Why drive 80 miles for an annual physical?

The answer is when your doctor is Becky Patrias - you would drive as far as you have too! I get this question a lot from people who learn that I still drive to Chelsea, Michigan to go to the doctors. But clearly they have never had a doctor, like Dr. Patrias. She is the kind of doctor that everyone should have. The kind of doctor that cares not only about your health but about you.

I have been going to Dr. Patrias since I was in middle school - soon after I was a patient my mom became a patient and we both agree. Dr. Patrias makes us look forward to our annual physical. (I know what you are thinking - that's weird.) But when you think about it - it shouldn't be weird. The medical profession has become a hierarchal society - where the doctors rule over you and your health - and you feel powerless, when in the end it's YOUR health. However, when it comes to my health - Dr. Patrias and I are a team. I know that she is there to help guide me in my best interest. Whenever I have had any issues with my health - we work together to find the best solution for me.

When I arrive at my annual - her first question is always - how are you? And she means how are you - what have you been up to? And you sit and chat for a while - and she knows you - you just aren't another number. I can be honest about things that are going on with my body and not fear that she will look down on me or scold me (like the dentist does when they find out that I hate flossing.) So I am not afraid to tell you that I love my doctor and I will continue to drive to see her.

G. Love in the Snowy Windy City

So Saturday night I had my first G. Love & Special Sauce experience in Chicago bringing Megan & Krista into my madness.

First details on the show. G. Love wasn't feeling well. Earlier in the week he had canceled a show in Iowa - and when he got on stage you could still see/hear that he wasn't feeling well, but in true G. Love style - he performed well. I was lurking on the G. Love forum and there was some discussion as to whether or not he should have canceled, but let me tell you even G. Love sick is still a good show. Plus traveling all the way to Chicago, it would have been very disappointing to have him cancel.

Some highlights of the show: he started with my favorite song - I-76 which was closely followed by Holla. He played Back of the Bus. In his shorter than usual acoustic set - he played Gimme Some Lovin' and Beautiful. He also did a pretty cool beat-box with Rodeo Clowns. I had never seen that before and both Olive and I thought it was great.

This show I felt more like an anonymous fan again, which I appreciate. I was certain that G. Love would have long forgotten what his biggest fan contest winner looked like. So I got to be in the front row again and love ever minute. However, I was unable to take pictures because security cracked down - they wouldn't even let you bring your camera into the show, which is very disappointing. (More on that later.) To me it should be the artist's call - and it seems like G.L.A.S.S. has always been very receptive to that. Like when security was yelling at someone behind me: G. Love had this "what the hell" look on his face.

Overall the sound quality wasn't the best because G. Love was sick, but despite everything I had a great time. Sick or not the show still ended with great energy. The house was packed, he sold out the theater. And Chicago is also now non-smoking so when we left didn't smell like ashtrays.

So that was the concert recap - here is the weekend recap.

Olive and I drove out Saturday morning. We stopped at my sisters house to hang out with the kids and to pick up Krista for the nonsense. (And because I wanted to see my favorite niece and nephew.) Krista was shocked to hear that we were planning on arriving at the concert venue before doors even opened. So she opted out and decided to meet us there instead. I think here quote was "if tickets to a general admission show say 8:30 pm, I will show up at 8:25 pm at the earliest."

So we left her with her children and husband and headed downtown to check into the Hyatt Regency on Wacker (thank you priceline.com.) I changed into my new H&M G.L.A.S.S concert attire. It was fun and not a normal Jennie outfit. Then we headed to the Rivera Theatre. We arrived at 6 pm and doors opened at 7 pm and we were lucky because we were the first ones in line! That meant we would have front row spots guaranteed! Which is what we were looking for. Despite the large amount of snow on the ground - it wasn't too chilly standing in line.

As we stood in line we chatted up this nice off-duty police officer named Brian who was working security. Brian has a house in Hastings, Michigan and likes Michiganders (which was helpful later on.) Soon there were other G. Love fans arriving. I again got to feel like a mini celebrity - when people recognized me from Biggest Fan Video. Here's a picture with me and Shark from the G. Love forums. She was super nice and let me snap a photo. She came to the show from Minneapolis, MN. Angie from the forum was also there, but I didn't get to meet her - because we didn't linger after the show we were anxious to get back to see Brian (see below for reasoning.)

