About Me

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I am old soul who covers the grey really well. I love to be active and creative. I am blogging to help keep the memories alive and to keep those special moments around.

Friday, January 30, 2009

Spring - c'mon already


I am not much of a winter person. This one has been really hard & really long. So I am indulging in my spring passion early.

I bought my first bunch of tulips. I went with red and white. I always have such a hard time choosing the colors but by the time spring comes, I usually have bought every color.

The only problem is that they come closed up.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Icicles






What to do on a sunny winter day? Take lots of photos...

Icicles are the only good thing about winter.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Boy= Hunger




Here is how my day goes with my son.

Good morning.

I am hungry.

How was school?

I am hungry.

What do you want?

I don't know. Can you make me something good?

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Most Excellent


Had a decent weekend & I ate a lot. I thought I would take you to a few of the restaurants we ate at around here.

First of all, Starbucks has some decadent looking cupcakes this year for V-day. They are the kind I like because they are topped with a lot of frosting. Who needs the cake underneath?

We grabbed a quick lunch yesterday at Hunter House in Birmingham. Here is what I read about it & I agree "cheap eats with a retro groove...bobby socks are optional." It is a plain white building on Woodward Avenue but inside you are back in the days of a good old-fashioned hamburger joint with reasonable prices. The menu isn't much but my kids have their favorites - a hamburger with or without onions. I get the grilled cheese with extra pickles on the side.

Last night, my husband & I went out to see Slumdog Millionaire in Royal Oak but it was sold out. We went down the street to the the Little Tree Sushi Bar. That was a fun change because we ordered a little of this & a little of that...yum!

We never made it to the movie & tried to walk around but it was too cold. We ended up sharing a cozy pot of tea at Bean & Leaf Cafe. It was so warm & nice in there that I had to make myself go back out into the Arctic cold. (Mental note to self open a coffee shop in the Arctic)

Today is a birthday bash at the Green Lantern in Madison Heights. They serve the best pizza there. It is small & casual so it is o.k. to take the kids there & everybody can relax no matter what the kids do.

Did I leave anything out....oh yeah, my mom is making me a cake with Heath bar crunchies, coffee ice cram & cake. Yum!!!

I better go back out & run some more.

(photo from http://local.yahoo.com/slideshow.php?id=41191474&start=)

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Music to my ears & my soul


I know, why I am writing about music again?

Have I told you about my grandma? (My dad's mom) First, I was lucky enough to have some of the best grandparents in the world on both sides. She was however the musician and even earned a degree in music from Oberlin College in Ohio. She played the organ & the piano beautifully. She was also a strong woman who had an inner peace & strength that I always loved.

Sadly, they are gone but I have great memories. I also have my grandma's piano. This poor old piano is out of tune & unplayed often. Except lately, my son can't leave it alone. He can't walk by it without plunking a few notes. He also wants to fix it.

Lately, (dare I say) my life has been working itself out. I can't help but think my grandma has been sending me strength & support through these small melodious moments. I know that it may not be an actual ghost trying to communicate with me but when my son plays these notes or tries to fix the piano, it is a reminder to me to keep my resolve and find my inner strength.

Thanks grandma.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

These are a few of my favorite



THINGS!

I am in love with my new polka dot blouse from the Gap. It makes me feel like spring. The blue is so blue!

I love my new grey nail polish from Sephora. (Oh yes, I love Sephora too) It is called "Run with it!". It's so subtle & maybe a rain cloud on a spring day.

Spring where are you? You are my real favorite thing!

What do you love right now? What is getting you through this harsh, dark winter?

Oh yeah, I do like my martini but that is coming soon...

Monday, January 19, 2009

Nicknames for all



If you hear me calling my son, you may hear 6-7 different names for him other than his real one. He goes by D, D-D, Duda, Duda-menuda, little Duda, Dudemahn & the ever popular French version of his name. All of them are shortened versions of his real name.

Ri, my daughter also has several nicknames. Ri is the shortened version of her name. Then you double it to make Ri-ri. She can also be called by her middle name Aisling or you could go with Ashleenie. The best one is she is called Beana after our old family dog. (this is supposed to be an endearment)

Yes, the dogs even have nicknames! My dog has a real proper name which is Mr. Smith. However, he has always gone by Smitty or the ever popular Schmooey.

My parent's dog, Maggie can be called Mags or Magalicious. She will answer to either but you better have a treat for her.

In our earlier years, my sisters & I made up cheers for the family dogs. Keep in mind that we did not have cable & had to entertain ourselves.

So Bailey a.k.a Beana had a cheer that went like this:

"K u beana, o.k. u Beana, k u Beana, o.k. u Beana now."

We would sing this over & over maddeningly until she would run out of the room. Again, we had no cable!

I have several nicknames but I refuse to go by "Marty". You can ask anybody. It just does not fit. You can call me Marf, Dartha, Marf-u, Mar but stay away from the Marty.

My husband goes by "Cheez". This has nothing to do with cheese but the name has come about from shortening a long series of nicknames. Yes, we have been together a mighty long time.

