Blizzard of the Century (at least to a southern girl....) :-)

You may have heard on the news, Michigan and other areas in the Midwest were hit with a bit of a snow storm. Yes - I am well aware that many of you are envious of the snow ....... I will admit, it is pretty. But you would probably change your mind if you had to drive in it.

To give you an idea of what it is like, I took a few pictures on my way to work this morning. That's right, even in a foot of snow you still have to work in Michigan; there is no such thing as a "Snow Day." Rest assured, I took these pictures while I was stopped at a light so my safety was not jeopardized. Look at these pics, can we say "zero visibility"???

I did tell you that this was taken during the day time, right? Looks like night to me!

I was having a bit of a panic attack at this point - a driver passed me going at least 50 as I was putzing along at 10mph :-)

As I mentioned, life goes on in Michigan, even during a winter storm. We had our holiday get-together for work today as well. Here is a picture of me with some of the folks that I work with at the community college:

L to R: Bonnie R (my partner in crime in the learning lab), Karen, Michelle (our department dean), Julie, Me, "Chevy Chase" :-), Bonnie D, Kelly & my boss Doreen

Our Holiday Party - Dec 6, 2008

Jason and I hosted a Holiday Party on Saturday, Dec 6th. We had a lot of good food, drinks and played a gift game called "Let's Make a Deal." Each guest drew a number and then unwrapped the gift under the tree that also had that number. They could then "make a deal" with other guests and trade for something they liked better. However, there was a catch. Periodically throughout the night we announced "grand prize" winners based on which gift they were currently holding (and usually the grand prizes went along with the "not so nice" gifts) :-) Grand prizes ranged from giftcards to Target, Meijer and Red Lobster or the option to draw another gift from underneath the tree.

The game seemed to be a great icebreaker and fun was had by all. We also entertained with some performances with Guitar Hero and RockBand. Even with the snow we had a great turn-out and look forward to the next get-together with our Michigan friends!

Here are some pictures of our decorations and party:

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Madonna concert

Jason and I went to the Madonna concert at Ford Field on Tuesday, Nov. 18th. I am afraid the night did not quite live up to my (admittedly high) expectations. First, we had the chance to experience first-hand how inconsiderate Michigan drivers can be. We ended up waiting in traffic for almost 2 hours to get off of the exit ... the line was less than 1/2 a mile long and we could see Ford Field from where we were sitting, but impatient drivers kept bypassing the line and cutting in at the front.

The concert was scheduled to start at 7:30pm and we were still stuck in traffic until after 8pm, so we thought we missed the beginning of the show. However, once we finally parked (one good decision we made was to pre-pay for parking) we went inside and discovered that Madonna was not coming on until after 9pm. Relief - we did not miss her grand entrance! We had a chance to get some snacks, beer and a t-shirt before heading to our seats.

The show finally started .... I will start with the good parts:

#1 She sang my all-time favorite "Like a Prayer"
#2 The show had awesome dancers

#3 Other classics, such as "Get into the Groove," "Vogue," "Isla Bonita" and "Borderline"

Now to the negative .... the performance overall was mediocre. Madonna performed several songs I had never heard of - this is a pet peeve of mine. I feel like singers should highlight the songs that caused them to become famous in the first place, not use a concert as a venue to release new songs. Even the oldies but goodies that she performed had some kind of twist - for example, "Borderline" was tweaked to sound like a rock song and "Isla Bonita" had a gypsy theme to it. "Get Into the Groove" stuck to it's roots, check out the picture below:

The show had a lot Indi/Global influence. There were more videos and lights than actual performing, and one video highlighted her political views with images of Oprah, MLK, Nelson Mandela and of course Obama. While everyone has a right to their political opinion, we paid (a lot!) to see Madonna perform her songs, not get a lecture on how the world needs change.

