Midwest weekend

Between the new house, hosting guests and other happenings, we realized that we hadn't been able to get out of town at all this year - yikes! So we decided to take advantage of going to our friends' wedding in Indiana and make a weekend out of it.

We headed out Friday morning, stopped for lunch at the oh-so-worth-it Zingerman's Deli in Ann Arbor and took in a brief visit at the nearby Matthaei Botanical Gardens. (The last couple times we went to Zingerman's we called in our order about 20 minutes before arriving and then we are able to go through the back door and simply pick up the sandwiches and pay while completely bypassing the line snaked around the front of the building!) Then we continued westward, and despite the oil spill just a couple of miles away, we had a nice stay on Friday at the oldest operating inn (and part of the underground railroad) National House Inn in Marshall, MI complete with a dinner at the 100-year-old Schuler's and a walk past the fountain and through the little historic downtown. I overheard a mother talking to her son about the farmer's market and was glad I inquired as our Saturday morning stroll netted us these locally grown veggies and some glassware from a local antique store. I told the hubs that he could add these to the list of things that he would never do as a bachelor :), but I don't think he minds much because he gets to have things like the pictured tomato & onion salad and galette

border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503440062635375250" /> (including Michigan peaches & blueberries previously purchased) that I made for Sunday dinner tonight.
Observation: people in Marshall say "hello" and "good morning" much more readily than they do back home - although everyone I say hello to when walking around our neighborhood generally responds in kind - and also there is a greater tendency at the yoga studio I go to, but I chalk that up to the patchouli :).

Oh, and the wedding on Saturday included a wonderfully intimate Christ-centered ceremony and an absolutely beaming bride and groom - we are so happy for you, congratulations Kelli & Andy! I've already made plans to whisk her away for lunch upon their return to the D to get to know her better and acclimate her to the area. Random fact: during a bout of boredom in the car I was able to make a list of over 50 weddings - and still counting! - that I've been invited to over the last 12-14 years, now that's a lot of "I do's"!

Going west side

Despite getting caught in major accident traffic on I-96 W (causing me to turn around and purposely drive the wrong way on a highway just to escape the deadlock!) my little day trip out to Grand Rapids yesterday resulted in some girly fun that included (not) being quiet at the beautiful library, sweating outside within seconds, uncontrollable [me] laughter at the art museum, delicious eats and cute accessory finds at some resale shops - thanks ladies for such a delightful day in your company! 

Sphere of influence

This morning in church I was listening to Drew in his message remark about how much one's community can affect the things we believe, the activities we do, the places we frequent; and really shape the person we are - for better or for worse, if you think about it.

This reminded me of last week when I was driving in the car and caught a 20-minute segment of the local NPR station airing a Shane Claiborne interview as part of their "Speaking of Faith" program. For those of you who are familiar with him and his way of thinking/living as a self-professed "ordinary radical" Christian, I don't think you have to agree with everything he says or does to find some of his fundamental ideas compelling. He talked about living in community, a popular concept among Christians, but with a perspective twist that challenged me. He was talking about how for him living in community meant surrounding himself with the kind of people he wished he could be like (well it was something generally like that, for what he actually said, go and listen to the interview or excerpts yourself :). And this perspective resonated with me, because in my life there are SO many people who do things or have personal characteristics that I admire - because they are so smart & learned, they are compassionate, they are prayer warriors, they are witty, they are organized, they are great parents/spouses/siblings/friends etc. I was carrying on to a friend recently about some friend's deeds that I greatly admired, and the friend interrupted me and said "and YOU are that person for me", and while I was simultaneously humbled and embarrassed, when I reflected on it later I realized that she was just trying to pay me a compliment, and I'm sure that there is someone in her life who would say the same thing to her, and on and on. The reality is that all our words and actions have the potential of affecting the lives around us, whether it is our family, children, peers, colleagues, friends or enemies. This might be a heady notion to think about our power as individuals, yet it is actually a power that we all possess - so hopefully you are striving to be a better person and as a result we will all benefit!

