Sunday, December 31, 2006

Last Post of 2006

Wow this year has gone by fast and a lot has happened. Especially here at TiVo Changed My Life. Looking back at the posts, I see that I have changed a lot this year. Now most posts have some type of media to go with them, be it pictures from my cell phone, the internet or my digital camera. And I have even incorporated video into this blog which seems fitting. But hey, even though the first posts don't have media, I figure I had to start somewhere.

So if you don't feel like re-reading all the posts, here's a quick look back at some TiVo Changed My Life Blog events from this year:

During Spring Break in April, we were lucky enough to have Channel 4 come out and do a sweeps piece on our home in Berkley that just wasn't selling. As an home owner X 2 this was of great disappointment to us, because we figured that someone would love our home as much as I did in a month or so. So seeing that it has been nearly 8 months we were disheartened. However Local 4 came to our Rescue (with Ruth to the Rescue) and did a sell this house type of sweeps story with our house. Which meant that they came in and fixed the things buyers didn't like about our house. Mainly paint, trim, lack of furniture and then there was the hardwood floors, which they refinished. We felt so lucky. You can watch it again if you like.

In June, I finished my first year of teaching. It was a year of ups and downs. To be honest in the first couple months I was wondering what I had gotten myself into. But by the time June came I loved teaching. I was almost sad to have summer. Some of the highlights: my students making their own Open House music video to N'Sync while I was out at a conference. It was hilarious, especially the dance routine in it. Also the Skills USA state competition. It was good to spend time with my students outside the classroom. I was really proud of their professionalism and attitudes. Plus they were just fun to be around. The cherry on top was when two of my students took second place. I was like a proud mother.

Also in June, Bruce and I took a trip to Arkansas to become CIW certified Associate Web Site Designers. We went to Little Rock Arkansas for a week. We had a crazy start to the week, thanks to American Eagle Airlines, but somehow by the end we fell in love with Little Rock, Hot Springs and Arkansas in general. We visited my college friend Andy Davis, who is a newspaper writer in Little Rock. Check out the pictures of the beginning of the week.
Now here is the end. There are more in the middle just click on any date in between to enjoy.
(These posts are brought to you courtesy the Bruce 2 Go Blog.)

When we got home we quickly left again headed UP NORTH to Calumet. We stayed the week at the Shaft ( my grandfather's childhood home on Red Jacket Shaft.) Calumet is an old copper mining town. We had fun hanging out with family and extended family, along with exploring the history of the city. I am hoping we get a chance to go up there again next year. It was just a lot of fun. Plus we got a treat when we got home, Bruce got an afghan made with love by Uncle Bert. Uncle Bert was a copper miner, then when they closed the mines he worked for the road commission, however in retirement he has become a master knitter. And you know you are accepted into the family when Uncle Bert knits you an afghan.

Then we came back to quickly close on our Berkley house. Yes we sold the house in Berkley, thanks to Local 4. We closed on July 12th. I felt so blessed because frankly we weren't sure how we were going to handle two houses for much longer. Thank you Local 4, Lowes, Doug & Julianna Sauber, the home stager & our spunky realtor Teri Weems.

Also this summer, I enjoyed the most time off that I have ever had. It was fabulous! I spent most of my summer running. I have fallen in love with running again. I also scored my fastest 5K time as an adult, with of course help from the running Goddess HELEN!

Then I headed back to school in September. I am having a great year. I have the unique opportunity to have a very small class in the morning of 4 students. They are letting me develop a new class with these four. I love it plus, they are great kids. Here's a look at how they surprised me on my birthday. And of course the rest of the celebration.

Fall was spent enjoying family. My sister, niece and nephew made trips in October and November. I love ever minute I get with them. They are such characters. Click here is a couple of their unforgettable moments.

Then the holidays rapidly approached. I helped again at America's Thanksgiving Parade. It was fun freelance producing. However this year wasn't as fun as the past years. The weather was great, but I felt very guilty for leaving my husband at home as sick as a dog for Thanksgiving. There was also my embarrassing brush with celebrity at the parade.

Then of course Christmas came with a bang! As I am sure you have all recently read.

Also of course this blog has been filled with endless post about all my favorite TiVo shows. What I am watching now: well nothing much because it's all re-runs. But next year is coming and that means there's another year filled with TiVo and the many other exciting things that show up on this blog, that has gone from past time to almost obsession. See you again in 2007!


Cat's Spoon Too

Friday, December 29, 2006

The Finished Well

Please note that we did not install a swimming pool, pond or ice rink at the end of our drive way, that is some of the leftovers from having the well drilled. They used a lot of water to keep the tip of the drill cool while drilling and then when they found water they let it spew from the well for a while, I am not sure why, but the end result is what you see. I am waiting to see how long it is before Amber (my car) gets stuck at the end of my driveway in 3 feet of MUD.

Well Day Two

Today was the second day of the well extravaganza. The good news is that it is over, the bad news is well, we still can't use our water until tomorrow. Currently our well is chlorinated to kill any sorts of bacteria that could be in the well. The "Well Doctor's" son hooked up the well that was dug yesterday. Here's a picture of what they did today. I am just glad that it is over. The "Well Doctor" and his family seemed very nice. Hopefully this well is all we wanted and more (more being the part where it doesn't run out of water.) So right no I am off to the gym to work off one of the hundreds of Christmas cookies I have eaten and to shower in city water.

Thursday, December 28, 2006

Good Things Can Happen

So I have been feeling very very very unlucky as of late, but there is some good news in my life.
G. Love and Special Sauce have added a Detroit stop to their tour. They will be performing in Detroit on February 17th at St. Andrew's Hall. I have already bought tickets. This show is not yet listed on his website or his "space" however TicketMaster did sell me three tickets (one for me, Olive & Angie,) so I believe it is legit. I am thrilled about this development, because I haven't seen a G Love show in 2006. He came earlier this year with Dave Matthews but he was just the opening act and I couldn't handle that scene. Too much money to pay for a ticket that would only get me lawn seats. No Thanks. When I go to see G. Love it must be G. Love exclusively.. ok he can have an opening act, but he must headline. I also prefer an indoor venue and to be as close as possible, on stage would be preferable, but as close to the front row as I can would be great. If you can't tell by now, I am a devoted G. Love and Special Sauce fan. I fell for them in college and well I haven't been able to kick the habit.