Finally, Madonna is not well-known for her singing abilities, but it was a bit annoying that she opening lip-synced through the majority of the concert. I will give her props for her dancing and physical endurance - I cannot imagine being that in shape now, let alone at 50 years old. But the moving your lips to the track is a bit insulting to a crowd of 30,000 fans - even if singing is not your strong suit.

The concert lasted less than two hours, and then it was time to get stuck in traffic yet again. We ended up arriving home exhausted and quite let-down around 2am. This was definitely not the experience that I had hoped for - but at least we can add Madonna to our list of "been there, done that". Regardless, here are a few more pics for your viewing pleasure :-)

I did not even know that Madonna could play the guitar!

Whew-wee - don't we look happy???? :-)

USMC Ball 2008

Jason and I attended the 233rd annual Marine Corps Ball on Saturday Nov. 8th at the Crowne Plaza in Romulus, MI. The night included the traditional ceremony, dinner, awards and dancing. There were also door prizes, and we won a ticket to the Detroit Lions game. Here are a few pictures from the evening:

Jason & me - all dressed up


Jason was selected as one of the top ten recruiters - #9 out of 116!!!

What is Jason lookin' at??? :-)

4 classes left!

I have another class behind me - I just finished my International Marketing class. I ended up with an A in the class after working MANY hours on the longest project ever! I am so glad that class is over - I learned more about Australia and the "Wonder Wash" portable washing machine than I ever thought possible!

I only have four more classes to go; the next course is Finance. I am also thrilled because we actually get a Christmas break this year - Finance ends on Dec 17th and then I start my Human Behavior Management class on January 8th. I am excited that I will not have to balance school while we are home visiting for the holidays. This break will push my end date to sometime in May, but I will still be on track to graduate in June 2009. The end is in sight!!!

We'll be home for Christmas .....

Jason and I have planned a trip home for the holidays .... we will arrive at RDU on Monday December 22nd around noon and leave on Tuesday December 30th. Of course we are planning to spend the holidays in Danville with our families, and I will also be hosting a baby shower for Amy Stanley-Dan with Martha and Amy Hill. In addition to those events, we'd love to spend as much time as possible with our VA and NC friends.

Hope to see you all soon - be sure to let us know when you'd like to get together!!!

I got (another!) job ....

Sorry I have not posted any updates in a while, things have been quite busy! In addition to my full time job at the community college, my full time MBA courses and dance classes twice a week, I took on an additional part-time teaching position. (I know, I am insane)!!!

The class I teach is on Saturdays from 9am-1pm and is called Essential Math Concepts. The class is through Baker College (the same school I am getting my MBA at) but it is at the local campus here in Port Huron (my MBA classes are based out of Flint, MI). The class is very similar to some of the content that I teach in the community college learning lab and is basically a "brush-up" course on decimals, fractions, percents and ratios/proportions. I figured I usually just hang out on Saturday mornings anyway, so I might as well get more teaching experience..... who needs a day off, right??? :-)

Not much else is going on right now - Jason and I are looking forward to Halloween (our costumes just arrived yesterday, I can't wait to post pics!) and the Marine Corps Ball on November 8th. We also have the Madonna concert coming up on November 18th, which I am admittedly WAY more excited about than Jason :-) Other than that, we are just dreading the winter, which will be here before we know it!

Our final Tigers game of the season

Jason and I went to our final Tigers game of the season on Tuesday, September 23rd. The Tigers played the Kansas City Royals, and lost 6-0. I really hope they are better in 2009! Here are a few pics from the game:

My favorite Tiger, Brandon Inge

Sporting Tigers apparel from head to toe! :-)

Even Jason has some Tigers gear now!

On the way home from the game I hit some type of rodent ... I am thinking it was a skunk because my car stunk to high heaven! Whatever it was, it did a lot of damage. It busted the fog light, popped out the grid and even cracked the bumper. So on top of watching the Tigers lose, I get to spend some unplanned cash on fixing my car (keep in mind, I just bought it two months ago). It could have been worse, I could have hit a deer! Gotta look at the bright side, right? :-)

Happy 32nd birthday, Jason!

