Backstage with G. Love

For those of you who think I get too long winded here is the cliff note version: the concert was great, he recognized me, we went backstage we talked for a little while and we went home.

Now for the more detailed events of the day in no particular order:

The concert was at this very small unusual venue. When we pulled up I thought it may be a roller rink. (We later came to find out that they are working out new music that is why they are playing these smaller venues.) But anyway it was hot, but Olive and I planted ourselves in the FRONT ROW as usual. We meet some other G. Love devotees from Detroit. And I was even recognized by another fan, yes I was mildly famous at the G. Love concert.

The other great thing was Steve the Travelin' Blues Man was there and we got a chance to say hi to him when he arrived. He recognized us too. He played a set before the show, which was awesome.

Then after Steve: G.Love and Special Sauce came out on stage. The coolest part of the night was when he looked right at me and then had that look like, hey I know you. So all night during the concert he made me feel special pointing, singing to me and grabbing my hand. He even played Holla! and came straight to me to sing along. Oh did I forget to mention that I got a hug and a kiss on the cheek during the song. All the other girls were so jealous. It was a great show, but it was a hot one!

After the show, we tracked down members of the crew to let them know that I was the winner. Most of them were like what? But then we finally found someone who knew kind of what we were talking about and pulled us to this backstage area, that was actually a small room the size of a large walk-in closet. Steve was sitting in there waiting to talk to G. Love. Then after a couple of minutes: G. Love came in. He was really cool. We talked about my video and how he liked the student participation. He made sure to ask me if I had seen his comment on my video. I even got him to do a little video giving my kids a shout out. Then he talked to Steve for a bit about playing in Grand Rapids tonight. We had a chance to chat with their new tour manager Brian the surfer from California. He had seen the video. He entertained us while G. Love was talking to Steve and got us something to drink. After G & Steve were done negotiating. We took some pictures and he was on his way. It wasn't too long, but it was nice.

We also chatted with Frank, the guy who sells all the G. Love merchandise at the shows. He actually recognized me from the video. So we chatted about the video and he gave me a bunch of stickers for my students.

After that met Houseman. We had a really intriguing conversation about the difference between Reggae and Rock Steady. Which I must admit I still don't have the exact dates of when Rock Steady music actually happened in Jamaica. (Olive just added that she now knows it started in mid-1963 and went until the late 60's) I just know, it was after ska and before reggae. He took some pictures with us too and then we were on our way back to Michigan.

It's a surprise that we arrived at this concert venue at all. Why? It all started with an accident on I-75 and detours for miles. We were sitting in the car saying at this rate we will never get to Toledo. Once we finally managed to get by all the traffic nonsense we headed towards Tiffin? Yes that's right Tiffin, Ohio. Why? Well because google told me to. I was in a hurry when I was leaving Attica and we were out of black toner so I couldn't print. So I quickly emailed Olive the directions from my google search of "Headliners Toledo" and the directions said to go to Tiffin. So we are thinking that Tiffin is clearly a suburb of Toledo. But then talking to Todd (our Ohio expert) he mentioned that there was a University in Tiffin, so we were like oh that makes sense. So when we drove through Toledo and started heading into miles of fields of soybeans and cornfields we were like ok, well there is a University there. Only to drive an hour southeast of Toledo to find out the address we had was for a beauty salon. The people at the local dairy queen looked at us as if we were insane! To be honest I kept asking myself why we didn't think we were going the wrong way sooner. The answer I have too much trust in google. I can't believe google let me down. But it turns out if we hadn't had our detour we would have gotten there really hours early and the place was not in the middle of downtown so there would have been nothing to do, except visit the adult bookstore down the street.

Tonight we head to Grand Rapids. I am excited, but I am a little sad, because I feel like my day in the sun is over. The contest after glow is gone and now I am back to being the regular anonymous super fan that I have been for the last 10 years.

This is not Toledo this is more like Tiffin, Ohio!

More Jennie, Olive & G. Love

Tonight Olive and I travel to Toledo for the beginning of our latest installment of G. Love and Special Sauce concerts! Yes, we will be seeing the band in Toledo and Grand Rapids. The best part of this trip is that as part of winning the ultimate fan contest means I get to go backstage and take a friend (of course Olive.) So tonight we will get to meet G. Love and Special Sauce backstage. I have never been "backstage" at a concert, so that is very cool in itself.

This is very exciting but it is also a major problem, because well if you haven't figured it out by now I am somewhat of a dork and unless G. Love has a warm spot in his heart for big geeks, this could be disastrous. Yes the last time we got to meet G. Love it was just a meet and greet, (he was super nice) but there was no expectation than a conversation lasting more than oh maybe a minute or two, but there is potential here for a longer conversation which could mean much more embarrassing incident. Also the plan is to go back stage at tonight's concert, however if that doesn't go well, clearly I will not want to be in the front row of tomorrow night's concert for fear of being spotted, but let's just hope and pray that isn't the case. Stay tuned as the drama unfolds right here on the TiVo Changed my Life Blog.

