Happy 4th!

Happy 4th! I have been celebrating my own independence since Tuesday night when Kev headed up north for his yearly man-panionship trip with Dusty. He stayed the night at Dusty’s that night, then they headed to the UP on Wednesday. They’re staying in a rustic cabin about 45 minutes from Marquette that Sarah’s family owns. No one had been to the cabin in 6 years! They should be driving back to Dusty’s today and I can’t wait to hear how their accommodations worked out! 

I’ve kept myself pretty busy while Kev’s been gone. On Wednesday night, I went to Chuck E. Cheese with Holly and Kim, and their kids Noel, Bodie and Kensington. I had a slumber party at Holly’s that night and we watched Confessions of a Shopaholic. I’ve read all the Shopaholic books. The movie was cute and cheesy. The book is too, but it’s able to give so many more details to the shopaholic tendencies that add to the story, like letters from the bank and credit card companies.

On Thursday, I woke up to Noel whispering “wake up” next to my head. Thankfully I didn’t scream at this and scare her. It was the first time I’ve been woken up by a 4 year old alarm clock. We shared a surprise breakfast I brought over of Strawberry Pop Tarts. It was her first time having Pop Tarts and her eyes lit up when she saw the sprinkles! Next up was a trip to IKEA, where we met up with Kim and Kensington again. 

Yesterday I met up with Ineka to see My Sister’s Keeper. I loved the book and have wanted to see the movie ever since I heard it was filming. Although there are many differences from the story in the book, I loved it. Books that movies are based on are always better than the movie, but in some cases I think it’s necessary to move the story along for the big screen. I, along with everyone in the theater, cried for at least an hour of the movie. I’ll always like the book better, but I think the movie was a good portrayal. 

Last night I rented He’s Just Not That Into You. I just realized that every movie I’ve watched this week is based on a book. What can I say, I’m a book nerd. I was curious to see how they could turn this book into a movie. I think this is a case of the movie being better than the book. The book reads more like a self-help guide than a story and they turned it into a well-told story. 

I’m not sure what’s on tap for today. I’m going to see fireworks tonight with some friends, but besides that my day is wide open! I hope everyone has a safe and fun 4th! How will you be celebrating?

Camping In the SH

Last Friday we left early in the morning for our annual camping trip in South Haven. When we arrived in SH, we tried out a new restaurant for lunch, Phoenix Street Cafe, that I very highly recommend. They’re only open for breakfast and lunch, which is probably why we haven’t been there before. Best.Sandwich.Ever.

Remember how hot it was last weekend? It was around 85 and humid when we were setting up our campsite. We normally camp at Van Buren State Park, but they were full a month ago when we made our reservation. We stayed at South Haven Family Campground this time and they’re only in their second season of business. It was really nice, especially the bathrooms and other amenities, but offered very little shade. 

Rugged and loaded up for the weekend

Our campsite with Niki and Marc's tent on the left, and our little yellow tent on the right. The sun canopy saved our weekend with some shade!

Once our next door neighbors and friends, Niki and Marc showed up, we finished setting things up and headed to Lake Michigan. Their dog, Kendall, got to swim in it for the first time ever!

Kendall lifting a paw. How cute is she? Now we REALLY want a dog!

The rest of the weekend was spent eating, drinking and being merry, as you can see from the photos below.

Kev and Niki in their matching Bret Michaels headbands

Marc, Niki and Kendall

Red Vines make an awesome straw for drinking beer. Try it out and let me know what you think!

Obligatory self portrait

Thanks to Barb and Amanda for recommending the pizza sandwiches in the comments of the last post. Unfortunately, we tried it, and it didn’t work out so well. They ended up charred and despite the fact that it didn’t rain the night we made them, the sandwich makers were rusted in the morning. We might buy new, better ones and try again next time!

Now, we’re trying to figure out a time to go camping again this summer. We’d like to travel only an hour or less away. Does anyone have any campground recommendations that are about an hour outside of the Detroit metro area?

New Addition to Our Camping Gear

Kev has always wanted a hammock. Unfortunately, we only have one tree in our backyard. There are hammocks that come with stands, but they’re expensive and take up a lot of space. When you don’t have a very big yard to begin with, you don’t want to take up precious space with a large hammock frame.

Recently Kev saw a hammock in one of the catalogs we got in the mail from REI. It’s made from heavy duty tent like material and is stored in a small stuff sack. It’s lightweight and can be carried with backpacking gear, which is good for Kev’s backpacking trips, and also good for our camping trips since it won’t take up much space in the car.

Since we’re going camping this coming weekend, we decided to get the hammock and try it out at home. There’s a suspension strap system that goes along with it to hang it between two trees, or in our case, a tree and a fence post.

Kev chilling in the new hammock.

We took turns in it today. I wasn’t really excited about it until I spent about an hour and a half reading in it. Then I didn’t want to get out. It was so relaxing and wonderful. It’ll be great for camping, but also something we can enjoy in our back yard.

Another thing we get to try out while camping is the new campfire sandwich/pie maker I got for Christmas. Have you used one of these before? If so, let me know what recipes have worked for you! I need some meal ideas!

