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!!