Lunch and learn

You know the "ladies that lunch" type, rich ladies with plenty of time for yoga classes, shopping and long lunches. My friends and I would make fun of them, except that now I am one these days - clearly minus the rich part! But I can honestly say that I have cherished the many leisurely lunch dates I've had over the past couple of months; taking the time to visit with former colleagues that I'm friends with, building and maintaining some networking contacts, catching up with friends and hearing their stories, and now, the intimacy of inviting people to our new home. The easy salad in the picture was recently served up to some ladies who are moving only a couple of hours away but are taking on a new chapter in their lives, and I wish them luck on their journey, as happiness is always close at hand when you can be content with your current lot in life. So, thanks friends, for your time, and for those of you who I haven't had the pleasure of lunching with yet - let's get something on the calendar! :)

More house pics

Powder room/downstairs bathroom






Family room

Home sweet home

It's been about a week and a half since we moved into the new digs, and we couldn't be happier to finally be surrounded by our own things and not feel like we are living in two spaces. But what has really made it our "home" is that in that short time, we have already had two parties and weekend houseguests (happy/safe travels to Cali, Isaac & Natalie)! We both agree that sharing our home with family and friends has completed the transition for us, and we've worked hard to put our own touches into the house (thank goodness the hubs is okay with my decorating touch being the heavy-handed one:), and we know that we'll work on it together for years to come. Here's a couple shots from around the house, but we'll leave you to guess to which ones are the "before" and which ones are the "after"!

(Turns out I'm going to have to put the pictures in separate posts, because for some reason my Blogger dashboard is doing strange things with them)

Living room



Dining room

Summer bounty

I decided to say summer bounty instead of summer harvest because that might imply that there are herbs growing in our nonexistent garden (hey, we haven't even been in this house a week yet!), instead I clipped them out of the little potted plants residing in my kitchen's garden window. The ones I'm growing from seeds are not exactly hardy yet after a month, but I picked up this little guy from the Royal Oak farmer's market a couple weeks ago, even though I wasn't sure exactly what I was going to do with orange mint. But inspiration struck after eating the wild rice & orzo salad at J Alexander's while out at lunch with a friend yesterday (great to see you, Jen!) and deciding I wouldmake a cold lentil and brown rice salad to go along with the marinated chicken and grilled pineapple that will constitute dinner via the inaugural use of the new grill for our first meal outside, on our new patio table and chairs. That plus I was giddy to pick up some summer squash and tons of blackberries and nectarines on sale today at the grocery, don't you just love summer eating?? I know I do.

Coming up roses

Our joints are creaking (ok, maybe just mine!) and a happy tiredness greeted us this morning after a long weekend of last minute packing, loading and unloading, and digging through our boxed-up life for our things. But we feel blessed with a beautiful new home that we have and will continue to work on for years to come, and one that we hope to fill with memories that will far outnumber our piles and piles of "stuff". Here's a peek at some of the flowers blooming in some of the corners outside, more photos to come! (I took some initial move-in pics yesterday but am still hunting for the cords so I can transfer them from the camera to the computer!)

Strange sayings

People (of all ages) say the darndest things, don't they?

Yesterday morning I walk into the new location of the yoga studio that I've been going to for a couple of years and want to take in the unknown surroundings yet I'm somewhat thrown in observing the height of the person ahead of me signing in at the reception desk - a younger guy with longish hair pulled back by a bandanna, and a hiker's backpack slung over his shoulder along with his yoga mat - not an uncommon sight at such an establishment. He half turns and says "good morning" and I reciprocated like a good fellow yogi should :). At a smidge over 5'3" I'm not really a great judge of height, but I'd have to guess that this particular gentleman was nearly 7 feet tall - I noticed when he stretched his hands up above his head in class he was mere inches away from the ceiling! And if that weren't enough, because we ended up in class next to each other, I couldn't help but notice that his toenails were painted - the same color as my own! (my color "Wicked" is in the pic, notice the packing materials in the background so yes I did get some house work done too!) The minute class was over he turns to me and says "well, that was lovely", and all I could do was smile demurely (I hope), grab my things and leave the room before I burst into giggles! Thank goodness I wasn't there with a friend or all hope would be lost. That was even better than the young couple at a previous class who felt the need to hold hands during a move called child's pose, seriously folks.

Other random sayings from the last couple of weeks:

-I'm in the checkout line of our local grocery Nino's, and when I hand over the latest weekly edition of Crain's Detroit Business to read over lunch, the young female cashier squeals "Oh, that's a funny magazine!". Say what?!?
-I'm at a meeting for church, and the person leading is going around introducing everyone around the table and he stops at me and says "I'm sorry, every time I look at you I want to say 'aloha'!" Turns out Aloha is the name of another Filipino woman who goes to our church, but from the puzzled looks on a few people's faces it was clear that not everyone knew that, LOL. Just another tidbit to add to all of the mixups and crazy Asian comments that myself, my sister Aimee and our friend Kim (holla cousin Kim Kim!) who all attend there get frequently.
-And my favorite: while volunteering at Central Detroit Christian several weeks ago the kids were practicing their songs and while I'm standing in between two second graders because they were having some challenges behaving (ahem), in the middle of the song one of them is poking my arm and I whisper "Stop it, what is it?" and he says "why do you smell like that?" and I reply "smell like what?" half horrified/half frustrated and he says, looking up at me with no small amount of wonder, "you smell like a banana split!!" Apparently thanks to my application of vanilla/coconut Victoria's Secret spray, I unwittingly unleashed the sugar-spun fantasies of a 7-year-old boy. Not exactly what I was going for, but I have done worse! :)