In other news, I wrote a while back about how JCrew changed their women's jean sizing without notice ruining my favorite pair of jeans. My sister and I were both upset about this, actually I was plenty hot about. I went there tonight to try to find a pair to fit me and I had the same problem with all of them, they are made for women without thighs because they are huge around my waist, but so tight at my thighs that I almost lost a foot because it cut off blood flow so quickly. So after that total bust, Bruce and I went to Banana Republic to see what they had. And it was one of those Hallelujuh moments. You know the kind with the heavenly glow and the angels singing, because it appears now that Banana Republic is making my old JCrew Jeans. Yes, I have found a new pair of favorite jeans. I put them on and nearly ran out of the dressing room to exclaim the good news. Similar to the Angel with the birth of Jesus. I am sure you are wondering how I can compare finding fabulous jeans to the birth of Christ, but if you are a woman you can understand. Perfect jeans just don't come along everyday.
Well, Merry Christmas

Bruce and I are giving each other an unexpected gift this Christmas a new well. Yes we are country folk who get our water from our own well, but it turns out the well we had (60+ years-old), well, went dry. So we are getting a new one. As everyone says, "its the joys of home ownership.
" Here is a picture of the start. I will replace it with ones. ( I updated the photo, what you are looking at is them drilling and the muck that was once our lawn and 200 feet below it.)

Update at 4:19 pm: we hit water, or let me rephrase the Well Doctor whom is digging our well hit water. They had to drill 200 feet, but they hit water. Oh the joys. Mainly because if it was farther than 200 feet that would had been 10 dollars per foot extra to
this pricey adventure. At one point Bruce and I were wondering if they may even hit oil.

Monday, December 25, 2006

My House Hates me this Christmas

Ok, I must admit the Christmas spirit has been late coming for me this year. Mainly because my luck could be the worst ever. It all started last week when there was a crash late at night when Bruce got home from working at WDIV. We looked around to find that the shelves we put up in the office decided to take a tumble. Crashing to the ground with my pin collection and my Pewabic tiles. Yes my favorite tiles that had been given to me by friends. Well they were lying there in pieces on my desk. The only saving grace was that I had decided for some reason to surf the internet upstairs in bed because I wasn’t tired and Bruce wasn’t home yet, if I had not made that decision, the computer would have been sitting on the desk and the shelf would have tumbled down on it. However, all was not lost. I got a tube of Krazy Glue some tweezers and I went to work gluing the tiles back together. Frankly I don't think they look too bad. However, they aren't perfect. But as you can see from the picture the top after being fixed don't look half bad.

So then my week continues and some how through everything, I am still not totally embracing the Christmas spirit. However, watching Elf twice in one day did help. So Saturday night I decided a little baking was in order. I had promised my dad a pie for Christmas and I wanted to make more Peanut Butter Kiss cookies. Well we have a convection oven, which I hadn’t embraced until last week when we had the cookie baking marathon. But for cookies it bakes them more evenly when you have three baking sheets in the oven and they bake even faster. But when I got in the kitchen, I noticed that the floor seemed weird. However, I did my best to make myself think it was something in my head. Then the more I baked, the floor literally was warping in front of my eyes. At that time I didn’t relate it to the oven because we used it before, but I went downstairs to look for a leak, there was nothing. I had no idea what was happening. Did we have an Earthquake? Bruce and I have decided however due to much research that it must be the use of the convection oven heating the floor expanding it and pushing it together. (When we got home last night it appeared that the stress in that spot (which had gotten worse since this picture) was affecting the rest of the floor. So we pulled once of the planks to relieve the pressure. We were glad to find that there was no water. So our assumption was right.)

However did I mention while all this is happening we are also having weird issues with our well. Yes, we live out in the county which means we pump our own water, well we don’t literally go outside and pump it we have a pump in our basement. Well we replaced the well pump a month or two ago because it would run all of the time. But recently we have had issues where are ballast tank (that hold 20 gallons of reserve water) doesn’t fill up, it just runs out and our pump can’t keep up with general demand. So we have been turning on our faucets to find, well nothing. So then Bruce goes outside to get in the basement, because we put our beautiful Christmas Tree over the inside hatch to the basement. And he fiddles with the pump trying to adjust the pressure, then we pray once its fixed that it won’t stop again. It’s like every time we turn on the faucet and there is water we are amazed.


So if that wasn’t bad enough. Bruce and I are on his way to his families for Christmas Eve celebrations when we walk outside to my car that currently has a FLAT TIRE. At that point, I had hit my breaking point and lost it. I needed a good cry and I had one. Good thing it was nearly an hour drive to Marine City.
After the cry, I managed to have a great time at the families.. Please enjoy the video. Needless to say things can only get better. At least I hope so, because between having a well guy come out to look at our pump this week, getting a flooring person to come examine and rework our kitchen floor, on top of getting our tire fixed it’s going to be a busy week. And frankly I do not have enough Christmas Spirit for any more surprises.

So if you have made it to here with all my whining, which believe it or not is more of sarcasm and humor now. Yes, something happens today and I will just start laughing, at least I hope. Maybe it’s the special pills Bruce put in my stocking. (I kid, I kid.) I hope you are having a very, very Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays from the Holladay’s. Today I am embracing Christmas REGARDLESS... DO YOU HEAR ME.

Thursday, December 21, 2006

Reconnecting with "The Space"

I am sure you have heard about it. All the kids are talking about, at least my students are. Many adults (at least I know one - Angie) think it's the anti-christ. I think your exact quote is Classmates.com + Match.com = MySpace.com. I must admit I am not a user of MySpace like that or my students. I am not really looking to make "new friends." But I am using it to reconnect with old ones. What? Yes, I am finding friends from college and high school on myspace.

Most recently, I have reconnected with my friend David Griner. David and I worked on "The Maneater" together in college. The Maneater is the college newspaper at the University of Missouri. The staff was fun crew, who had a lot of fun parties. I enjoyed David's company in college, we even crossed paths for a day in Paris on spring break. But like with many college friends we lost touch. I have often thought out finding these friends but never had much luck, until I checked out "the space." It's been a fun week catching up with him and other friends.

