hsm3 -> john denver -> euchre -> david addison

How can she ever tie all that together you may ask. Well, it makes perfect sense to me, but for those of you not privy to the inner workings of my gray matter, read on...

I was honored to be invited out to see HSM3 on its opening weekend this past weekend with my friend Chris and her munchkins Noah (6) and Brook (5). These kiddos are hard core Troy and Gabriella fans. They loaned me their HSM1 and HSM2 dvds a while back so that I could get caught up. I had to say--the first two movies were not much more than 'eh' in my book. I was much more impressed with this last installment. Not sure if I get to attribute that to better tunes, more interesting story lines, or the fact that Zephron is now 21 so it is no longer creepy that he is a Hottie McHotHot (term borrowed from Rallycat). Whatever the reason, we all had a blast.

I then went with Chris and munckins to run a few errands--one of them being a stop at Sam's Club. This is where John Denver comes into the picture. Being the dorks that we are, we have the tunes from the movie stuck in our heads and Chris checks to see if the soundtrack is in stock at the big box store. She is immediately drawn to a cd with a shaggy haired, shirtless man. She picks it up and is about to share with me that Zephron has his own cd out and he's wearing glasses on the cover...that is until she realizes she's holding a John Denver cd in her hands. I haven't laughed that hard in a while--it was a good story Chris, I just had to share it.

After I left my HSM3 crew I headed home to change clothes and pick up some wine, cheese, and crackers to take to a UofM/MSU football party I had been invited to at my friend G's house. By the time I got there, the game was over (the Spartans dominated...if only it were Gerard in his 300/King Leonidas getup...ahhh...), but the party was still in full swing. G and Sarah and Sarah's brother, Tom, and I stayed up way past our bedtimes playing euchre--it had been awhile since I played, but Tom and I were able to win both rounds, but I'm thinking G was at a disadvantage--having been partying far longer than I. Not to mention christening the bottle of ouzo that I brought him back from Greece. I had a lot of fun that night.

So, around rolls Sunday and after I awake with a slight headache (only 2-3 glasses of wine), I remember that I bought myself a pre-birthday present at the Sam's Club--the whole 'Moonlighting' tv series on dvd. Man, did I have a crush on David Addison (Bruce Willis) growing up. I vividly recall weekly begging my parents to let me stay up a half hour past my bedtime just so I could watch end of Moonlighting. So, I ended up couch potato-ing all Sunday smirking at how cute I still find the character of David Addison. :)

So that was my weekend.

Then I woke up this am to listen to the news that I missed. The shooting at the Univeristy of Central Arkansas... that poor young tv anchor losing her struggle to survive the savage beating she got in her own home ... that and the horrendous murders/kidnapping involving Jennifer Hudson's family. Horrible. Horrible. Horrible. I'm thinking it may be better to just not watch the news. There is truth to that ignorance is bliss thing.

Before I sign off I want to:
*wish a swift and painless recovery to Jeremy
*let Em know that I'm thinking of her and praying for her
*congratulate Jamie on the GREAT news about her dad's health
*welcome Elaine back from her trip to the big apple

Say-yo-nay-ra for now

nightlife, dress-up, turds and other such happenings...

Hiya,

I am happy to say that I now have ALL of my Greece trip pics uploaded and captioned. I still need to get Nanner's to fill in the gaps tho. She's a busy lady, so I'm hoping that by Thanksgiving I'll have a complete album to share.

In the meantime, I thought I'd fill you in on some of the minutiae of the daily moments. I had an event filled weekend cleaning up the pit that serves as my abode. Between mountains of laundry that I need to get caught up on and cleaning out things (yes, mainly closets) to contribute to Mt. Yard Sale Kaka whose base-camp is in my basement--and of course procrastinating, I was pretty busy.

I did, however, find time to go out with some pals (Elaine, Doug, Lisa, Jim, Lee, Lynne, Harv, J, Eric, Tessa, amongst some others) to celebrate Tessa's birthday. We started out at Eric & Tessa's house and then headed on to the Groovewalk. Man, you'd never guess this was a conservative town amidst a local, state, national and even global recssion based on the amount of peeps out on the town. Lines to get in everywhere. Long, long lines. We finally hunkered down at the CitySen Lounge where I enjoyed the strongest toddy(ies) I've had in awhile. We also ran into local/state movie maker man, Hopwood Dupree, there. That was kinda cool.

next topic...

I'm in the process of helping a pal plan a Halloween Costume Party. I'm pretty pumped about it, b/c Halloween just happens to be my favorite holiday. I guess I never got over the dress-up make believe stuff from childhood (thank goodness Brook still lets me play Polly Pockets when I visit her). I LOVE IT! Growing up we always had homemade costumes, which were completely fine. This year however, I invested in a new ensemb (costume, shoes, make-up, the whole sha-bang). I'm even dying my hair for it--and not that chinzy Halloween one nite stuff. When it starts to wear out, I'll go back to being a red-head. I can't wait to dress-up. I think I'm going to start a petition to turn Halloween from a one day holiday into a week-long festival. We honestly don't have enough fun in life anymore--this will help with that. I promise. :)

next topic...

The turd. After a nice 6-month reprieve, I ran into Fecal Matter yesterday while leaving work. SOB! I think it is no coincidence that after he joined the industry, the economy went down the crapper. Why does he even make an attempt to acknowledge when he's knows I'd rather see him burned at the stake? Bastard. Ugh, anyway I hope not to repeat that run-in again anytime soon.

other random topics...

I have a follow up this Fri with the new med doctor. Hopefully I'm not too, too screwed up. We'll see. Slowly but surely overcoming obstacles with new work tasks. There is a certain software company that is making me crazy at this point--but I'm gonna beat it. Oh yeah. I will conquer! :) Ok, I've avoided dealing with said software company long enough--back to the battle!!