The thing I like most about the G. Love fans is they are (for the most part) really nice mellow people. I enjoy meeting new people at shows and believe it or not there are people who may just be bigger fans than me, yes they fly all over the country to meet up and see him. I on the other hand stick strictly to the midwest - unless I already happen to be going there like Berlin this summer.

Well the show started after the opening band Rue Mello (she tried hard, but I am not running to by their c.d. - her outfit was enough to scare me away. I am sure you are thinking - why don't you show us what she looked like, well that's because I didn't have my camera, it's not that I didn't bring my camera, it's that they didn't allow them in and I wasn't feeling gutsy enough (I know shocking) to try to sneak it in.

Which begs the question what happened to the camera - well our new friend Brian, was holding cameras for both Olive & I. Yes, we trusted a total stranger to hold onto our digital cameras during the concert. And thankfully he agreed to and returned them to us at the end of the night as promised. Apparently you cannot bring cameras in the Rivera Theater, however that would be helpful to know in advance. Because they were like go put your camera in your car - Olive and I looked at each other and we were like - ummmm what car? We took public transportation. So Brian who felt bad for us, because we didn't have a car to stash them in and we were from Michigan, put them in his car and returned them to us as promised at the end of the show! Points for the big mitten state! So thanks Brian (pictured with me above) the friendly Chicago cop with a house in Hastings!

Right now I am still in the G. Love after glow, which Olive determines lasts about a week, for me it may be a month. So this will probably be my last show until Berlin this summer!

Happy Birthday Olive

Last night we celebrated Olive's birthday with Mango Margaritas and the Cat Bag (as pictured above.) So this is year six of the cat bag and everyone commented on how well it's holding up. I have to agree.

Dinner was filled with lots of fun conversation - however at one point it steered to a conversation of being a fan. (G. Love = Me and George Michael = Olive) Of course there were was lots of discussion, especially with me because I carry the title of G. Love's Biggest Fan. We spent much time on how disappointed G. Love probably was when he met his "biggest fan." A married, midwest, teacher in her late 20's - who doesn't smoke pot. Yes - he was probably more disappointed than he could have ever been with his cure. They were teasing me last night when I said that meeting him was fun but it brought my obsessive fandom down a notch. I heard a lot of "what did you expect?" to be honest I don't really know how to answer that question. Did I think we would be friends? Did I want him to leave with that longing feeling and feeling of lose because he had missed his chance with me because I was married? To answer these questions - hmmmm - really I have no idea what I wanted. I am a self-proclaimed geeky (funny) lady (I would write girl but I am feeling a little older as of late, I have stopped getting carded, my mom told me I no longer look like I am in high school and all the kids at school keep calling me ma'am) - let's face it my patented dance is a horrible version of the robot and I have a serious relationship with my TiVo.

So why am I still pondering these questions the next morning - well it could be the fact that I am about to go to my first G. Love concert of 2008 - quickly followed by another in Chicago and to end the cycle with a concert in Berlin this summer (yes - he will be playing when I go to visit Germany this summer.) I am excited about seeing him in concert - it helps me feel a little younger. Well I better finish reading this chapter for my grad school class that has literally take me a couple days to read - it's only 40 pages, however I think those pages are filled with the same things they put in decongestant because I keep falling asleep the minute I pick it up.

7 random facts about me

Seven Random Things About Jennie

7 random facts about me

The rules:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself: some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
4. Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

1. Most times I refuse to participate in shinanagans like this, but I will do anything right now to get out of doing my homework.

2. I was hit by Mikey Zelenski -- a neighbor -- with a baseball bat across the face. I was a catcher and apparently I moved a little to close to the plate while he backed up to get a better angle on the ball. When he realized what he did - he said sorry and took off running, because he was afraid of my dad.

3. I can't dance --- but I do a mean robot. Just ask anyone. The picture to the right is someone else doing the robot.. however, those of you who have seen me know... my pure natural talent for this dance. I can see you smiling from here.

4. I wore all black and listened to the cure in middle school. (see #3)

5. I watched American Beauty for the first time in the theater with CNN's Christiane Amanpour and the head of CNN International Eason Jordan. However, I never ended up working at CNN. Hmmmmm.

6. I hate (and I mean hate) heights -- especially when it comes to driving over bridges. It's an abnormal fear. For more explanation read here.