However, if you go looking for me on "the space" you will find that my profile is set to private. Why? Well I don't have much on it, in fact what you see in the picture above is about it, but for some reason students are fascinated with "the space," especially when teachers have it. So this helps me separate my adult life from my teacher life. I figure I let them know enough about me on this fabulous blog.
Schools Out for 2006

It was my last day of school for the year. We are out for the holidays. Today we did have our official Holladay party. In the morning we (I really mean I) made waffles and watched my favorite Christmas movie: Elf. In the afternoon, we ate pizza and watched Elf. I love the movie so much, that I laughed just as hard in the afternoon. My second favorite holiday movie is "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation." I just laugh thinking about it. You have to love Chevy Chase. It is fabulous. Then of course in third place is "A Charlie Brown Christmas." No Christmas is complete until I have viewed each of these movies at least once.


Yesterday at school we had our "secret santa" reveal. Very exciting, it was the first year I participated in the "secret santa." This year I gave my secret santa a calendar from Despair.com. If you have never visited the website, I encourage you to go. Think inspirational poster with a twist. My favorite poster is called Potential, enjoy the poster above.

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

240% Vitamin C
100% Vitamin E
20% Selenium

I am a sucker for orange juice. Yes, for some reason, I believe that orange juice is the cure for any ill feeling. That is why yesterday when I started to feel like crap with a capital C, I ran to Meijer, Thrifty Acre (why did they give that slogan up, I will never know) to buy some. However, I cannot buy just regular orange juice, because for some reason I do not believe it in. I require the "Immunity Defense" or "Antioxidant Advantage." When I feel ill 100% Vitamin C is not enough, I need double. Also apparently I need Vitamin E and Selenium, though I don't know why. I actually don't even really know what selenium is but since it's in my orange juice it must be good for me. Yes, I know what you are thinking, this orange juice is a gimmic, yes I know and I have fallen for it hook line and sinker. I started feeling better today, ok I did come home and take a 4 hour nap, but still I am up now and drinking my orange juice and my throat isn't throbbing like it was. Another thought you may be having is well of course it is better you have had time to get better, but think of it the other way. I have also had time to get worse and I haven't, so hence it must work.

However sadly to all my readers who are wondering what's all this orange juice talk and not one mention of TiVo, well I have frankly been so busy I haven't gotten a chance to sit down with ole' TiVo and bond. But never fear, Christmas break is upon us. Tomorrow is my last day of school until 2007 and I will be hanging out with TiVo over break: guaranteed.

Sunday, December 17, 2006

A day of baking... baking...
and some more.. well baking...

Today, my "new best friend," Marina came over to bake Christmas Cookies. This was very exciting, considering last year, I baked them by myself and at the end, I felt like never baking again and poking myself in the eye with the frosting knife, but I digress and that is a story for another time.

Anyway, "New Best Friend" came over today about 2:30pm and we baked and decorated until 7:30 pm. Let me tell you, five hours of cookie craziness is much better with a friend. There is something about frosting cookies that can make you go insane. Yes, white room, straight jacket insane.

Today we made sugar cookies, peanut butter kisses, gingerbread cookies and gingies (the lazy cousin of the ginger bread cookie.) The first cookies we made where sugar cookies, and well at first it looked like it was going to be a very long afternoon. Our first few came out of the oven closely resembled star shaped dog biscuits. However, we started to perfect the cookie and all was well. The gingerbread did throw us for a loop, we made a double batch and that required well 12 cups of flour. I couldn't believe it, because of course I read that after I had mixed everything in the bowl of my mixer that I was fairly sure couldn't handle 12 cups of flour. But never fear, I tried it. And I was lucky because it fit. However, I guess I didn't remember how many cookies a double batch of gingerbread made. Needless to say if you like gingerbread I am your gal, we have close to a million. Hence the gingie, which is a cute ball of gingerbread, which required now cutting out with cookie cutters and no frosting.

We also made peanut butter kiss cookies, which are super easy. I had never made them before, because frankly I wasn't sure how they got the kiss to not melt in the oven. Well I learned the trick is you don't put the kiss on, until after you bake it. Go figure. I am sure you are all as shocked as I was to learn this "trade secret."

All in all it was a very enjoyable day... with one exception and that was a story of a shelf holding all my pewabic tiles and pin collection (yes we already knew I was a dork) falling and crashing to the floor. I will blog about it later when it doesn't hurt so much. Right now, I am not going to lie it hurts.

Friday, December 15, 2006

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

My Knights (Farmers) in Shinning Tractor

So I am driving home from work. When I go home from work, I drive this road call Smiths Creek Road. It's a little different route then I take in the morning when I drive on Zombie mode I take the freeway most of the way. On the way home, I take two lane roads longer. I don't know why, I just like to change it up. So today, I am driving and all of a sudden I hear a pop... I drive a little further and then I realize that my car is pulling to the left. I pull into this dirt road because there is no where to pull over on the shoulder. I get out and realize that my driver's side rear tire is completely flat. The kicker is I left my cell phone at home, on the bed stand next to my bed. So it is now up to me in my dress up clothes on a dirt road to change my tire. I get out and look in disgust, in fact at one point I kicked the tire... because apparently I felt that would put air back into it.

((insert musical theme))
But alas I gaze up to the farm that is just down the road and I see my heroes, standing with their dog next to their pick-up trucks! I wave from afar, at this moment, I don't know that they are going to be my heroes. At this point, I jumped back in my car and pulled out the old manual. Because lord knows, I don't know what do to change the tire. At that moment, I look up and in the distance, I see the pick-up coming to my rescue. They pulled up. Rolled down their window and asked if I need help. I of course said yes. They asked if I could pull up to their barn. Part of me was a little nervous, what am I getting myself into. They could be the nicest people ever, or I may be chopped up into small pieces in this barn in the middle of the country never to be seen again. Well as you can see that clearly didn't happen.

They changed my tire. With their tools, it took about five minutes. They even filled my high pressure spare, that was supposed to be at 60 psi and it was only at 20 psi. Somebody was watching over me today. I thanked my two heroes profusely. Then I was on my marry way. I went to Wal-mart tonight and tried to get the flat fixed, however they couldn't fix the flat. I was lucky enough to have another tire at home (don't ask) which I brought with me. They used that and in the end didn't charge me to put it on because it took so long.