Catch ya later!

PS - Mad props to Em on her radio debut!!!

:)

happy birthday!

channel Simon & Garfunkel...

Happy Birthday Mrs. Robinson,
We all love you more than you will know.

Whoa
Whoa
Whoa

What's that you say Mrs. Robinson?
My, how the years have flown away.

Hey
Hey
Hey

Hey
Hey
Hey...

Wishing you the very best of birthdays!!!

:)

home sweet home

***DISCLAIMER***

This is not a blog about Greece. I am about 2/3 of the way thru captioning my pics, and I still need to get Nanner's pics. I will share as soon as humanly possible on that topic.

*******************

I got to catch up with some of my favorite munchkins [Brook & Noah] last night and have been officially invited to attend the opening of HSM Senior Year with them. Yeah, there are benefits to having the mental aptitude of a five year old--at least little people think I'm cool to hang around. :) Hahaha.

Brook, Princess-In-Training

I also got to see the long awaited remodeling-in-progress of Brook and Noah's rents' house. I am soooo very excited for them. This great little family is finally going to have space to breathe in their home--I think the new floor plan is almost tripling their space. The bonus part is I have my own room there--it's the play room, but I was promised (haha- Chris!!!) that I get to decorate it anyway I want. I am thinking of going with a different theme for each square foot. I may be childlike, but I'm still evil-hahahaha!.

In the meantime Brook, Noah, and their rents have moved into the barn and an RV on their property. I'm crossing my fingers for them that the construction has no delays. At least the munchkins think of it as a bit of adventure at this point.

Can't wait to see the finished product.

TTFN!

:)

gettin' caught up

Hi all. It has been awhile. Got too busy in the rush to get stuff situated before leaving for Greece to keep up with my bloggin', so now it is time to catch up.

This post is going to be all about catching up on your lives; I'll post about Greece when I have all my and nanner's pics uploaded and sorted--and when I'm a little more into the groove (I think my head is still in Amsterdam somewhere at this moment).

1 - Congrats to the Becky and family on Little Liam's safe arrival (he's one cute little dude). Also sending encouragement and support to your mom in her courageous battle with cancer. My best wishes and prayers go out to you!

2 - Congrats to the Czechoslavahouseskis on the safe arrival of Little Camille (she's one precious little lady). I hope everything works out regarding that job you interviewed for at the last minute Nicole, and that the family is getting settled into their new digs. I think I also missed a Happy Birthday in there somewhere too :(

3 - Congrats to my friends down south there on Timmy's slick negotiation skills. I've been following the news as best as I can and it sounds like the bank buy-out drama isn't over yet (I'm keeping my fingers crossed for ya). Also I'm sorry that I missed you on your eventful (i.e. exploding jeep story) journey back to MI.

4 - Congrats to the other southerners (but not for long) down there in KY (haha) that'll be heading back up to the great white north soon. Dee I hope the house hunting goes well--with the real estate market as it is you guys should have tons to choose from.

5 - Good vibes heading out east as Lara continues her job hunt--I know that perfect job is out there waiting for you to put all of your talents to use!

6 - Glad to hear the first ushering in of a TEENAGER! (OMG!!!--how does the time fly?) went well for Gaige. Wishing you all the best as you continue to adjust there as a family with little Elizabeth.

7 - Angie C. I skimmed thru my emails pretty fast, but I don't recall seeing any updates from you (I was probably blind), but wishing you the best all the same.

8 - Warmest wishes to my friends Mike and Aimee as they welcomed their 4th child into their home-- Little Marianne. I read Aimee's heartfelt email tale of going to pick up her new two year old daughter from her foster parents in Korea. I was bawling at my desk this morning like a lunatic. I get to go meet Marianne tomorrow--I'm sooo excited!!!



9 - A shout out to Em on the political front--I'm watching as much of the hoopla as I can stomach and I still have no idea how I'm going to vote. Did you get anything out of the Obama web cast?

10 - Congrats to my little pal JJ on spewing those new words at an exponential rate; what a hoot!

11 - Belated congrats to Angie M. on the announcement of her and Andy's impending arrival. I'm sure Sophie can't wait to be a big sister.




12 - Belated congrats to Michelle on her kick-butt triathalon abilities! You Rock!

13 - Happy belated birthday to my favorite furry nephew Sam--can't believe he's 1 already. I'll post pics from the doggy b-day party that Nanner's friend (Accessory Jen) threw for him complete with invites, presents and b-day cake.

(Sam and his pal Molly--Sam is the one licking Nanner's leg)

Ok, I think that brings me just about as up to date as I can be w/ ya'll. Until the big post(s) about Greece, here's some news to tide you over...

As you may have heard my automotive supplier company is once again going thru difficult times (as I think every business in the nation/world appears to be) and layoffs are imminent. A voluntary separation pkg was offered (that I was one service year shy of cashing in for the big $$$) which my boss signed up for, but was denied (he found that out the day I left for Greece btw). Translation, the company decided his role was vital and wasn't willing to let him go. Now if the trickle down effect applies I should be ok, but something about not counting chickens before they are hatched....

Also, right before we left Nanner found out her branch (dealing with global relocation and real estate) of a very large corporation was just sold to a Canadian company. It is unknown what this means for her job at this point--but we all know the shuffling that accompanies buy-outs, so keep your fingers crossed for her too. However, she says she'd be fine with losing her job--it would give her the final push to join the Peace Corps, something she's wanted to do for a while now. Oh well, only time will tell.

Until next time....
Peace out!
:)