, here I am - a pretty full weekend, but do-able, right? I just started going to Jackson to help with our big software conversion project this past week. I was there Tuesday and Wednesday this week, and when I returned on Thursday, I got some rather unwelcome news concerning the rejected cash report, which our area cleans up. Turns out they want us to clean it up as of yesterday, when under normal circumstances we would keep it current to within three months. Oh, and by the way, see how much you can get done by Friday. Compounding this problem is the fact that we are in the middle of our United Way drive right now, and we had a bake sale that we had to help man on Thursday and a couple of hours on Friday. Add to that a meeting Friday morning, and we had a recipe for near-certain disaster. So, long story short, I ended up staying at work until 6:45 Friday night. Then, Brian and I had to go to Midland for ice cream. Actually, we had to go to pick up a birthday cake for Shelly, whose birthday (and the reason we were cleaning today) is today. She had been saying since this spring that she wanted a cake from Coldstone Creamery, so off we went to pick it up, with Heather in tow. The rest of the night was pretty uneventful - we watched some TV, I read for a while, we went to bed - the usual stuff. At about 4:00 I woke up and heard my phone alerting me that I had a voicemail. When I listened to it, I found that Aunt Rose had fallen down in her living room and couldn't get back up. So at 4 in the morning I'm driving to her house, blurry-eyed and tired as all get-out to get her off the floor. When I got back home I was wide awake, so I stayed up and read for about an hour and a half. I had planned to go over to church early and practice my solos, since I wouldn't have a chance to warm up Saturday afternoon, but that all went out the window rather quickly. I slept in instead. The other thing I added was taking homecoming pictures for two of my softball players, Allison (Elizabeth's daughter), and Emily (Georgie). It was their first homecoming, which was super exciting for them. They both had gorgeous dresses, and I made their jewelry for them, which means it must have been pretty (ha!). Even though it meant I was a bit pressed for time, I wouldn't have traded this opportunity for the world - we had a bunch of fun with the pictures, and I think they turned out great! As for Dad's party, we had a really nice time, and totally surprised him. The picture below is of my friends Rodney and Erlinda's baby, Evelyn, and our friends Becky and Rayden's baby, Gatlen. The joke was that they now have a boyfriend/girlfriend. I don't know, though - she's an older woman - a whole month older! People might say she's robbing the cradle. :)

After church today, I took the cake over to Shelly's house, and along with Michelle and her husband Jeff and Becky, we cleaned out the half of her basement that could just be thrown away without having to sort anything. It actually took less time than we thought it might. After we had cake, Brian came over and jacked up Shelly's steps, which had settled into the ground on one side and needed a boost, and the three of us came back to our house for a dinner of leftovers. Even though it was a nice weekend, I'm glad it's over! I need rest and relaxation. It doesn't look like I'll get too much of it, though - for the next few weeks I'll be in Jackson three days a week, which means even more work for me when I'm here in Saginaw. Ah well, I'm having fun on the project, and it's great to get to play with the system before anyone else.

Colors of the wind (or the trees)

2007-10-06T23:37:00.000-04:00

Today started out kind of crappy - I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep, then when I managed to fall asleep, I slept through my alarm and got to work about two hours later than I was planning on. So when Brian asked me what I wanted to do today, all I really wanted to say was "Nothing." I'm really glad I controlled that urge, though, since we had a great day out. He suggested going for a drive, and we decided to go up North to see if we could find any colors yet. We thought maybe we'd ask Aunt Rose if she wanted to join us, but as it turned out, she was on a color tour of her own with her old people (senior citizen tour group). More on that later... Anyway, we headed out (in my car this time) toward Grayling. No particular reason why - just that it's North and we could get to it within the time we had, since we left Saginaw at 2:00. Around West Branch we started to see some really great colors - rich, vibrant reds, bright yellows, and technicolor oranges. We stopped at the rest area there - it's on a hillside and actually quite scenic for a rest area, and it also had some very pretty trees - so I could take some pictures. I was amazed to see that I only took 37 pictures today - I thought it would be more. The top three pictures here are from that rest area. I loved the coloring on the middle tree. It was so unusual that my eye kept going right to it.