So this weekend, my new best friend in Lapeer (ok its been since September, so we have been best friends for three months, but I still like the title) Marina is coming over to bake Christmas Cookies on Sunday. I plan on dropping off a huge plate to them on my way home from work on Monday. I can't thank them enough. Thank God for the kindness of strangers.

Tuesday, December 12, 2006


Last night Bruce and I went to the Jim Brickman concert in Saginaw. Two things I have never done nor was I really wasn't expecting to do: that is go see Jim Brickman or go to Saginaw. (OK I may have been in Saginaw at some time in my life, but I don't remember it, so I feel safe in claiming that I have never been there. If I have, I will deny it. I guess I am already denying it.) However, despite my hesitation I had a great time. We saw the concert at the Temple Theatre. We literally sat down just as the concert started. For of those of you who aren't familiar with Brickman (like I wasn't until I married Bruce), he is what I would call a romantic piano player. Yes, it's easy listening, hey what can I say, if you would remember earlier it wasn't my first choice. We all know that I heart G. Love, who is clearly not easy listening. That being said, I had a great time. It was a fun concert. The music was nice, there was a lot of Christmas music. He was very chatty with the crowd and had a great sense of humor. He moved a lot while he plays piano and he explained that. It was funny, you are going to have to trust me. He had two singers with him, one was from Crocker, Missouri. Crocker is the place where I filed one of my best stories from as a reporter. It was called "No Hot Lunch." The locals were "Hot Mad." Nothing makes for a better story than people screaming about their "babies being hungry." It made me laugh when I saw Crocker in the program. I felt like running up to him and saying.. "I have been to Crocker." (See how everything goes back to geography with me when I meet any type of performer... If not just click here to refresh your memory.)

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Eugene & Mercedes Kump

So I feel that I should take a moment to remember Pearl Harbor Day. My grandfather, pictured above with my grandmother at my wedding, was a Pearl Harbor survivor. In 1941, he was on the the
USS Medusa stationed in Pearl Harbor. The Medusa was a repair ship. I interviewed my Grandpa for a report I did on Pearl Harbor in 10th grade World History class, which I turned in on May 2, 1994.

My grandpa passed away last summer, but I still have the report. I remember always being so proud of him. I also loved to ask him questions, however as he got older he got more sentimental, he couldn't seem to speak about it without tears. I think a lot of it was because so many of those young men died and he felt like he had such a long good life, that they missed out on. So on today when we are looking back at Pearl Harbor, an event that shaped a generation, here is a little of the interview I did with my grandfather. Forgive the question, remember I was in 10th grade.

Eugene Kump
Pearl Harbor Survivor
First Pattern Maker, USS Medusa
Born June 26, 1919 Calumet, Michigan
Died July 2005 Calumet, Michigan

Q: How long were you in the Navy?

A: Six years.


Q: How long beofre Pearl Harbor?

A: I went in April 8, 1940 and go out April 8, 1946.

Q: What was your rank during Pearl Harbor?
A: During Pearl Harbor, I think First Pattern Maker.

Q: How old were you?
A: About 22 or 23.


Q: When were you first stationed at Pearl Harbor?
A: I got there in August of 1940.

Q: What ship were you on?

A: On the USS Medusa.

Q: What kind of ship was it?

A: Fleet Repair.

Q: Did it have any guns on the ship?
A: Yeah, we had a four or five inch broadside and a couple of 40 millimeter anti-aircraft guns and to three inch anti-aircraft guns.


Q: What were you doing during the attack?
A: I was laying down in my bunk.

Q: Were you sleeping?
A: Yes, because it was Sunday morning.


Q: How did you find out who was attacking you?

A: As soon as the bombs dropped they passed the word through general quarters.

Q: What did you see?
A: I saw, when the bombs strated dropping. I looked out of the port and saw the hanger and Fort Island going up in smoke.


Q: Did you see any of the big destroyers go?

A: Yes I saw it all, my general quarters station was on top of the signal bridge and I was the lookout.

Q: Did you see the Arizona go down?
A: I saw it on the other side of the island, I saw it explode and go burning. I didn't know whether it went down or not.

Q: Were you near the Utah?
A: Yes, I was across the canal from the Utah. The Utah, I think, took our berth. Before the war started we all went out on maneuvers and we got in about two weeks before, before the attack. The Utah drew more water than we did so we went across the canal, where the Pan American Clipper used to land. At that time it was called Pearl City. And there was the USS Curtis who was on the east side of us and two tin cans over to the west side of us, about 12 yards or so apart.


Q: Did you shoot at the plans?

A: No, I didn't have a gun, I was on a signal bridge.

Q: Did anhyone near you get hurt?

A: No, nobody on the ship got hurt. We had four near misses. One on the starboard side of the bow and one on each side of the fan tail, and there was a 50 foot motor launch coming back on lunar landing. When one of the bombs dropped and the 50 foot motor launch was coming in to make gangway and it landed right behind us. And lifted that motor launch, the stern end about 10 feet in the air and then she come down, because the explosion would be about a 50 foot radius, that the water would raise up 10 feet. When the bomb went off, whe she hit bottom.

Q: What was the rest of the day like after the attack?
A: Well we had to stay there on watch most of the morning. And then the two man submarine was coming towards us. We saw the pariscope and then the 50 caliber machine guns started riddling at it. She went down. The next thing we saw was, she was heading away from us. Then they fired a five inch broadside at it. They lowered it down as far as it would go and it just skimmed the combing on the paint. Later about one year and a half or two years later we happed to be in that same area when they were lifting a submarine up.


Q: So the men on the sub died?
A: Naturally it [sub] was all mangled. Then a couple of minutes after, we saw the Monaghan a 354 destroyer. She was coming around the end of Fort Island. A signaling gun bliniker was flashing lights, telling them about the sub. You could see the tin can go down, stern dend and then bow raised up. She started rolling and she came right over top of were the sub was ajust about. She dropped two tin cans, they went down and that's probably mangled that sub.

Q: What are tin cans?
A: They are about the size of a 50 gallon drum and they got high explosives, death chartes.


Q: How did it effect the people around you?

A: I don't think they were scared. It was too exciting to be scared. The plane go over top. The high altitude bomber would go one way and next time they'd come back another way. The torpedo bombers come in low and you could see them. They'd fly almost directly over the ship. You could see the pilots in there. It was just like if you were sitting on your back deck and the plance came over 15 feet above you. Then one of the planes was hit when they flew over us. He started over near those two tin cans and it was coming into the water. Then I saw them stop the plan three feet off the water and then she went straight down. He got up on the wing and was waving his white handkerchief and everybody turned his machine gun on him. He didn't last.


