Is it just me?

I am just floored by some of the email that is forwarded to me.
It's partly the content of the email itself, but mostly it's that someone is reading this email & thinks, "huh, I think I'll forward this to Amy (or Jeremy)".
Yesterday we received one that we've gotten before. It's falsely attributed to Andy Rooney & it is a long, bitter, racist, sexist, and downright nasty diatribe. The subject line was 'This is Great... Forward it'. Hopefully none of you have had someone send it to you, it is absolutely ridiculous.
Others that I get are in support of prayer in school, an end to affirmative action, a call to arms for anti-abortion activists, the proud to be an American screw-you-if-you-don't-agree war rants, etc. I don't get it.
Granted, none of these are from my friends. They're usually from my co-workers in other branches in the company I work for, or from Jeremy's co-workers. Every once in a while I get one from someone that I really like though.
Am I the only one who gets these? Is it that I don't articulate my stance on issues?
I guess if you don't know someone well, maybe you don't know where they stand, but if I don't know someone well, I don't forward crap to them.

Welcome

I've added a few links lately. Traci & Kelly have blogs now, so check them out. :) Can't wait to see you two chicks on Friday, I hope Abby is ready for this invasion. We will have a blast. We all really need this night together. It's awesome that Amy is coming too!
Also we have a "gurls" weekend with my Lansing friends planned in West Olive the weekend of February 23rd. We'll probably head out to the bar or downtown GH shopping, so if any of you chicks over there are free that weekend, maybe we can merge my "chicks" group with my "gurls" group!
Can you imagine?
Total chaos!

Not sure where this is going

I just have not been able to get back into posting. I've decided to just make myself do it today so here goes...
I added links to two of my long time friends websites today. Traci I've known since kindergarden, so that's about thirty years. Abby moved to our hometown (in West Michigan) in 8th or 9th grade, so about twenty years? Correct me will you Abby?
There are about seven of us women (me, Kelly, Traci, Angie, Abby, Michelle, Char) from our hometown who have known each other longer than our husbands, boyfriends, coworkers, and most of our every day friends have. We try to get together once every few months for a girl's night, and we have a night planned for one week from today.
I was back home this week for Kelly's father-in-law's funeral. In the midst of such sorrow, I am amazed by how quickly we fall back into such easy laughter and joy in each other.
After the tragic death in my family this fall, I feel a deep appreciation for all of my friends and family back home and here in Lansing. I am thankful for the support everyone offered me in November and the support you continue to offer to me as I struggle with Sarah's death.
I am thankful for all of you who endure my endless stories about her, allow me to cry, and offer to help me through this in so many ways.
Thank you.

Girl's Night

We had a girl's night in Lansing a few weeks ago. We met for dinner at Emil's & then crossed the street to The Green Door. Yikes, after a few pre-dinner "getting ready at Kelli's house" beers, a few glasses of wine at dinner, and then more beer at The Green Door, I was out of commission the entire next the day. I barely left Kelli's couch the entire day after. We're getting too old for this I guess, but it sure was fun! :)
Oh yeah, and check out the size of Jess's beer! It's enormous.

Northern Lights

The northern lights were visible last night. If it's not too cloudy tonight, they should be visible again. At about 7:30 I drove out of town a bit to watch them & snapped a few pictures. I don't know a lot about taking night-sky pictures, so they don't really do justice to how magnificent it was.
Thank you Jess for calling & letting me know! It was an incredible show.



(In the first picture, that is a small builing on the bottom right)

Positively Posting Again!

My goodness, two posts in one day. Will all three of my readers be able to handle it??

Corey & Annie were married on Saturday afternoon. It was a great time, and a beautiful wedding. The colors of the dresses & the incredible flowers were perfect and made it a gorgeous fall wedding.
Here's a picture of me & Jeremy from the reception, and one of me & Jess (who was in the wedding & looked spectacular).

 

Early Snow

Just wanted to share some pictures of the backyard to show our very early snowfall on October 12th.
I didn't think it was going to stick, but as you can see it did. It was all gone the next day, and it was beautiful while it lasted.


 

A Silent War

Upon our return from a week in the Outer Banks, we discovered a war being waged in our home. We knew to expect some mischief, but weren't sure what exactly had happened in our absence. It stems from the unwanted exchange of hideously fancy doll (Penelope) who has gone back & forth between our home & Nick and Kelli's as a prank.
Penelope returned this time with a "Welcome Home" note and with friends, many, many friends. Battles were being waged in almost every kitchen cupboard, in the medicine cabinet, in the piano bench, on the entertainment center, on many door & window ledges, in the car, in the garage, even in the shower.
The meticulous arrangement suggests too much time on someone's hands, but we do appreciate the effort. Kelli, your dollar-store-dollar was well spent...220 Cowboys & Indians in all?
I snapped a few pictures to share.




