thanks, erika

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car) -
Tigger Liberty

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) -
Vanilla Thin Mint

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name) -
A Lan

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) -
Pink Monkey

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born) -
Rose Warren

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first) -
Lanal (but I think Broal is cooler)

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink) -
The Pink Quaalude

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers) -
Amos Waine

9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy) -
Angel Truffle

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names )
Ann Thurston

11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter) -
Grant Greenville

12. SPY NAME/BOND GIRL: (your favorite season/holiday, flower) -
Spring Rose

13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”) -
Apple Sockie

14. HIPPIE NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree) -
Muffin Maple (hmmm... hippie or country clubber/)

15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”) -
The Knitting Storm Tour (HA)

88 degrees

Today's high is 88. I no longer fit into my shorts/capris, even if I fold in the waist band and leave them unzipped or use a hair tie to extend the waist. So I'll be sweating in my maternity jeans.

Awesome.

hello, peanut

For awhile I thought it was just gas, but I have decided that I can officially feel Peanut moving around. It's light, and I only notice it when I'm not busy with something else, but I think it's amazing.

I am in love with my Peanut :)

PS - J brought home an MTU shirt for Peanut, so cute!

sucked in

I'm not quite sure how it happened, but I just lost 45 min of my day because I was sucked into the wig show on HSN.

I'm just as shocked as all of you.

in the air

Right now J is in the air on his way to Houghton. He's going up with the recruiting team for Tech under the guise of giving lectures on ethics in business. I know he's really going because he wants to hang out at the DT.

Also in the air are about 10 million mosquitoes. They've been really thick ever since the torrential rains and flooding; we had a cool spell last week and I thought they had died down. Today it's warm and there are so many flying around my backyard it looks like it's snowing. I think I'll stay inside, even though I really wanted to go on a walk :p

thank you, come again

Just for Mel, it's my list of careers.
I was hoping "Martha Stewart" would show up in my list, but apparently someone already has that career.

1. Convenience Store Operator
2. Principal
3. Florist
4. Fashion Retailer
5. Interior Decorator
6. Art Director
7. Advertising Account Executive
8. Antique Dealer
9. Art Dealer
10. Sports Marketer
11. Entrepreneur
12. Marketing Specialist
13. Stylist
14. Librarian
15. Humanitarian Aid Worker
16. Tour Guide
17. Retail Salesperson
18. Craftsperson
19. Potter
20. Animator
21. Dental Assistant
22. Fashion Designer
23. Venture Capitalist
24. Investment Advisor
25. Media Buyer
26. Child and Youth Worker
27. Special Education Teacher
28. Teacher Assistant
29. Clothing Manufacturer
30. Bed and Breakfast Proprietor
31. Recreation Director
32. Early Childhood Educator
33. Addictions Counselor
34. Restaurant Manager
35. Caterer
36. Cosmetologist
37. Funeral Director
38. Industrial-Organizational Psychologist
39. Publisher
40. Hotel Manager

sometimes...

...you wear stretchy pants.

I have to admit that I'm digging my new maternity jeans. No zippers, no buttons; the Amish may be on to something.

emma's first day

Emma's first day of kindergarten was last Wednesday. Her mom had to work so I got to take her in for her very first day :)

She looked so cute - her hair is super curly, but if you put it up while it's wet, it looks nice and sleek and you get one huge sausage curl. We optimized the sausage factor by doing pigtails, and we of course used her new sparkly butterfly barrettes.

I had borrowed my brother's truck to bring home a couch from Ikea, and Emma - who attends a local farming community school - hopped out of the biggest, shiniest truck on the lot. I got a few looks from the other moms, haha!

I have to admit that I cried a little, Emma is my special little buddy and she's growing up too fast!

Best part of the morning? As I was leaving the bus drivers asked me why I wasn't going to school today. I thanked them, but let them know it'd been 10 years since I'd attended high school :)

weekend recap

We had so much fun!

We did everything we planned, except for having dinner at the Antlers in the Soo. We walked in and put our name in, but it was so much trashier than we remembered, so we had a really nice meal at the Ramada instead.

Mackinaw Island was fab. I forgot to bring my phone and I was sad because I was going to call Sonya and hopefully find her for a quick hug. But while we were walking up to the Grand Hotel we ran into her :) She was cute as ever and she had Olive with her. Olive is one great dog!

I walked the bridge on Labor Day, I was finisher 17,660. There was a little problem with the return buses, it was kind of a big problem - a two-mile-long line of sweaty, tired walkers. So we shelled out the big bucks and took the ferry to the Island and then back to St. Ignace. The ferry ride was actually really refreshing.

On Monday we drove home, and my mom took pictures of me sleeping in the car. Thanks Mom!

Here's a picture of my dad pointing out the water line as we rode the Soo Locks boat tour. :)

chicken king

It's County Fair time!

Now that we are back in the Fin, I get to work the MK booth at our county fair. I worked this morning and it was hotttt. It was also "Senior Day" so most of the leads I have are for older women. So many of them were so sweet, I can't wait to call them and be their Mary Kay lady :)

Best part: This morning was the 4-H poultry judging. I saw a high school senior, who looked like he was way too cool, proudly wearing his "Hancock County 2007 Poultry King" sash. It was green with sparkly gold letters. Hee Hee!

are you done yet?

I just brought in an absolute harvest from my tiny little veggie patch.

11 cucumbers
3 brandy wine tomatoes
2 green peppers
3 pints of cherry tomatoes

and there are 7 watermelons ripening

When we planted the garden I picked plants that I love to eat. Then I became pregnant. I now have the worst aversion to tomatoes and cucumbers.

