Dinner & a Movie

I think it's incredible to remain connected with people I've known for so long. These girls & I have been friends since high school. The one in the middle I've known since we were toddlers. We may not see each other too often, but we keep in touch and try to see each other when we're able, so over Christmas Break we got together for dinner and a movie. Dinner was at the Grill House and we were joined by quite a few members of the old crew - Tyler, Sana, Georgia, Peg, and all of their significant others. For the movie the crew got a bit smaller as we headed to M89 to see American Hustle. No matter what we do - extravagant plans or super simple - it's so nice to know that there are simply people I have kept and who have kept me for all these years.

Elton

Elton john at joe Louis arena

Sadly, my companions were either drunk or silent (as per usual) but I still loved the show. I probably most enjoyed chatting with Bunni's dad over his excitement for me to see Elton just like he had in the 70's. He may not have been the most active performer, but he belted out those classics & brought me right back to my youth and the memories of my dad singing Your Song to me on long road trips. The stage was sweet - the lights at the back changed constantly and sometimes turned into different images and we were lucky to be on the side where Elton's piano was, so our view was great considering the cheap ticket price.
Elton, you enchanted me.

Misc Fall

Fire place & candle in the master

Tryna strip that dark outa my hair

knee high boots & leggings for cold weather

knocking one football out of the tree with another football

trying some local beers with joe

flowers from my mr. before a long weekend

pretty mug i eyed for weeks before purchasing

gel manicure and a glass of wine

...if only it was that easy.

Turning 3

My only nephew turned 3 this past weekend, so Mr.U&I spent the night at his house and woke up bright&early on his actual birthday to celebrate. Before bed, my brother had put his present on top of the kitchen cabinets. In the morning, he was on a stool stretching his arms to reach his birthday present. Clever little 3-year-old ...that's for sure. Later in the day, we celebrated his birthday with a Dinosaur-themed party and his biggest gift was a soccer goal to practice his new favorite score. By evening, he was beat and wanted his only aunt to read him books in his "big boy bedroom" before sleep. We chose a Halloween book from the library ...something about a dance party. I loved the book in the moment, but all I can remember now is my sweet&snuggly nephew intently clinging to his aunt's words. He may turn terrible 2's into terrible 3's, but I love him just the same - and, since I don't see him very often, I never tire of his affection.

BirthdayTinis

I planned BFF's Birthday celebration in Dearborn this year

- dinner at Pizzapapalis then drink sat Moose's Martini Pub.

Of all the martini's on the menu,

none of them fit my BFF's taste for the perfect birthday drink,

so I asked the bartender to create one.

Her concoction was beautiful with whippedcream&sprinkles and BFF loved it,

which was wonderful.

Wild Things

Empty storefront in Royal oak

Season tickets

pen that only gets my hopes up

beer for buddy bachelor party

FallTV

The weather has been very brisk in the morning.

Just when I'm getting the itch to leave Michigan

the summer slips away and fall creeps in

whisping its crisp&cool air around my walk to work

and making me fall in love with the seasons change.

But the weather isn't the only change:

Fall TV Season is upon us!

I have some catching up to do on last season's episodes

but I'm so ready for my fall evening line-up.

Mostly, I'm excited to have Dessert&Revenge nights again!

I only wish my Barbie could come...

Florida, you are too far away.

First, though, it's time for some marathons to prepare myself.



Besties Reunite

BabyBestie is finally home from China!

So the other three Besties got together Tuesday night

to make signs and meet her at the airport.

Unfortunately, we had the wrong day...

so we waited at the empty airport for an hour-ish

while panicking just a teeny bit

and after e-mailing&texting and wanding the airport

we had to give up on our Bestie's Wednesday morning arrival.

The next day, only two of us could make it to greet her

(BFF couldn't make the hour-long drive twice)

and the excitement mounted while Ricky&I stood with our signs.

We peered through the sliding glass doors

(watching our cars to make sure they weren't ticketed)

then suddenly we saw her.

I almost ran into the glass... it took way too long to open!

And we ran into the airport yelling, "LINDS!"

Hugs&giggles all around!

It was a short&sweet reunion...

waiting to claim her baggage we got to talk a bit

then we all headed home to sleep.

It's nice to know she's just a short drive away now.

And back in our time-zone.

Woot!



Jones Fun

Mr.U&I drove into Chicago for a night full off:

The Jones Family, My Brother, & Comedy.

We got a late start leaving the office

so we drove through Wrigleyville just as the game ended

and found a prime parking spot in front of J&K's house.

After some pre-drinking, snacking, & porch-sitting

we headed downtown for a CD Release Party at Timothy O'Tooles.

BartenderBrother had reserved us some seats at the bar,

which was exactly where I wanted to sit

since he's moved a million miles away now

and seeing him at his bar is the best I'll get for a while.

We laughed&munched&drank before heading back to Wrigley

and woke up for bagels & JuneBug play Saturday morning.

It was a nice, quick trip filled with wonderfulness.