After leaving the rest area, we continued North until we got to 55, then cut over to 127 by way of Houghton Lake. Unfortunately, it was kind of overcast up there, so the pictures I took of the lake weren't as nice as they could have been. When we got to 127, we headed back home. The bottom picture was taken from the car on the way to Clare from Houghton Lake.

On the surface, Aunt Rose's color tour would seem to have been more exciting than our improptu one. For starters, they were taking a train from Kawkalin to Gaylord, so there should have been lots of opportunity to see colors. Then they were supposed to visit a museum that had more colors and things to see. Unfortunately, she didn't get to see much color until they were practically in Gaylord, and there was a lot of walking to do, so between the two, she was already pretty unhappy. Mom and I were supposed to pick her up at 8:45 - that is, until Dad called and said she'd be two hours later than scheduled since the train broke down. She was not a happy camper when Brian and I picked her up at 10:45.

One last thing before I go to bed. Please take a miunute to click here and donate a mammogram to someone who can't afford one. It literally takes about 2 seconds, and could save a life. http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/

Lack of profound thoughts...

2007-10-04T23:08:00.000-04:00

I had a really profound thought the other night as Brian and I were driving to the casino. I remember that I told him I should write about it in my blog, but... I forgot it. So nothing profound from me tonight. Oh well.

I love my iPod! I cannot say it enough. I loaded more music last night, so I have a better variety once again. Let me just say it again - just one more time. I love my iPod!

That makes me think... we talk about things we hate all the time. In fact, we use the word so loosely that it has become severely devalued. I think the word hate should be used exclusively for extremely vile things/acts/people. People (and I'm as guilty as the rest of them) say things like "I hate peanuts," or "I hate rap music," or "I hate licking envelopes." Dictionary.com gives this definition of 'hate": to dislike intensely or passionately; feel extreme aversion for or extreme hostility toward; detest. So, when you see peanuts do you feel extreme aversion to them? Probably not, unless you're one of the unlucky people who are allergic to them. When I say "I hate driving a car with a stick shift," I don't really hate it - I just really, really dislike it. It's still better than having nothing to drive and it's more because I don't know what I'm doing and I'm scared. But when I say "I hate bigotry and prejudice," I really mean it. The problem lies when the word is so overused in your vocabulary that hating bigotry and hating peanuts become equal in the eyes of your listeners. So here's a challenge for the whole one person who reads this. Try choosing your words carefully. Don't use the knee-jerk reaction first word that comes to your mind when you're talking about things you dislike. Especially think about what you're saying if you're talking about a person. There are lots of people I don't particularly like, but I don't think there's a person that I would say I hate. Except maybe evil dictators like Hitler or Saddam. That kind of person I can get behind hating.

Scaring myself...

2007-09-28T20:53:00.001-04:00

I'm creeping myself out right now. The girls from work and I went to see 1408 at the cheap shows, then I went back into work. No problem, right? Well... not exactly. Between my rather fertile imagination and the fact that I was there all by myself, it was kind of interesting... Anyway, all of this is compounded by the fact that Brian is roofing at his uncle's house this weekend, which is about 45 minutes away, so he's spending the night out at his dad's house tonight. So... I came home to an empty house. I'm going to watch some CSI and call it a night, but I'll probably creep myself out some more before I fall asleep. Tomorrow Shelly and I are going to the Renaissance Festival. I can't wait - I haven't been for two years, and I've missed it. Watch for the pics - it's all about the pics...

Sleepless in Saginaw

2007-09-25T21:29:00.000-04:00

Yuck!! I think I got about one hour of sleep last night. I didn't really think I was going to make it through work today, but I did it. Yay! Go me! Anyway, today was Michelle's birthday, so we got to go to Genji's for lunch, which is totally worth it any day! Can you say "Yum"?

