Jamie has turned 13! I'm officially a parent of a teenager. What a terrifying thought... So far, it's been alright. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop....... Other than that, he's doing well in school - mostly A's & B's (one C in English, of all subjects!). He just had an orchestra concert last week. The annual winter concert involves all three grades (6th - 8th). Everyone did really well. Each grade sounded wonderful.
Andrew has been taking guitar lessons since the summer (I think he started in July, or was it June?). He's doing really well. He's learned the beginning of Green Day's "When September Ends", Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir", Deep Purple's "Smoke On The Water", AC/DC's "Back In Black", Black Sabbath's "Paranoid", "War Pigs", and "Iron Man", and Rush's cover of The Yardbird's "The Seeker". He's working on putting together a montage of the songs he knows for his school's talent show. Speaking of school, he's doing really well there. They don't issue grades in Kindergarten, they just tell you if he's behind, at, or above his age/grade level. So far, he's at or above where he should be. He can read some books - I'm not sure if he's above his reading level but it seems to me that he can read some "big" words that I wouldn't have thought most kids his age would be able to recognize. I do know that he chooses books for me to read (sometimes) that are totally out of his league - we're currently reading "Tutankhamun: His Tomb & Its Treasures" by The Metropolitan Museum of Art & Alfred Knopf. Not your average light reading for a 5 year old. But then, I don't think Andrew's your "average" 5 year old.
That reminds me of something that happened over the summer.
Andrew, myself & my mom went to the Pontiac Arts, Beats, and Eats festival. As we were walking along looking at the artisan's' booths Andrew came upon a booth of handmade clothing. The proprietor engaged him in conversation and eventually asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up. Andrew answered, "A rock star". That's my boy!
Monday, December 15, 2008
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Movers & Winners
Brent got a new job that involved him moving to Indiana to live. Jamie was recruited by the grandparents to help move him. They left Friday afternoon (they should be home in about an hour). Meanwhile Jason, Andrew and I were recruited to take care of Kenny, Brent's dog, who had to stay behind with the my parents because it would have cost a lot more for Brent's apartment (including a NON refundable $200 deposit that wasn't part of the security deposit).
I picked up Kenny after work on Friday and brought him home with me. Needless to say, it totally freaked out Oliver, our cat (and only pet for the last 5 years, not counting the fish). Poor Oliver, he hid the whole time!
Today, we took Kenny back to my parents' house. We went off to a family fun fair day at a new urgent care center nearby. I know, it sounds strange that an urgent care facility would have a family fun fair and I'm sure you're envisioning booths full of medical information and silly things like that but that's not quite how it went.
They had a few tables around from a few medical facilities - a urology center, a pain center, stuff like that - but they also had a local musical facility that taught instruments (guitar, drums, bass, piano, etc.) and they were showcasing their students who were playing music for us while we milled around letting Andrew play on the blow up structures (slides, bouncy houses, etc.) and stood in lines for ice cream, Andiamo's pasta, hot dogs/chips/soda/water, sno cones, cotton candy, and popcorn. We also had Andrew put into the Identakid program. They photographed him and fingerprinted him and we'll be able to pick up the ID card in a couple weeks. While we waited for all that to happen I signed up for a raffle to win a kids' bicycle (I'd also signed up to win a Darren McCarty jersey as well).
On our way home from the festival I got a call from "private". I don't answer those because they're probably telemarketers, so I just pushed "ignore" on my phone. When we got home I realized that I had a voicemail. I checked it and was informed that we won the bike!!! Needless to say Andrew was excited. We picked it up from the lady who ran the Identakid program and it's now sitting in front of our house waiting for its first ride.
I picked up Kenny after work on Friday and brought him home with me. Needless to say, it totally freaked out Oliver, our cat (and only pet for the last 5 years, not counting the fish). Poor Oliver, he hid the whole time!
Today, we took Kenny back to my parents' house. We went off to a family fun fair day at a new urgent care center nearby. I know, it sounds strange that an urgent care facility would have a family fun fair and I'm sure you're envisioning booths full of medical information and silly things like that but that's not quite how it went.
