Sunday, December 31, 2006

Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum and Library

Tonight before the hockey game Jim and I went to the Gerald R. Ford museum to sign the condolence book. The museum is closed right now but they have opened the lobby for the public to come in and sign the book. I thought it would be a good thing to bring Flat Lauren to also.

These are just a few of the pictures from tonight. The rest are on my film camera and it will be a few weeks until they are back.

The sign at the museum:



Out in front of the museum people have been gathering to pay their respects and have left alot of items and candles. Another thing I noticed was all of the news crews, the local ones plus CNN, NBC in NY (we think it may be The Today Show) and Fox. Then it kind of hit me that this is going to be huge and Grand Rapids will be seen from around the world!

The sign out in front of the museum:




Flat Lauren and I in front of the sign and museum. (Please ignore the extra chins)



I have at least a dozen more pictures on my film camera, I will post them when I get them also.

Friday, December 29, 2006

It's a zoo out there!

This summer I went a little zoo crazy, I went to 4 zoo's across the country in about an 8 week time span.

John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids
Toledo Zoo
Cleveland Zoo
Pt. Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma, WA

I'm still developing pictures from this summer, I had 15 rolls! but I did get some back. As I promised many blog entries ago I would share pictures. Here are some of my favorites that I have developed so far.







Hippoquarium at the Toledo Zoo:











And the whole reason I wanted to go to the Cleveland Zoo:









Wednesday, December 27, 2006

A few Christmas pictures

As most of ya'll know I'm not digital yet so there's always a few days or weeks delay in me showing pictures.

I don't have all of my Christmas pictures back yet but here are some of my Christmas tree and decorations in my apartment. This is the first time in two years I actually decorated for Christmas and it felt great!

My Christmas tree (notice it's a little sparse on the left there, that seems to be the main point of entry for Abbie and Willow to climb in!)



The stockings were hung by the chimney with care



My ABC Distributing Snowmen, I thought they were cute and they've held up all these years!



The presents under my tree, before some of them got mailed out that is! Notice the stuffed puppy over to the left there? Jim got me that at a Griffins game the week before Christmas, he got up to get something to drink and came back with the stuffed puppy!

Warning: Cute Alert!

Warning: Very cute kitty pictures to follow. Don't look if you are easily enabled into going out to get your own very cute kitty!

Willow is 12 weeks old now!





Monday, December 25, 2006

Merry Christmas!

Let's try this again ... Willow decided to jump on the keyboard here and hit just the right button and deleted everything I had typed. The joys of kittenhood :)

I hope each of you had a wonderful Christmas no matter how you celebrated. I had a wonderful Christmas and am thankful for such great family and friends.

I'll post more later about my Christmas.

Saturday, December 23, 2006

Kittens + "big sister" cat + Christmas stuff = A HUGE MESS

I was so proud of myself. All of my shopping is done, my Christmas tree is up, my stockings are up, they have items in them, all of my presents are wrapped and under the tree. All that is left is to go to the store today to get a couple of items for Christmas Eve that would have perished in the fridge had I got them last weekend and kept them in the fridge.

My tree is still up, but it's been climbed at least half a dozen times, Willow with the help of Abbie, or maybe it's Abbie with the help of Willow have taken apart the bottom 1/4 of the tree for me, apparently so I can get a jump on taking it down after Christmas.

I have a card sitting in the tree from my Mom with a Do Not Open Until Christmas note on it. The game is apparently to try and knock that card down and then chew on it because instead of a cat and kitten I apparently have large mutant fuzzy hamsters that like to shred paper.

One of the gifts I got for Jim came in a really pretty box already decorated, but they made a mistake. The packing wrap inside is paper shreds folded up like zesty strip things. I have said gift sealed but somehow the mutant hamsters have figured out a way to pull these paper shreds out and have scattered them all.over.the.living.room.

2 of the bows for presents for his family are MIA, they took down Jim's stocking from the wall above the fireplace. I think this was in an attempt to get their own stocking down because there is toys and catnip in it. I wasn't sure how they managed to do this since the stockings are pretty high for these mutant hamsters to get to. I finally saw mutant hamster Willow do it this morning. He gets on my rocking chair I have had since I was a girl that has a cute Santa Paws in it and perches on the top of it then rocks it back against the wall next to the fireplace and bats at the wall and stockings as best he can until he gets one.