We celebrated Jason's birthday this past weekend. On Saturday, we had dinner with Brian and Mary at the River Crab restaurant, then went to the VFW for some karaoke fun. Mary surprised Jason with a chocolate/brownie ice cream cake. On Sunday, we cooked steaks and scallops and hung out around the house.

Here are some pictures from the VFW:

Mary surprised Jason with a cake while he was singing karaoke

He's looking excited about having so much chocolate! :-)

Someone got a birthday shot (looks like a double)!

Jason and I at the bar

And a few pics from Sunday:

Something looks like it surprised him!

He got eBay giftcards (to buy autographed baseballs) and a lot of clothes, but I think the Hawaii swim shorts were his favorite! :-)

Oh wait ...... the "birthday baklava" was his favorite!!! :-)

MBA update....

Hi everyone! Just wanted to update everyone on my school progress. I just finished up my "Distribution Management" class on Wednesday and got an A! I currently have a 3.93 GPA.... that may drop a little after my next few classes (Finance & Economics) but for now I am quite proud of it :-)

I actually have a 2 week break from classes, which was quite unexpected (but definitely needed & welcomed!!!) I start my next class on September 25th and if I stay on track, I'll finish classes on April 22, 2009. The graduation ceremony will be around the 1st of June - they do graduations later in Michigan because of the weather. I guess they are worried it may be snowing in April....

I am so thrilled to only have 5 classes left and to be so close to my goal. Thanks again for all of the support, assistance and encouraging words throughout my MBA program!!!

The Tigers lose ..... again!

During Bryce's visit to Michigan we went to the Tigers vs. Angels game on Tuesday September 2nd. The Angels beat the Tigers 5-4. Even though the home team lost, it was still great weather and a nice day for a ball game. Bryce also enjoyed adding another field to his list of "ballparks visited". Here are a few pics:

Bryce & I at Comerica Park

Tigers vs. Angels

Bryce, watching the game

Jason and I in the stands

Little Bro & Big Sis :-)

Trip to Toronto 8/30 - 9/1

Bryce (my youngest brother) made his first trip up to Michigan over Labor Day weekend. We decided to spend a few days visiting Toronto, Ontario. Jason and I picked up Bryce at the DTW airport on Saturday morning, and headed straight for Canada. After a long line at customs, we arrived in Toronto around 5pm. We checked into our hotel, and then headed out on the town. We checked out some of the sites, including the CN Tower. We had an appetizer at Philthy McNasty's Bar & Grill, then went to the live performance of Dirty Dancing. The show was AWESOME - I highly recommend it! After the show we ate a "Greek feast" at Penelope's Restaurant - our meal included the flaming cheese appetizer, a Greek sampler plate as the main course and of course baklava for dessert.

On Sunday, we took a long walk to a seafood restaurant for lunch (only to find out that it was closed until dinner time!) We decided to have lunch back at our hotel (where they charged me $9 for a glass of mineral water!!!). After lunch, we hopped on the subway and headed north to the Casa Loma. The castle was built between 1911-1914 and was HUGE! The grounds were well-groomed and the woodwork in the castle was gorgeous. After visiting the castle we went to the Eaton Centre, which is a large, mostly underground shopping area in the heart of Toronto. For dinner we went to the Fisherman's Wharf (the seafood joint that was closed for lunch) and shared a heaping plate of crab legs, lobster tails, shrimp, scallops, mussels and oysters. We ended the night at Menage night club, which had a nice open-air deck area.


Here are some pictures from our weekend:

Casa Loma - Castle in Toronto

Check this guy out - he was an entertainment promoter that referred to himself as "the Original Kid Rock" :-)

In two countries at the same time!

Bryce, Jason & I at the Dirty Dancing Show - it was GREAT!

And here is a short video with the CN Tower and Royal Alexandrea Theatre (where the Dirty Dancing show was performed):

Prul is a Baywatch lifeguard ...