They had a few tables around from a few medical facilities - a urology center, a pain center, stuff like that - but they also had a local musical facility that taught instruments (guitar, drums, bass, piano, etc.) and they were showcasing their students who were playing music for us while we milled around letting Andrew play on the blow up structures (slides, bouncy houses, etc.) and stood in lines for ice cream, Andiamo's pasta, hot dogs/chips/soda/water, sno cones, cotton candy, and popcorn. We also had Andrew put into the Identakid program. They photographed him and fingerprinted him and we'll be able to pick up the ID card in a couple weeks. While we waited for all that to happen I signed up for a raffle to win a kids' bicycle (I'd also signed up to win a Darren McCarty jersey as well).
On our way home from the festival I got a call from "private". I don't answer those because they're probably telemarketers, so I just pushed "ignore" on my phone. When we got home I realized that I had a voicemail. I checked it and was informed that we won the bike!!! Needless to say Andrew was excited. We picked it up from the lady who ran the Identakid program and it's now sitting in front of our house waiting for its first ride.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
My Summer Vacation 2008
The long awaited summer va-ca saga is here! Read on faithful readers. :)
Sunday:
We departed mid morning, making two stops before we were truly "on our way". We stopped in Birch Run to have breakfast at Tony's.
Tony's offers HUGE plates of food for low prices! That, up there, is an omelet! And a piece of Texas toast. But mostly omelet!
After a few more stops and one "you're going the wrong way" (and we really were!) moment we finally made it to our destination.
Not 5 minutes after we'd arrived our friend Craig arrived bearing a large flat screen TV and surround sound! We spent a bit of time unpacking and loading up the fridge and cabinets with our food.
This is just the stuff we brought and picked up at Wal-Mart the first day... more food came along later with Glen and Ali!
Meat was marinated and a fire was built (at 5:30pm! - Craig swears he thought it was 8:30 - it was a bit overcast and rainy).
Thanks go out to Jamie for being our kindling (and log) finder!
We grilled up the meat and had green beans with it, while we watched Saturday Night Live's Best of Will Ferrell. It was tasty. Beer was drank and the fire was put out. Thus ends our first day at Higgins.
Monday:
Jason and I awoke to Craig "kidnapping" our boys in his Mustang (I'm sure it was real difficult to convince them to go with him). They went off to the local convenience store for coffee and odds-n-ends. We ate breakfast at the local bar (because the regular place we normally would go to was closed down). Glen and Ali were due in today but no one knew when.
We wandered off to find a place to stock up on some more items we'd forgotten/needed and ended up at a Wal-Mart. Craig, once again, "kidnapped" one of the boys. Andrew, and totally freaked us out because this time we didn't know he'd gone with Craig. We laugh about it now but it was pretty scary at the time.
We came back and unloaded all our items and decided it was time to go off and find a place to shoot our guns. After some interesting directions from Glen's uncle, who lives next door (ex. go to the blinking light in town and turn left, go over the rail road tracks and then look for a two track on the left, take that until the road splits and keep left...) we drove off to the "pit" - it was more like a deserted chunk of land out nowhere that someone or nature had dug into the side of a hill. We spent about a half hour or so out there shooting various guns and objects on the hill (a couch cushion, a bowling pin, etc). Here are some photos of the guys enjoying "shooting time".
Glen and Ali arrived not long after we got back from the "pit". We helped them unload their stuff and get settled in. They brought along baseballs, a bat, gloves, 2 kayaks, and a bunch more food.
At some point Jamie managed to get his hands on a kayak and happily paddled off.
Eventually, dinner was had, a fire was made, and many beers were drank before we crashed for the night.
Glen tried to use his face as kindling while starting the fire.
Ali didn't find it as funny as the rest of us did.
Tuesday:
Glen's dad was due in today. We called him around 9am to see if he'd left yet and finding that he hadn't we asked if he'd bring up a coffee maker as there wasn't one here and the coffee in town sucked.
Jason went off for a walk, Jamie went off on his bike, I decided to go for a bike ride borrowing one of the ones Ali brought.
By the time I was ready to go Jason was back from his walk and mentioned the route he took and how far it was but I opted for another route. I discovered that I'm not much of a single speed biker, regardless of how flat the land is. Needless to say, I wasn't gone long.