Once they take the stocking down it's like beating a pinata, they have emptied the contents of his stocking all over the living room with the paper shreds.

I also found 2 presents that need some rewrapping because they've taken the edges off.

A friend of mine said that this is just their way of decorating for the holidays. *Sigh*

Merry Christmas! I hope that your mutant hamsters are behaving :)

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Baby steps

I just finished reading Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover book last night for the second time and I am ready to make this work for me.

It won't happen overnight, I am resigned to that, but I made the first step several years ago by having a plastectomy as Dave calls it (cutting up my credit cards) and never did much after that. I made the first step toward baby step 1, setting up a baby emergency fund, I don't have the full amount in it yet but I just started it tonight!

It's a small step but it's a step in the right direction and it makes me feel wonderful!

If anyone reads this and is tired of the way they are living with their finances I recommend this book, get it from the library or buy it used on Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble.com if you are ready to make a change this book will help you do it!

Monday, December 18, 2006

Blessings

Blessings come in many ways, shapes, and forms. I am a believer in "you do good things and good things happen" and once again I am blown away by love, warmth, friendship, caring, and generosity of people.

I want to thank each of you but I don't know how to express the words and I cannot wait for the day when I can pay forward the love and generosity that has been bestowed on me. Thank you.

Saturday, December 16, 2006

Christmas survey

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Usually wrapping paper, some things fit better in gift bags though, or I'll wrap something and then put it in a gift bag.

2. Real tree or artificial?
Fake. What's a real tree?

3. When do you put up the tree?
By the second week of December, the 8th this year

4. When do you take the tree down?
By New Years.

5. Do you like eggnog?
Yes but not all the time. Starbucks Eggnog Latte's are good though!

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
My Easy Bake Oven

7. Do you have a nativity scene?
No but I saw a cute one at Cracker Barrel today

8. Hardest person to buy for?
Grandma

9. Easiest person to buy for?
Mom and Jim

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Didn't do Christmas cards this year, but I am making a few photo cards for a few people that convinced me it wouldn't be stupid :)

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
Mmmmm I don't think I've had a worst, but getting just new cookware and nothing else was disappointing...

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?
National Lampoons Christmas Vacation.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
Usually start in November, this year I started earlier.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
Yes

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Soft Sugar Cookies, not crunchy

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree?
Colored

17. Favorite Christmas song?
Frosty the snowman

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
I'd like to travel home for Christmas but instead I stay home.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeers?
Maybe

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?
Star or a bow

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
Christmas morning

23. Favorite ornament theme or color?
Just the ones I have gotten from friends or family, no real theme to my tree

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner?
Something simple, this year having Pizza on Christmas Eve. Fondue last year was fun until Jean burned me :)

25. Do you have Jesus in your heart this Christmas?
Yes

26. What do you want for Christmas this year?
For everyone to like what I chose for them, oh and I want a Sizzix :) Digital Rebel too but that's not realistic.

27. Who is most likely to respond to this?
Not sure. I'm posting it on my blogspot blog so it may get case'd.

Thursday, December 07, 2006

The Who

Tuesday night Jim took me and his youngest son to the The Who concert. It was funny how it all went down. We knew they were coming for several months, thought it'd be a cool concert but for $99 a ticket not *that* cool. Last Thursday there was some sort of radio sale for tickets on the floor, $23 a piece. He got a pair of tickets and invited me to go :) Then after some thought he thought his kids may like going too and got another set of tickets, not together, but one row behind and on the other aisle. His oldest decided not to go but his youngest wanted to, no biggie the 3 of us can go.

The Pretenders opened for them and they did great, and The Who was awesome too! They did alot of songs from the new album and tons of the old favorites including Pinball Wizard from Tommy, Who Are You (affectionately known amongst several of my friends as the CSI song!), My Generation, You Better You Bet, and one of my favorites Baba O'Riley ... but you may know it as Teenage Wasteland.

The concert was great and afterward I got to thinking and realize this was the 6th concert I've been to this year! 6 in 2006 :) This year I saw:

Keith Urban (Pat Green opened for him)
Kenny Chesney (Carrie Underwood, Dierks Bentley opened)
Foghat (gotta love free concerts!)
Eric Clapton (Robert Cray band opened)
Bob Seger (Steve Azar opened)
The Who (The Pretenders opened)

In the car on the way back Jim and I were chatting and thought it was funny that we went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in July and since then have seen 4 artists or bands that are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! And ... The Who played at Woodstock back in '69! Incredible.