Q: What happened after the attack?
A: After the attack they had crews going around with motor launch and they had an alter on the front. It looked like a big scoope, like a rake, with four or five prongs and about 10 feet wide. They go down and when they'd see a body they'd scoop it up and dump it in the motor launch. It was all garbage and oil and stuff all over the harbor.


Q: Did you have to leave the harbor?
A: No, we had to stay there and work, We had to get them ships back in shape.


Q: Was the base devastated?

A: Yes, the Utah was capsized and on the other side was the Oklahoma and then the California, Tenneesse, the Maryland they were down. The only ship that was about to get out of the harbor, had been near the dry dock, Tin Tin Dock. She made a cruise around. She was heading out to channel, when she got hit and she went down. So instead of continuing the channel she run ground, so she wouldn't block the channel. Then she sat there for a couple of months before anyone really pumped the water out of it and patched her up and got going again.


Q: What do you think of Roosevelt?

A: Well I think they [Washington] are a bunch of idiots, they knew it was coming but they didn't give a hoot.

Q: Was everyone really upset with Japan?
A: They still are upset, that is the fellas that were there.


Q: What message does Pearl Harbor leave for my generation?
A: "Remember Pearl Harbor, keep America alert."
It's a Train Wreck, Yet I am Still Watching

Ok, the other day when I was watching TV I saw a promo for a new reality show called, Dirty Dancing starring Cris Judd, J-Lo's ex. It's to find the next "Baby." For all you kids who don't know who baby is, it's Jennifer Grey from "Dirty Dancing" with Patrick Swayze. Then there's everyone's favorite line, "Nobody sticks Baby in the corner." So of course it gave me the option and I said sure why not TiVo I will give it a thumbs up. Well now I am watching the season premiere... the casting episode as they call it. It's a freaking train wreck, however it's an hour long and 45 minutes into the show I am still watching. Why? I cannot explain. However, this is no substitute for the movie and I am not sure I will be adding it to my season pass. We'll see if this train wreck keeps me watching.

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

America's Next Top Model
Season Finale

We have been waiting weeks for this, every week, we have gone through the emotion and heartache and of course the ridiculous drama of this sinful pleasure that is ANTM. Tonight we are finally at the finale. It starts out with three girls left: the ever annoying Melrose, Crazy Caridee and Eugena. They do a photo shoot and commercial for Covergirl. Then they meet with the judges and the judges widdle it down to two. I am so nervous, because I am certain that they will choose Melrose to go on. I am not sure why, but she doesn't do it for me. I don't know if is her look, her voice or her extremely annoying nails on the chalkboard personality. Twiggy loves her, but uck, I can't stand her. And we all know how much the judges rely on my opinion. Well the judges picked Caridee (oh I am so excited and surprised, for some reason I thought Melrose would be picked first.) The second finalist is (right now I am crossing my fingers for Eugena.) Damn, they picked Melrose, I am not surprised. I didn't love Eugena but I wanted her to be in the finals. Now I will see if my girl crazy Caridee can bring it home. So after they choose the final two, they do a shoot for 17 magazine. Then Tyra had them meet with her "life coach." Dr. Michelle... It was really uninspiring. Then we get to see the final runway challenge. I must admit, that I kind of want to just fast forward to the end, the suspense is freaking killing me. Melrose has a breakdown when Caridee setps on her dress. Then Miss Jay breaks out the complete crazy to open the ghost bride segment. Then Melrose brings out her shinning chalk board personality. Caridee does ok, but I actually think Melrose "walks" better, I know it probably hurts to read it, it hurts for me to type it. And the judges noticed it too. And the winner is: Caridee. YEAH! I think she is my favorite so far. Woo whooo...

Oh I can't wait until next season, mainly because I need my Tyra fix. I remembered during judging why I enjoyed her so much: "you know i am predictable child, i always come with a hair weave, a bunch of make-up and a dress that is cinched at the waist." You have to love here.

Monday, December 04, 2006

Manic Monday

It's snowing outside and nothing sounds better than curling up with a good book and/or TiVo and calling it a night. However, I have things looming over me, like a graduate school essay. I usually embrace writing however now that it is about myself and it needs to be somewhat serious, I am having difficulties. I am looking for that graduate entrance essay where they want a lot of sarcasm and self-degradation. However, I am not sure that would get me accepted into this program. So I am painstakingly writing an essay about my goals, my career and my education. I wish it was as interesting as my love for class b television (ANTM.) However, I have worked TiVo into my essay. I know, you are wondering how I could be writing a serious paper and write about TiVo, but come on people: it changed my life, how can I not write about it.

Saturday, December 02, 2006

Old Man Winter keeps blowing down my Christmas Tackiness... Is he trying to tell me something? After this event, I went out with super measures and now that the ground is starting to freeze maybe the trees will stay put and I can enjoy the rest of my holidays.

Friday, December 01, 2006

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Here Comes Winter

We are hunkering down for our first dare I say winter storm. I just read they are expecting 2-6 inches. I must admit that I am hoping for just 2, because well we will have school tomorrow regardless. I am sure if there are any schools closed they will include the Lapeer Ed-Tech Center where Bruce works. Last year they had, what I believe were 5 snow days, St. Clair TEC had well, umm, let me think back, oh yeah, I remember NONE.
ANTM Update

Both the twins are out. I am a little disappointed. Because frankly I liked them and Caridee the best. So now the final three are Melrose (ugh), Eugena (who is starting to grow on me) and Caridee (who is fading fast.) So next week is the season finale. Tyra is getting a little out of control, which is making the show much much more enjoyable. Even if you haven't been watching, the beauty of this show is you can tune in Wednesday night and its like you never missed a show.

Amber turns 100,000.

Happy Birthday! For those of you who unfamiliar with Amber, she is my 2003 Chrysler Sebring. She is silver, sporty and super fun. We spend a lot of time together as we commute on a daily basis to St. Clair TEC.

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Who is this?