Bald Eagle = 50 Bucks

Ok, while growing up my mom often played games with us, mainly to keep us quiet. One of our favorite games involved car rides and money, hey what can I say we were kids. My mom told us for every red wing blackbird we saw (of course with her confirmation) she would give us a penny, not much, but when you are little, it's the 1980's a penny and you are riding in the car for hours, it can shut you up. However the stakes did get bigger a white tailed deer sighting would get you $1. Yes, a whole dollar, but you had to see the deer first and mom had to confirm it. It used to be a $1 a deer until my sister saw a heard of 20 and the rule quickly changed to a $1 a sighting. The next big bounty really jumped if we saw a moose it was $20, well there are not moose in the lower part of Michigan so that one was saved for our trips to Calumet. To this day no one has seen a wild moose. (yes I forgot to mention these animals must be in the wild, it did not count at the zoo.) But the big money is in the bald eagle, it was $50 for a bald eagle, however the sighting had to be confirmed by animal expert Pat Sahakian herself.

Well it took until 2007 but the Eagle has been spotted by me and confirmed by mom. And you maybe thinking why Jennie you are much too old for this game, but the answer is NO. Hey I have been working all my life to spot a Bald Eagle, I can't tell you how many hundreds of hours of car rides I had my eyes peeled to the sky with just the hopes of seeing the majestic bird so that I could go shopping and get some new clothes. This trip to Calumet finally paid off and my mom was a good sport too, because she paid up. (I have not yet spent the $50, I am thinking about framing it.)

I first saw the eagle soaring above Great Sand Bay on the shoreline of Lake Superior. Between two towns Eagle Harbor and Eagle River. Now my mom has been going to these areas nearly all her life (if you ask her grandson that is 22 years, but the rest of us know that she is a little older than that) and she has never seen an eagle in Eagle Harbor or Eagle River. So don't think I am taking this sweet lady through the ringer! The one ironic thing is the girl who is usually with camera in tow on vacation, did not take her camera down the big sand dune to the beach, which meant all we had was my mom's camera phone, which did not work because we couldn't zoom in far enough to make it look less than a dot.

However, my mom has made a new rule only one Eagle spotting in a lifetime (yes rules are subject to change at anytime in these games.) So I have seen my first and last $50 eagle, but it was worth every hour of sky gazing. It was really cool and of course I am now $50 richer! But Krista and Kevin you can still be a winner, so keep your eyes on the sky!

Weekend at the Camp

It was the last weekend up north in Copper Country. The Keewenaw Pennisula is just north of everywhere, you would never go there unless you meant to, because it doesn't lead to anywhere else. That is "God's Country" as my grandpa would call it, he and my grandmother where born and raised there. So every year we head north to visit our relatives, who NEVER and I mean NEVER come south of the bridge: the bridge being the Mackinac Bridge. But if you ask my cousins they don't like to go south of the Bridge that connects the Keewenaw to the rest of the upper pennisula.

Well this weekend we got to spend some quality time with my cousins Babe, Sherri & her husband Clark and of course my Auntie Shirley. You can't help but have a good time in their company. They invited us out to Boot Jack to their camp, downstate you would probably call it a cabin or a lake house maybe even a beach house, but up north it is clearly a camp. It is the kind of camping that even I can embrace, because well I doesn't involve a tent.

Well they showed us a wonderful time with too many good things to eat and drink. I never made it out into the lake because well I don't canoe.

Another highlight of our weekend was going to the Chassell Strawberry Festival to watch the queen competition. My cousin (twice removed - you get my drift - it seems that we are related to everyone in someway) was in the pagent. We really had a good time listening to the girls answer their on the spot questions like what would you take if you could only have one thing on a deserted island. Some girls said a book, pictures of their family, a survival guide, but I myself would have said: Chassell Strawberries, come on it's the strawberry festival, it would have totally been the winning answers, but no one said that or a bible, which frankly surprised me. But funny how no one asked me to judge. Beth Ann (she is in light blue) did not win, but she made the family proud!

I am now safely back home after a very long ride in the minivan with my parents (Bruce came home earlier.

Great sand bay

I saw a bald eagle today which means my mom paid me fifty dollars, I will explain later!

Up North! Way Up North!

Well it's my families yearly trek to the north, when I say north, I am talking as far north as it gets in Michigan, up to the Copper Country in the U.P. (Upper Pennisula.) My mom's family is from here and we all stay at the family home also known as "the shaft" (because of it's location on Red Jacket Shaft Rd.) Time up north is spent treking to all the favorite locations the beach, copper harbor and of course all of our favorite places to eat.

But this year was a bit disappointing, why well Bruce and I quickly made our way to Lindell's Lunches in Lake Linden. It's on e of those great places with the stand glass lights and beautiful wood. There is lunch, candies, chocolates and of course ice cream. We arrived and parked down the street aways but as we approached we new something was wrong there was no cute display in the window. To our shock and disappointment it was closed. We later found out from the relatives that they had a hard time finding help so they shut down at the end of tourist season last year with the promise to reopen in May, but they never opened. This is truly a disappointment! We can only hope and pray that this is a one year thing and it will be back open next year!

