Catching Up With TiVo

I should be writing my paper for grad school, however I am catching on two weeks of TiVo. I think i just needed a release. What a better way to do that than with two episodes of ANTM?

What have we learned from the first show (which would have originally aired last week - remember I am catching up) was that there are some DIVAS this season. Wow! We are having cat fights and we are hardly into the season. Bianca - that girl has got a tongue on her and she is willing to whip it out at anyone. This episode was ok. The girls are starting to be nicer to Heather the model with Aspbergers. In the end Bianca was in the last two and Kimberly the girl from the small town in Florida was kicked off.

Now the show I have been waiting for the Makeover Show! (Sorry Helen I only ignored your email because I hadn't watched it yet. So I ran home to watch it so that I could give you the skinny!) When the girls got the news of the makeover they were cheering, but I knew there would be tears and all I have to say is bring on the tears. The first couple are very disappointing. Then they got to Ebony - Thank good the wig is gone. That thing was nasty. Jenah looks so different as a blonde. Then there was the drama Bianca hair was so damaged that they couldn't make her go long and blonde like Tyra wanted - so she had to go so short and then got her look via a wig.

I must admit I enjoy the drama of other seasons makeover show better than this one. However the episode isn't over yet.

The photoshoot was plants - where they became plants, flowers and even weeds. Bianca rocked it in the shoot. Heather was the weed. Victoria is coming out as super nerdy and odd. And we all know that I love nerdy, but she is almost angry nerdy. Chantel got sumer emotional - I didn't get the drama.

Wow -- Victoria bite the judges heads off in panel. Bold mood - will they keep her for the drama or will they chuck her? Give or take her I could care. And the judges said - goodbye smarty pants. Now I am caught up and that means I must get to bed -- I have school tomorrow and a paper to finish tomorrow night.

Happy Birthday Family, Megan & Sue!

It's October - which might as well be Christmas if you are in my family -- because we celebrate the entire first 11 days. It's the Sahakian birth month.

Here's a break down of the celebration:

October 1 - Cousin Jessie
October 3 - Aunt Mary Ann
October 5 - Mom
October 10 (TODAY) - Dad & Uncle Jim (yes for those who are keeping track at home - they are twins)
October 11 - Cousin Olivia, Megan & Sue (The last two are not technically family, but they are loyal readers, so I count that.)

Now don't get me wrong, I enjoy birthdays so its always a good time and it always means CAKE & ice cream. Why do I love birthdays so much? Well my parents always treated our birthday like our very own personal holiday. We got to pick out a special birthday dinner. Every birthday morning I can remember as a child included being woken up to the tune of Happy Birthday by my mom, dad and or both parents. The entire family would come over for cake and ice cream and the annual picture at the end of the family dinner table behind a cake with the appropriate number of candles, as the rest of the family would sing Happy Birthday. Some people aren't into birthdays like I am and I feel bad for them. Regardless of the fact that every birthday adds another year to my age, I enjoy the celebration. I enjoy the happiness it brings. And don't get me wrong I love my birthday, but I love birthdays in general. I get just as excited for October as I do September. I try to do my part to make them feel as special each year as they make me feel.

This year my mom celebrated her 60th birthday, today my dad and Uncle Jim are celebrating their 29th... (+/- 30) They all look fabulous. I am grateful that I have good genes!

This past weekend, I went out to the Sahakian Family Homestead to hang out with the fam for the celebration. My sister came out from Chicago with the kids, who were hilarious as always. My niece and nephew had costumes from the secondhand store in town which they proceeded to sport for most of my stay. My nephew Max was a sweet clown that did awesome tricks. Stay tuned for the YouTube videos. Then there is Sophie who is the girliest girlie girl ever. I have no idea how my sister ended up with a child that loves pink, doesn't want to wear anything but a dress and loves Barbies (yes she ended up with her sister for a child - ha ha.) Sophie had a beautiful wedding gown that she wore while we played with her favorite Aunt Jennie's 25+ year-old Barbie collection in the basement. Good Times!