7. At one time I thought I wanted to be a nuclear engineer... clearly that didn't happen.

Here are my tags:
Amy: She might actually do this.
Jenn: I have never actually meet her but I have been reading her blog for more than a year and feel like I know her
Mary Ann: Because she was super blogger in Geneva and has not posted since August 10.
Todd: Because he clearly tagged everyone on my blog leaving me now one to tag!!!!! Carl & Megan - NO FAIR!!
Yeah -- I don't have seven.

Fall is in the Air

It's getting to be late September and that means two things to my stomach: fresh donuts and apple cider from the cider mill. Yes, I can't get enough. Today, my loving husband made the trek to the cider stand (yes, we don't go to the mill because really we could give a care about pictures, hay rides and the madness that is hundreds of families with children all under the age of 5) - we head to the stand where the cider is cheaper and the donuts are fresh (yes made daily with the donut robot.)

I finally got a chance to sit down with TiVo today: so far, I have watched Beauty & the Geek and The Hills. (I am saving ANTM for tomorrow, I have waited this long and it will help me break up my school work tomorrow.) Yes, I am having a somewhat lazy Saturday. I am not complaining (but I guess it may sound like it) with two full classes at school and then two college classes, I am a busy gal, which means I don't have much time for TiVo except on the weekends. I also haven't made much time for running this week either. I also would like to point out to my loyal readers who I am sure already know, this schedule has also cramped my blogging style, however, I will do my best to pick that up. Despite the fact that I am still in my pajamas and it is 2:40 pm, I am going to make running the next thing on my to-do list (after finishing this blog.) Then from there I am going to finally join the living as I head to Mary's 30th Birthday celebration.

The Cat Bag Returns
this time for me

Yes, it's that cat bag and that means it is either Olive or my birthday. This time we were celebrating my 29th birthday. Yes, I am in the last year of my 20's how did we officially celebrate: Thai Food & Fruity Drinks. It was fun hanging out with the girls & Bruce was even able to join us.

On Saturday (the real birthday and apparently it is also World Rabies Day, who knew,) it was pretty low key. I woke up late (after waking up at 6 am in a panic thinking I forgot to set my alarm, only to have Bruce say, Jennie's it's Saturday, it's your birthday come back to bed.) Then we woke up and I got fabulous presents from my loving husband, which included a starbucks card, a super cute sweater from Jcrew (pictured to the right,) and gift certificate to the massage. Then we took a nap. Yes my birthday requires lots of rest. We went to the gym and ran. For dinner we had Don Pablo's nothing says happy birthday like Tex-Mex.

It was funny because my phone hadn't rang all day then I realized when we got in the car that I had left it in my car overnight. I had seven different birthday messages to listen to, including several renditions of Happy Birthday from my parents to my students.

Today is another birthday in my family. My Aunt Elena turns 50, all I have to say is I hope I look that good when I turn 50. Happy Birthday Aunt Elena!

Small Car - 8 People - Geneva, Switzerland

This is the video of 8 people cramming themselves into a Colt Fashion.

7:11 Reunites For Bobby Crim

This weekend the 7:11 club came together again for the another run. The Ohio delegates braved the storms of the mid-west to drive to Michigan and run. Now that is dedication. Of course as always the weekend was jam packed with activities. On Friday night we went to KC's apartment in Grand Blanc to carbo-load for the big run on Saturday.

The drive from Lapeer was well very exciting. The rain was coming down in sheets. We listened to the radio which by the way did not really warn us appropriately that that same storm was causing a tornado just miles in Fenton. I think Bruce enjoyed the drive in jeep. I however was white knuckling the Oh Sh*t bar in the front seat.

We all had a delicious dinner prepared by KC. Everyone got their official Crim Packet and 7:11 club t-shirt, especially made for the run, we also called the Florida delegate to tell her that she was missed and remind her to buy her plane ticket for the next event, before they get too expensive.

Then we headed back to the Holladay Inn... Yes the Smith family Robear, wife and children came to Attica where they spent the evening with us. By the time we got their the two little ones were wiped out. However, Bruce, Robear and I managed to stay up for a little while and reminisce about good ole' Geneva!

We woke up early for the race, mainly because Robear needed his Tim Horton's coffee fix. Yes the man will drive 20 miles out of his way for a cup of Tim's java and Timbits. Thank God we only had to drive to Lapeer, which happens to be on the way. We got to Flint and the weather was a little rainy, but not too hot so I didn't mind that.