Thanks for taking care of the cats to Kelli & Jess. And to Jess, it's nice to know that some people can be trusted with a key to our home. ;) 

OBX

Sunrise in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. What could be better than 17 members of your immediate family in an enormous house on the ocean?
Everyone getting along, a pool, a hot tub, sunshine, great food, mini kegs of Oberon, kayaking, fishing, and general merriment! That's what's better!!!!!! 

Surprise!

We had a "surprise" party for Jeremy Friday night. The party wasn't a surprise, just that it was for his birthday. It was incredibly hot out, but everyone did just fine & cooled themselves with beer & vodka tonics. Thanks to everyone for coming. He was so happy about all of the cards & CD's. The CD's will be great for our road trip to North Carolina this weekend. Thanks to Sarah for the party favors & to Jess for the cake too. We sure have some great friends, thanks much! 

5 Things

Tagged by Jess:

Five things in my freezer;
Veggie burgers
Bananas
Cottage cheese containers with leftovers of unknown origin (soup? chili? cat food? who knows?)
Vodka
Many frozen glasses

Five things in my closet (spare closet guest bedroom);
Massive amounts of T.P. bought in bulk at Sams
Crock Pot
Many large salad bowls (wedding presents)
Old tax returns
Jeremy's shoes

Five things in my car (Vibe);
Bug spray
Lint roller
Flashlight
Frustration that quickly escalates to anger
Dental floss

Five Things in my backpack; (purse)
Lipstick
Granola bar
Not enough money
Cell phone
Dental floss

Isabela

Isn't she lovely? My 6th Godchild, and soooooo pretty.
I talked to Michelle on the phone tonight, and I could hear Isabela laughing hysterically the entire time. I thought she must have been tickling her, but no, she was simply making funny faces at her. Such a sweet, happy baby.

Nifty new profile picture

I don't have anything terribly new to add. Since we've been married a year now, I've decided it's time to take down the "newlywed" picture. This one is much more appropriate for me anyhow. It shows what I look like on a day-to-day basis. ;)

MySpace

I've been working on getting a MySpace page together this month at the request of my nephews. Ta da...MySpace
It needs some more work, but so far it's been kind of fun.

Nine hours on the road for a one hour meeting?

The meeting went really well, but holy shit it was a long day.

Happy Birthday Kelli!

Today is Kelli's birthday!!! We celebrated last night with a fire in the backyard & tunes in the garage. Jess made a yummy cake & Kelli blew out the candles with great enthusiasm. :)
The night included piano playing, singing, dancing, blogging, moon-gazing, drinking, grilling, strange trips to the back yard, and lots of laughing.
Our last guest, left about 3:30 am. I can't remember the last time I slept in as late as today.



 

Fiesta

Since Leisa called this morning and suggested taco-stand-tacos for dinner tonight, I've thought of little else. My thoughts have been...should I get three chicken tacos, two chicken and a chorizo, should I get a sope, just how many of the pickled jalapenos & carrots can I take without feeling embarrassed? Believe me, it's more than you'd think.
Oh, except I have thought of the Sol beer (or should I say cerveza) that Jess suggested she'll bring as an accompaniment.
And I *will* be stopping at Handy's Market for their homemade chips & salsa on the way.
Yay for us!

Here I go again.

I don't know why I keep posting pictures of everyone's dogs, but I do.
Nick & Kelli came up last night & drank many beers with us. They brought Marny with them. She did really well at the house & in the yard. We had a fire outside & she loved it. So without further ado, meet Marny...



Oh, and here's a family portrait. :)

The newest addition to the family

Meet Scout. He's my sister Kathy's new family dog. He came to Easter dinner & even joined in the Easter Egg hunt. He was very excited about the kids searching up & down the dune. They're teenagers, but he did still seem to want to herd in the strays when they got too far away.
He's soooo nice, and just a beautiful puppy.

 

Garagey Goodness

Spring is here! The first impromptu spring garage party coincided nicely with Pat's return from the Dominican Republic. He said he had fun, but check out the look on his face in this picture. Hmmmm...did he drink the water?











Us chicks hung out in the garage & did lots of singing. I thought we agreed to look mean & to look out the window in this picture. I guess since I'm the only one doing either, I was wrong. Must have been the Guinness.

EDIT, 9 pm: New, more flattering picture for Jess