I am a Klutz

This is a well known fact amongst my family members. I was the kid who couldn't walk down the hallway of our ranch home without hitting walls. Yes I would have failed the straight line test miserably due to lack of natural balance. Then there was the time in fifth grade when I fractured my wrist sliding into first base, apparently you don't ever slide into first base. (We all know that I wasn't playing softball for the love of the sport - it was merely social. Something to do!) Then there was the time I broke my foot on the railroad tracks while I was working with a film crew in Greenfield Village. As an adult, my klutz wounds are usually not so obvious. I have bruises on my legs from walking into stuff, but that usually can be hidden with the clothes I wear.

So why am I bringing up this now -- well let's say that I have managed to break out it again. This time a bathroom stall door hit me across the face. After the my nose stopped bleeding, I am left with an aching head, a sore nose and two black eyes that aren't that pronounced by seem to be getting worse. As one student asked me, "Mrs. Holladay are you ok - you just don't look right." The lighting isn't great -- but those dark circles aren't because I am tired - that is a bruise. And the bridge of my nose well that is swollen. So I am off to bed hoping that tomorrow will bring yet another shade of blue to my face.

G. Love & Special Sauce
DVD Premiere

Last night the girls got together for the official viewing of the G. Love & Special Sauce DVD - A Year and a Night. I actually ordered the DVD when I was in Europe only to have it arrive while I was gone. But I knew that I couldn't watch it without the company of Olive and Angie. I left it sealed to prove that I hadn't watched it yet.

So last night with pizza and fresh apple cider (straight from the orchard -- yes I know what you are thinking we are real wild and crazy, I think that's probably what G. Love thought when he met us.) We settled in for the premiere of the G. Love DVD.

Here's my review:

The first thing I thought is I could have done this. Yes, that journalism degree and working in television would have done the trick -- to be honest the editing and video work did not blow me away. As I was watching I actually got a little pissed off thinking why didn't I do this, I could have hung out with the band for a year and produced a much better film. Then I remembered that would have never happened...

Things I liked. I really liked the band interaction, however most of the interaction we saw was fighting. It appears after 13 years of traveling on the road together you are more like squabbling siblings than anything else. Which I actually appreciated -- and which leaves me to say I wish there was more of. I love the band for the music, that is why I travel to places like Toledo and Grand Rapids to see their shows. However, I guess with the DVD I was looking for more insight into the band - things I don't get to see on stage. I got a little but I think I would have liked more. Also they introduced everyone but the newest member Mark Boyce, he joined the band during the middle of filming but there was no formal interview with him. I think it was noticeably missing.

Next as I kept watching, I realized how much I enjoy Houseman. They would go up to fans before shows and ask people who else in the band they liked and virtually no one knew anyone else's name. (I am proud to say I know the entire band - G. Love, Jimi Jazz, Houseman & Mark.) I have always enjoyed House Man and when we met the band this summer, House Man's stock grew. During the DVD, I kept waiting for more Houseman clips and felt disappointed when it was over because I wanted more Houseman. Funny, G. Love made a comment to Houseman that he could do it his way when it was Houseman and Special Sauce -- I am not going to lie to you, I would buy that DVD.

ANTM Takes a Stand

Ok, as I am sure you can all tell, I have been a little late in watching. But I finally got a chance to catch up today. And Tyra is taking a stand this season. It's the no smoking season! Yes, mabye she got this from the TiVo Changed My Life Blog. Yes during Cycle 8 I went on a little tirade about the amount of smoking on the show. Literally the entire time the girls were at the house all they did was smoke. This time Tyra put her foot down - she realizes that little girls are watching this show (and me) - so she declared this a no smoking season. Maybe Tyra reads the blog, maybe this blog is really making a difference -- in the world of ANTM. (ha ha)

The girls did a photograph that showed the girl looking sexy while smoking but then when they saw the reflection in the mirror showed the true effects of smoking. It was an interesting photo shoot. So far what is the most interesting is that the girls are already having screaming matches at the photo shoot. Apparently one of the girls is a former exotic dancer and another girl has a problem with it. As for the rest of them, well this is a caddy bunch. They are already talking smack about anyone who isn't in the room especially Heather who has Aspberger's Syndrome.

This week Mila was kicked off -- she was sweet but forgettable. I am hoping that next week is makeover week, because that is my favorite episode of the season - of the new non-smoking season.