Tomorrow we will be heading to Copper Harbor to watch the fireworks, tonight after some interneting we will be heading to Shutes for Karoke with the fam! The good times never end!

My Champions!

So we are back home, but we had a great time in Kansas City! Megan & Erik had such an awesome showing! They didn't make the podium but they were so close: they finished in 4th place in the nation! They were just one percentage point away from 3rd place. It was such an awesome performance! I feel like such a proud teacher! Kansas City was so much fun, I have to admit I am exhausted. I just don't have the energy that these kids have! We were pretty much out the door everyday by 7 am and didn't get to bed until after 11 pm. And I couldn't be the last one up because as it turns out I am the teacher who needs to be responsible.

We had such a great group of students from St. Clair TEC. It was great. We had one student win the gold. He now gets an all expensed paid trip to Switzerland! He is pictured to the left with his advisor, please make your best guess at which won is the student! Here's a hint he is wearing the medal and has all his hair. I am sure if you looked at your face, you couldn't tell who is happier! It was so cool to see him up there on the stage! I hope my use of exclamation points conveys my excitement!

When the students had a break from all their competing we were able to hit my favorite spots. We also got to go on a tour of my old station KCTV5. My great friend Andrew so graciously gave us a tour. I think it was cool for the students to see what a different market television station is like. It was cool because the McEntee Fam came down to cheer Megan on, so we they got to come too. We toured the station and sat -in on the noon newscast. It was fun for me to catch up with my old friends. It's strange to see how things have changed, but somehow it felt so familiar despite the fact that I haven't worked there in 5 1/2 years. There is a picture of my friend Andrew and I. When I worked in television, I found that the people you work with really because like your family. You go through so much together, so it was really nice to come home (I feel the same way when I visit channel 4 in Detroit.) So thanks again Andrew, all my students, their family and I really appreciated you taking time (staying late) to give us a tour!

So now I am home, coming down from the week high! It was such a cool expereience, i am sure my writing is not so fresh, but with the lack of sleep my creativity is little or nothing! So maybe I will revisit this post later the next week.

Breaking News! I WON!

Yes, my video won the G. Love and Special Sauce Biggest Fan Contest. I actually found out earlier this week, but I didn't want to post anything just in case they reconsider. Here's what they had to say about the winners.

Tonight I find out how my students did at SkillsUSA. I got to see there video and regardless of their place I am really proud of them. But I am not going to lie, I am crossing my fingers for them!

SkillsUSA - Kansas City

Tonight was opening ceremonies. It was really a rockin' time. There was load music and the kids even though they complained about their red coats endlessly didn't seem to mind wearing them when you are in an auditorium with thousands of people in red coats. Michigan brought these crazy light up swords. We had fun dancing to the music, I certainly embarrassed the students, but hey that's what they pay me for.

Earlier today we spent trading pins with people from all over the country. My students got into the fun, they don't have the dorky pin collection like me but they really got into the spirit. We had a lot of fun. It got to the point where we were seeking out the "cool" pins and trading other states for them because we were out of the Michigan pin. Megan got a really cool Oklahoma pin, Erik scored this sweet Washington pin and I got a highly coveted Alaska pin. It's a lot of fun because you talk to all these people that you really wouldn't have a reason to talk to.

Tomorrow is D-Day for my students, the competition starts. I am nervous for them, but I know they will do well. I keep telling them that I am so proud of them, because I am. I said regardless of how you place here, just produce a video that you are proud of. They are such great kids.

So as for being here in KC, it's so nice to back here. When I moved away I didn't realize how much I would miss this town. I am really enjoying dragging these 8 high schoolers and two advisors to all my favorite food places. We went to a KC tradition tonight Gates BBQ, let's say I loved it, everyone else didn't see the charm. Well, oh well. Tomorrow night the girls are ditching the boys for some q-t on the Plaza. Two Words: Cheesecake Factory!

Big Brother's Coming Back...

but will I want to watch it without Dr. Will and Booger. Yes, I got caught up in the all-stars nonsense last summer and let's face it, it was really the dynamic of Booger and Dr. Will that keep me interested. So will I stick with this season? Will there be another Dr. Will? Who knows, but you have guessed it I am programming it in the TiVo. I will keep you up to date with my thoughts and oh so candid insights.

Hey, I need something to amuse me until the return of America's Next Top Model.

Call Me: Bird Killer

I am not sure what it is about today and birds. I drove over to St. Clair this morning to meet up with Helen and I hit a bird. For a while I was convinced it maybe stuck to the front of my car. Then I am driving home and bam I hit another one. I am not sure if they are all trying to commit suicide and they are like that one will feel bad. But now I am left with the guilt that I am a killer. So I am on my way to Flint to see the fam in an hour, I am hoping that there won't be another episode in this deadly day.