So anyway, I've been thinking about how summer is very nearly gone. The days are still warm, but the nights get pretty cool right now (except for last night - I walked out the door this morning and the muggy heat pretty much slapped me in the face, daring me to say it's been cool lately). I actually think we may have set some records for heat the past couple of days - it's been close to 90 degrees, which is just crazy for Michigan this time of year - but, since it's Michigan, it's not totally outside the realm of possibility. We had what will probably be our last campfire of the year out at Brian's dad's house this weekend, and I had to wear jeans! I've been so used to capris or shorts this summer it was a difficult transition, to say the least.

Introspective moment: I'm listening to my iPod (which I love!), and the song currently playing is Andy Partridge - "Aren't You Glad You Did Something Good With Your Life". So here's the question: What good have you done with your life? I try to be a decent person, and a good friend, but I don't know that I've done any acts of great good for anyone. Would you necessarily know if you had? What if just by doing something you would do anyway, you make someone's life just a bit better, and that spurs them to do something nice for someone else, and it snowballs from there? The theme of the song is more about just doing something with your life, not sitting at home waiting for that nebulous someday, but it got me thinking... Hmmm.... And we cut from that song to "Bring on the Men" from Jekyll and Hyde. Interesting...

A Long Day's Night

2007-09-22T21:30:00.000-04:00

After driving for what seemed like three and a half days, and nearly leaving the transmission somewhere in Ohio (I still don't do well with stick shifts...), we arrived in Alexandria, VA around 5:00. Since our room was provided by the Fairfield Resorts as a gift for listening to a timeshare presentation on our last big trip, we had to check in with them and resist being convinced to go to another presentation (read: high-pressure sales opportunity) in exchange for more freebies. After a short time where we said we might attend the following evening's presentation, we got our hotel information and directions and headed uptown to check in. We were at the Holiday Inn & Suites in Alexandria, and our room was very nice. I don't know what our original room would have been like - they had a king-size reserved for us, but it was a smoking room, so we opted for the non-smoking, two double room instead. The beds were very comfortable, and everyone at the hotel was extremely helpful and friendly. After getting our stuff to the room, we planned to go into Washington to see some of the monuments at night. When we inquired at the desk for the nearest Metro station, we were informed that the hotel had a shuttle that would drop us at Ronald Reagan National Airport, where we could catch the Metro into DC proper. Since we thought that sounded like a plan, away we went. The Metro ride was fairly short (about 15 minutes), and after disembarking at the Smithsonian stop (our home sweet home for three days), we were on our way.

The first thing I learned about Washington is that even though everything is relatively
close to everything else, it's still quite a hike. We started at the Washington Monument (the first picture), and made our way around it to the World War II memorial (the fountains were beautiful) and the Lincoln Memorial (good ol' Abe down there). The walk down the Mall to the Washington Monument wasn't too bad, and the WWII memorial is pretty close to it, but between the WWII memorial and the Lincoln Memorial is the reflecting pool (immortalized in Forrest Gump), which is very nearly half a mile long. All together, I think we must have walked about four miles that night. By the time we got back to the hotel, we were tired and hungry. We scrambled around looking for someplace to eat dinner, and ended up at a restaurant around the corner called Stardust. We ate our dinners and went back to the hotel and crashed.

Ya Win Some, Ya Lose Some...

2007-09-22T21:01:00.000-04:00

Vacation, part one:
We left Saginaw on Tuesday, 9/11/07 for our vacation. Since we had passes for four tickets to weekday Tigers games (long story), we decided to go to the day/night double-header that the Tigers were playing against the Texas Rangers, then stay with Kate in Detroit before heading off to Washington on Wednesday. The first game was... how do I put this nicely... a debacle, a fiasco, a disaster... all of the above. In the sixth inning, the Tigers were down 10 to 0, and we knew this wasn't going anywhere good, so we headed to Greektown for dinner and some gambling before the next game. Hey - at least that way we had a chance to see someone win who wasn't a Ranger...

As we started to ride the People Mover back to the stadium, it was raining. Not really hard, but steadily, and enough to make us think that maybe there wasn't going to be a game after all. However, by the time we got to Comerica Park, the rain had cleared up, and as we got to our seats, there was a beautiful rainbow. The second game was much better, too, as the Tigers ended up winning it 4 to 1. This was also the first game in which I got to see my favorite Tiger, Pudge Rodriguez play.