Deep Thoughts: Wireless Bill

Kev and I, like many of you, I’m sure, do not have a land line phone. Almost everyone we call is long distance and it made sense for us to ditch the land line right after we moved into our house 6 years ago. We were paying 2 phone bills and only receiving telemarketing calls on our land line. Who wants to pay for that?

Our family wireless plan has worked out well. We share 700 monthly minutes and each get 250 text/picture/video messages for only $5 extra. Every month when I receive our wireless bill I glance at it, verify that it’s the same amount as always, then pay it without giving it a second thought.

As I was setting up the payment for this month’s bill, I decided to compare how many minutes we each use. Want proof that women talk more than men? I used 214 minutes and Kev used 86.

I also win the prize for the most texts. I sent/received 108 messages compared to Kev’s measly 13. I got a new phone at the end of the year that has a full keyboard, which explains that. It’s much easier to type out a short message when you don’t have to hit the same number multiple times to get the letter you want.

Time for full disclosure. How many wireless minutes do you use a month? How many texts? How about your significant other? I’m sure someone will blow my stats out of the water. Have at it!

The Trifecta

After developing some new symptoms the past couple days, I decided to take a trip to Urgent Care yesterday to be checked out. Here’s how the beginning conversation went with the doctor:
Dr.: Why are you on Tamiflu?
Me: My doctor diagnosed me with the flu on Wednesday.
Dr.: How did she diagnose you?
Me: She told me I had it.
Dr.: She didn’t do a flu strip test?
Me: Um, no?
Dr.: Then she didn’t know if you ever had the flu.

So, apparently there’s a simple flu test to accurately diagnose the flu. A test I was never given. Not this time, and not when I had the “flu” a year and a half ago either. The clinic only had 3 tests left and didn’t want to use one on me since I was already on medication for the flu. She told me I probably never had it, but to continue the medicine just in case.

After a strep test that came back negative, I can now add bronchitis, a sinus infection and a throat infection to my list of current illnesses. I now have an antibiotic, but am very contagious and can’t return to work until the antibiotic is fully in my system. Which is Thursday. As in 4 days from now. 

Looking back on the past week, it upsets me to think I wasted time by going to my doctor. I could’ve been on an antibiotic days ago and feeling better by now. I know I can’t change how everything went down, but it’s frustrating to feel this sick and to know that it might have been somewhat avoidable. At least now I’m on the right track!

Summer Sickness Blues

When you think of summer, you rarely think of the flu. I know I never did. Until now. Because that’s exactly what I’m dealing with. After being hit by the flu a year and a half ago, I took precautions this time around and got a flu shot in November. I never, ever wanted to be that sick again. Which is why I’m so upset that I am.

It started Monday night with a slight cough that I thought could’ve been from my work out that day. I felt about the same on Tuesday morning. By lunch time on Tuesday I felt like I’d been hit by a truck. I had chills, no appetite, aches. It was time to go home. But first, I stopped at Target to pick up sick supplies. When I got to the checkout and went to remove my purse from my shoulder to pay, I realized that I had also been carrying my work bag with me around the store. I didn’t even realize it. That’s how delirious I was!

When I got home, I became one with the couch and that’s where I’ve been ever since. I went to the doctor on Wednesday and got a prescription for Tamiflu, which is supposed to shorten and lessen the symptoms of the flu a bit. 

Although vomiting isn’t common with the flu (at least not the general respiratory type influenza), I couldn’t keep food down yesterday at all. I don’t know if it was nausea or the fact that I was coughing so hard that the food had no choice except to be forced back out. Sorry, I know that’s gross. Today was better. I ate a little food, drank lots of Gatorade and have only had 2 fevers since I woke up this morning.

Here’s hoping tomorrow will continue the upward swing to feeling better. I have $5 ready for Little Caesar’s as soon as I’m able to eat a real meal of food again!

May Days

May is my favorite month of the year. It kicks off with tulips, budding trees and Cinco de Monica. There are a few warmer than normal days mixed in with days that are still warm in comparison to the winter we’ve finally left in the dust. We’re still far enough away from the hot days of summer that 70 degrees feels like a heat wave. As we edge closer to June the trees are full of leaves and most of the perennial plants and flowers are bursting through the soil. The day lilies, hostas and peonies in my yard will be flowering soon, all without any extra effort by me. 

Here are a few pictures of what we’ve been up to since the end of April:

I got some new shoes and Zoe crammed herself into the small box. What is it with cats and boxes?

Dusty and Sarah played Guitar Hero for the first time when they visited.

I became a basement rock star.

We attended Larry and Ryan's wedding on May 2.

Here we are at the reception.

Me and my girls Julie, Alanna and Erinn at the reception. I always have so much fun with you guys!

We also attended Noel’s 4th birthday party, celebrated my birthday with Pizza Papalis and Mexican beer at Black Lotus, had a picnic at a park and took a couple walks (once for dinner and drinks and once for Slurpees). 

What’s your favorite month and why?