Later in the day Craig and I decided to go kayaking. Glen and Ali had returned from their trek to the island and back (about 3 miles one way). We decided we'd try it out. We got about half way there when Craig discovered he was starting to get a blister on his thumb and I discovered the my shoulders were not happy about all the padding. We turned around and discovered that we had no idea where we'd come from. We kept paddling toward shore anyway hoping that the closer we got the better chance we'd have of finding a landmark we'd recognize. Craig did some calculations about how far we'd floated off in one direction, due to current/winds, and figured out where we needed to go. We made it back and I couldn't have been happier because I was exhausted!
Back at the cabin Craig and I found our respective corners and napped. I was sleeping quite well when Jason's phone rang and woke us up. After that napping was futile.
Eventually, Glen's dad, Wayne, showed up and after a bit of resting and visiting for him we all went off to play "Home Run Derby" at the park nearby.
I ended up biking there with Glen and Ali because no one waited for me to change into my clothes from my swim suit. That wasn't fun because I ended up on Jamie's bike. The seat was too low and felt like it was tipped up and, I, as I have already mentioned, am not a bike rider.
"Home Run Derby" (HRD) was fun. Wayne sure can smack 'em! Ali is a great fielder, when she's not wearing flip flops. I bruised the bottom of my right palm catching a grounder that popped up and Andrew got the top of his left ankle whacked with a grounder.
(Here's my poor bruised hand, it's hard to see the bruise, but it really is there.)
No one remembered to bring water but we managed to find a bathroom with a sink, so we were good.
After a few rounds of HRD we came back and went swimming while Wayne went to the other side of the lake to visit his daughter and her kids, and her friend and her kids (who were all vacationing there). Jamie took a kayak out (he really likes kayaking). A little while later, everyone came back, a fire was built and preparations were made for dinner.
Here's Ali playing catch with Andrew.
After dinner we sat around the fire for a little while. Wayne saw the first meteor of the night (the Perseid Meteor shower was to peak at 2am). Everyone walked down to the lake to stare at the sky and wait. The meteors were slow to come but we saw quite a few in the 3 hours we were down there, some were quite spectacular. Not everyone made it the whole time and by the end it was just Jason, myself, Glen, and Ali. Jason and I called it a night and left Glen and Ali to freeze (it was pretty chilly) and stare at the sky (they didn't make it much longer than we did, as we later found out).
Wednesday:
I think I was the last one to wake up today. I do recall Craig sticking his head in our room and asking Jason what the password to his computer is but then I fell back asleep. When I came out of the room pancakes were being made. They were quite tasty (even if they were the frozen kind). Glen decided to make french toast and it was very good too.
It's now 12:50pm. Wayne has gone off to visit the campers on the other side of the lake and the rest of the men and Jamie have gone off to shoot their guns again. Ali and I are here at the cabin with Andrew, who's playing Guitar Hero while we "computer out" - so much for "unplugging" while on vacation (thanks should be mentioned to Glen's uncle who let us hook up the router with wireless so we could stay connected). Alright, I have to go find something more productive to do....
(It is now 10/14/08 - I know, shame on me for taking so long to finish this up... Lord knows if I'll remember all the details at this point but I've been super busy - which is a really lame excuse, I know. Anyway... on with the story.)
Eventually the men (and Jamie) returned from the shooting (where ever they ended up - a range, I think) and Wayne returned from visiting Glen's sister and her friend and all their kids. Wayne bought pizza dinner for everyone (Glen's sister and entourage came over - talk about mass hysteria, Andrew and 5 other kids plus the 2 neighbor kids!). We all had a nice (and noisy) time. Dinner was tasty.
Here are the kids rockin' out to Guitar Hero.
The Gang (Glen's sister and friends) didn't stay too long as it was getting dark and they needed the light to find their way back to the other side of the lake to their campgrounds. I give those gals credit, it takes a lot of moxie to camp with 5 kiddies and no hubbies/men/etc.
A fire was made, many beers were drank, the night ended fairly quietly. :)
Thursday:
Wayne left to go back home this morning. We all bid him a fond farewell and safe trip. :) Glen's uncle was having new carpet installed in his home so we were all recruited to help move all his furniture out of the way of where the carpeting was being laid. That was some chore! For the first move, I stayed out of the way and kept an eye on Andrew. After the new stuff was installed I went over to help with the return of all the items to their rightful places. Jamie kept an eye on Andrew.