Kansas City Here We Come

So it's a big weekend, why, well I get ready for a big week in KC. Yes, the SkillsUSA National Leadership Conference and Competition is next week. As you may remember my students won the state competition so we will be headed down to KC for the National Competition. I am very excited for a couple of reasons: first I hear it is a great time (from those who went last year) and secondly because I used to live in KC. I am hoping that I will get a chance to catch up with a couple of my friends (Andrew, Carolyn, Gary, Streeter & Andre) at KCTV and my old anchor Jeff Vaughn who is now at the NBC affiliate.

As I look at the weather I realize that it will be just like I remember in Missouri at this time of year, that's right miserable. I love the city, but I don't miss the heat. It will be in the upper 80's and humid all week. Bruce will be be holding down the homestead in Attica.

On side note today was the last day of work for my friend Dave Hickman, he has decided to leave education and rejoin the real world of work. He taught Information Technology, Dave can be a royal pain in my butt, we have a brother/sister type relationship, and gosh darnit, I am going to miss him. Yes, at work you can always count on Dave to help organize the golf event (hence my new found love for golf,) he will always come down to your room to steal the good candy with caramel preferably, he has a quick wit that will leave you rolling and his sharp tongue is the best, unless you are on the receiving end, which I must add is always (ok most of the time) in good fun. So Dave you big LOSER, (pictured to the right with me.) I can't believe you are leaving us, but I guess I understand, so have fun, but you better come back to golf, because I bought NEW clubs.

But now that I think about it maybe Brad Baker from Grand Valley via the Junction Bouy, can take your spot, hmmmm I wonder if he knows anything about computers, I am sure he has a myspace? Gale what you do you think? Oh I make myself giggle.

A Second Generation Childhood Tradition

This weekend my sister, niece and nephew were in town. I headed down to Manchester on Thursday night because I had Friday off from school. We had a very busy agenda Friday.

9 AM - Trip to the Donut Store for chocolate covered donuts
10AM - Trip to the Park
11AM - Visit the Cousins
12PM - Lunch Back at the Sahakian Homestead
1 PM - Swimming at the Sahakian Pool (baby pool)
3PM - Golfing in the Front Yard
4PM - 6PM - Cartoons/Rest for the Weary (the adults)
6PM - Leave for Jackson
7PM - Arrive at the Parlour (The Jackson All-Star Dairy to us) for a delicious dinner of ice cream 8:30PM - Arrive at the Jackson Cascades.
9PM - Get in the car and head home

If you have never been to the Jackson Cascades it's a great adventure. It's a huge cement water fall that is full of lights. As evening goes on and it gets darker the lights get brighter. You can walk up and down the falls. Which for my niece and nephew it means running up and down the falls. My nephew Max likes to skip the steps and just run up the hills. I don't know how my sister keeps up with the two of them as soon as one of them slow down the next one starts going. Once it gets dark enough that is when the show starts and we sit back with the popcorn and watch the colors of the falls dance to the music. The Jackson All Star Dairy and the Jackson Cascades was a childhood tradition for my sister, brother and I, so it was tons of fun to see my niece and nephew enjoy it too. They loved the music, the lights and running around like crazy people.

I know they always say that kids say the darn-dest things, I think it was a tv show. Well the kids were full of them this weekend, but my favorite was when my dad was driving to Jackson. We come to a stop sign and my dad stops kind of fast and my nephew says: "Wow, that was a close one!" We all busted out with laughter. You know if we would have said that John Sahakian would not have been pleased.

It was a great weekend like always. I love hanging out with them. I just wish that Chicago was a little closer so I could hang out with all them more.

I Got New Clubs
No Not for Hitting Bruce or My Students -
They're For Golfing

Well I guess they aren't exactly what you would call new, they are just new to me. I picked up a set of clubs this weekend for $5 at a garage sale in Manchester! (actually my dad picked them up, because as I write this I realize that I never paid him the $5 back.) My eagle-eyed sister was able to see them as we zipped passed the garage sale en route to Uncle Jimmy's house.

Of course these clubs are used and my woods are actually really made from wood. I consider them a collectors item. I am sure a real golfer would scoff at my clubs (Dave (pictured below) already has.) However, since I golf approximately two times a year these are the best clubs for me. Yes, I have recently taken up golf, well if you call attending the bi-annual (and sometimes tri-annual) golf outings. I never thought I would enjoy golf, but it's great, especially when you get to drive the cart. As for my game, well it's getting better and I am sure my new clubs will do the trick to get me to Tiger woods status. HA HA!

In the meantime, I will keep up my game, well at least as long as there are golf outings at work and we don't golf more than 9 holes, because frankly around 6 or 7, I could be done, so anything over 9 is WAY TOO MUCH for me to handle. Yes, those are my feet up relaxing in the cart, I must admit the other downside of golf, ok there are many, 1. I am not good, 2. I do not foresee ever becoming good, 3. I can only hand 9 holes, but another downside is recommended footwear, as you can clearly see here I am sporting my sneakers, apparently I should be wearing cleats however flip flops are not recommended in fact they are frowned upon while golfing. Clearly if this is a sport I am ever going to get into that has to change! :)

The Summer of the Dress

So last year was the official summer of the skirt, I went from lovin' the sh'pant (capri's to the rest of the world) to embracing the skirt. This year has officially turned into the summer of the dress. It has all started with, well I would have to say clothing companies have contributed much because there are more dresses out than ever before, but really it started with the purchase of a dirt cheap dress at the Gap, it's more expensive online than it is in the store. Well I bought it on a whim and I love love love it. It's so comfortable and looks great with my summer staple shoe: the flip flop.