Apology Rewind

"Things must be rebuilt - not rewound."
Anyone who knows me knows that I require apologies. If we had a fight and I said I was sorry, I expect an apology in return. I was raised to believe that "I'm sorry" means: I realize I did something wrong and I will try my best to never do it again. Unfortunately, I've found myself in a situation with no apology sent my way. When a "friend" can't admit a wrong-doing, I lose faith in them. That's just a cold, hard fact of maintaining a friendship with me. If I apologize and quickly admit my fault and sincere desire to change my ways in a situation, I hope my "friend" feels the same. My apology is not an open opportunity to brush hurtful actions under the rug and pretend the issue never occurred. My apology is an invitation to rebuild what's been broken and without an apology in return, I don't believe a rebuild will be effective with hurt&faithlessness still lingering.
See Apologize, Please. (...this isn't a new way of feeling for me...)

My Hostess BFF

 BFF had been wanting to plan a pool party all summer.

So yesterday we finally had one.

The little hostess had all her drinks&snacks prepared

including the most delicious chocolate&peanut butter brownies.

Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate so well...

it was a little chilly&cloudy&windy

but we all jumped in and floated around in the pool

trying to convince ourselves that it was warmer than it was.

The times when the sunshine peaked through

it felt perfectly fine and the company was worth it either way.

.her boyfriend - my boyfriend - our friend - her parents.

A wonderful summer memory made.

Sunset

sunset heading out of downtown detroit on I-75

Blarney Stones

These were the most wonderful things I've ever eaten from Detroit Beer Company.

Corned Beef, Swiss Cheese, Sauerkraut Dusted with Rye&Caraway Bread Crumbs

Deep Fried with Thousand Island Dipping Sauce

Transformers in Town

Downtown Detroit was hoppin' before the Lion's PreSeason Game

and after walking around for a while we finally figured out why.

Transformers was shooting!

I'm not gonna lie - I got awkwardly excited to see OptimusPrime.

Obviously a lot of other people were, too.

We got to see some cool parts of the set,

but it took a while to get the bar because of the crowds...

I guess that's one great thing about Detroit.

You never have to worry about traffic or herds of people, really.

But, I guess it's a good thing

and I guess it's what we really want for the city...

more people, more excitement, more success.

Pond Day

I spent the afternoon at grandma&grandpa's pond with my bother&sister-in-law and their dog&son.

We kayaked&swam then enjoyed a lunch in the sunshine as per usual.

Holland&Jacob

Jacob&I explored the cute, little neighborhood surrounding our breakfast spot.

We wandered around looking at houses&buildings before heading back to his apartment in downtown Holland.

I love all the exposed brick and natural light from the enormous windows in his space.

We decided to enjoyed his outdoor space overlooking the city

and drink a few glasses of sangria

before I headed back into Allegan for a day with my family at the pond.

It's always so nice to catch up with him.

The Buscuit

Jacob&I enjoyed breakfast at The Biscuit in Holland this past weekend. It was a cute, little restaurant in an area I'd never been to before. The menu was mostly local and very vegan/vegetarian friendly. Ironically, I didn't get a biscuit - I'm not a biscuit girl - but my meal was delicious and (as always) the company was excellent.

SangriaMonster

I created this little guy out of stripped, recycled fabric knotted into one long string and knitted without a pattern for my friend Peggy's son, Everson. She named it Sangria - in honor of the bottle we shared.

GrillHouse&Peg

Peg&I had a dinner date on the patio at the Grill House.

I love it out there - the furniture is so bright&eclectic

and the view is so sprawling of the countryside I grew up in.

We each enjoyed salad&beer in our covered gliding table

while watching the sunset and listening to live music and catching up.

Definitely an excellent late summer night with an amazing old friend in a beautiful place.

CaliforniaSunsets

Walks&Icecream

Momma&I did lots of walking in California.

I think we averaged about 7 miles a day.

So we rewarded ourselves with Coldstone...

If my mother is one thing besides a healthy eater,

she's an IceCream Connoisseur.

We both fell in love with the Oreo Filling flavor

but my absolute favorite was Mango Pineapple Sorbet.

There are some simple&sweet things that my mom&I do

like finding a Goodwill to shop at in California

and racing down the road to barely see a sunset

that will only ever be perfect with her.

I wish I could spend every day on vacation with her...

laying in bed watching TV and laughing...

exploring new places and having adventures...

I truly, truly cherish my mother

and the moments I can spend with her.

(they are too few & far between these days)

I'm so blessed to have had California with her.

In & Out Burger

My mom&I got In-N-Out Burger in California. One of the guys on 97.1 the Ticket has mentioned it, so I figured it was a good choice for one of those "must-try" places. The few-optioned menu was served by men in cute hats. The fries were fresh-cut&amazing and the burger was pretty straight-forward&simple. The patty was minimal, which was nice, so I enjoyed the CrispVeggies&MeltyCheese on the toasted bun.

Carl's Jr.

Mom kept checking out Carl's Jr. as we'd pass it on our Target walks.

She'd be craving salad and they had big salads advertised,

so a couple days into our vacation, we finally stopped.