Everything went fairly smoothly for the furniture return, until we had to hook the stereo/web TV/cable/etc back up. That took some time and finagling, but eventually everything was back the way it should be and we'd only lost out on half the day.
Uncle Chuck said in appreciation for all our hard work he'd buy us all tickets for the comedy show that was to be held later that night at the bar/restaurant down the street. We were very thankful but wondered what we'd be doing with the kids. Uncle Chuck was a step ahead of us on that one, he said he'd watch them!
The time came to go and we warned the kids that if they misbehaved they'd not live to see another vacation, let alone another day (but we were safe, Uncle Chuck is a former CIA guy). Just before we were to leave Uncle Chuck presented us with another surprise to say "thanks" for helping him out, a gift certificate to spend at the bar/show! Talk about unexpected and generous!
The show was super funny. Both comedians were great but it was WAY too short! Thanks to Uncle Chuck's gift certificate, many, MANY drinks were had and we were all VERY blitzed by the end of the show. That means we were VERY loud on the walk back to the cabin.
Glen had brought along some mortars (fireworks) and in our drunken stupors we decided it would be fun to set them off over the lake. We had a great time, the people who lived in the house next to where we were lighting them off...., they didn't feel the same. Loud grumbling from some of our group could be heard as we sulked off back to the cabin and to the campfire.
Friday:
I don't remember anything specifically special about this day other than it was spent with myself, Jason, Jamie, Andrew, and Craig all driving all over Timbuktu looking for a gun range that we never found, even with the help of the Tom Tom (GPS). The range we did finally find was the wrong one but after a couple phone calls we were allowed access and shot to our hearts content. Andrew and I spent quite a bit of time picking up shells to bring home to recycle. We got a whole shoe box full. (It ended up being pretty profitable, by the way.)
I'm sure once we returned to the cabin some went off to ride bikes, some went off to kayak, and others just rested/checked email/played video games/etc.
Saturday:
The final day. :( Boo... Vacations never last long enough - except for this one... I know that sounds bad but let me explain... We've never vacationed with other people before, especially not with the kids in tow. That was new for everyone. Jason, Craig, and Glen have all vacationed together at the cabin but that's different - no kids and chicks around. I'm sure the whole kids thing was overwhelming for all, especially Ali (and Glen, by default), and that's OK. I totally get it and am cool with it. So I'm sure it took some time for them to come around to getting used to two (sometimes) obnoxious boys running around, causing havoc! Add to that, unfamiliar beds, brand new pillows (that SUCKED, by the way - they were super flat), a bit of lack of planning when it came to the food (we had WAY WAY WAY too much, thank goodness), and activities that (at least) my usually sedentary body wasn't used to and you have what I now will forever refer to as "The Great (because it really was great) Vacation From Hell!" But I mean it in the nicest way. :)
Anyway, Saturday was spent packing and tidying up the cabin before we all departed. Nothing spectacular to report there. We all said our goodbyes and went on our way.
Thus ends my summer vacation 2008!
Sunday:
We departed mid morning, making two stops before we were truly "on our way". We stopped in Birch Run to have breakfast at Tony's.
Tony's offers HUGE plates of food for low prices! That, up there, is an omelet! And a piece of Texas toast. But mostly omelet!
After a few more stops and one "you're going the wrong way" (and we really were!) moment we finally made it to our destination.
Not 5 minutes after we'd arrived our friend Craig arrived bearing a large flat screen TV and surround sound! We spent a bit of time unpacking and loading up the fridge and cabinets with our food.
This is just the stuff we brought and picked up at Wal-Mart the first day... more food came along later with Glen and Ali!
Meat was marinated and a fire was built (at 5:30pm! - Craig swears he thought it was 8:30 - it was a bit overcast and rainy).
Thanks go out to Jamie for being our kindling (and log) finder!
We grilled up the meat and had green beans with it, while we watched Saturday Night Live's Best of Will Ferrell. It was tasty. Beer was drank and the fire was put out. Thus ends our first day at Higgins.
Monday:
Jason and I awoke to Craig "kidnapping" our boys in his Mustang (I'm sure it was real difficult to convince them to go with him). They went off to the local convenience store for coffee and odds-n-ends. We ate breakfast at the local bar (because the regular place we normally would go to was closed down). Glen and Ali were due in today but no one knew when.