Thanksgiving Pandemonium
Thanksgiving Wrestle Mania



The little ones were working off there big Thanksgiving Meal.
Studio 60 - Enjoyable & Laugh Out Loud Funny
(at least this week)


So it's Wednesday and the husband and I are catching up on our TiVo from Monday. And as we are sitting here, we are both lauhging out loud. Matt Perry is fabulous in the show. But there aren't just laughs, there is drama. So make sure you TiVo it.

Thanksgiving with the Sahakian's

So, I haven't had a chance to write about the pandemonium that was Thanksgiving at the Sahakian household. My mom's sisters and their families came down to Manchester for the big meal. My sister came out from Chicago with her two kids, my darling niece Sophie and nephew Max. Bruce of course, didn't get a chance to spend the day with us, because remember he was well, I left him at home sick.

When I got to Manchester, I immediately took a nap, because well being up since 2:30 a.m. is down right exhausting. So I took a short nap. And was awoken as my sister, Krista and her kids arrived. Max, her youngest is a crazy talker, was very excited about going to Grampa and Grampa's. My mom opens the door and he says, hi grandma, where's Nina (my dad's newest/favorite child.) The kids are so sweet, when Sophie saw me she was so excited to see me, she gave me a big hug. I like being Aunt Jennie.

Once the entire family arrived, it was time to eat. And we like to eat! Its a family past time. At a Sahakian/Kump/Ryan/Dutkowski family event there are several types of food you will always find. Of course, Aunt Elena always brings the veggies and dip, Aunt Janet brings the broccoli, cheese and rice, Aunt Val brings the green bean casserole and my mom of course has the rolls from the Common Grill in Chelsea and the Patiza. This year I made apple and blueberry pie. It was delicious, I have several helpings.

This year the kids table officially overcame the adult table. Ok, I guess we aren't technically kids anymore, most of us are in our 20's. Vince (pictured to the right) and Jill are in high school and then there is cousin Olivia who is 5. My sister kids are like her cousins, because frankly as fun as we are, we cannot be the amount of fun required by a 5 year-old.

It is always great fun when our family gets together. I really love hanging out with them all. We just laugh and have such a great time. So below there are some great photos. The picture above is my niece, nephew and cousin Olivia flattening me after I have eaten too much food. Please enjoy.


After dinner it's relaxing with "Finding Nemo."

Looks like Brent stole Olivia's spot.

For some reason the kids are gravitated toward the cage. I swear we don't lock them in there, they get in there by choice.

Brent and Me

Uncle Tom & Max Watching TV

Monday, November 27, 2006

My New Favorite Show:
Rob & Big


So I stumbled on this marathon on MTV yesterday and I am in love. It's about the dynamic duo of Rob Dyrdek and his bodyguard/best friend Christopher "Big Black" Boykin. I never thought I would find a skater (yes the skate board, not ice skating here folks) and his 400+ lb best buddy so charming. You could say I have a real life T.V. crush.

Can you imagine me, running into them... This is my imaginary dialogue.

Me: so you skate?
Big & Rob: silence.
Me: that's cool. You are from Ohio, I am from Michigan (see I always bring it home with this..)
Big & Rob: silence.
Me: Okey Dokey..


I imagine them being much cooler from the show, I feel that they would embrace the geek. So set your TiVo and get a season pass. You won't regret it!

Saturday, November 25, 2006

To Be Thankful for WHAT?

Ok, I must admit that the start of Thanksgiving day, I was wondering what I truly had to be thankful for. It started Wednesday night, Bruce and I went to bed at 8:30 pm, because we were both working America's Thanksgiving Parade. I wake up at 10:30 and notice Bruce is not there, then I heard something, oh yes it was him throwing up in the downstairs bathroom. Then he came up and laid down and the next thing I know he's tossing his cookies again. At that point, I move to the guest bedroom. Ok, I did ask if he was ok and if there was anything I could do, he moaned no, so I took my leave. Then my alarm goes off at 2:30 am and I walk into our bedroom to find my husband sprawled out on the floor.

I have never seen him so sick. Obviously he is not going to be working at the parade. So I call his boss and tell him that he won't be coming. I am sure you are wondering why I am calling his boss, he literally was so weak he couldn't hold up the phone. The whole time, I am wondering should I take him to the hospital. So the next best thing, I call his mother, who is a nurse. She said, he should be ok.

Then if that wasn't bad enough. I go downstairs and I hear water. I am like where is that coming from, oh yes, it was coming from downstairs in the basement. The pipes where leaking, well that doesn't sound as bad as it was, I would go with over flowing. I run outside and grabbed two 5 gallon buckets and stuck them under the overflowing pipes.

I go back upstairs to get ready to drive to Detroit. I find Bruce now sprawled out lying on the bathroom floor. Like the good wife that I am I say, I will call you. Yes, I just left him, with the pipes running over in the basement. I must say though, he told me to go. However, I did know that his father was coming over to our house a little later.

So then I and worked for Local 4, see the pictures below. It was the best parade day because it was not below zero, it wasn't raining, it wasn't snowing. I felt bad that the one year Bruce was sick, he missed the best weather we have ever seen. They also moved the parade route this year, it was in the heart of downtown Detroit. It was great. So I guess I was thankful for the weather.

The good news, Bruce survived. I went to Manchester for Thanksgiving dinner. I was thankful that Bruce was ok enough not to need me to come home. And he said it was ok for me to go to Manchester and hang out with the fam and of course eat.

And so far, I have not gotten sick. I am not sure if Bruce had food poisoning or the flu. He did eat a shady wrap from the mejier gas station, but his mom says that is the type of flu going around. Now his dad is sick, I feel like it might only be a matter of time. So right now I am thankful that I have yet to get sick.

So I guess I have a lot to be thankful for.

Friday, November 24, 2006



I meet Jeff Daniels at America's Thanksgiving Parade. However, when I meet famous people, I immediately became a dork.

Here's our conversation:

Jeff Daniels: (sitting in an RV playing a guitar)
(I walk in to pick up scripts)
Me: Hello Devin (Devin Scillian who is also sitting in the RV)
(I walk over to Jeff Daniels)
Me: Hello, I'm Jennie Holladay, I grew up in your neck of the woods, Manchester.
(Manchester is right next to Chelsea where Jeff Daniels lives.)
Jeff:(No comment)
Me:(feeling awkward) Yes, the home of the flying Dutchmen (my high school mascot), who doesn't love a wooden shoe with wins, go dutch.
Jeff:(No comment)
Devin: Jennie, how is Bruce? Have you talked to him?
Me: I left him this morning on the bathroom floor, I am pretty sure he has the flu.
My inner thoughts: Thank you Devin for making me look like a human, who isn't still fascinated with my high school mascot.