After the games, we headed to Kate's house to admire her engagement ring, catch up on all the news, and get some sleep before our long drive to Washington.

I've been tagged!

2007-09-19T20:36:00.000-04:00

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car) Mimi Kia
2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fav ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) Triple Chocolate Overload Chocolate Chip
3. YOUR "FLY Guy/Girl" NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name) J Lou
4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) Blue Cat
5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)Lynn Saginaw
6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first) LouJe
7. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink put "The") Purple the Martini
8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers) Eddie Clarence
9. STRIPPER NAME: (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne, favorite candy) Lovespell Special Dark
10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother's & father's middle names ) Rose Clarence

Ok, J Fab - that's for you... Now tagging - Nancy

Woo hoo!! (At last)

2007-09-17T00:03:00.000-04:00

I'm so excited - after the better part of two years, my best friend of 26 years and her boyfriend got
engaged. Congratulations, you two crazy kids... :)

We've arrived back from our vacation - lots to share, but not right now, since it's after midnight and
I'm pooped! All the scoopage (and pictures) will follow soon.

Here we go again...

2007-09-09T13:04:00.001-04:00

Ok, here we go again. I'm going to make an effort to post here more often and get the creative juices flowing. I'm inspired by my friend Jayne, who just started blogging, which made me think that since I have the blog, I may as well use the blog. I'm really excited - we're getting ready to leave for Washington, D.C. on Tuesday. I've never been there, and I can't wait to visit. We'll also be hitting two Tigers games on our way there, and Williamsburg, VA, and Gettysburg, PA after Washington. It should be a blast! Pictures will follow (of course).

Anyway, since my last post a lot has happened. On November 25th, 2005 Brian and I got married and have been happily coexisting for almost two years. We've had four or five weddings in the time since my last post (one of them ours, of course), several babies, and some sad parts as well as happy times. My little old lady, Aunt Rose, turned 87 on August 25th, and we took her to the Tigers - Yankees game on her birthday and had her name put on the scoreboard during the birthday listings. She was very surprised, to say the least. After we got back, I took some of the best pictures from that day and had them made into a photo book for her, which she absolutely loved. She was showing it off at the family reunion this weekend. I'm glad she enjoyed her birthday and the book - I was a little worried that it would be too much for her and she would get tired and/or crabby, but she hung in there and we all had a good time. I'll throw some pictures at this post later, but for now, have a great day!

The happy couple...

2005-05-18T00:05:00.000-04:00

Well, it's been a very interesting few weeks. We did make it home from Arizona (in case anyone was wondering), and I only had to sit at the gate for three hours thanks to a crabby old lady who insisted that we leave the hotel by 7:00 am for a 20-minute drive to the airport to catch a 10:20 flight. I count myself lucky that she didn't think we should leave by 6:00.

The good news isn't that I got home, though. After I got back, I got a surprise question from my boyfriend, Brian. He asked me to marry him, and I accepted. I have a beautiful sapphire ring that matches the necklace he got me for my birthday, and I've been bouncing off the walls with excitement for the last three weeks. I'm so happy that I don't even know what to say. I can't believe how lucky I am to have met him - he's smart, funny, attractive, fun to tease and laugh with, a champion Scrabble player (I can only hope to beat him once in a while), and I just love him so much it's not even funny. I think the best way to sum it all up is in Ben Folds' song "The Luckiest"

I don't get many things right the first time;

in fact, I am told that a lot.

Now I know all the wrong turns, the stumbles and falls

brought me here.

And where was I before the day

that I first saw your lovely face

now I see it every day.

And I know

That I am

I am

the luckiest.

And I know for sure that I am. I couldn't imagine spending the rest of my life with anyone else.

Brian & Jen

Escapes other than the Pina Colada song...