We wandered off to find a place to stock up on some more items we'd forgotten/needed and ended up at a Wal-Mart. Craig, once again, "kidnapped" one of the boys. Andrew, and totally freaked us out because this time we didn't know he'd gone with Craig. We laugh about it now but it was pretty scary at the time.
We came back and unloaded all our items and decided it was time to go off and find a place to shoot our guns. After some interesting directions from Glen's uncle, who lives next door (ex. go to the blinking light in town and turn left, go over the rail road tracks and then look for a two track on the left, take that until the road splits and keep left...) we drove off to the "pit" - it was more like a deserted chunk of land out nowhere that someone or nature had dug into the side of a hill. We spent about a half hour or so out there shooting various guns and objects on the hill (a couch cushion, a bowling pin, etc). Here are some photos of the guys enjoying "shooting time".
Glen and Ali arrived not long after we got back from the "pit". We helped them unload their stuff and get settled in. They brought along baseballs, a bat, gloves, 2 kayaks, and a bunch more food.
At some point Jamie managed to get his hands on a kayak and happily paddled off.
Eventually, dinner was had, a fire was made, and many beers were drank before we crashed for the night.
Glen tried to use his face as kindling while starting the fire.
Ali didn't find it as funny as the rest of us did.
Tuesday:
Glen's dad was due in today. We called him around 9am to see if he'd left yet and finding that he hadn't we asked if he'd bring up a coffee maker as there wasn't one here and the coffee in town sucked.
Jason went off for a walk, Jamie went off on his bike, I decided to go for a bike ride borrowing one of the ones Ali brought.
By the time I was ready to go Jason was back from his walk and mentioned the route he took and how far it was but I opted for another route. I discovered that I'm not much of a single speed biker, regardless of how flat the land is. Needless to say, I wasn't gone long.
Later in the day Craig and I decided to go kayaking. Glen and Ali had returned from their trek to the island and back (about 3 miles one way). We decided we'd try it out. We got about half way there when Craig discovered he was starting to get a blister on his thumb and I discovered the my shoulders were not happy about all the padding. We turned around and discovered that we had no idea where we'd come from. We kept paddling toward shore anyway hoping that the closer we got the better chance we'd have of finding a landmark we'd recognize. Craig did some calculations about how far we'd floated off in one direction, due to current/winds, and figured out where we needed to go. We made it back and I couldn't have been happier because I was exhausted!
Back at the cabin Craig and I found our respective corners and napped. I was sleeping quite well when Jason's phone rang and woke us up. After that napping was futile.
Eventually, Glen's dad, Wayne, showed up and after a bit of resting and visiting for him we all went off to play "Home Run Derby" at the park nearby.
I ended up biking there with Glen and Ali because no one waited for me to change into my clothes from my swim suit. That wasn't fun because I ended up on Jamie's bike. The seat was too low and felt like it was tipped up and, I, as I have already mentioned, am not a bike rider.
"Home Run Derby" (HRD) was fun. Wayne sure can smack 'em! Ali is a great fielder, when she's not wearing flip flops. I bruised the bottom of my right palm catching a grounder that popped up and Andrew got the top of his left ankle whacked with a grounder.
(Here's my poor bruised hand, it's hard to see the bruise, but it really is there.)
No one remembered to bring water but we managed to find a bathroom with a sink, so we were good.
After a few rounds of HRD we came back and went swimming while Wayne went to the other side of the lake to visit his daughter and her kids, and her friend and her kids (who were all vacationing there). Jamie took a kayak out (he really likes kayaking). A little while later, everyone came back, a fire was built and preparations were made for dinner.
Here's Ali playing catch with Andrew.
After dinner we sat around the fire for a little while. Wayne saw the first meteor of the night (the Perseid Meteor shower was to peak at 2am). Everyone walked down to the lake to stare at the sky and wait. The meteors were slow to come but we saw quite a few in the 3 hours we were down there, some were quite spectacular. Not everyone made it the whole time and by the end it was just Jason, myself, Glen, and Ali. Jason and I called it a night and left Glen and Ali to freeze (it was pretty chilly) and stare at the sky (they didn't make it much longer than we did, as we later found out).
Wednesday:
I think I was the last one to wake up today. I do recall Craig sticking his head in our room and asking Jason what the password to his computer is but then I fell back asleep. When I came out of the room pancakes were being made. They were quite tasty (even if they were the frozen kind). Glen decided to make french toast and it was very good too.