Oh and I almost forgot - Benny Ninja returned to ANTM. He was just there for the first Old Navy Challenge when the girls had to show their personal style. However, I am not sure what the point of Benny's presence was -- but hey what can you say -- it was Benny Ninja. Which also explains why hits to this blog went up when people searched his name.

Michigan Government Shut Down?

Yes, I usually avoid talking politics, but this time it can't be avoided. The Michigan legislature has so far yet to agree on a budget for the next fiscal year which means we are facing a government shut down. Please this is embarrassing.

So what does a state government shut down mean? Well all state government employees (except the legislature - who are causing this mess in the first place) are sent home for a week of unpaid vacation. That's 35,000 people in a state.

So what won't run when the state government shuts down... State Police (85% of them) won't be working, State Parks will be closed, no Food Inspection, Rest Areas will be SHUT DOWN, no renewing your drivers license or license plates -- if you live on Mackinac Island there will be no trash pick-up or manure pick-up (for all the horses), no state lottery ticket sales, there will be a drawings still because of presale tickets, however if you won the lotto you won't be able to claim your prize, speaking of gambling you won't be able to bet on the horses -- horse racing will be shut down. With the state gaming office closes, the Governor tried to close the casinos in Detroit but a judge ruled against her.

The Michigan Supreme Court - Closed.

EDUCATION: All Department of Education operations will shut down, except for the Michigan School for the Deaf. If Department of Education employees have not returned to work by mid-October, the state school aid payment due on October 22 will not be made.

NATURAL RESOURCES: All DNR operations will be shut down, except a minimal crew to maintain the state’s six fish hatcheries and a small contingent of forest firefighters needed to continue containment operations at the Sleeper Lakes fire in the Upper Peninsula and to respond to other fire emergencies.

TRANSPORTATION: All road construction, routine maintenance, and administrative operations will stop. In addition, six of the state’s lift bridges, in compliance with U.S. Coast Guard regulations, will be locked in the up position, allowing only water traffic to pass. Those bridges are located in Manistee, Bay City, St Joseph, Port Huron and Detroit.

So let's get to work in Lansing... all I have to ask is what where these people doing all summer? Why did we have breaks in the session if this wasn't solved? Why did all the republicans head up to Mackinac Island two weeks ago to hob knob with presidential candidates when there was no budget? Democrats you are not off the hook either.

I just hope that all this political crapola can work itself out by Sunday at midnight to avoid this... because frankly.. it sucks. Not for the politicans but for all the hard working state employees that will be sitting at home with unpaid leave. Ironically the state will still be sending out unemployment checks -- does this mean that the 35,000 state employees are eligible - but how will they sign up the people who would normally take their application will be standing in line right next to them. So let's avoid this and get a freaking budget.

Someone suggested that we elect our stae representatives and senators by lottery from now one... I say why not. The ones we elected don't seem to be working.

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.

It's Premiere week ---
THANK YOU TIVO!!!!
Well it's the big premiere week in the world of TV, at least that is what TV is telling me.. However, we all know that the big premiere week was last week with the most important and influential show on television: America's Next Top Model.

Speaking of it's time to dissect the episode. Because we know that's what this blog is all about. I am sure you are questioning, why it has taken so long for us to get here and well frankly please see the post below. It's hard to admit, but I just watched the premiere tonight (with Bruce.) But don't worry the TiVo was in full effect.

Let's first discuss my favorite, who unfortunately did not make it in the final 13... can it all be in a name and the answer is YES!!! Spontainouise - pronounced Spontaneous! Now Tyra I ask you, how can you let Spontainouise not even start the season... Think about all the possibilities in panel.

Ms. Jay: What do you call that walk?
Spontainouise: Spontaneous?

Tyra: What do you call that look?
Spontainouis: Spontaneous

Nigel: Spontainouse, I want to see your fiercest look.

Spontainouse: Should I just be spontaneous? O

kay maybe there isn't a lot to do with it, but it could have been fun for a minute.