2005-04-13T03:09:00.003-04:00

Neglecting to think about the morning rush hour traffic to get into and through the city, we booked our ferry passage to Alcatraz at 9:30, and we were supposed to pick up our tickets by 8:30am. So we got up and were on our way to Fisherman's Wharf bright and early - by shortly after 7:00. We did hit some stop-and-go traffic, so we didn't have too awfully long to wait when we finally made it to Pier 39 and parked. While we waited, we browsed the gift shop a little, then it was time to get in line and wait some more. Having Aunt Rose along does have some advantages... instead of sending us through the long and winding line, they had us wait right up near the front and we got to board the ferry first. Once we reaced the island, there was a 1/3 mile hike up the hill to the cell block with an elevation change of just over 13o feet. Since Aunt Rose couldn't make it, she took the tram up while Kate and I hoofed it. At the top, we took a 32-minute guided audio tour which told us all about the prison and had us wandering all over around the cell block. Although it's not the imposing, dark, desolate place Hollywood has made it out to be, I certainly wouldn't want to be locked up there.

Alcatraz prison
After returning to the pier, we decided to go to the Bay Aquarium, which was at Pier 39. Not only did they have two long glass tunnels that we rode a moving walkway through to check out the fish, they also had three "touch pools", where we actually got to touch some of the marine life in person. We got to "pet" bat rays and skates, both of which were pretty slimy feeling, sharks (I can't remember what kind they were) like the one below, and starfish.

Shark!!

Once we were done feeling the fishies, we had some time to kill before dropping Kate off at the airport and driving to Bakersfield, so we took a tour of the city, including Haight-Ashbury and Lombard Street - the crookedest street in the United States. The speed limit was 5 mph and the road made about 6 twists in each direction during the span of one block.

View from the top of Lombard Street

Finally, it was time to say goodbye to Kate and head back towards Phoenix. We dropped her off rather early, which turned out to be a good thing, since Bakersfield was a long, long drive. We rolled into our hotel around 12:30 after a few times getting lost and rolled into bed, exhausted.

A day in the park (among other things...)

2005-04-13T03:09:00.001-04:00

Let me set the scene... It's a beautiful day, slightly chilly, but nothing we intrepid Michiganders can't handle, right? It's also a Sunday morning, and Kate and I are awoken at the butt-crack of dawn by an impatient Aunt Rose. She said she was going to let us sleep in, and she did - until about 7:00... After getting ready, we headed up to the city (our hotel was about 30 miles southeast of the actual city, which wasn't too bad. We stopped for breakfast, then headed out to Cliff House, where sea lions are supposed to hang out to give the tourists a good show. They weren't interested in entertaining, so we didn't stick around there too long, but headed out for Golden Gate Park - the 1,000 acre park right in the middle of the city (Kate said it reminded her of Central Park in New York). The park was pretty nice - nicer I'm sure for those people who don't get to experience much of that type of nature. There were a lot of trees and grass, an arboretum, which we toured briefly, but looked pretty much like any botanical garden you would see anywhere else. There was also a Japanese tea garden, which we went in and toured - very pretty.

Japanese Tea Garden - Golden Gate Park

Trees in the park

After touring the park, we called my cousin Christine, who lives out in the San Francisco area to see if we could meet her for dinner. She and her boyfriend invited us to his house for burgers that night, and we headed off to explore until it was time to head over there. Our next stop was the Golden Gate itself. It was somewhat impressive - I mean, hey, it's one of the most famous bridges in the world, probably, but I didn't really think it was all that big a deal. Of course, I'm used to the Mackinaw Bridge, which is longer (I think), and in my opinion, prettier. While on the other side of the bridge, we drove through Saulsalito, which used to be an artist's colony back some time ago, then croseed back over the bridge to go to Chinatown for lunch. We had awesome food at a little restaurant, looked around some, then went down to the Cartoon Art Museum before meeting up with Christine and Gary for dinner and fresh home-made margaritas - yum! After the margaritas and the great dinner, we were exhausted, and went back to the hotel for rest and relaxation before getting up early Monday morning for our tour of the Rock...