My sister's nicknames could fill a whole other blog. Plus my parents do not even know half of what we call them.

So, do you have an endless amount of nicknames? Do you have cable? Do you find silly ways to entertain yourself?

If yes, keep up the good work!

I have posted two pics of D & Ri enjoying their snow-laden 4 day long wintry weekend. As you can see in the pics of Ri & D that we do have cable but Twilight is upon us at our house.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Confession of a Cookie Batter Eater



This is hard for me to admit in public but I do not care anymore. I love raw cookie batter! Is that so wrong? It is so good. I'll eat oatmeal cookie batter, peanut butter cookie batter, chocolate cookie batter but I often like cake batter the best. And yes, I do eat the cooked cookies and cakes too as evidenced in the other photo. And the batter does count as calories since it is not cooked.

Make some cookies or cake today & enjoy.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

10 year old boy logic



I was just cleaning the house & had to stop because I remembered what my 10 year old son said this morning.

You know it is cold here right? Well, my son has a new reversible coat from REI. He normally wears his "cooler" North Face lighter jacket. In the recent Arctic cold weather I have put my foot down & made him wear the new, warmer down coat.

As we were walking into school today I asked if he liked his jacket.

"Oh yeah!" he said, "I love it!"

"Why?" I asked smugly, "Because it is so warm?"

"No," he responded, "because I can take the jacket off and never have to worry about which side is on the outside when I put it back on."

It is reversible remember.


We also bought the kids Trivial Pursuit for Christmas. We played for the first time last weekend. My son's question for the pie was: "What are the Mojave, Kalahari & Sahara?"

"Oh, I do know this one!" he screamed. "They are WATER PARKS!"

I told you we are water park people. The Kalahari is a huge water park in Sandusky, Ohio.

Gotta love 10 year old boy logic.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

My Treat



My sister asked what I wanted for my birthday. I gave her my usual response - a Starbuck's gift card. She said "Not again!".


"O.k.," I said, "Then get me a gift card to Sephora." She did not want to do that either but 1 week later, a beautifully wrapped Sephora gift card came.

I do not buy much make-up. I do not spend a lot on make-up. However this was a big birthday so I treated myself.

I specifically asked the girl for make-up to make me look younger & healthier a.k.a. rosier. She sold me 2 products which I love.

Dr Brandt's Pores No More
Smashbox Soft Lights/Highlighter in Prism

I had fun. It was nice to be pampered. I called my sister back to thank her but she was napping. I told my brother-in-law to tell her thanks. He said, "Not a great gift for such a big birthday!".

I said, " Are you kidding me? Anything to help look and feel younger!" Now that is a present. Happy Birthday to me!

Thursday, January 8, 2009

My old dog



So what can an 18 year old dog do? He gets to lick the jar! I hope when I am that old, somebody gives me a jar or an ice cream cone or cake...

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

I am supposed to get...

My horoscope(s) said I was supposed to get $$$. Where is it? I made my husband run out & get 5 lotto tickets. I am counting on this money. It is going to "change" my life!

It is not that I need the money perse. I just want it. I want the luxury of not thinking about money for awhile. I even want it to do something nice for others. Plus I would find me a beach somewhere & sit for a long while. Is that so bad?

I keep thinking it will be in the thousands or maybe millions but is that in pennies or dollars. Maybe it is pesos but I would still take it.

So horoscope don't fail me know, send a little something my way!

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Through the camera's eyes

I need a new camera &/or a camera crew to follow me. I mean to take my camera everywhere I go or I forget to take the picture. Blogs are like picture books for adults. Without the pictures, all somebody sees are just words - no fun.

This is my new year's resolution...more resolution for my camera. I am currently looking for that great camera & when I find it, you will know. No, you will see it.

And the girl & her camera lived happily ever after.

p.s. I have to go read The Alchemist by Michael Scott with my son. A good read with NO pictures.

Friday, January 2, 2009

Vacation within a Vacation

We are water park people. We just spent two days in Cincinnati with friends and 1 night at the indoor water park. It is a little noisy in there but a constant 75 degrees and a hot tub make it bearable.

Here is how it goes. My kids, my husband and I go to the hotel. We put on our swimsuits. We grab books and little else. We walk down the hall and through the doors. Voila instant relief from a harsh Michigan winter. When we are done we do not even have to go back outside.

The kids like to get in the water park early so they can do all of the slides before the lines start. Then it is so hard to choose what to do next so they are running back and forth from the lazy river to the wave pool. I am sitting in a chair/lounger watching them and reading a book. My husband goes between relaxing with me and hanging out with the kids.

Why am I not in the water? I am cold. It takes a lot to get me in the water because after I get in then I shiver and shake. But I do have a favorite place. You can find me in the hot tub. My husband and I were in there and my daughter came up. She jumped in and said "I knew I would find you in here." Not five minutes later, my son came wondering up and he said, "I knew I would find you in here."

So if you are ever looking for me...
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