I bet you didn't know that Prul has a part-time gig as a Baywatch lifeguard. Check her out in action:

Norfolk Beach Trip w/ Mayhan and Prul

Mayhan invited Prul and me for a long weekend at her Dad's beach house in Norfolk, Virginia. The area was called "Ocean View" and is a very laid back area. We spent a lot of time relaxing on the beach, hanging out and catching up with one another. We also enjoyed a lot of good meals --- the best was the steamed blue crab & corn that Mayhan's Dad and step mom fixed for us on Saturday night. Here are some pictures from the trip:

Prul, Mayhan and me @ Captain Groovy's restaurant

Mayhan is going fishin'!!!
Prul and me @ the beach

Our tasty dinner on Saturday night - thanks again Billy & Debbie!

Mayhan, Prul & me @ Greenie's

We had a great time and agreed that we need to try and make it an annual event. After a long weekend of hanging out with friends, it's now time to get back to the real world.....

I've been tagged by Kim!

Kim has tagged me …. I have been instructed to tell 6 quirky characteristics about myself. Since in my “old age” I have become a bit obsessive-compulsive, most of this list will focus on that:

1. I have a ritual that I go through prior to starting a new MBA class- First, I print out EVERY document, assignment, lecture, etc. I then organize them by week (I am taking 6 week classes) and add tabs to each new week’s documents. I then put them in a 3-ring binder and label the outside with the name of the course, such as BUS668 Distribution Management. I honestly cannot get any work done until I have organized myself, it’s kind of sad….
2. I eat Kit-Kats in a weird way – I first eat the chocolate around the outside, and then I break the bars apart by each wafer. Very strange indeed….
3. I don’t know if this is quirky, but I love anything to do with dance …. I still take dance classes and plan to do so until I can no longer walk. I also love any movie/TV show that focuses on dance – of course So You Think You Can Dance and America’s Best Dance Crew are two of my favorites.
4. I am going to have to copy Kim on the list thing …. I LOVE LISTS! I am always making lists of things to do at work and home, shopping lists, etc.
5. And carrying on with the list theme – I am a planning/organizing freak! My family and friends make fun of me because I often make an agenda for things. For example, I made an agenda for our trip home a few weeks ago that listed who we were meeting, what time, where. Also, if you were around for the Luau last summer, you better believe every minute and dollar spent was planned. I have come to realize that things might not go exactly as planned, but having some structure definitely gives me peace of mind. My Mom says I need to get over this prior to having children…. :-)
6. I LOVE Excel spreadsheets – I use them for my agendas, for keeping track of friend/family contact info and keeping up with our household budget. I even made a “call time spreadsheet” when Jason lived in Japan that highlighted the good times to call when each of us were not working or sleeping. I love using color in them too to highlight what’s been paid, what is over budget, what’s important, etc.

So I think I have confirmed my undiagnosed OCD in this post – I’d love to hear about everyone else’s quirks too!

My Mama's Tasty Meatloaf!

While we were home for a visit, I asked my Mom to show me how to make her meatloaf. I have tried before, but it never came out quite right ... so it was time for a lesson from the expert herself! Thought I would share the steps, enjoy!

Play the video to hear the ingredients (you can hear Bits barking in the background!):

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350, place all of the meatloaf ingredients in a large bowl

Step 2: Mix all of the ingredients well

Step 3: Place mixture in a baking pan, shape into a loaf. Place in oven for at least an hour (cooking times may vary)

Step 4: While meatloaf is cooking, mix topping ingredients

The combination of brown sugar and vinegar makes the topping great!

Place the topping on the meatloaf, cook for an additional 15 minutes or so. Enjoy! (I forgot to take a picture of the final product - we were starving!) :-)

Our trip home ...