Have I mentioned lately I love concerts? :)

Saturday, December 02, 2006

Come meet Willow

Last Friday I was able to go and pick up my new kitten from Paul's house. I went and got the kitten and brought him home to meet his new big sister, Abbie.







Abbie was not too impressed and quickly ran away after hissing a few times. I left the little guy in the carrier for awhile so he can get acclimated and then let him out to explore his new home.

The pictures tell most of the story so I won't talk much more here. He is just precious and so stinkin' cute! I'd been debating about names all week and finally Thursday night I was holding him and was trying out different names and when I got to Willow (which if you read my blog every now and then you'll know that was one of the first names I came up with before we knew if he was a boy or girl) he started to purr. So Willow it is.

Enjoy the pictures:







Replacement iPod Shuffle

I'm a bit behind on posting, been a roller coaster week this week.

I got a call on Saturday afternoon that my replacement iPod came in at the Apple store. I made an appointment for Sunday afternoon to go and in pick it up. Went and picked it up, no problem.

Got it plugged in and charged, and lo and behold, it worked! This appears to have fixed my problems I've had these last few months ... although I'm still hesitant :)

Overall my experience with the Apple store was very positive, if I had known you could go in there in person instead of dealing with online help I would have done that 6 months ago!

Friday, November 24, 2006

10 year high school reunion

My 10 year HS reunion is tonight. I am not attending. I am a bit bummed because I had always planned to for my 10 year and a good friend of mine from HS that I still keep in touch with was going to go with me and we were going to make sure that the Toby Keith song, "How do you like me now?" was played at some point in the evening *grin*

When it came around and I got info about the reunion I couldn't find a decent flight and the one I did find wanted all of my frequent flyer miles plus a few hundred dollars which I think defeats the purpose of frequent flyer miles. So I did not go home for it. I even looked at flights leaving today (day after Turkey day) to see if they were cheaper but no.

I'll try and make the next one. I know most people don't go back for their reunions and when they do are disappointed, I really wanted to go just to make that determination for myself, plus there were several people there I *did* want to see that I was great friends with and lost touch with and miss. I even had a dream about it last night. Oh well.

Thanksgiving recap

I hope everyone had a wonderful and relaxing Thanksgiving!

I went to Jim's parents with him for Thanksgiving this year and a great time! Everyone was so nice and welcoming to me it really made me feel at ease and part of the family! There were 11 of us sitting down to dinner (me, Jim, his 2 boys, his mom and dad, his sister and brother in law and their 3 boys) and we had so.much.food. We had a grilled turkey and it tasted great, lots of flavor and very moist.

After we ate we cleaned up a bit and the kids went to play and we sat around and chatted and digested then played Phase 10 for a long time and got into dessert. A very relaxing day and I had a wonderful time getting to know his family. I must have made a good impression because I was invited back for Christmas Eve! and next week I am making cookies with his Mom and sister!

I hope everyone else's holiday was as nice and relaxing as mine!

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

My appointment at the Apple store

I've not blogged about this because I do enough complaining in real life about it that I figure everyone is tired of it :)

Long story short, I bought my iPod Shuffle back in April, had problems from the start with it not updating or it finally would but by then I'd have lost several hours of time fiddling with it. I went to their online support, went through all their stuff, they said they'd send me a new Shuffle. Cool. Instead of a Shuffle I got a Shuffle docking station. Ummmm ... not what I asked for. Whatever. I kept struggling, tried their online support again only to be told "We're sorry Ms. xxx but you have used your complimentary chat with us, if you wish to purchase our Apple care plan it will be $xx.xx" Ummmm no I don't think so. I finally at this point gave up and figured I am doomed to a life of a Shuffle that doesn't work correctly.

This past weekend I had the issues again to the point where I spent 4 hours trying to get it work and got mad. Found out you can make appointments at the Genius bar at the Apple stores to get help. I made my appointment tonight.

I went in there, went off about the issues, how it won't update, it reshuffles the same 20 songs, etc. The guy looked at it, said it was working for him then before I start going off again he said he will replace it. He checked in the back and they were out of replacements so he ordered one and said it should be here Monday. He gave me back my broken Shuffle in the interim. I guess there is still good customer service out there.