Thursday, November 23, 2006



The new parade TV location.

Wednesday, November 22, 2006


Bruce's Hand Pies. We made them with the leftover pie dough and apples. I have not tried them yet, but I am guessing they are better than Hostess.

Blueberry Pie, I made for Thanksgiving dinner. Yes, if you can remember, I picked these blueberries fresh from the patch in Capac in August. I froze them and broke them out for the pie.

Apple Pie... mmmmmm... yummmm... It's the last of the season with fresh apples from the orchard.

Monday, November 20, 2006

The Perfect Pair of Jeans -
Then Jcrew Goes and Screws It All Up


So I was talking with my sister today and we both agree that JCrew has completely screwed us out of the perfect pair of jeans. We both felt that their size 8 was made just for us, not too tight not too loose. But then JCrew decided to fancy up their jeans with European sizing which has somehow completely ruined the jean, without warning, without letting me know, so I could quickly stock up.

In the day and age we live in there should be something done about this, or at least a warning. Like when Jcrew got the stupid idea to switch to the 28s instead of 8's that they could have at least mailed me a postcard or for God sakes even sent me an email, I get one from them every freaking 10 minutes, the latest about couture critters. (File that in the "who gives a s&#t folder of my inbox.) So many times when I go to the store they are always wanting to sign me up for their catalog which I always receive 14 copies of, instead they should say would you like to tell us your favorite item in the store. To which I would say, yes these are my favorite pair of jeans. Then they could send you coupons for the stuff you actually buy and then if they decide to make the dreadful decision to change to European sizes, I can run to the store and stock up. At least I won't have remorse or at least I can delay the dreaded search for another favorite pair of jeans.

So to all the Jcrew executives and other clothing execs that read my blog (to date: none) please take this into consideration when you are thinking of changing a good thing.

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Wow look at the lights and hear the carols...

This weekend we got a large dose of the holiday sesaon with a short stop at the Bronner's CHRISTmas WONDERLAND. This crazy Christmas extravaganza is open all year long. It is more than one and a half football bields wide with 350 decorated trees and more than 6000 ornaments. Then we went to downtown Frankenmuth for some delicious chicken.


What's your poison?

Bruce set up shop at the PB outlet at the Birch Run outlet mall. We had a super fun Christmas shopping tour. However, we did not do much Christmas shopping for others, we did however find Christmas presents for ourselves.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Happy 100!

This is the 100th post on the TiVo Changed my Life blog. I feel like there should be some type of celebration. So imagine me sitting in front of my TiVo celebrating, it is pretty intense. The cats are getting a little out of control. However, I managed to get them back under control.

I know what you are thinking, I could not handle her life, there is just too much going on. Yes, I often think the same thing.

This Monday, my friend Mindy came out from Chicago. Mindy (pictured above) works for CNBC in Chicago. Well I was lucky enough that they decided to send her to Detroit for a story, so she came up the night before to hang out in the metropolis of Attica. She got to see our house, go out to dinner and just hang out. She is another one of those friends where we just sit down and pick up where we left off. Plus did I mention she is freaking hilarious. I am always busting a gut when we are together. Bruce and I can't wait to visit her, her husband: Casey, their dog Max, and their cat Poopus de Gato.

Tonight I turned into a true adult. When I arrived at the gym there were a group of hoodlums who where swearing and carrying on, then in my most adult way said, "hey kids knock it off." Yes my youth is dwindling away.

As for ANTM, in the spirit of comedian Artie Lange from the Howard Stern show: WHAHHHHHHHH! Oh my word they were told to act out their emotions. Wow these are some angry/bipolar models. Caridee won the challenge and will guest staring on One Tree Hill. Then they are off to Spain. Of course Tyra show up in this crazy Spanish dancing outfit. (when I thought it was bad, I only had to wait until judging to see worse.) Then they find out that they are doing a "Secret" deoderant commercial but her is the kick, it's in Spanish Oh my God, it's so bad. They had to kiss a man at the end and of course Jaeda's tells her that he doesn't like black girls. So as usual she cried. I would have probably cried too.

When it came to judging, Caridee got fried, which she deserved, however I still like her the best. Jaeda cried at judging too, however the judges were a little nicer. Melrose got high praises from the judges. Who's out, I am going to say it's either Michelle or Jaeda, but maybe Caridee will be in the bottom as a punishment. During the wait for the judging everyone started yelling at Melrose for making them look bad at judging by saying she stayed up an extra two hours studying the lines. In the end the judges decided on Jaeda. I was so worried. I love her, and this competition needed her.

Sunday, November 12, 2006

What a Weekend!
Fun & the Joys of Home Ownership

Let me start at Friday night. Bruce and I went to the Lapeer Cinemas, it's pretty much a weekend
staple. Checking out the newest flicks that come to Lapeer. Friday, we went to the see "Stranger than Fiction" with Will Farrell. The movie was ok, however we had some middle schoolers behind us. Oh my word, I wish I had seen their parents when they waiting to be picked up. I would have only been happy to share how well behaved they were during the movie, especially the part were they left 100 times or the part when they were crawling on the floor, sitting on each other laps and giggling. Oh it's the best way to view a movie, if you are practicing rage control.

Then on Saturday morning, I hit the volleyball court at the Lapeer Recreation Center. It's open court pick-up volleyball. I am having fun, it's the second time I have played. The second time I have stepped on the court in 5 years. I am having a lot of fun. I am not that great of a player, I have high expectations of myself, however it turns out that I am not well in high schoo
l anymore. But it's fun and I can only get better. I hope.

Then I had to hurry home to clean the house because well we rarely have house guests and I was super excited that my fabulous friend Mary Lobbestael came up to visit. And well my house needed some attention. So I cleaned and cleaned. Then the next thing we know, we have pipes backing up. However, we were lucky enough that Bruce's dad owns a roto router. He came over in a flash and fixed it. The next thing that went wrong is the switch on the pump blew, meaning that we were again having water issues. Bruce ran to Tractor Supply to buy a new one. He managed to get it installed just in time for Mary to arrive.


