Role Models

Role models: Everyone’s got ‘em. Whether you’re conscious of them or not-you’ve got them. The trick is to make them good ones! If your role model is a rap star going to prison for illegal gun trade then maybe you should rethink that one.

Fortunately I think I lucked out. I have my brother Jim for a role model. Jim, (who Janet is a lot like) has always been success driven, with minimal excitement levels, but smart and funny with the famous Turner dry wit. Growing up it was always easy to look up to him, he did great in school and I always loved school. He learned a lot of neat things and continues to learn-which might be why I’m just starting to plug away in the piano world while working on learning German.

When we were little he entered a Bike Parade and there was contest for the best decorated bike, and Jim, always looking to be the best at what he does of course had the best decorated bike and won a nice new bike-even got his picture in the paper. How cool is that.

He was the Life Guard and Red Cross certified. He was a Life Guard at our Church Camp and once gave mouth to mouth to a guy having a heart attack at a Bowling Alley! On a lesser scale, but still more ingrained in my memory is when I stepped on a colored toothpick and I was hysterical (Imagine that) but he calmed me down and took care of it.

He even did fun things with his schooling-I remember his ‘log cabin’ made out of Pretzel Sticks that I think he made in college.

Me and Doris used to go visit him in his office in Ann Arbor and I always thought that was so cool that he had his own office and a good job.

Now that he’s retired he got a very cool article in a U of M magazine for the Architecture Department.

Best of all is how he has always helped me out when I call him with stupid things-like every time I had to figure out a percentage, I could never remember how to do that. It’s nice to have that person that you can call like that.

So all of you are looking up to rapper TI-you might want to spend the next 365 days before he gets out of jail, readjusting your goals.

That's What It's All About!

All the traveling, all the moving back up north. All the cooking, (Which I didn’t really do but it sounds good). But it’s all worth every minute of it if it leads to a good party and lots of company.

Yep I couldn’t be happier than a house full of company! Well yeah, then there’s those down times reading and vegging on the couch watching TRU TV that are pretty sweet too but parties are nice.

It was a great Memorial Day/Birthday party for Eland, Kimmie (25) (I mean Kim) and Julia(7). Julia lucked out and not only had a #7 candle on the cake but seven candles to blow out also.

Quite an athletic show in the backyard too with Frisbee all the way in the back and some baseball with ‘loose’ rules near the back porch.

Pretty soon I’m going to have to get all of the bees out of the play house and have the kids come paint it up. Although Jenna was sure happy-she found a Teen Beat magazine with….YES!!!!! The Jonas Brothers (Ah be still my heart)

So it was a fun day although a diet buster with all the cake and Ice Cream but hey, it would be rude not to partake on their special days……

So back to work, but that’s OK if it’ll lead to more parties-and I promise.

Sysco Chicks

My work started a 'Biggest Loser' contest. Well, I'm game since I certainly need something to motivate me. I managed to get a team of four co-workers although that's a pretty sensitive and touchy thing to do. I had to send emails to my friends at work and ask them if they'd like to join a weight loss program. I managed to get some positive responses but I'm still not sure how many I ticked off.

The contest lasts for twelve weeks. The team name we voted on is 'Sysco Chicks'. Friday was our first weigh in since the contest started and our group lost a total of 20 lbs. (5 each on an average) Not exactly the dazzling 'Size 8 here I come' result I was looking for.

Somehow they made me the team captain. I know they wouldn't have done that if they knew that awhile back I joined Weight Watchers for awhile with Nancy and I gained 12 pounds.

I did make motivational work out T-Shirts for our team so maybe that will help. (No, not with my smiling, waving face on them).

Hopefully in the near future people will be coming up and asking me if I'm Jean's little sister. In the meantime though I think I'll go have a delicious rice cake. Mmmmmm

Sick Sucks and Great Inventions

First of all, I've been sick about a week now and it sucks. Right now I'm sitting here just kind of staring off blankly at my computer although I'm supposed to be driving to Pittsburgh for work. But I'm just sitting here blowing my nose with a vacuous look, much like I've had all week.

Even used up three sick days at work and didn't do anything overly exciting for all of that time off. Nope, just spent all week filling up Kleenex.

Which brings me to the exciting part of being sick-the discovery of yet another world class creation by some total genius whose birthday I would celebrate if I knew when it was.