San Francisco skyline

California dreamin'

2005-04-10T03:41:00.001-04:00

On Thursday morning, we headed out for San Diego. We drove, and drove, and drove some more, stopping at a casino along the way, and finally reaching our hotel about 6:30. We picked Kate up at the airport at 9:00, and headed out to find some dinner. Friday morning, we got up and went to the San Diego Wild Animal Park, which is about 40 minutes northeast of the city. We saw a lot of neat animals, but most of the pictures are on my big camera because I needed the zoom. There were lots of birds around, but we also took a train ride where we saw everything from elephants and giraffes to a baby Indian rhino!

Lorikeet at the San Diego Wild Animal Park

On the way back from the park, we stopped off at a couple of beaches so we could stick our feet in the ocean and take some pictures. We walked out on the rocks at the beach, then took our shoes off so we could go in. The water was cold, but not too bad, and the view was beautiful. After our feet dried, we headed back to the city, but stopped at another beach for a few shots. When we got back to San Diego, we drove around to see the Gaslamp district and got stuck in traffic for a Padres game, which was starting at 7:05 (we got down in that area about 6:30). By the time we got back to the hotel, we were more than ready for bed.

Kate on the beach

Fisherman on the beach at Torrey Pines State Park

This morning we got up early and began the trek to San Francisco. We got stuck in several traffic jams in L.A., saw the Hollywood sign from the road, but couldn't get a picture, and drove. A lot. The drive was definitely scenic, but we didn't get to San Francisco and the hotel until about 10:00 tonight. We did stop at San Juan Capistrano for a while to tour the mission and stretch our legs for a while. I loved the bells (of course), but this picture shows the whole thing better. Tomorrow, it's down to the Golden Gate and Chinatown...

The mission at San Juan Capistrano

Catch up...

2005-04-10T03:41:00.000-04:00

I've been out of Internet connection range/time the last few days, so here are some pictures and stories...

We got to Tucson on April 3rd to visit Aunt Rose's friends who I call Aunt Ginny & Uncle Cy. We haven't seen them in two years, and in the intervening time Aunt Ginny, who has Parkinson's disease, had had a stroke and is now confined to a wheelchair. She hasn't let that slow her down, though. She's still convinced that she can do everything she used to do. The first day in Tucson, we went over to Green Valley (a mostly retirement community about half an hour south of Tucson) to visit another friend of Aunt Rose's whose husband had recently passed away. On the way there, we stopped at an art gallery and looked around for a while.

Me with Aunt Ginny

Aunt Rose, Aunt Ginny & Uncle Cy

On Tuesday, we got up and went to the Tohono Chul park, which is like a botanical garden filled with native plants. After we went through the park, we headed out to Kitt Peak observatory to look around there. It was interesting, but I really didn't get to do anything, so that made it a little bit boring. I think I would rather have been able to go at night when the guests get to look up in the sky and see what the astonomers do all the time.

Kitt Peak Observatory (solar)

A day spent looking at rocks...

2005-04-03T11:17:00.000-04:00

The three Gossips - Arches National Park

Those of you who have seen my other pictures from my trips out West know that the title of this post is not a bad thing for me. In fact, I can't think of many other things I'd rather see. We got up and drove the 5 miles from Moab to Arches National Park fairly early - I think we were there by a little after 9:00. The weather was beautiful again - it was a little chilly in the morning, but warmed up nicely as the day went on. The first part of the park is mostly rock formations like the one above, but as we got further back we began to see some of the arches that give the park its name. The first arches we came to were called Turret Arch and the North and South Windows. Aunt Rose waited in the car while I hiked the 1.1 mile loop to go view them.

North Window - Arches National Park

After we left the Windows area, we drove through the rest of the park. Most of the arches weren't visible unless you hiked the trails to see them, and since the trails back there were 3 - 5 miles over rocks and up and down the mountainside, I opted out of them. I did hike to the viewing area for Delicate Arch - a short but very steep climb which was well worth the effort to get there.