Spring Has Sprung (Finally)

As I type this it’s 11:00 am and it’s currently 70 degrees outside! After a brutally cold and snowy winter (that I spent on crutches), it appears that we can finally come out of hibernation. And what better way to do that than with some spring cleaning and yard work?

Thankfully, we did that last weekend. Kev raked and cleaned up our lawn all day Saturday while I spent a grand total of 6 hours cleaning the inside of the house. It didn’t seem like that long with the windows open and good tunes playing.

We’re leaving work in an hour to enjoy some vacation time on what will be the first 80 degree day of the year! Dusty and Sarah are coming to visit for the weekend and will be here sometime this afternoon. We’re looking forward to relaxing and spending as much time outside as possible. Not to make you Almanites jealous, but they are bringing some Pizza Sam’s take and bake with them. YUM!

Happy Spring weekend, everyone!

Take Three

After the trip to Canada I was ready to put the New Kids’ concerts behind me. I saw them twice and that more than made up for missing out on the experience almost 20 years ago. And then Amy emailed Holly and I last Tuesday. She had tickets for the show in Grand Rapids on Saturday and the friend she was planning to go with backed out. She is a huge MSU fan and got final four tickets. She didn’t want any money for the ticket, she just wanted Amy to find someone else to go with. After a very democratic coin toss, I won the ticket! Holly didn’t want to miss out on going with Amy and I, so she bought a ticket!

We picked Amy up in Lansing on the way to Grand Rapids and had dinner at HopCat before the show. I highly recommend HopCat if you’re ever in GR. Awesome food, huge beer menu, crack fries…what more can you ask for? 

Amy and I were seated in the section directly to the right of the stage. After being on the floor 2 times, this was an awesome spot for a different vantage point of the show. Holly was on the floor in the 11th row! She immediately made friends with the people sitting next to her. I am impressed that Holly wanted to go and sit by herself, but I could never do it!

We hung out by the buses again after this show. And this time, Holly’s biggest dream came true. Her hand got touched by Donnie!

I didn’t take pictures at the London show, but I did take several pictures in GR. Click here to view the photo album.

New Kids announced a summer tour last week and are coming to Detroit in June…and I’m not going. I never imagined they would reunite for a tour and feel lucky that I went to 3 shows. I’m happy to leave the memory where it is.

Adventures in Canada

Holly and I made our way across the border into Canada yesterday afternoon. We got interrogated at the border and it went something like this:

Border Patrol Guy: Where are you going?
Me: London
BPG: What are you doing there?
Me: Going to a concert.
BPG: What concert?
Me: (laughing) New Kids On the Block.
BPG: Oh no (in strong Canadian accent).
As we’re cleared to the enter the country, BPG tells us to say hi to Joey! Hysterical. 

We had dinner at our hotel with a few drinks, then walked the few blocks to the John Labatt Centre. The venue is tiny compared to the Palace and even smaller than Joe Louis Arena! Our seats were in the first half of the floor and just a few seats in from the center aisle.

Holly and I before the show (This is the only picture we took. I wanted to enjoy the experience this time without obsessively taking pictures. Mission accomplished!)

After a few more drinks, we were ready for some screaming and dancing when the New Kids took the stage. The strange thing about this show compared to Detroit in October is that there were many children in attendance. I’m not kidding, a lot of people brought their kids with them. Hopefully their parents didn’t have to explain the behavior of the crazy Americans. 

Anyway, they opened with some of the old favorites mixed in with some of the new songs just like last time. They changed things up a bit so we didn’t see the exact same show. When they left the main stage to do their set on the small stage, we left our row and headed back. In Detroit, that stage was in the middle of seats. In London, there was space all around it. We worked our way up and ended up basically 6 people back, meaning there were 5 people in front of us that were closer to the stage. It was SO much fun. We screamed our heads off.

The guys went back to the main stage after that for Jordan and Joe’s solo songs. Jordan did the same ones as last time, but Joe did something different. Rather than sing one of his own songs, he did “I Remember When” with a photo collage of old school New Kids playing behind him. They finished out the show with an encore of “Step by Step” and “Hangin’ Tough”. 

After the show, rather than walking right back to the hotel we walked over to where their buses were parked. There were some people there already around a barricade blocking off the parking lot. We only had a row of people in front of us. After awhile, Jordan came out and ran by slapping hands. And then Danny. We didn’t get any love, but it was still fun. Jon, Joe and Donnie all waved on the way to their buses.

And then we trekked back to the hotel. The trip was so much fun and I am so glad we were able to go. To finish out this post, here are some things we learned in Canada:

• Border patrol loves Joey.
• Americans go way more crazy at concerts than Canadians. Holly and I were dancing up a storm while the people around us just seemed to stand there most of the time. 
• It’s easy to spend currency that seems like play money and is called looney and tooney.
• Canadian accents can be so strong it sounds like English is their second language.
• Canadians really do so “eh” quite a bit. And out and about never cease to amuse me when they sound like oot and aboot. 
• Tim Hortons is tasty (I know they have them in the US and there is one very close to my house, but I’d never eaten there).