We started the 8K race in the pack but quickly went our own pace. Our motto "we'll wait for you" yes we may leave you behind, but we will wait for you at the finish. Well on this run, they all had to wait for me. I came in 20th in my age group 25-29 with a time of 50:38, just over 10 minute miles. Not great but not bad, considering this is the second time I have run 5 miles since breaking my foot in July of '05. Bruce took the lead for the club with a time of 45:25... You can go here for all the results.

I guess I could have pushed myself a little more because I had plenty of energy to dance at the party. But in away you could have called that my strategy. Unfortunately the only one who wanted to dance with me was the four year-old. I think that is just because they can't handle my moves. Yes I am killer at the robot. Those of you who have seen know what I am talking about. It was a grand time even in the rain.

I could have stayed longer but KC had a wedding and the out-of-towners needed to hit the road and I don't blame them. Because when I got home to Lapeer County I was exhausted, but that was quickly cured by a 4 hour nap. Yes, the joys of my life.

However if you are a runner, let me tell you how much I love the Bobby Crim race. It's a great time. I have always had fun and I have been going as long as I can remember. But if you go, make sure you stay for the party! Nothing is better than a bunch of sweaty runners cutting loose on the dance floor. Just watch out for my robot.

The next run - well we are thinking about the Detroit Marathon Relay in October. However we would need a couple more people to make up two teams... who's with us? I am serious.

Staying in Touch

I must be the first to admit, I am not the best when it comes to staying in touch. Now don't get me wrong, it's not that I once I leave I completely stop thinking about my friends. I just am horrible at keeping in touch. I left high school for Missouri and I did a poor if not awful job at staying in touch with my high school friends. Then our lives seemed to be so far apart and for the most part I didn't even know where to start looking for them. But the weird thing is, I still think about my friends a lot, like Jessica Collins, I wonder what she is up to, Andrew Shook, Debbie Walters, Mark Harris... I also sometimes think about my old cross country coach... Coach Vitale, I am not even sure of his first name. Funny. I just remembered it's Craig Vitale.

on In college, I had so many different groups of friends. My Maneater School Newspaper staff crowd, my Journalism School friends, and the KOMU crowd. I often think about my friend Liz Cafer, I have tried looking her up but never seem to find her. I recently found my friend GrinerMyspace and I know Ahmer (sp) writes for the Chicago Tribune. I wonder what J.T. is up to? Is Scott Schmidt still at KOMU? I wonder how my old roomates Jenny & Angela are doing as Moms. What Elizabeth did after Yale? I wonder where Kale & Elizabeth are, I know Aimee is in D.C. But I don't call her nearly as much as I should.

Then I moved to Kansas City and I had friends from work, my neighbors and my running crowd. And I think about them all a lot at different times. I wonder how my running partner Anne Marie is doing with her work in Africa. I actually got to see a lot of my KCTV friends in June. It was nice to touch base again, it really didn't seem like 6 years since I had left. Then there are my neighbors, like Ruthie, whose phone number is still in my phone, not sure why I haven't deleted it, but I will never call her again, because if I did she would be like ok, who are you? Or my friend Jason, who used to go shopping with me when I got off of my morning shift, who I think moved back to Texas but really I have no idea.

Even here in Michigan, I have my friends from WDIV. I do make an effort to see them, but it easier to see some than others. There is also The Henry Ford. When you work with people, I have found that you form such close relationships, because you see them almost more than you see your family, but eventually they leave or you leave and you get busy. The next thing you know, it's an email here and an email there.

But it's wierd, as I think about these people, I wonder am I the only one that does this? Do other people do it? Do I pop into any of my old friends heads at strange times? And if so what do they think about?

Every time I think of these people it's happy memories. I wonder what they are up to now, if I will ever see them again. I wonder if I ever pop into their minds or do I pop into other peoples minds, people I am not thinking about? Don't get me wrong, I think as life goes on your friends change, because there is no way to keep every intense friendships ongoing, with everyone you meet. I do admire my friends who seem to have a lot of long lasting friendships, with people from all different times in their lives. I do have friendships from childhood, college and my professional life and I do have many friends that I have had for a long time, most of these friends are friends that can tolerate my absence. That know that even thought I am not emailing or calling I am thinking about them. They are patient with me and usually when we get back together we pick up right where we left off.

I am pretty good with the cell phone, especially on my commute in the car on the way home, but that doesn't really work with people who are employed do to the fact that I commute home between 3:30 - 4:30 EST. I am also an ace with the instant messenger and of course now I have incorporated skyping into my evening regimen. I can do this all while watching ANTM and all my favorites on MTV. However my internet has been slower lately so I must stick with the chat option, I haven't had tons of luck with the internet phone calls.