(this turned out to be our only real "naughty" eating day.)

She got a taco salad that looked pretty good

and I enjoyed some delicious frenchfries.

We both, of course, slammed a huge Diet Coke.

The service was great for a fast food restaurant

and the inside was so nice&clean.

It was funny, though, because we'd decided to stop there

then noticed that there were police cars swarming the area.

We opted to go in anyway and watched the action unfold

...undercover police, detectives, and gross men handcuffed

on the sidewalk in front of the neighboring hotel...

All-in-all a pretty interesting to trip for some simple fast food.



Venice Beach

Mom&I headed to Venice Beach for the afternoon

after leaving the Kris Jenner Show taping.

We parked at a lot up the street from the beach

then walked through town toward the water.

Immediately, we saw a "Bicycle Rental" shop

and decided we just had to go beach biking.

We picked two cute&colorful bikes with baskets

and took off down the cement bike path that lined the sand.

We went down as far as we could in one direction

then turned back to head toward Santa Monica

admiring the mountains&buildings as we rode by.

There were quite a few beach-front parks

filled with skateboarders&hippies

and lots of beach houses&shops

filled with partying people & tourist trinkets.

We both snapped pictures while biking.

Sadly, we turned a corner on our trip back

and a couple was taking over the bike path.

I watched my mom slam on the breaks and tip over.

In an effort to catch her, I flew off my bike

and we both ended up with some scrapes&bruises.

Could have been worse, but still annoying.

The funniest part was this group of guys who witnessed our spill

chasing down the couple who continued to walk on the bike path.

After we rode back & returned our bikes

we walked to the car to wash out our wounds

then went to a corner liquor store for bandages.

It was sad to have that kind of ruin our biking experience,

but I still look back on it fondly.

For a couple more hours we walked around Venice Beach.

Mom saw a "Venice Beach Pharmacy" sign

...I had to point out the medical marijuana leaves surrounding it.

Then we looked at sweatshirts (since the weather was surprisingly chilly)

and waited to grab dinner with Elise's cousin who lives in the area.

Pretty successful day with scars as forever reminders.

Kris&Books

Joe's cousin in a producer for the Kris Jenner Show,

so my mom&I were able to go to an episode taping.

We went dress shopping the night before

for bright&bold&solid colors

and I found a long, teal maxi-dress to wear.

We excitedly got up in the morning

-drove past the Hollywood sign-

and headed to the studio

where we were able to pass the line of women waiting

and were seated in the front row.

Going to a show taping is an interesting experience...

there was a comedian there to cue our laughter&applause

and lots of loud music to fuel excitement&fun.

I'll admit that I've never been the biggest Jenner/Kardashian fan,

but it was a once-in-a-lifetime&new thing to do.

The guest host - Boris Kodjoe - was a beautiful man

who spit out german and cooked delicious-looking german food

livened up the set with intelligent convo and stories about his family

and showcased his clothing line: Alfa.

(he was definitely my favorite part.)

Then there was Denise Richards

(so tiny in person)

who talked about her show Twisted on ABC Family

and Harley Pasternak - author of the Body Reset Diet.

We got his book, chocolates, and a top from Kris Jenner Collection

as our give-away for attending the taping.

I started reading the book by the pool that week

and I'm excited to get into it.

The next day, mom&I curled up in our hotel beds to watch the show.

(and look for ourselves on TV)

She was shown on camera twice!

(and obviously so - since she's a beautiful&well-polished lady)

I, on the other hand, took back the teal dress I'd bought.

Good morning, Hollywood Sign

We drove into Hollywood to catch a morning glimpse of The Sign

before a full day of fun on Monday.

We ended up driving aimlessly through neighborhoods

trying to get closer&closer then went back to our original view.

Good enough.

We had some laughs while we wound around the hillside.

CaliforniaScenes

California was wonderful.

I'll admit it.

I loved the palm trees

and the scenery

...all day - the entire time.

EFAM 2013

July 27-31 was EFAM 2013

the International Association of Administrative Professionals

held it in Anaheim, CA this year.

There were morning speakers in massive ballrooms

break rooms set up with snacks&puzzles

and lots of sessions to fine-tune administrative skills.

The first night was the kick-off event

with lots of dancing&music and wine&appetizers

ending with a Beach Themed Dance Competition.

We all had tacky nametags to wear

showing off any certifications or "first-timer" status

and all the "older" admins were pretty silly&uppity.

Mostly, I enjoyed it.

I felt like a bit of a "youngster" but I was glad to attend

and I'm excited to get involved in the organization.

(some parts very much brought my back to my sorority glory days.)

Detroit To LA

A 1-hour Delay in Detroit

2 New Friends

1/2 a RelaxingPill

2 Stiff Drinks

and

I made it to LAX on Friday night.

Mom picked me up at the airport

and immediately threw the GPS at me.

"This thing won't put me on any major highways! Fix it!"

So I did.

And we got to the hotel in no time flat.

So happy to have my feet back on the ground.

I often forget, though, how much I love airports&flying.