It's now 12:50pm. Wayne has gone off to visit the campers on the other side of the lake and the rest of the men and Jamie have gone off to shoot their guns again. Ali and I are here at the cabin with Andrew, who's playing Guitar Hero while we "computer out" - so much for "unplugging" while on vacation (thanks should be mentioned to Glen's uncle who let us hook up the router with wireless so we could stay connected). Alright, I have to go find something more productive to do....
(It is now 10/14/08 - I know, shame on me for taking so long to finish this up... Lord knows if I'll remember all the details at this point but I've been super busy - which is a really lame excuse, I know. Anyway... on with the story.)
Eventually the men (and Jamie) returned from the shooting (where ever they ended up - a range, I think) and Wayne returned from visiting Glen's sister and her friend and all their kids. Wayne bought pizza dinner for everyone (Glen's sister and entourage came over - talk about mass hysteria, Andrew and 5 other kids plus the 2 neighbor kids!). We all had a nice (and noisy) time. Dinner was tasty.
Here are the kids rockin' out to Guitar Hero.
The Gang (Glen's sister and friends) didn't stay too long as it was getting dark and they needed the light to find their way back to the other side of the lake to their campgrounds. I give those gals credit, it takes a lot of moxie to camp with 5 kiddies and no hubbies/men/etc.
A fire was made, many beers were drank, the night ended fairly quietly. :)
Thursday:
Wayne left to go back home this morning. We all bid him a fond farewell and safe trip. :) Glen's uncle was having new carpet installed in his home so we were all recruited to help move all his furniture out of the way of where the carpeting was being laid. That was some chore! For the first move, I stayed out of the way and kept an eye on Andrew. After the new stuff was installed I went over to help with the return of all the items to their rightful places. Jamie kept an eye on Andrew.
Everything went fairly smoothly for the furniture return, until we had to hook the stereo/web TV/cable/etc back up. That took some time and finagling, but eventually everything was back the way it should be and we'd only lost out on half the day.
Uncle Chuck said in appreciation for all our hard work he'd buy us all tickets for the comedy show that was to be held later that night at the bar/restaurant down the street. We were very thankful but wondered what we'd be doing with the kids. Uncle Chuck was a step ahead of us on that one, he said he'd watch them!
The time came to go and we warned the kids that if they misbehaved they'd not live to see another vacation, let alone another day (but we were safe, Uncle Chuck is a former CIA guy). Just before we were to leave Uncle Chuck presented us with another surprise to say "thanks" for helping him out, a gift certificate to spend at the bar/show! Talk about unexpected and generous!
The show was super funny. Both comedians were great but it was WAY too short! Thanks to Uncle Chuck's gift certificate, many, MANY drinks were had and we were all VERY blitzed by the end of the show. That means we were VERY loud on the walk back to the cabin.
Glen had brought along some mortars (fireworks) and in our drunken stupors we decided it would be fun to set them off over the lake. We had a great time, the people who lived in the house next to where we were lighting them off...., they didn't feel the same. Loud grumbling from some of our group could be heard as we sulked off back to the cabin and to the campfire.
Friday:
I don't remember anything specifically special about this day other than it was spent with myself, Jason, Jamie, Andrew, and Craig all driving all over Timbuktu looking for a gun range that we never found, even with the help of the Tom Tom (GPS). The range we did finally find was the wrong one but after a couple phone calls we were allowed access and shot to our hearts content. Andrew and I spent quite a bit of time picking up shells to bring home to recycle. We got a whole shoe box full. (It ended up being pretty profitable, by the way.)
I'm sure once we returned to the cabin some went off to ride bikes, some went off to kayak, and others just rested/checked email/played video games/etc.
Saturday:
The final day. :( Boo... Vacations never last long enough - except for this one... I know that sounds bad but let me explain... We've never vacationed with other people before, especially not with the kids in tow. That was new for everyone. Jason, Craig, and Glen have all vacationed together at the cabin but that's different - no kids and chicks around. I'm sure the whole kids thing was overwhelming for all, especially Ali (and Glen, by default), and that's OK. I totally get it and am cool with it. So I'm sure it took some time for them to come around to getting used to two (sometimes) obnoxious boys running around, causing havoc! Add to that, unfamiliar beds, brand new pillows (that SUCKED, by the way - they were super flat), a bit of lack of planning when it came to the food (we had WAY WAY WAY too much, thank goodness), and activities that (at least) my usually sedentary body wasn't used to and you have what I now will forever refer to as "The Great (because it really was great) Vacation From Hell!" But I mean it in the nicest way. :)
Anyway, Saturday was spent packing and tidying up the cabin before we all departed. Nothing spectacular to report there. We all said our goodbyes and went on our way.