Today Bruce and I went to Somerset looking for summer wear and I found another super cute dress again at the Gap, who knew I thought I had broken up with that store. So I officially declared it to be the summer of the dress. Now this does not mean that I won't break out the shorts, skirts and sh'pants on occasion, but I will do my best to enjoy this new staple that I have added to my wardrobe. I must confess that I borrowed these pictures from the Gap website, which btw does not have as good as prices as the store currently does. So what I am saying as this is not me pictured in the dresses and my strip dress is actually green which is becoming my new favorite color, another random tidbit of knowledge you probably didn't care to know. But you know now.

UPDATE: Bruce would like you to know that he is pushing for next summer to be the summer of the skort. I am not sure that is going to happen, but hey never say never.

Breaking News!

G. Love is coming to the midwest this summer. It had appeared that he would not be stopping in our neck of the woods, but he is and the best part is I am out of school and it's before we leave for Europe!

So I will be heading to Toledo, Ohio on July 10 and Grand Rapids on July 11. Who's with me?

Also still no word on the G. Love and Special Sauce Ultimate Fan Contest. So I am pretty sure this means I am probably not a winner, but hey I had fun making it.

Congratulations PH Graduates!

Tonight I went to Port Huron's High School graduation. It was the longest one I have ever been to. There were 350 graduates and they ran this thing like a military ceremony. It was really cool when they walked in, in step, in the dark with these glow stick thingys. (Yes that is the technical term.) The kids always complain about having to go to several days of marching practice, but after tonight I now see why. The only thing that is disappointing with such a big class is that they graduate like a herd of cattle, just one after the other, so the ceremony does not take a year and a half. But none the less it was really cool. What can I say, well I had one student at this graduation that has been with me for two years. What can I say other than, I AM SO PROUD OF YOU, CARL "WET CAT" MARTIN! I am glad I got a chance to go. I will never forget Carl, he's grown into such a great young man. I won't lie, I did get a little teary. Yes, I am such a dork, but you just have to know Carl, you would have cried too. And I didn't cry until after the ceremony, thank God, the best girlfriend in the world (Carl's Girlfriend who did receive the official award) Coley was there to comfort me. Yes, I know I am a dork, don't worry my other students who happened to walk by at that time and laugh out loud reminded me.

Carl wasn't my only Port Huron Grad. I had two others, who I am also very proud of, however they only had my class for one year, I know they wish they could of had more. Ha ha. There is Sean and Kristen. Unfortunately all my pictures of Kristen were blurry, that's what happens, when you start crying and forget that you took your camera off auto focus and you get wrapped up in the moment. But here is a picture of Sean "Too Cool For School" Tinney and I, can't you tell I am his favorite teacher. Ok, I am sure he will tell you otherwise, but this is the story I am sticking with. I am not going to lie, I will miss all my seniors.

Oh by the way if you hadn't noticed, I got my hair cut. I am going in and out of hair-cutters remorse, but today I like it. Jay took about 8.5 inches off. It will be a good summer/switzerland style, at least that is what I am telling myself, but enough about the hair, congratulations again grads.

The Wait is Over..
My G. Love Biggest Fan Video Submission is Finished

So if you didn't read my last post where I explained that part of my absence from the blog has been due to my commitment to creating a video for the latest G. Love contest. I finally finished last night. I have to thank Olive who helped me come up with the idea and helped me find Steve the Travelin' Blues man on Memorial Day. I am not sure if I have a chance of winning, but I must admit it was fun making it.

I hear that the youtube video may not be working, I can't tell at school so here is a link to the video.

Congratulations Graduates

Today I went to see to of my now former students graduate high school (sniff sniff,) it turns out after spending 2.5 hours a day with these students for two years you end up liking them. I will really miss my seniors next year for two reasons: number one they were my first class and kind of learned with me and number two they are really great! It may sound like I am gushing but really how many students throw their teachers surprise birthday parties and how many students give their teachers a huge signed poster at the end of the year.

However as I sat in the world's hottest gym sweating listening to the student speeches. I couldn't help remember the day I graduated high school in a hot gym on a raining day, frankly it doesn't seem that long ago.

On another note, the reason why you haven't seen a lot of new posts on the TiVo Changed My Life Blog is well qix.net could be the worst internet provider ever, so this week we canned them and went with satellite internet, wildblue. I am crossing my fingers we have more success, when I called the people at the phone company the woman pretty much laughed out loud when I asked her how soon we would see DSL in our area. Well there are good and bad things about country living, internet is one of the hard things. Another reason for my lack of attention to the blog is the fact that I have been very busy making my submission for the G.Love and Special Sauce biggest fan contest. I will post the video here when it is finished, I am sure it will be a good laugh and hopefully a winner, I won't lie Olive helped me think of the idea! Yes, I had my own personal producer. I have also been busy with my grad school class, this week we learned the beauty and difficulty of CSS (cascading style sheets) for web design. Here is my submission. It's not great but CSS is harder than you may think.