After leaving Arches, we began the long drive back down to Flagstaff, planning a stop in Monument Valley on the way through. It was kind of nice to get to see all the scenery that we missed by driving in the dark the night before. The drive was long but beautiful - cutting through red rock cliffs and for a long time I had a gorgeous view of the snow-covered mountains near Moab in my rear view mirror. We made it to Monument Valley around 4:00 and decided to take a Jeep tour. You can drive your own car through part of the valley, but the road was unpaved and very rough - once we got started I was really glad we hadn't brought the rental car down it. We shared a jeep with a very nice woman around my age who is a traveling nurse. Her assignment in Tucson had just ended, and she was doing the sightseeing she hadn't had a chance to do before heading to her next assignment in Vermont. Our guide, Leroy, took us through the Valley - stopping to let Lorena and me take pictures whenever we wanted to, and explaining to us what we were seeing.

Sun's Eye - Monument Valley

The tour took us about 2.5 hours and covered 28 miles and most of the formations in the valley. When we finished, it was sunset, and we had about a 3-hour drive back to Flagstaff. Once again, we were driving in the dark while watching for cows, horses, deer, elk, and falling rock. It was a long day, but well worth it in the end.

Sunset over Monument Valley

A walk in the woods?

2005-04-03T00:59:00.000-05:00

Painted Desert - Arizona

Painted Desert - Arizona

Friday, April 1, 2005
We took off from Flagstaff early in the morning and headed for the Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert. After about a 2-hour drive, we arrived at the entrance to the Petrified Forest and stopped at the gift shop there, where I bought some geodes and had them cut. We continued on to the visitor center/museum, and, since they had a wheelchair we could borrow, I decided to push Aunt Rose around the loop through the petrified logs, which would have been fine if there hadn't been stairs involved. Every time we came to a set of stairs, she would get out of the chair and walk up or down, while I followed with the wheelchair. Very interesting... I wasn 't all that impressed with the Petrified Forest - maybe because to me, they just looked like a bunch of trees, and having lived in Michigan all my life, I've seen lots of trees. :) The Painted Desert, however, more than made up for any disappointment I may have had with the forest. The pictures above can't really do justice to how beautiful it really is. A sign there said that the Painted Desert has some of the clearest air in the nation, and I can believe it - at one point, I could see all the way to the San Francisco peaks near Flagstaff, which were 120 miles away!

After leaving the park, we began our long, long journey north. Because much of northeastern Arizona is reservation land, there's not always a town close by. We drove about 2.5 hours and had crossed into Utah before we found a restaurant to stop at. After dinner, we continued for about another 2 hours before finally hitting Moab and our beds. All in all, it was a day with lots of driving, but well worth it for what we saw. Tomorrow, Arches National Park.

Now playing: Sheryl Crow's greatest hits

In the beginning...

2005-04-01T11:10:00.000-05:00

Well, we've arrived in Flagstaff. The trip was fairly uneventful - our plane was about 15 minutes late getting into Houston, which left us only 30 minutes to get to our connecting flight's gate. Because of Aunt Rose, they hooked us up on a cart, which was good, since the gate we were supposed to be at was probably about a mile & a half away. When we arrived at that gate, we found out that they'd moved our flight to a gate much closer to where we'd just been. The flight to Phoenix was supposed to leave at 5:30, but ended up being an hour late, so it turned out that we had plenty of time, but it was still worrisome. When we arrived in Phoenix, we made our way down to the baggage claim where the next "issue" popped up. Three of the four bags that were checked arrived safely, but my big green suitcase, which had most of my clothes and my contact solution, etc., wasn't there. I went into the baggage office, and waited while a couple from England gave the lady their information, thinking all the time "This can't be good." When I stepped up to the counter I felt like I was ready to cry. Thankfully, the lady said that she'd just gotten a message from the Northwest terminal (we flew Continental) that my bag was over there. The very nice wheelchair attendant who was helping Aunt Rose went over and got it for me, and we were on our way.

We arrived in Flagstaff at about 1:30 am (3:30 our time), and crashed. Today, we're headed to the Petrified Forest and then up to the vicinity of Arches National Park. Hopefully there will be some good picture opportunities.