Thus ends my summer vacation 2008!
Saturday, August 9, 2008
My Summer (pre)Vacation 2008
And so it begins... the vacation is upon us...
So is the stress and bickering...
Isn't a vacation supposed to be relaxing?
I guess that comes after the clothes, toiletries, food, bedding, car, kids, etc are packed and we've reached our destination...
Tomorrow may never come at this rate...(back to packing.....sigh...)
So is the stress and bickering...
Isn't a vacation supposed to be relaxing?
I guess that comes after the clothes, toiletries, food, bedding, car, kids, etc are packed and we've reached our destination...
Tomorrow may never come at this rate...(back to packing.....sigh...)
Monday, July 28, 2008
Songs that remind me...
Today as I was driving Andrew and Jamie home from Andrew's guitar lesson we were listening to the radio and Queen's You're My Best Friend came on (convenient since I'm wearing my Queen t-shirt today) and I instantly thought of Jason. Then just a minute ago I was listening to my i-Pod and Muse's Endlessly came on and I thought of him again. So, for Jason, I post some lyrics that remind me of him...
whatever this world can give to me
It's you, you're all I see
Ooo, you make me live now honey
Ooo, you make me live
You're the best friend
that I ever had
I've been with you such a long time
You're my sunshine
And I want you to know
That my feelings are true
I really love you
You're my best friend
Ooo, you make me live
I've been wandering round
But I still come back to you
In rain or shine
You've stood by me girl
I'm happy, happy at home
You're my best friend.
You're the first one
When things turn out bad
You know I'll never be lonely
You're my only one
And I love
The things that you do
You're my best friend
Ooo, you make me live.
I'm happy, happy at home
You're my best friend
You're my best friend
Ooo, you make me live
You, you're my best friend.
**disregard "girl" in that one line** (you'd think Freddie wouldn't have included it... but since it was written by another member of the band who wasn't gay I suppose we can give him a pass...)
there's a part in me you'll never know
the only thing I'll never show
hopelessly I'll love you endlessly
hopelessly I'll give you everything
but I won't give you up
I won't let you down
and I won't leave you falling
If the moment ever comes
It's plain to see it's trying to speak
cherished dreams forever asleep
hopelessly I'll love you endlessly
hopelessly I'll give you everything
but I won't give you up
I won't let you down
and I won't leave you falling
if the moment ever comes
hopelessly I'll love you endlessly
hopelessly I'll give you everything
but I won't give you up
I won't let you down
and I won't leave you falling
but the moment never comes
You're My Best Friend - QueenOoo. you make me live
whatever this world can give to me
It's you, you're all I see
Ooo, you make me live now honey
Ooo, you make me live
You're the best friend
that I ever had
I've been with you such a long time
You're my sunshine
And I want you to know
That my feelings are true
I really love you
You're my best friend
Ooo, you make me live
I've been wandering round
But I still come back to you
In rain or shine
You've stood by me girl
I'm happy, happy at home
You're my best friend.
You're the first one
When things turn out bad
You know I'll never be lonely
You're my only one
And I love
The things that you do
You're my best friend
Ooo, you make me live.
I'm happy, happy at home
You're my best friend
You're my best friend
Ooo, you make me live
You, you're my best friend.
**disregard "girl" in that one line** (you'd think Freddie wouldn't have included it... but since it was written by another member of the band who wasn't gay I suppose we can give him a pass...)
Endlessly - Muse
there's a part in me you'll never know
the only thing I'll never show
hopelessly I'll love you endlessly
hopelessly I'll give you everything
but I won't give you up
I won't let you down
and I won't leave you falling
If the moment ever comes
It's plain to see it's trying to speak
cherished dreams forever asleep
hopelessly I'll love you endlessly
hopelessly I'll give you everything
but I won't give you up
I won't let you down
and I won't leave you falling
if the moment ever comes
hopelessly I'll love you endlessly
hopelessly I'll give you everything
but I won't give you up
I won't let you down
and I won't leave you falling
but the moment never comes
Sunday, July 27, 2008
....