We stopped at Somerset Collection on the way back from a day of shooting video of the Rouge River Clean-Up. Yes, we looked awful and smelled of bug spray, but what a better time to shop at the ritziest mall in southeastern Michigan. No we had to pick-up a part at the Apple Store and Bruce needed to get his hair cut from his guy. So it made sense. When we got there, this is what we saw in the middle of the mall, a strange bridal show. It was gated off apparently you needed an invite, and there were models in wedding gowns standing on risers and then there were all these tables set up with the most outrageous floral arrangements. It was cool to look at the picture doesn't really do it justice. On another note the apple store at somerset just reopened after remodeling and I got a free t-shirt. Now who doesn't love apple swag!

Matt Damon - Promoted to Top 3

Ok ladies, I know you have a list. We all do. It's that list of the top three movie stars/musicians (in my case) that hold a special spot in your heart (and/or mind.)

For the last five years my list has held steady.
3. Jude Law
2. Michael Vartan (Michael Vaughn from Alias)
1. Garrett Dutton (G. Love)

However, in my class (on my seniors last day of school) we watched the Bourne Idenity. Then I watched the Bourne Supremacy, starring Matt Damon. Wow! Not only are they both excellent movies (I heard that the books are good to, but the movies are great,) but Matt Damon stars in both. Hence Matt Damon moving up on the list.

So now the list stands.
3. Matt Damon
2. Michael Vartan
1. G. Love

I am looking forward in seeing the next movie in the series, the Bourne Ultimatum which is due out August 3. I am also planning on seeing Oceans 13 which comes out June 13.

For all you "list" naysayers, I know what you are thinking, "I am sure none of these people could care less about being on my list or frankly might even be creeped out by it." However, I am sure they don't care, that's what makes it fun. And who wouldn't be flattered to be on my list? Ha, ha. So since this is blog, please contribute who's on your list.

The Cha Cha Diva: Jaslene Wins ANTM

Ok, I know what you are thinking this is long over due and I agree. I received several complaints. But hey what can I do, it's the end of the school year and I have been busy, also I would like to put that blame squarely on Qix.net, my very crappy Internet service provider. But back to the main top: Jaslene was crowned America’s Next Top Model and I would like to say that yours truly predicted this. Yes, however, what I did not predict was the fact that the final two would be Jaslene and Natasha. Wow, let me tell you I am not sure what the judges were smoking when they watched the Cover Girl commercials, however it must have been strong, because yes they are pretty girls but neither of them could do a commercial to save their lives. I thought Renee was a shoe in for the final two, but apparently she looks too old, maybe it was all of those cigarettes she was smoking the entire show.

The finale of this show however, I must admit was a little lack luster. I think as a loyal viewer for 5 seasons now I know what to expect but this was just weird and boring. But hey not every season can be blockbuster, I look forward to the next. I did get a chance this Sunday to watch a marathon of the first top model on MTV. It made doing house work oh so much easier. This week we have a lot of season finales, but don't worry there will still be things to watch. Rob & Big is coming back to MTV on Tuesday nights for it's second season, yes, my small TV crush, Rob Drydek the skateboarder from Ohio returns to the airwaves. And I am thoroughly enjoying this season of Inferno III: Real World Road Rules Challenge.

I also will keep the season going for a couple more weeks, well I have been so crazy busy that TiVo and I haven't had a lot of quality time, so I have two more episodes of Heroes in the bank and Brothers and Sisters. So you won't hear me complain.

Go Tigers

Last night Olive, Angie and I went for a girl's night at the ball park, ironically we were seated behind two full rows of a bachelor's party. The game was a re-match of last year's world series - the Tigers vs. the Cardinals. The Tigers dominated the first four innings. Then the red birds started to catch up. However the Tigers were able to win in the end 8 - 7. I must admit I love going to the ballpark. I like baseball but what I love is all the crazy people you see. Like the cotton candy yelling big guy who sat next to Olive. He was so entertaining however Olive I think would have preferred a buffer so that she was not seated right next to him. After the game we hung around for the fireworks. It was a surprisingly long show. It's always fun hanging out with the girls however I must admit it's the biggest downfall of where I live now, it is so far away.

An Awarding Day
& The First Ever TiVo Changed My Life
Lifetime Achievement Award

Today was awards' day at St. Clair TEC. It's the day we invite parent's to come to honor our students. I was nominated the M.C. of the awards' day ceremony for the second year in a row, I am what you call a sucker! I don't mind, but growing up as Jennie Sahakian (sa-HACK-E-in), I know what it is like to have your name pronounced wrong all the time. So I do my best to try to learn the students correct pronunciation before I stand up there like a fool mispronouncing all their names. Needless to say I am not perfect and I still mispronounce a few, and in my defense when I went to their teachers to ask how their names where pronounced they didn't even know.