I'll keep ya'll updated on what happens. I am hoping this takes care of my iPod issues.

Monday, November 20, 2006

The holiday mood

I am in the Christmas mood. The last couple of years I have not been in the Christmas mood, did not put up a tree, didn't do much of anything holiday related and then felt guilty. This year I am in the mood for the holidays, I want to put my tree up, I want to go spend money I don't have to buy presents for everyone, I even want to do Christmas cards. Correction: I want photo Christmas cards. Photo cards will not happen because I don't think it's right to send photo cards of just you :) If I were married or had kids I would be all over it but that's down the road ... hopefully!

I started some of my Christmas shopping already and I really want to put my tree up. Is it wrong to want to put up the tree on the 20th of November?

Thursday, November 09, 2006

Bob Seger concert review

Last night Jim, Jean, Deb, and I went to the Bob Seger concert. It was awesome! This was his first concert in over 10 years and he opened his new tour in Grand Rapids! When tickets went on sale in October they sold out in 4 minutes! He added a second show for this Sunday and it sold out too in no time at all. We had good seats, on the floor in row 6 in the "exit row" so we had room to move and dance.

The opening act was Steve Azar, a country singer, or as I called him the "I don't have to be until Monday" guy! He did a good job and he's got a good set up opening for Bob!

As I mention below I have not worked on these photos yet to crop or zoom them but you'll get the idea
Steve Azar:


Bob Seger:







People watching is fun, and last night was no exception! There was a guy behind us that got totally trashed he was so drunk, that he was passed out before Bob got done singing the first song! I couldn't believe it, he was with his wife or girfriend and if I were I would have been beyond mad! They finally left and again I'd have told him to get a cab and go home I am not leaving the concert!

About halfway through the show I smelled what smelled like pot ... about 2 rows behind us these kids (one of them didn't look older than 19) were passing around a joint. We just shook our heads and enjoyed dancing and singing during the show :)

Anyhow, since they search your purses I didn't dare bring my camera with the amazing zoom lens so we brought Jim's digital which does good and got some shots in, they aren't the greatest but I haven't had time to sit and crop and zoom them yet.

Group photo (so not a good picture of me, but I have a cute outfit on! that has to count for something, right?)


I found this on the Detroit Free Press site, the set list from last night which had a bunch of my favorites including Beautiful Loser, Night Moves, Roll me Away, Sun Spot Baby, Mainstreet, Turn the Page and many others!

Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band
Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids
Nov. 8, 2006

1. “Roll Me Away”
2. “Tryin’ to Live My Life Without You”
3. “Wreck This Heart”
4. “Mainstreet”
5. “Old Time Rock and Roll”
6. “Wait For Me”
7. “Face the Promise”
8. “No Matter Who You Are”
9. “Simplicity”
10. “Betty Lou’s Going Out Tonight”
11. “We’ve Got Tonight”
12. “Turn the Page”
13. “Travelin’ Man”/”Beautiful Loser”
14. “Between”
15. “You Never Can Tell”
16. “The Answer’s in the Question”
17. “Sightseeing”
18. “Sunspot Baby”
19. “Horizontal Bop”
20. “Katmandu”

First encore
21. “Night Moves”
22. “Hollywood Nights”

Second encore
23. “Against the Wind”
24. “Rock and Roll Never Forgets”

And a review from the Detroit Free Press:

Seger's tour kickoff is a welcome return
November 9, 2006
BY BRIAN McCOLLUM

FREE PRESS POP MUSIC CRITIC

GRAND RAPIDS -- It's not always simple finding the magic in rock and roll these days. Sometimes you have to look hard, digging through a swamp of soundalike newcomers, fashionable phonies and retread oldies acts.

Once in a while, though, the moments still come easy. Bob Seger made it that way on an emotionally charged evening at Van Andel Arena, sounding strong and looking upbeat as he underlined his iconic home state status for more than 12,000 high-spirited fans.

On the opening night of a tour that will take him across the country, the 61-year-old Detroit native tapped deep wells of nostalgia without lapsing into schmaltz in a 2-hour, 15-minute show that ended with a two-encore bang. It was an evening that felt easygoing but purposeful, a comeback that felt triumphant.