I....
am.....
alone...
swirling....
irritated....
unhappy (as usual)....
frustrated....
lost...?
confused....
being crushed.... I hate that one the most!
I am not:
angry
able to say it right
able to put thoughts to word
motivated
remembering where I was going with this....
I feel a little better now..... I think....
I guess when it's all said and done I'm not any better than I was when I was 12 and suicidal and depressed.
There I said it.
Nope, that didn't help.
So........ how do you fix what's broken when you don't know anything different than "broken"?
"Think of me what you will, I've got a little space to fill. You don't know how it feels to be me." (Thank you, Tom Petty)
Written 8/2011
am.....
alone...
swirling....
irritated....
unhappy (as usual)....
frustrated....
lost...?
confused....
being crushed.... I hate that one the most!
I am not:
angry
able to say it right
able to put thoughts to word
motivated
remembering where I was going with this....
I feel a little better now..... I think....
I guess when it's all said and done I'm not any better than I was when I was 12 and suicidal and depressed.
There I said it.
Nope, that didn't help.
So........ how do you fix what's broken when you don't know anything different than "broken"?
"Think of me what you will, I've got a little space to fill. You don't know how it feels to be me." (Thank you, Tom Petty)
Written 8/2011
Monday, July 7, 2008
No, I didn't fall off Earth!
Ok, so where have I been? I know it's been almost literally 3 months (to the day) since I last posted, right?! So much has happened...
From the Wings Parade:
Mickey Redmond
Steve Yzerman
Scotty Bowman
Mike Babcock
Gordie Howe
The Campbell Cup
Chris Chelios
Kris Draper
Nick Lidstrom & Stanley Cup
From the wedding:
Andrew was given free use of the mic for a bit and sang along to "Blitzkrieg Bop" by the Ramones and "Take Me Out" by Franz Ferdinand. It was so cute.
Here's the whole bridal party
Here's my favourite photo from the wedding
- My dad turned 62
- Mother's day came and went
- My youngest went to story hour at his (upcoming) new school and went on his first school bus ride
- My sister came home from San Diego in preparation for her wedding
- My oldest performed in his last school orchestra concert for the year
- My sister's fiancee came home from San Diego (he's in the Navy and couldn't get an earlier leave)
- Amber and Nick had their bachelor/bachelorette parties - Tiger's game/hang out at the maid of honor's then everyone got together to bar hop
- We had the rehearsal and dinner afterward at Nick's mom's house - for the record DeLuca's Pizza in East Lansing is the most AMAZING pizza I've EVER had!!!
- Amber and Nick got married and we partied the night away - it was super fun and everyone looked awesome
- Memorial Day came and went
- My oldest friend (since 2nd grade) had her birthday party - we all went to see the Sex and the City movie - it was good.
- The Wings won the Stanley Cup!!!
- My youngest met with one of the kindergarten teachers and had a little pre-school testing - I don't know how things went but I assume he's a smart kid.
- The school year ended
- Andrew, Sandie (my oldest friend), and I went to the parade for the Red Wings
- The whole family went to a Tiger's game (thanks Aunt Jamie-girl for hookin' us up with your neighbor and his season tix!!!) - the Stanley Cup made an appearance there!!!
- A nasty storm happened and we were without power for 5 days - that sucked!
- Father's day came and went
- The first day of summer arrived
- My dad's nephew got married - Hawaiian casual theme - I've never been to any wedding like it before...
- All of us (including my parents and brother) except Jason went downtown to the fireworks for the International Freedom Festival
- Independence day came and went
From the Wings Parade:
Mickey Redmond
Steve Yzerman
Scotty Bowman
Mike Babcock
Gordie Howe
The Campbell Cup
Chris Chelios
Kris Draper
Nick Lidstrom & Stanley Cup
From the wedding:
Andrew was given free use of the mic for a bit and sang along to "Blitzkrieg Bop" by the Ramones and "Take Me Out" by Franz Ferdinand. It was so cute.
Here's the whole bridal party
Here's my favourite photo from the wedding
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