After the ceremony I always do classroom awards. My awards tend to be more humor filled, I like to remind the kids that even though I make them work, we also have a little fun. In my morning class Carl won Coffee Connoisseur, Andrew was awarded with DMT Social Director, Kristen won Most Likely to Name an Electronic Device (i.e. her Nikon Camera Benny) and Megan won the first ever TiVo Changed My Life Lifetime Achievement Award. I am sure all the loyal TiVo blog readers are wondering how does one get this awards, well it comes from being a loyal blog reader from the beginning, but not just that since meeting me Megan has convinced her parents into getting a TiVo, she has suggested some great television shows, she has now devoted herself to watching America's Next Top Model and she has started her own blog which is ironically called TiVo Did Not Change My Life, which we all know is LIE, hence the award. You may also wonder how someone so young can win a lifetime achievement award but I don't rate the length of the life, it's all about quality.

In the afternoon there were more great awards given: Matt got Least Likely to Use a Tripod, Kassie got the Hobby Lobby Expert and then there was Sarabeth who won the Bathroom Pass Super User award. Overall I really enjoy this day because I really like my students and I miss them over the summer. PLEASE DON'T TELL THEM. Also I hope you enjoy the pictures. I do, however I am not sure if I should concerned with the back row, there is nothing a little photoshop can't fix.

Mother's Day in Chicago

This weekend was a girl's weekend in Chicago. I went to Manchester on Friday night and my mom and I packed the minivan and headed to my sister's in Chicago. We arrived with some time for some bonding with the niece in nephew. We headed to the newly remodeled park at the end of the street. It was really cool, it had this sweet squishy surface under the equipment, apparently the concrete and wood chips they had for us as kids isn't considered safe anymore.

Then we got ready for a dinner at Charlie Trotter's. The restaurant is ranked 30th in the world. Who ranks these restaurants I am not sure, but it sounds impressive. We arrived by taxi, however, our taxi driver was somewhat crazy. I think taxi mad man might be more appropriate, he nearly took out a couple crossing the street, he also started driving the wrong way when we got in the car, thankfully we were with Krista who knew Chicago, because my mom and I would have ended up God knows where and never made our reservation. When we arrived at Charlie Trotters it was very elegant, we were greeted on the street and immediately inside the restaurant. We sat down, in a small cozy dinning room. It had low lighting and was smaller than I expected. Also it was very quiet, it almost felt like a library. The service staff almost whispered when they spoke with you. I was a little uncomfortable because well frankly I am somewhat loud, just ask Bruce and my family.

We did have a chance to use the services of a sommelier when deciding our wine choice, we didn't know what to get my mom likes sweet white wines, my sister likes dry red wines and I can do either. So the wine connoisseur picked out a nice subtly, oaky, slightly, fruity, dry, white wine. When it came time to pick our menu, you had a choice vegetarian or grand, I went with the grand. My mom and sister were scared off by the salmon ice cream, yes salmon ice cream, so they stuck to the vegetarian menu, but I figured why not try a little salmon ice cream and as it turns out it is delicious.

Here’s a look at the menu:

Scottish Langoustine with Mussels & Horseradish

Tasmanian Ocean Salmon with Orange Rind, Fennel Pollen & Cured Salmon Ice Cream

Casco Bay Cod with Picholine Olives, Artichokes & Stinging Nettles

Arkansas Rabbit Loin & Leg with Turnips, Fingerling Potatoes & Mustard Greens

Summer Farm Lamb Shoulder with Garlic, Aged Manchego & Parsley

Sweet Tofu with Meyer Lemon & Shiso

Organic Buttermilk with White Pepper, Toasted Mile Ice Cream & Nutmeg

Chocolate, Tea, Caramel

I am not certain that I had the dessert listed above, I thought they called my dessert ginger something, which was a ginger foam that surrounded my ice cream, it was actually my least favorite course, the ginger was too intense for me. Everything else I ate up, yes even the salmon ice cream it was delicious.

After dinner we went were invited into the kitchen for a tour, it was really cool, much smaller than I expected and everyone despite the fact they were working hard was very nice to us. It was definitely an experience I don’t think I will soon forget. So THANKS MOM!

After dinner we headed to the bar that my sister and brother-in-law own. The Handle Bar in Chicago’s Wicker Park. It was packed, we had fun chatting with the staff. I got a free t-shirt which is cool. It was fun hanging out with my sister, we sent a tired mom home in the cab a little earlier.

The next day we went a conservatory in at the Garfield Park Conservatory which is hosting a climbable sculpture display called Niki in the Garden. It was really cool and great for taking pictures of my niece and nephew.

Then we headed to the Handle Bar for lunch, which was delicious. Then we headed back to Michigan. Despite hitting bad traffic and road construction on the way back, it was a great trip.

True Fine Dining

This weekend for Mother's Day, ironically my Mom is taking my sister and I out to dinner. We are going for REAL fine dining in Chicago. Why do I call it real well it is has been ranked as one of the best restaurants in the world. It's a five star restaurant, I think it will be the only five star restaurant I have ever been to. It's called Charlie Trotters and is located in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood. We made reservations a couple of months ago. I am trying to plan what to wear. I am really excited, why well because not only will it be excellent food, but a good girl's night out.