Michigan hadn't seen him like this in a while. A decade ago, Seger stepped off the Pine Knob stage and walked into full-time family life. For the next several years, he was absent from the rock world he'd inhabited since the mid-'60s, bunkering down to raise a son and daughter.

Seger traditionally has opened his tours in out-of-the-way markets, and with Grand Rapids he had a cozy corner -- a friendly audience on familiar turf. At Van Andel, where tickets had sold out in six minutes, it was the sort of night destined to be special no matter how Seger sounded, as fans arrived with their ragged old concert shirts and untattered loyalty.

Casual in blue jeans and a black T-shirt, silver hair gleaming under the spotlight, Seger opened with a soaring "Roll Me Away." If there were nerves, they didn't show; he looked loose and assured on the no-frills stage, pumping his fists and grinning as he shot thumbs-up at his audience.

With a polished Silver Bullet Band he delivered an eclectic set list -- classic hits laced with offbeat selections ("You Never Can Tell") and party faves ("Old Time Rock and Roll," "Betty Lou's Getting Out Tonight"). The show sagged only during a stretch of new material -- he could ditch the plodding "Simplicity" and help the cause.

Soaked in sweat by the set's third song, the pumping "Wreck This Heart," he joked about his stamina during frequent loose, amiable banter between songs.

Seger is a heavy smoker who just two months ago confessed genuine anxiety about the state of his voice. But although he'll never again sound like the 30-year-old whose raw roar could propel him to the edge of rock abandon on "Live Bullet," he was rugged and robust Wednesday night, revealing a voice that sounded burnished by the years rather than corroded by them.

It's a lengthy tour road ahead for Seger, whose real test will come as he moves into the guts of the tour, with shows every other night.

But Wednesday night was a firm push off the starting ramp, a solid blast of momentum as he heads to Saginaw on Friday and back to Grand Rapids on Sunday. It was also a big reminder why, in Michigan at least, Seger is far more than just another old rocker hitting the road.

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Sushi update

It's been a few weeks since I posted anything about Abbie and her new pet, Sushi. I'm happy to report Sushi is still with us and happily swimming around in his tank!

I had Jim's digital camera last night so I decided to take a few pictures of Abbie and her new pet!

Sushi:


Abbie in her favorite spot to watch Sushi:


Don't pet Sushi...


I promise I wasn't petting him Mom! :::innocent look:::

Monday, November 06, 2006

Friday night fun

Friday night Jim had tickets for the Griffins game and invited me along and our friend Rachel that we work with.

On the way we stopped at McDonalds for dinner and we were waiting for 20 minutes for our food! One of the cooks walked out so they were short staffed and it was just crazy in there. We finally got our food and then took off for the game.

Game was fun, Rachel and I talked through most of it but the Griffins won!

Afterward Rachel wanted to go karaoke so Jim and I decided to go along, I didn't plan to stay for more than an hour... well an hour turned into over 4 and we ended up closing the place!

We ran into other friends/co workers, Susan and her fiance Scott, and then other friend/co worker Ray showed up along with Rachel's roommate. We had a great time and the girls got Jim to get up and sing! He was so against it and then when his turn came he just got right up!

I did not go up to sing, I don't sing ... except for in the car :) The others all got up and sang and we just had fun watching others get up and sing and took some pictures. Here are some of my favorites.

Rachel and I:



All 4 of us (Rachel, Me, Ray, Jim)



Me with my "Bend and Snap" impression from Legally Blonde



Jim and Ray singing together ... New York, New York

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Pete's Pond - Botswana

Thanks to Scrapshare *wink* I am totally addicted to watching live feed of a watering hole in Africa.

There are 2 that I am watching but the one where I've seen the most "action" so far is National Geographic live feed of Pete's Pond in Botswana, Africa. I'm watching a beautiful sunrise right now earlier tonight I saw 3 hyena's and an antelope plus what I think might have been a croc? swimming around in the water.

Check it out, you may get addicted too!

Click here: National Geographic live streaming video

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Happy Halloween!

One of the nice things that our work does is from like 4pm-6pm on Halloween employees are allowed to bring their children and/or grandchildren in to trick or treat in the building. Lots of people participate and it's fun to see all of the kids dressed up.