Why not email: I love to get email, however, I rarely respond. Why not? Well usually when I check my email I am rushing around, or at work. So I say to myself, I am not going to write back now, I am going to wait until I have time to put the proper thought into the email, usually I will start to write the email but then I have to you know work. Well needless to say by the time I sit down with the proper thought it has been days, if not weeks and then everything is old, so I should start again but I don't have time and then the vicious cycle repeats itself.

How to end this blog? Well first I have to thank those who put up with me and my not so constant contact. And to my new friends, be fore warned if you haven't heard from me, it's not that I am not thinking about you. I am just not emailing you. Or better yet, you should just start a blog, I will read that and respond with a witty comment. Or at least one I think is witty.

Happy 300th!

TiVo Changed My Life blog hits another milestone: 300 posts. I want to first thank my loyal readers. I know most of you are related to me and therefore forced to read or you are my friend and read out of pity, but thank you anyway.

What to blog about on the historic 300th post, how about jet lag? Yes, I am getting reacquainted with the Eastern Standard Time Zone after nearly 4 weeks in Europe. What are the effects, well I wake up early. Bruce and I have been getting up without an alarm before 7 am. For those of you who know us (and as previously stated most of you are family or friends, so you know us) know that we are late sleepers, who given the chance will sleep long past 11 am if given the chance. On the flip side I get tired at about 7:30 pm, and I am in bed no later than 9:30 pm. This could be considered a good thing since I am going back to work on Monday. (Bruce doesn't go back for another two weeks, grrrrrr, but I am not bitter.)

Since I have been back I have been cleaning a lot trying to get things back in order before I get back to work. I am also getting ready for the 8K run at the Crim on August 25th. The running club with the exception of our Florida & New York delegates will be running. The New York delegate doesn't participate in many of our extra-curricular activities, but he is also probably the fastest runner among us. Hmmmm is there a connection here? Bruce got our shirt design to the printers today, so we will have our t-shirts in time for the Crim.

Today, I went to see the Bourne Identity with Megan, who's leaving for Chicago next week. We both are big Matt Damon fans, so it was a mutual appreciation for him, I mean his work. The movie gets two thumbs up! If you are a fan of the Bourne films, this is a definite must see. It was fun to watch after just being in Paris, because part of it was filmed there, just like the Bourne Supremacy was filmed in Berlin. But after the Bourne Ultimatum what comes next? Whatever the title, I am ready.

This weekend we are heading to Marine City for the annual Salisbury family reunion, then on Sunday we are heading to Ann Arbor to hit the Mac Store with my mom, who is about to cross-over from the darkside (PC's) into the happy land of Macs. And we welcome her with open arms.

Oh Calumet...

Ok, I have been back from up north for a while but I finally was able to get this video edited down and uploaded to YouTube. It's my cousin's expression of why they love Old Calumet. Enjoy!

Travelin' Blues

Last night, Olive, Angie & I went to Steve's Place, a bar next to St. Andrew's Hall, to see our new friend Travelin' Blues play. Who is Travelin' Blues? Well his first name is Steve but he goes by Travelin' Blue. We first saw him play in March when G. Love brought him up on stage at St. Andrew's Hall. Then we saw him again when we went to Cleveland to see G. Love and Special Sauce. In May, Olive and I tracked him down to be part of my biggest fan video. So you should recognize him, I am sure he's the reason, that I won! We ran into Steve again this week in Toledo and Grand Rapids at the G. Love and Special Sauce concerts.

At that moment, Olive and I decided that we needed to see Steve play in Detroit. So we went to see Steve play at Steve's Place a little bar next to St. Andrew's Hall that seems to be frozen in time. We sat and talked with Travelin' Blue while Steve the owner who had to be in his late 70's to early 80's waited on us. Before we left Travelin' Blue played the blues, there were just a handful of people in the bar, but the crowd loved every minute.

So here's my plug for Travelin Blue, go see him play. He plays on Monroe Street at the edge of Greektown closest to I-375 and every weekend you can see him play at Steve's Place. If you love the blues, which I do, go see Travelin' Blue. He will play for you and you will become a fan too, I promise.

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.

Max & the Three Bears

Of course he is shy for the camera, but I am working on getting my actors (Max & Sophie) more comfortable in front of the camera. Give me time.