Jason and I took a trip home July 19th through July 27th .... here's a recap of our trip:

Saturday we were scheduled to fly out of DTW around 2pm, but we missed our first flight because we were buying a new car (see blog post below) :-) We ended up arriving in Raleigh a little later than planned, but still had time to have dinner and drinks with Denny, her sister Lisa, and my sister-in-law Ashley.

Ashley, Me, Denny & Lisa @ Peak City Grill

On Sunday, Denny cooked us a great breakfast, then we headed over to visit Jacob, Ashley & our "nieces & nephews," Bo, Marley & Ava. My parents came to drive us to Danville and we all had a late lunch at TGIFridays.

Jake & his big baby, Bo

Monday was Martha's birthday, so we had dinner at Lonestar and ice cream at Bubba's. We then went back to Martha, Roger & Anne Rylee's house to play some Rock Band and Bowling on their new Wii.

On Tuesday, my Mom and I enjoyed the hamburger special at Ham's and visited my Grandma. Jason and I had dinner at Mayflower and then Bryce, Mama, Jason and I went to see "Dark Knight" at the movie theater.

Wednesday my Mom & I made her delicious meatloaf ... I actually took pictures of it so I can post it in a separate blog. (I thought others may want to try it) :-) Martha and I went to meet Steph's new baby, Brayden on Wednesday afternoon. On Wednesday night, Jason and I visited Stacy where we watched So You Think You Can Dance and had a Golden Girl marathon. As you may know, Estelle Getty AKA Sophia Petrillo passed away and Stacy and I are both big Golden Girls fans ... well, Stacy is more than me because she actually owns all 7 seasons on DVD!

Mama's tasty meatloaf

Thursday Jason and I met Sarah and Mike for lunch at Lonestar. We then drove to Huddleston, VA and visited Dean and Jami. Dean and Jami recently bought a new house on a large lot out in the country - it was very peaceful and relaxing.

Sarah & me at Lonestar

Friday we had lunch at my Grandma's house and most of my family was there - we saw Popey, aunt Cindy, my cousin Kristin, aunt Lois, aunt Bettie, uncle Carl, Jeanette, JoAnn and of course my Mom and Dad were there. After lunch I went with Martha to Southpoint Mall and Babies-r-us in Durham. Friday night we watched a good baseball movie called Final Season with my Dad, Mom & brother Bryce.

My Dad with Martha's baby, Anne Rylee

Saturday I had lunch with my aunt Bettie, cousin Valerie, Grandma and Mom at Southern Gourmet. On Saturday evening, we met up with friends at San Marcos restaurant. After dinner, we had some drinks at Buffalo Wild Wings ... we tried to go to the Warehouse to hear a band, but apparently everything closes down early in Danville :-)

1st pic: Amy Stanley-Dan, me & the "little nugget" in her belly!

2nd pic: All the girls at San Marcos

3rd pic: L-R Lesley, Me, Prul, Steph & Stacy @ BWW

On Sunday we had to head back to the airport ... Prul was heading to NC too, so she offered to take us. Before we left town, Bryce grilled some delicious chicken and my Mom made us some tasty veggies and potatoes - nothing like a home-cooked meal to send us off! We had a great time visiting everyone and can't wait until the next trip (probably around the holidays). Love & miss you already!!!

Crazy about my MERK-A-DEEZ! :-)

Many of you are aware that I have been wanting a new car. The Mazda has been good to me, but it was time to get a "grown-up" car and get rid of my college wheels. Jason and I have been searching for cars for a few months now - on our way to the airport yesterday we stopped by the Ann Arbor Mercedes dealership. They had the exact car I wanted at the right price, so .... take a look below!

A back view with Jason - he calls it my "Merk-a-deez" :-)

An interior view - I love the wood grain

For those that enjoy car details, it is a black E320 with 4matic (4 wheel drive for those Michigan winters!) The inside has a lot of fun features, such as navigation, 6-CD changer w/ a Harman Kardon sound system, memory/heated seats (again, nice for cold weather) and shades for the back and 2 rear-seat windows. It drives like a dream!