I ate so much candy today ... mainly Sour Patch Kids. I love sour candy and I am ADDICTED to Sour Patch Kids! I got to the point today where I had to stop because my cheeks and tongue will get sore :)

Hope everyone has a safe day/night no matter what you do and if you are out driving watch for little kids!

Sunday, October 29, 2006

Blogger Beta

I finally decided to upgrade to blogger beta ... very painless and seems to be easier to place things since you can drag and drop. Only thing I did lose in the transfer was my Scrapshare blog roll ... soon as the board is back up I can go in and get the code for it and plug it in then I'll be up and rolling 100%

In the mean time since the board has been down this weekend I've been "sprucing up" my blog here and my myspace page (www.myspace.com/cmcemmylou)

Can't wait till the board is back!

Weekend in review

This was a pretty quiet weekend, Friday I stayed home, caught up on sleep and things around the house.
Saturday night I went out with Jim, Paul, and Jean to State Grounds coffee shop in downtown Hastings to listen to Paul's nephew's band The BreakUps play. I had a toasted marshmallow hot chocolate ... very yummy! and we just enjoyed listening to the band.
After they were done we walked over to a bar for drinks and stayed there a few hours just hanging out. When they finally wanted to close down for the night we left to head back home, but not after Jean and I made a late night stop at Arby's :)

Today I am doing laundry and more laundry and watching Here Come the Brides season one on DVD.

I hope everyone is having a good weekend!

Friday, October 27, 2006

Q&A Time

I've not had alot going on this week worthy of blogging about so here's some more random stuff to file away for a rainy day.


Q: NAME A FRIEND WHOS NAME STARTS WITH a "M".
A: Melissa

Q: DO YOU CHEW ON YOUR STRAWS?
A: Sometimes

Q: DO YOU HAVE CURLY HAIR?
A: Yes just not as curly as I'd like

Q: WHAT IS THE NEXT CONCERT YOU'RE GOING TO?
A: Bob Seger (November 8th!)

Q: WHAT WORD DO YOU SAY A LOT?
A: Seriously?

Q: WHAT IS THE LAST THING YOU ATE:
A: Roast beef sandwich

Q: WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU SAID TO SOMEONE AND WHO WAS IT?
A: Talk to you later ... to Jim

Q: DO YOU WATCH TV?
A: Constantly

Q: HAVE YOU SEEN THE MOVIE DONNIE DARKO?
A: no

Q: DO YOU HAVE WORK TOMORROW?
A: no

Q: EVER BEEN HUNTING?
A: No

Q: IS MARRIAGE IN YOUR FUTURE?
A: I hope so

Q: WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SAID, "I LOVE YOU" AND MEANT IT?
A: Mom

Q: WHAT SHOULD YOU BE DOING RIGHT NOW?:
A: Cleaning my kitchen

Q: DO YOU HAVE A NICKNAME?
A: a few

Q: DO YOU BELIEVE IN LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT?
A: Yeah

Q: WHO'S THE YOUNGEST ONE IN THE FAMILY?
A: my second cousin who was born a month ago

Q: ARE YOU A HEAVY SLEEPER?
A: Yep

Q: LAST TIME YOU USED A SKATEBOARD?
A: I don't know if I ever have

Q: WHERE WAS THE LAST PLACE YOU SLEPT BESIDES YOUR HOUSE?
A: Someone elses house

Q: EVER RUN OUT OF GAS ON THE ROAD?
A: Yes, Paul and Jean came and helped me

Q: BEST MOVIE YOU'VE SEEN IN THE PAST TWO WEEKS?
A: Employee of the Month (the only one I've seen!)

Monday, October 23, 2006

My US Map

I case'd this from another blog and thought it was neat. It's listing all of the states I have been to (I'm counting airport layovers of longer than an hour here too) as those that know me well know, one of my goals is to visit all of the states. Some I have been to I want to go back as I don't have the "right" pictures for my 50 States Album so I will likely visit some others again. It's funny as I looked at the map you can see where alot of my road trips were ... definitely a few patterns :)



create your own visited states map
or check out these Google Hacks.

Abbie vs. the Fishy --- day 2

I got up this morning and the fish was still swimming happily in his tank, on the counter where I left him. Abbie had to get up on the counter right away to make sure I knew he was still there.