Having Mary here was great. We went out to dinner and came home and enjoyed a good bottle of wine, two bottles later, which Mary and I both regretted this morning. Again, I am not as young as I once was. These pictures look like I felt. It's fun to be friends with someone for a long time, you have so many memories. We also made some new ones, which I have included.

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Get Angry: Ready, Set, ACTION

It's Wednesday and that means it's time for ANTM. Oh yes, an results of the election, more on that later. First, a quick recap of ANTM. Anchal is the high drama mama. She can't get over her insecurities and it's driving everyone nuts. The theme this week is action. First the girls meet with Gabby Reese for someone volleyball action. Of course Anchal was freaking out about wearing a bathing suit. Then they were off to the race track. The girls took their own photos of them getting mad at a NASCAR driver. They jumped at the driver with a remote in their hands and snapped their own photo. Michelle won the competition, however she didn't get a prize she got a chance to win a prize. She had to compete against her friends. Whoever won, won $10K worth of clothes. Well it was Melrose who won, they didn't show if she shared any of the clothes, but I am pretty certain she didn't.

At the photo shoot, they were literally in a wind tunnel. I couldn't imagine looking pretty in a wind tunnel. Caridee looked awesome. Plus she was hilarious when given the judges challenge to "hide dizzily." So who's off: my guess is Anchal, but only TiVo will tell. And I was right.

Speaking of right: I picked a WINNER. At least in the case of Governor. Jennifer is back for 4 more years! Yeah. I have to admit, I am happy with that, but not everything I voted for won. But hey that is democracy. As for the rest of the vote: Doves are Safe, No Affirmative Action and No to Guaranteed School Funding. It turns out nationally the rest of the nation is feeling similar to me, well at least the popular vote, so the Democrats now hold the Senate and the House of Representatives. With this news, our friend Donny Rumsfeld steps down, is it coincidence?

Yesterday when I was scouring the web for information. I read the article talking about how Michigan isn't a red or a blue state, it was really purple. That's because we are all over the place: we have a democrat for governor, our attorney general and secretary of state are republicans. I like that. I feel purple some times. Maybe we should make our state fruit the blueberry.


So as I am looking at the blog, I realize that this is k
ind of dry and somewhat boring with all the election talk. So when all else fails cute pictures of kids: so here are future voters and the devil a.k.a their mother. Aren't they cute.

Monday, November 06, 2006

Desperate is Dynamite

Ok, I know that those of you who follow this blog religiously, know how I have been feeling about Desperate Housewives on Sunday night. Last weekend, I was over it. I couldn't believe where the show was heading. It was literally boring.

But ABC has brought me back with a BANG, literally. So this woman who's been terrorizing Bree in her new man Orson. This woman, who I can't remember her name, I will call her Claire, is convinced that Orson killed his las wife. Well it turns out Claire's husband was cheating on her with a flight attendant, Monique. Bree slips to Claire that her husband is a cheat, then the next thing you know this crazy Claire is shooting up the supermarket that her husband owns.
She takes hostages which include Lynette, Susan's daughter, Eddy's nephew, the mother of Tom's daughter - another crazy cupcake who has been terrorizing Lynette and Tom, Eddy and their new neighbor. The next thing you know, Crazy Claire has all of the customers in the back, Eddy is locked in the office with the husband of Crazy Claire. The next thing you know. There is more gun fire and the crazy woman that is terrorizing Lynette and Tom, is shot in the chest. I have to admit I was a little bit pleased that she won't be on the show anymore. I know, I know it's wrong. I can't help it, she was really really awful.

I can't wait until next week. I am revived again! Until next week at least. God Bless Sweeps. I am also hooked on Brothers & Sisters which is in Grey's Anatomy's old time slot. It's got the ever so skinny Calista Flockhart. Yes, I enjoyed it via TiVo tonight too.

Tomorrow, is election day here in Michigan, as the media like to call it Decision 2006. We are voting for Governor. Jennifer Granholm gets my vote. I am also voting Yes on Proposal 5, and No on 2. And I am voting NO on hunting morning doves. As my mom said, if it was hunting Canadian Geese, we would be for it, but since it's doves I am clearly against it. I am also voting Democratic for US Senate and Congress. It's my proverbial eff off to the president, who is not in my favor. Can we impeach him and re-elect Clinton? I am sure the president is crushed to know my true feelings. So we will see how this election goes. I am not usually a lucky vote for candidates, I hope this will be better year for, I need a winning election track record. So far it's pretty poor.

Saturday, November 04, 2006

Burritos the Size of Your Head

When I lived in Kansas City, I would frequent the Chipotle. They are one of my favorite places, because well they have burrito's the size of your head. They are FAB. They are a chain restaurant, but they don't have them every where. So when I moved back to Michigan, I managed to crave the giant burrito. Now they have them here. So today, Bruce and I ventured down to Hall road in Uttica to eat at the Chipotle. It was the highlight of my day. Yes, we all know that I are lame.

After the ginormous burrito, Bruce had to head down to Local 4. I went to Target. And oh my word, toys are crazy now. I walked by what looked like a miniature horse. It was big enough for a child to ride. It is a
Fur Real Pony. If I was a kid I would have totally wanted that. It is $299 dollars. Since I always wanted a real horse. Yes, I thought I could be a horse owner. So much so, that I went to Horse Camp (it was actually girl scout camp, but it was all about horses back riding.) I tried to convince my parents we should keep a horse in the shed. As you can probably figure out by this entry, they never got me a horse. However, if I still had the urge. I would just buy one of these.

Now it's an exciting evening of laundry, cleaning and TiVo. I caught up on the MTV's "The Duel." The Queen of Mean in MTV's reality world Beth is back. I love these crazy competitions with Beth. She's mean and fun all at the same time. These duels for cash money bring out the worst in the realty stars, most of them are pretty fake about it. But Beth oh she's so well mean. And I enjoy it.

I also caught up on the Sixth Sense which is on after Grey's Anatomy. It's ok, but I am not sure where it is going. However, one of my new favorite shows is Heroes on NBC. Wow, it's intense. It is hard to write about because it's so intense and all over the place, but I will keep watching. Ok, I must fold clothes and go to bed and dream about my "fur real" pony. That name just makes me laugh: fur real.