High on Fun - Packed with Calories

Well this weekend started out with tub of popcorn at the movies and ended with a pizza at my in-laws. And what happened in the middle tasted better, had more calories and was just as much fun. On Friday night, Bruce had to work at Local 4, so I headed to the movies to see, "In the Land of Women." Which is a total chick flick and I was pretty sure that no man would want to see it, so I went to the Lapeer Cinema's by myself, I got a tub of popcorn and a coke, that was well my dinner and enjoyed the show. It was funny because the guy moves from LA to his grandmother's home in Michigan of all places, however it was not Michigan just somewhere else with a lot of Michigan license plates. Also I noticed that most of the cars they used where not American cars and I was thinking that is funny, because in this state more than any other state people are more likely to by American and it felt like the majority of cars with the Michigan license plates well were not. But hey, its funny they didn't call me to be the "Michigan Consultant" on the project. The overall movie was ok, not great, but I didn't leave wanting to ask for a refund.

Then Saturday we woke up early and headed to Greenfield Village to meet my mom, dad, sister, niece and nephew for "A Day Out with Thomas." For all of you who were like me a couple of years ago, Thomas is Thomas the Tank Engine. He is the main character in a series of children's books and television shows. And the kids go crazy for him, and some one is making huge money off that. Yes, they bring in a full-sized Thomas that travels across country stopping a railroads to give kids a ride. This weekend (and next) Thomas is at Greenfield Village in Dearborn. If you have never been to a Thomas event you will quickly see that the median age is 7, it's that high because the 2 -5 year-olds can't drive themselves, they need their parents to get them there. So we were at Greenfield Village with about 10,000 2- 5 year-olds who were in 7th heaven because they got to go on Thomas.

Max and Sophie were also very excited to see Thomas. When it actually came to riding him, Sophie seemed to enjoy it much more that her brother. Max liked it for the first 5 minutes and then said he was ready to go to the "brown house" which is code for Grandma and Grandpa's house. However, it's funny as the day went on, he seemed to have more and more fun with Thomas. After we had our ride on Thomas (that sounds wrong) we went to meet his friend the life sized "Sir Topham Hat" we all agree that he resembles Mr. Peanut. Well he stood under a tent and got his picture taken with the kiddies. Max was sooooo excited when he saw Sir Topham Hat, so excited that he wanted to cut in line to get closer. We reigned him in, however when it was his turn, he was not all about Sir Topham Hat. Sophie was but Max started to freak out, which you can clearly see in these photographs.

Then we headed over to the carousel for fun. However it turns out that when there are nearly a million toddlers in Greenfield Village who only get to ride on Thomas (I know wrong right) once they immediately head to the carousel. Which meant we waited for what seemed like FOREVER to ride the world's longest carousel ride, but the kids liked it, then we hit the Thomas Gift Shop, where you could have bought pretty much anything with Thomas on it, however they didn't make shirts in my size, ridiculous... We got away cheap they kids just wanted a Thomas Balloon, when I say cheap that was just $12, we could probably spent a lot more. Then we high tailed it out of there, the troops were getting restless.

We headed home and we were hungry. Max requested that: "we stop at the french fry store and get some chicken nuggets and a turtle, please." The turtle is the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle toys that Mickey D's was given out. Well how can you say, no to that. You don't so we stopped at McDonald's for lunch. Then we headed home to Manchester. We played outside, the kids helped Grandpa with his shoveling. Then we packed up the minivan again, this time we headed west to Jackson for an All-Star Dairy (aka the parlour) dinner. Yes, that is ice cream I am talking about. So for those of you keeping track we had McDonald's then ice cream.

Sophie and Grandma were the only ones able to finish. Mainly because well Grandma got a junior sundae. Krista and I went with the full almond combo which is made with vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, caramel and almonds. Grandma had the same as us, but only the junior so that meant it was smaller. Max and Sophie went with chocolate ice cream and sprinkles. At the end Sophie was drinking what was left from her bowl, it was well amazing. On the way home we sang the best of Sesame Street tunes in the car. Here is some video, but I want to preface that I was in the back seat trying to shoot video of what was in front of me while staying buckled in - safety first. Then we went home, the kids had baths and Grandma made homemade popcorn on the stove.

This morning Grandpa made us breakfast and then Aunt Jennie painted Sophie's nails and toe nails again . Then it was time for me to head back north. It was a great weekend. I love hanging out with the fam. Max and Sophie are so talkative and they say the funniest things, like for instance when Sophie told Grandpa that he shouldn't come to the ice cream store because he did not stop Nina (the dog) from chasing them. Or when Max talked about his Day Out with Thomas or when he would read you the Three Bears story with the voices.