I left for work after telling her be nice, don't pet him and don't be naughty. Came home from work and she was on the counter watching him but came down to greet me and then promptly jumped back up to watch him because he might run away somewhere I guess.

I fed him but he's not eaten yet, I don't think I could eat either if something 100 times the size of me is watching me all the time. I had wondered if we'd make it through a day with both of them still alive, we have a successful day!

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Siamese Fighting Fish

I broke down and got a fish this weekend ...a Siamese Fighting Fish ... or more commonly known as a Betta. Lots of people at work have them on their desk and I like them and had been kicking around the idea of getting fish so Abbie would have something to watch ... yes I contemplated getting my pet a pet :)and a month or so ago Jim got a fish tank and now has tropical fish, and got a few more today ... so it got me thinking about it.

I had to go to Meijer for a few items anyway so I thought I'd cruise through the pet department and look at the Betta's. I found a tank that has a locking lid and came with a plant, gravel, water conditioner, and food for $8 on sale. I figured that's cool and got a betta :)

This is pretty close to what he looks like, he's a male since they are more colorful and have the beautiful fins.

As soon as I got home I got his tank set up and got him into the tank and got some food and let him settle in. Abbie immediately got up to see what was going on and spent the last 2 hours staring at him, I don't think she's even blinked!

I was talking to my Mom and told her about it and she suggested I name him Sushi after the Garfield comic strip today:



It's been a few hours since "Sushi" came home and seems to be swimming happily in his new digs ... much much larger and nicer than the container he was in I may add. I've only had to have the "Don't pet the fish or the tank" and "Fish are Friends, not food" talk with Abbie once *wink*

I feel the need to watch Finding Nemo though now .... *lol*

Hockey weekend

Jim got season tickets for he and his boys for the Grand Rapids Griffins AHL hockey team here in town as he's a big sports fan. This weekend was not a kid weekend for him so he asked me if I wanted to go to 2 games, one Friday and one Saturday night. I went to one about 5 years ago and don't remember much so I said sure why not ... it's always a photo op right? :)
Friday night our friend Jean went with us and Saturday night our friend Deb went with us.


Self portrait ... notice my new Scrapshare shirt? *wink*

It was fun, I'm not a big sports fan but hockey is a fast-paced game and I like the shoving into the glass and the fights :)

Friday night the Griffins won! Saturday night they lost in a shoot out ... playing the Houston Aeros.

I took Jim's digital camera with me and here's a few shots:








Thursday, October 19, 2006

I love a rainy night

Random memory time.

I went into the cafeteria at lunch yesterday and they play various music, mostly "oldies", in the cafeteria itself. It's not uncommon to walk in and start singing a Supreme's song or a CCR song. Yesterday when I went in I heard Eddie Rabbit's "I Love a Rainy Night" and instantly I was brought back to being a little girl.

When I was little there was a pizza place Charlie's Pizza and I remember going with Mom and Dad and alot of times Uncle Danny and Aunt Rhonda for pizza there for dinner... this was when I was no older than 5 since my brother was born when I was 5 and I know he wasn't around. All I remember of the pizza place was that each time we went there I always heard that song "I Love a Rainy Night" playing over the intercom. I don't remember anything about the place except for that :) Oh and it was next to Piggly Wiggly and the Carter's baby store in a strip mall. I don't even know if it is still there anymore.

But for the rest of the afternoon I was singing the song :)

Monday, October 16, 2006

My soon to be new family member

I *think* I blogged about this ... if not I know I've mentioned it on Scrapshare for those that are on there and that read my blog. I am getting Abbie a companion! My co worker and friend Paul has 2 kittens that were born 9/21 and I am taking one and another co worker and friend of ours is taking the other. The kittens are 3 weeks old right now and of course too young for me to take it home but the proud "granpa" took a picture for me (finally!) so I could see my new furry child. He is 98% sure it's a female and I am taking the gray one.



I had to laugh at the personality already showing on the kittens face! Just has that look like she is very inquisitive. Paul said they are finally starting to play and "explore" outside of their box they were born in.