Christmas in June

We were telling some friends yesterday that over the weekend I spent some time re-opening some wedding gifts that have been hibernating in storage for a year and a half, and one commented that it was like Christmas in June! Indeed. Mostly they were items like platters and various kitchen items that we simply didn't have room for. Actually, in the picture you can see a long thin box sticking out in the background and that contained blinds that I was supposed to be installing (see small stepladder to the left) but I was getting really frustrated so instead I plowed through the gifts :). So thanks for the distraction, the gifts are lovely - again!

Counting down

These days my head is filled with numbers from my scribbles of "house notes" that I've been keeping on hand as I am continually drawn back again and again to our trusty local Lowe's store : 2 bathroom vanities, 4 mirrors, 12 switchplates, 14 light fixtures, 46 outlet covers, etc.   I even keep a mini-tape measure in my purse in case I need to quickly calculate whether new blinds or a refrigerator will fit into a certain space!  I've definitely learned some things through the process as well, like how to force my pen to the paper when writing checks for the plumber, painter, electrician, carpet guy, lumber place and general contractors :).  Trust me when I say that discussing different types of paint, toliet wax ring sizes, sanded vs. non-sanded grout, subtle differences between brands and models of new appliances and sound levels of bathroom exhaust fans are not things I normally chat about, but I have found that even in unfamiliar territory if the choices are fairly limited and explained plainly, I'm able to arrive at decisions pretty quickly (something that the hubs can appreciate about me - for better or worse!).

Our move date is now officially June 12th, a little later than we originally thought but finally on the horizon yet we're still scrambling to get everything organized and packed. I am grateful for the unexpected gift of time I have right now to do these things and coordinate the contractors we've had working on the new place, and soon enough it will be time to get serious about the job hunt.   But in the meantime I am enjoying my current home project manager position, and I promise I will post some before and after pictures of the changes we've made here and there to make the house our own, though of course that will be an ongoing and neverending process!

 

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The Fields I Used To Roam

Today is the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. For most of my life this has meant one thing - watching or listening to the Indianapolis 500. I lived in Indianapolis from the ages of three to thirteen, and returned to Indiana for college. Living in Indy, the 500 was blacked out locally, so we listened to the 500 on the radio. Its hard to describe what the 500 meant for us back then. It was kind of like listening to Ernie Harrwell call the Tigers games on the radio - except that the entire baseball season happened on one Sunday.

I love the tradition of the race - the Purdue All-American marching band, the national anthem, the invocation, Taps, Jim Nabors singing Back Home Again in Indiana (not that I also have that song on my iPod), and a member of the Hulman family saying "Ladies and Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!"

It's been twelve years since I lived in Indiana, and as the years have passed and after the split of IndyCar and Champ Car, I no longer follow IndyCar racing, and I don't care very much about the actual race. But I still put the race on the DVR, if for no other reason than to watch the pre-race ceremony. I still love some Jim Nabors. I love my life in Detroit - I don't dream about the moonlight on the Wabash nor do I dream about my Indiana home. But I think I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for the tradition of that Sunday in May.

Shop at Kroger??

Many of you know that I sit on the board of Judson Center www.judsoncenter.org, a local nonprofit that provides services in the areas of adoption & foster care, autism, mental health counseling, supported employment, family preservation, respite and residential living for children and families in 10 counties in and around metro Detroit.  If you shop at Kroger grocery stores and use a Kroger Plus card, please consider registering your account to provide Judson Center a percentage of Kroger profits from your purchases as a part of their community rewards program (see below for the easy instructions).  Thank you for your support!!

Register an existing card:
-Log into www.krogercommunityrewards.com
-Sign in at the top of the page right under the "welcome" link
-Click on the "my account" link near the top
-Scroll down to "Community Rewards information"
-Click "Edit community rewards information"
-Under "Find your organization" type in Judson Center or enter organization #90406
-Click the button (2) to select Judson Center then click (3) save changes

Register a new card (card must be used once before registering):
-Click on "register" at the top of the www.krogercommunityrewards.com page right under the "welcome" link
-Register your card under "New Online Customer"
-Complete registration and log back in following the directions for existing cardholders.