However, I did make a point of running at the park when I got home. I put in a good three miles. I needed to work off something from the weekend and it was too gorgeous not to be outside.

A New Cell Phone

It was that time in my cell phone contract when I could upgrade to a new phone. I was actually excited about this idea, usually I am so in love with my cell phone by the time it comes due that I reject the new phone, because I have to get used to it and it doesn’t work like my old phone. But this time I was actually excited, why, well the new phone will have a better camera, which means better mo-blogging. Yes, I am always thinking about the TiVo Changed My Life audience. Plus it flips open two ways and well it makes me look cool (it’s a great optical illusion.)

However, the process in which I got the phone was frustrating. Here’s what happened, the story starts a couple months ago, Bruce got his new Motorola Q. When we were there the customer service informed me that I was eligible for my new cell phone on April 14th.

So on April 14th, which was Saturday, I excitably went to the Verizon Store in Uttica, to get my new phone. When I arrived, they punched my name and number into their computer and I was put in line. Then salesman Dave approached me. He was a young seemingly friendly guy, but that soon changed.

The first thing he said was, “who’s Bruce?”
I replied, Bruce is my husband.

Well Dave tells me that Bruce must be there in order to get the phone, but I am more than welcome to buy it at full price. (Oh yes, Dave, that’s what I want to do instead of getting the renewal price, I want to pay 4 times as much. You read my mind) He then says I can only renew my line if I am an authorized user. I said that is funny because they would let me order it no problem online. I then ask if we can we call Bruce. He says no. Then after some pressing he says that Bruce can call Verizon customer service and make me an “authorized user.” So I call Bruce, but as I wait around,

Dave approaches again to tell me that I should just go ahead and go home and order it online.
I said, “why my husband is calling customer service right now.”
Dave says, “oh well I will have to charge you $20 more to get it here at the store.”
“WHAT?”
“Yes, because you aren’t the main line we charge an extra $20 to get your phone in the store.”
“Why didn’t they let me know that when they told me to come back to this store to get it?”
“Well that’s the policy..”
“Can’t there be an exception, I have driven 40 minutes from my house to get there?”
“No.”
“But there is no information anywhere on the website indicating this, no one told me last time.”
“Sorry.”
There was some more banter with me trying to get him to even ask a manager to see. His answers: “No, No, No, No No and again just get it on the internet.
I will have to come back here to get all my numbers transferred.”
“Yes we will be happy to do that for free, but you have to come back.”
“What….”

I got so frustrated I left; I called Bruce on my way out to vent. He asked had I left yet, I said, yes. He told me to turn around. Then he called customer service again. And they did exactly what Dave refused to do, made an exception, however they said it was odd, because they don’t usually charge the $20 fee. Hmmmm. I am starting to feel that Dave wasn’t interested in helping me at all.

I went back, under duress. I wanted to say that’s it with Verizon Wireless. However, since I had convinced my entire family to use verizon wireless, I could not very well switch now. So I went back, this time they sent me to customer service, which I quickly learned is where I should have been in the first place.

Here we introduce Brandy, super customer service rep. She was so nice and get this HELPFUL. Dave could learn a few, well everything from her. It turns out Dave works on commission and probably didn’t see me as $$, but I am just wondering why in the hell he didn’t send me there in the first place.

Brandy was able to hook my up with my snazzy new phone, with get this not charging me the $20 additional fee. She was so helpful and she even listened to me vent about my earlier experience. She made me feel that I wasn’t being unreasonable at all. So if you are ever going to the Verizon wireless store in Utica, Michigan on Hall Road, make sure you ask for Brandy and steer clear of the least helpful sales person ever: Dave.

This is a good laugh...
I got this from Todd, but I keep re-watching it because well it makes me smile and laugh out loud.

I am not sure if this picture does the message on this sign justice, but if you need help reading it, it reads:

WE HAVE 5 DIPS HERE

I am just curious who are these Dips and do the Dips know Dan & Lisa Cheese Pretzel?

A short G. Love Break...
Ok this blog has been a little G.L.A.S.S. obsessed as of late. So here is a little Easter Break with the adorable Sophia and Max Deth, aka my niece and nephew.

Steve the Travelin' Blues Man & G. Love in Cleveland