I think the garden fairy will be leaving veggies on my neighbor's steps!

bridge walk!

It's been 20 years since my family walked the Mackinaw Bridge on Labor Day. So we decided that we're doing it this year:)

I was seven when I walked, Mason was almost 4 and he rode the whole five miles on my dad's shoulders, and Susie was an infant (8 months) and rode in the baby backpack. I have two memories from that walk: I really wanted to swim in the lake, and I could see Mason's Mickey Mouse underwear.

We are driving to Troy Saturday morning, and driving with my parents to Mackinaw City. We're going to have lunch at Cunningham's, because we always have lunch there. And then we'll drop our stuff in St. Ignace and go to the Sault for the afternoon. We want to eat dinner at the Antler's - because we always tell stories about eating there as kids, and it's time Jocko sees the giant moose head and the Bunyan Burgers for himself. We're also going to the Locks, because they're cool, and Jocko has never been there (I was shocked by this - I thought every young Michigander had to see the locks by the time they graduated from high school).

Sunday we're hanging out on Mackinac Island, along with about a million other tourists. I have never been more excited for fudge. And Monday is the Bridge Walk. Susie and I might not walk - we may just decide it is too hot, and go shopping instead. And then on Tuesday we'll head home.

I'm so excited!

out to dry

The river has receded and we were able to go downtown for breakfast this morning. J's office is still closed, but he was able to pick up his laptop and has been hiding in MY office and catching up :) The HVAC system at his building is out, and the security guards told him that if he didn't check out in 20 minuted they were going in after him - and they weren't kidding. He said it was incredibly hot and humid in the building, he was sweating when he came out to the car.

Yesterday we tried to go downtown, but the river was still way too high - we saw a few cars brave the water, but we weren't foolish enough to try it. I did take some pictures, but they don't look like much unless you know what the area looked like before the river rose.

What I really wanted to see was our old house. It was downtown, just a few blocks from J's office, and the news crews had been filming from nearby. That house was not in a flood plane, I am sure no one had flood insurance. We passed by the house today and the curb was full of soaked items. We recognized a few of the things as an old workbench from the basement, and some old cabinets that were hanging above the workbench. Then there were a lot of wet boxes, but no carpeting because we ripped it all out and fixed the wood floors when we lived there. The street looked like Sanford and Son had moved in. J and I couldn't stop talking about what we would be dealing with if he wasn't transferred a few years ago, I'm sure we would have still been in that house.

Nothing else has been going on. We've been contacting local friends to see if anyone needs any help. We helped some neighbors disinfect toys that were in the basement and J helped carry some wet carpet and padding out to the curb. That's the extent of damage we've seen in our neighborhood and among our friends.

wanted: one ark

Our county is underwater. We are safe and sound in our home, but J is home for the day because the Big M is closed. It is closed because there is 5 feet of standing water on Main St.

Here comes the craziest part - the Blanchard River, which runs right through downtown and snakes through the rest of the city, is not expected to crest until 8pm TOMORROW. I cannot begin to imagine how high it will be.

We aren't supposed to drive today, but I need milk, plus I really want to take some pictures, so we're going to venture out and I might have some exciting shots for you. Maybe. We'll see if the police send us back home.

ETA:
The river is now scheduled to crest this afternoon, and the word on the street is that our power and water will be going out shortly. J's office will be closed tomorrow, and they will be assessing the need for essential personnel for Fri - although they'll most likely be working from remote locations. We're going to take some pictures in our subdivision this afternoon - a few of the streets are really high, and some of the backyards have turned into lakes. But we are fine, and Zippy is completely unaffected.

i want, i want, i want!

* a croissant, a really fresh and yummy one
* a big cup of hot cocoa, with a huge pile of whipped cream
* chocolate dipped strawberries
* french toast

I'm really having a bowl of frosted mini wheats.

ETA: The craving for a croissant became a monster. The monster actually climbed into my car, drove to Panera and purchased a delightful croissant. I was able to restrain the monster on the way home and enjoyed the carbi-goodness at home.

i wonder...

Does an Orange County Choppers bumper sticker, on the rear window of your sea foam green, Town&Country minivan, make you tough?

odors

I know it's just a part of being pregnant, but this heightened sense of smell is really distracting. I seem to have an odor of the week. Last week it was baby poop, nope, no babies in my house, and I still could smell it, blech. The week before it was asphalt - J says that's probably because of the recently finished roof, but he couldn't smell it. And this week the smell is ham. Not just any old ham, I feel that this is the smell of lunch meat that you let sit in the fridge too long and I can smell it everywhere! But it kind of makes me think of Hamwinkies.

the great return

I'm back. Let's see, since I last blogged Mel and Kobe came to hang out for a few days, my garden has been going crazy, I went to Dallas for a week for MK, and I found out I'm pregnant.

Yes, you read that right. It only took 4 years, but in March we should have a little bundle. And Jocko and I are super excited :)

I was freaking out, because I have no idea what is "normal" and my doctor ordered an ultrasound to make sure I was still pregnant. Of course I was, and we even got to see the little heartbeat, and there's a fuzzy picture of a peanut on my chalkboard, so that's what we're calling baby until it's here - Peanut:)

sometimes...

...living in an agricultural county has its benefits.

Picked this morning mmmmmmmmmmm.

aha!

I grabbed a clean dishrag out of the drawer yesterday and found a petrified chunk of cheese attached. The cheese became embedded in the dishrag, and when it was laundered a chunk came off and landed in the lint trap. Now, that makes sense.

I think it's time for new dishrags.