Before I share the new highlight of modern technology may I remind you all of the past triumphs....first of all, Immodium AD. And to anyone who has appreciated the success of this little white pill than I need say no more about its virtues.

And how about the person who invented stretchy waist bands on pants. Another unsung hero. Someone who has made dressing up for work a much more pleasant experience for me.

And now this weeks winner is the person at the Puffs Invention Laboratory that took a regular old tissue and not only added lotion, but God Love Ya buddy, you added Vicks Vapo Rub too! Yep, with every soft blow there's a little shot of fresh air in the ol' nostrils. If the inventor of this product reads this blog please send me your picture-there is surely room in a frame on my desk.

Adventures With Pattye

Well a fun filled Saturday evening with Pattye started out with a trip to view the house I think I'm buying (15450 Oporto). Then we went to Chilli's and got the White Chocolate Lava Dessert mmmmmmmm.

The off to the Borders on Ford Road in Canton where she picked up a zillion page copy of 'The Count Of Monte Cristo' (I should have realized right at that point that she wasn't feeling well cause who in their right state of mind would want that?) but Pattye was still saving the best for last.

We stopped by the new Hobby Lobby on Ford, walked to the back of the store where she informed me that she wasn't feeling well. She was weak and wobbly. She didn't think she could make it to the front of the store so we were looking for a cart for her to lean on when she lost all of her energy and started slumping to the floor. I grabbed on to her and broke her fall and she ended up laying face up in the middle of the aisle. Her face was as white as new snow. She felt so bad that she asked me to call 911 which I did. The help at Hobby Lobby as well as the customers were really nice.

But my favorite part of the evening was when, after the EMT people arrived and were standing over her, one of them asked her if she had any pain. She replied 'no' and just then he accidentally bumped into a display and knocked a big box on her face. Then she said 'Now I have pain'.

So they dragged her off in the big red Emergency Truck to St. Mary's of Livonia to visit Bev. Me and Eric and Annie and Charlie and the kids were all there. Jenna was really concerned and made Pattye a Get Well Card right there on the spot. She's so sensitive.

Afterwards I took the kids home while Charlie waited with Pattye.

I'm still in town next weekend so I'm anxious to see what Pattye has planned for then. By the way, it looks like she was just short on potassium and liquids. My suggestion? a Banana Margarita.

A Real War Hero

I went to see the Hunley last week. I’ve always wanted to. It’s a really early version of a submarine that was actually used in combat during the Civil War. What interested me about it was the technology they thought of, using the understanding of science that they had at that time. In that light it was really interesting how they could convince eight people to go in this experimental vessel for several hours, knowing that two earlier attempts killed most of the people on board. But they found their eight people and they did it.

So, from a technology standpoint it was pretty cool. But as usual, for an old history lover like me, most of the history that is recorded deals with warfare and to me, warfare seems so illogical that I can’t believe we’re still trying to decide things using combat in the 21st century.

During the civil war, the people pretty much looked like us and talked like us. They lived in the areas we go to all the time. During a battle, if someone had looked around at all the dead and dying guys laying around, moaning and crying and missing their loved ones, did anyone look around and say ‘This is stupid-look what we’re doing to each other.’ To me, that would have been a real war hero.

Charleston South Carolina by the way was also very cool. The historic part of town is clean, popular and you can walk around safely late at night. The buildings are awesome as far as how well kept they are for their age and you can really get a feel of what it was a hundred years ago or more. I’d rather think about the parties people had though, and the music they played and listened to instead of the ‘glamorous’ words of war.

Jake's Cake

Well a little late but here goes. A couple of weeks ago there was a birthday party at Janny’s house for Jenna, Nathaniel, Nicky and me.

So I’m standing in the kitchen with three cakes next to me and no urge to take the can of Betty Crocker ‘Easy to Use’ (That’s a lie) icing in a can-because I know how frustrating it is to use.

So we talked Jacob into writing Muffin on his Carrot Cake. That icing squirted out like a warped can of Silly String in a zero gravity tank. I think at first Jacob felt bad at how it came out, even though it looked pretty darned good to me. BUT, after he saw everyone elses results he had to feel pretty darned good about himself.

That icing has only one redeeming quality and that’s the fact that it tastes good when you tilt your head back and squirt it directly into your mouth. But for cakes, it’s really hard and we appreciate Jacob having the guts to try the first cake.