I'm not sure on a name yet, my mom has been helping me with names and what we have so far is Willow, Tiger Lilly, and Cinders. If you think of a name please share, I've got about 5 more weeks to decide :)

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Amiable Analytical

This week at work I was out of the department in a Social Styles Class. It's a fun class where you learn about your social style, how to manage it under stress, and how to Identify, Reflect, and Modify your style with others who are different styles. There are 4 styles: Amiable, Analytical, Driver, Expressive. I had homework before class where I had 5 people, one of whom had to be your boss, "profile" you by answering questions about how they see you. In the class you get your results with the second style being your dominant style. I am an Amiable Analytical so my driving style is Analytical with my other less dominant style being Amiable.

What does that mean for me?

I'm Analytical:

The Analytical is polite but reserved, logical, fact- and task-oriented. This
person’s focus is on precision and perfection. Other strengths include
persistence, diligence, caution, and a systematic approach.

Weaknesses involve being withdrawn, boring, quiet, reclusive, and even
sullen at times. If he or she seems indecisive, it’s because of a need to assess
all the data. Perfectionism can be a fault if the Analytical pushes it too far.
This person is definitely not a risk-taker.

The Analytical needs to be right, and won’t openly discuss ideas until
confident in a decision. His or her pleasure is accuracy. Pain is to be wrong
and criticized.

When communicating with an Analytical
Be systematic, thorough, deliberate, and precise
Focus on the task
Be prepared to answer many “how” questions
Provide analysis and facts
Don’t get too personal
Recognize and acknowledge the need to be accurate and logical
Don’t rush unnecessarily
Expect to repeat yourself
Allow time for evaluation
Use lots of evidence
Compliment the precision and accuracy of the completed work.
Portrait of an Analytical’s office

The first thing you notice will probably be the glasses. The Analytical will
have worn out his or her eyes from constantly reading everything. On the
wall you may see a framed degree, but the chief decoration will be charts,
figures, and graphs of every kind. The analytical is not very friendly, will
often greet you skeptically, and doesn’t want to share much – especially
anything personal. There will be no flowers or plant; for the Analytical, they
belong in greenhouses. On the desk will be only business-related
information, and that will be carefully arranged. It’s not a power office, but
it definitely will be functional. As for color, black and white will do nicely.

I actually agree with alot of this, it is very true and makes sense to me and I am sure that those that know me will see it too as they read this. Only thing that I don't really agree with in this profile is the not very friendly, that is where my amiable takes over.

Speaking of Amiable, this is my less dominant style but also holds true to me.
b

The Amiable


Devoted, consistent, dependable, and loyal, the Amiable is a hard worker
and will persevere long after others have given up. He or she is a team
player, cooperative and easy to get along with, trustful, sensitive and a good
listener. Working in groups with cooperative individuals, the Amiable tries
to avoid confrontation. He or she enjoys company, performs best in a stable
environment, and often has a stabilizing effect on others.

Weaknesses include indecision and an inability to take risks. Amiables are
often too focused on others, conforming, quiet, and passive. They often
won’t speak up for themselves, are too compliant and nice, and often
painstakingly slow to make decisions.

The Amiable’s pleasure is stability and cooperation. His or her pain is
change and chaos.

When communication with an Amiable
Be relaxed and agreeable
Maintain the status quo
Be logical and systematic
Create a plan with written guidelines
Be prepared to answer “why” questions
Be predictable
Agree clearly and often
Use the word “we”
Don’t push
Don’t rush
Compliment him or her as a team player
Be a good listener
Portrait of an Amiable’s office

The first thing you will notice will be pictures of loved ones on the desk:
husband, wife, family, favorite pets. They’ll be in a candid style, and the
Amiable loves to talk about them. On the walls will be colorful photos of
landscapes, waterfalls, birds, and sunsets. You’ll find flowers or plants that
are growing well and office colors that are harmonious and restful. The person
will almost certainly be dressed in colors that match. Furniture will
be fashionable, but not overwhelming. Files are present, but usually kept out
of the way. If you’re a little late, the Amiable won’t mind. If you have the
Amiable in your company, he or she will stay with you. The Amiable likes
company, newsletters, picnics, gatherings, and retirement parties.

My desk is really organized and lots of folders and organizing things, I do have a few pictures in frames pushed away from my desk, I have a Dilbert cartoon hanging on my wall in my cube and I have a calendar of Seattle but not alot of "flare"

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Wednesday, October 11, 2006

As promised, pictures from Saturday

Jim uploaded the pictures I took on his digital for me from this past weekend. We drove up to Ludington and Manistee and into the Manistee National Forest. Enjoy!