On another note, it was "Teacher Appreciation Week," this week. I was surprised by one of my morning students who brought donuts in for the class. How did they know it was teacher appreciation week, well I must admit I did tell them, but by no means did I suggest I needed presents. It was much appreciated, which means I will have to have a student appreciation day before the end of the year.

With Just Three Left - Who Will be ANTM?

So this week the tables turned all those girls that hated NaNa aka Renee are now hating Natasha, the Russian beauty. I must agree with them the clips they showed, showed a girl slightly off her rocker, but that frankly as we all know is the beauty of video editing. This week Dion's constant angry face finally lost her spot in the final three. I liked her but the judges didn't.

So now is the time where I should know who will be ANTM. Will it be Jaslene the Latin Diva from Chicago? Will is be NaNa the mother, classic white girl beauty from Hawaii? Or will it be Natasha the Russian? Last Top Model was Caridee and if I have noticed anything they usually don't pick two white girls in a row, I think they like to diversify it. However the Russian throws a wrench in my plans because if I go by that theory it would be Jazlene, but do they view Russian the same way the view corn feed wholesome white girls. Hmmm... what kind of look are they going for, if I were betting it would be between Jaslene and Natasha. I love the judges impression of Natasha in judging, especially Tyra. It makes me giggle just thinking about it.

Well ANTM watchers what do you think? I think it's going to be Natasha, something different, why because the next challenge is the top model commercial and Jazlene in the past has fallen short on video, but I wouldn't be unhappy if she proves me wrong and wins, I like the the Latin Diva! So I guess you could say I am routing for Jazlene but I think Natasha, will be America's Next Top Model.

Also breaking news for your TiVo, it's the return of Rob & Big on MTV. Yes the dynamic duo will be coming back May 22nd. I must admit I am looking forward to their return, because we all know that I have a small TV crush on Rob Dyrdek.

Also for those of you who haven't been TiVo'ing Inferno III on MTV it's been good. Tonya, the crazy, is back in full force. She's taking out her rage on Susie the American Sweethart from Road Rules Australia (I know it's a sad fact that I know the episodes they are on, but hey what can I say, Real World and Road Rules were a staple of my college life.)

As for the rest of my shows, I haven't had much TiVo time this week, so tonight as I am at home with the animals (yes we are plus one dog, we are dog sitting for Bruce's folks' latest addition to the family. I will be sure to catch up but first a little more blogging while the internet is cooperating and then we are off for a run in the park.

Dear Wireless High-Speed Internet Provider QIX.net,

I am writing this open letter on the TiVo Changed My Life Blog to complain about you. Why? Well frankly you are letting me down. Every night I come home to post on my blog and you are not working. This is a recent development for you. For the first year of our service together you were fairly reliable and quick, however in the last month, I am lucky to be able to check my email when I get home. You make enjoying great things like YouTube and blogging with photos nearly impossible.

Just yesterday, I tried to post to my blog, but you only worked long enough for me to post the before picture of my trees-- so now the TiVo Change My Life loyal readers missed out on the much cleaner after photo. I am sure they were disappointed, however most would never let me know because they rarely post comments, but I can sense their disappointment.

I have called you about five times, however you never return my calls. Please don't ruin a good thing. There is still time to salavage this relationship, at least until December when the other high speed provider will start providing service to my neighborhood. So I guess this is a warning, that you won't ever see since you don't return my calls, but if you don't get things under control (get a reliable stream of internet to my house) by the end of the year, we will break up for good and I will be jumping ship to BIG TUBE! You hear me, I know... you aren't listening. Until then, consider me a thorn in your side, I will spend my nights filling up your voicemail until you CALL ME BACK.

Regards,
Your Disappointed Customer

Spring Clean-up

It's the time of year that we try to make our yard presentable. Let's say we didn't buy our house based on landscaping, unless you count our new pets, the hundreds of moles that spend their free time tunneling through our yard. We also have lots of trees, hence the pile of sticks.

This weekend we consulted the professionals, no we did not have our yard landscaped, I wish. We had the tree guys come out and do some trimming, ok I guess that is an understatement, they cut down trees. Don't worry all you tree huggers ( I am one too) I will be planting some new ones. But we had these scrubby trees on the edge of our property. It's the same edge that many people who come to the great store right next to us like to park and like to litter, no I am not bitter, I am angry. It drives me crazy, when I see who drop stuff, I yell at them. I am the crazy lady. So we thought if we thinned out the crappy trees that created a cover for people to litter it might limit the opportunity. We shall see if it helps, if not I have another plan.

Yes, you have probably guessed it, I will be dressing up as a bush all summer and laying and wait to jump out at anyone who drops anything. I will scare the littering out of them.

In other yard news, I have been enjoying my flowers, especially my hanging plants that I bought from the Future Farmers of America at a discount price. They are beautiful, and they help distract from the lack of beauty on the ground.