Lucky me

This is what I was thinking about this weekend, not just because we got possession/keys to our new house 3 weeks earlier than originally expected, but because last night after I had passed out on the couch after dinner simply beat from two days of loading and unloading a Uhaul truck (and that didn't even include anything from the condo, just stuff being stored in our friend Sarah's basement and a storage unit! luckily the movers will do the rest) I discovered that my equally tired husband had unloaded the dishwasher, washed the sheets AND remade the bed - as a bonus I woke up to him watching a Star Wars movie - boy, do I love this man! :) And this picture is from last week one evening when he offered to make the banana bread after I set out the ingredients because I was still feeling sick, this was his second attempt at following my recipe, and it was even better than the last time! Thanks, hon.

Where does the time go?

What has kept me so busy that I haven't posted to the blog lately?  Surprisingly, my schedule during this little rest period has been quite full even without work.  Here's a few things that I've done over the last 2.5 weeks: had a great weekend at our church's womens retreat, attended an awesome Daughtry/Lifehouse concert, did 2 deliveries through the church meals team, took advantage of 2 volunteer opportunities helping with the youth program at Central Detroit Christian, attended 2 meetings for the Judson Center, watched the niece/nephew, attended 2 church meetings, a bible study, had a massage and a manicure and scheduled a pedicure, ordered lumber, went back and forth with our renters/house sellers on their move date, reserved then cancelled our weekend up north for this weekend, had 2 great dinners during Detroit Restaurant Week including a date with the hubby and a dinner out with the girls, went to a baby shower, had 6 lunch dates and 9 workouts.  Oh, and I was sick and had to go to the doctor last Friday - and I haven't gone to the doctor for a cold since, umm, probably never but I couldn't shake the sore throat/cough and it didn't make sense since I was getting plenty of rest.  Boy, other than the sick part, I could get used to this life!  But reality will set in soon enough, and yet I hope that I'll have a better shot at a work/life balance in the future, perhaps it was high time to reevaluate my priorities.  More later when I have time...! :)

New directions

OK, yes, that's a not-so-subtle reference to the fact that I'm a total GLEEk!  It should prove to be an interesting season with lots of twists to the character stories.

But also it's a positive mantra that I'm hoping to be the theme these next few months, between moving and my figuring out what God has in store for me next.  After having been in a work rut for the last year or so, I'm quite excited for the change, despite the unexpected circumstances.

P.S.  Even though I went to bed last night not feeling well, at least I can sit outside this morning in the nice weather and write my emails.  Jealous? :)  Oh, look at that, time for lunch!

Under the influence

I guess I knew that some of my eating habits and food tastes had naturally rubbed off on the hubby over the time we've been together, but I just had to chuckle at his reply when I asked why the coffee he bought the other day seemed a little pricier than normal as I glanced at a crumpled up receipt sitting on the kitchen counter (yes, that is his formal filing system :) - he calls out from the other room "because that was the only light roast/fair trade kind that they had at Whole Foods!".  ??  So I fish the shiny vacuum-packed bag out of the refrigerator and read this description on the front:  "Crisp and light with notes of cocoa and bing cherry".  Oh boy, have I created a foodie companion or what?  How funny :).

Celebrate today

"Mighty to Save" by Hillsong United:

Everyone needs compassion
A love that’s never failing
Let mercy fall on me
Everyone needs forgiveness
The kindness of a Savior
The hope of nations

Savior, He can move the mountains
My God is mighty to save
He is mighty to save
Forever, author of salvation
He rose and conquered the grave
Jesus conquered the grave

So take me as You find me
All my fears and failures
Fill my life again
I give my life to follow
Everything I believe in
Now I surrender

Shine Your light and let the whole world see
We’re singing
For the glory of the risen King, Jesus
Shine your light and let the whole world see,
We're singing, for the glory of the risen King

Can I get an amen? Happy Easter, indeed!!

get your peep on

For some silly Easter fun, check out this annual feature that the Washington Post does on creative expressions using - what else? - sugary peeps! See some of the cheeky entry photos here. Too cute!

Lucky to have space

This is a fuzzy pic of about 3 feet of jackets & suits heaped onto the guest room bed, and that's just one of the piles.  Shortly after retiring to bed Sunday night after 11pm, we hear this loud crash, and I jump up thinking that it was the neighbors since I just heard them talking outside for a bit after coming home.  Alas, the entire wire shelving system in the guest room's double closet had completely caved in!!  Yup, even buckled in the middle.  Whether it was poorly constructed to begin with (mind you I bought this condo new 6 years ago) or it was stuffed too full with our heavy clothes, I don't think it should have happened. 

 

So last night after dinner we were still pulling things out and I was whining about our lack of space and how I couldn't wait to get into the new house so we could execute our plans to expand the closet in the guest bedroom for me, and the hubby says "there are people in Haiti that don't even have a house anymore, so we can deal without an extra closet for a couple of months".  Riiight.  He was half-joking, but I shut my trap nonetheless :).