So let's see there is already the drama queen that people are dogging in panel: Ebony. Of course she made the final 13 because -- well Tyra knows -- you need that drama. Here's who I can remember today: the girl who looks horse-like from Yale - super long face with mane, the super shy girl -- aka the hunch back of notre dame (if anyone can straighten this girl out Tyra can), the exotic bikini dancer and the Texan name Chantel. Of course you get to know the ones who don't make it the best in the first show: like the girl with the mohawk from Alaska or Jennifer the bartender from Massachusetts with a "wicked" accent. I look forward to next week, but all I am asking.... when do we get to see the makeovers, Tyra don't make me wait, let's bust in with them the first week. Cut the hair -- sew in the weaves -- dye the blond locks brown -- make the tears flow. I love it!

Also big episode this week: The Hills! Yes, we thought Jason was back in Lauren's life. However in this episode we learn that he has a girlfriend. Then he invites Lauren to meet her, where it is soon announced that he is engaged to her. Nice. I am betting on him ending up in rehab soon. Plus the new chicky... not hot at all. Also Spencer seems to be getting the cold feet when it comes to marrying Heidi -- who has taken on the role as a bride full force -- gowns, registering and everything else. Then at a lunch date it comes out: he hasn't told his parent's yet about their engagement... well all I have to say is get on it buddy -- because well you are on a reality show, there is a chance they could watch. This proves my theory that he is all about this pseudo fame that comes with being on The Hills. Shows that I still need to catch up on, so far Heroes -- plus what's up with Chuck on NBC.. I hear good things but I missed the premiere I will have to have wet cat fill me in. Well my intercultural communications is calling my name: Jennie, read me, read me.

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.

Set your TiVO!!!!

Season 9 of America's Next Top Model Premires tonigh at 8pm on the new CW.

One Year Older - One Minute Faster

Today was Run Wild. I ran it last year with Helen and did my personal best since high school. This year Bruce joined Helen and I. I not only did I get my personal best since high school, I beat last year's time by one minute. Yes, apparently turning 29 makes you a faster runner. I ran 26:32 for a 5k. I was 14th in my age group. 201st overall. 63 overall for females. Here are the comparisons.

2006 - 2007
TIME: 27:39 - 26:33

AGE GROUP
PLACE: 22 - 14

OVERALL
PLACE: 277 - 201

I was the last of our crew, but we must re member Helen is the running guru. (Remember, two time state cross country champ) and over this summer Bruce has surpassed me. I am very pleased with my time.

After the run we went to the zoo. It's one of the perks of doing this run, free admission to the zoo. And it turns out that going to the zoo before 10 am is the best time because all the animals are out and moving. However the general public is usually not able to get into the zoo before 10 am. Touring the zoo with Helen is fun too because you get the skinny on all the animals, like the CapiBaras that are in a time-out. They don't get along, so they have to put in pens with different animals that they can get a long with. We also got to see the keepers feeding the gorillas which is my favorite animal.

After a stroll around the zoo, Helen and I got our tattoos... Well our spray on tattoos. Last year we went collegiate, this year it's pro. Helen got a Lions tattoo, I went with Detroit Tigers, but of course we both got ours with glitter. I personalized my tat with pink. Our next big race, the Detroit Free Press Marathon as a relay. Yes the 7:11 club is reuniting. Hopefully I can have a repeat showing of today!

Alert!!!!
New blogs added to the blogs I read.. Please enjoy my the musings of Megan & Wet Cat Carl.
There blogs inspired by the greatness that is TiVo & the TiVo Changed My Life Blog.
Megan's blog: TiVo Did Not Change My Life & Carl's: I Don't Even Have TiVo!

I think my cats love ryan

Internet Black Hole

Have you ever realized that you can spend hours just trolling the internet when you have a book to read for class that you would rather not read. Hmmmmmm... apparently 29 does not mean the end to procrastination. Well there's always hope for 30.

School is going well. I am running wild this weekend with Helen at the zoo. However, I don't have as high of hopes of running like a RockStar as I did at last year's race. I am disappointed too, the 7:11 club was going to run as a team in the Detroit Marathon relay, we had finally gotten the team narrowed down to only find out that they filled up and there are no other relay team spots open. It now appears if we are going to run the 5k. There has been talk of the half marathon, but I am not sure that I can get ready for a 13.1 mile run by the end of October. I guess if I really tried I could, it's only 8 miles more than the Crim and what's another 8 miles. The answer is a lot! Well I am going to get started thinking about it with a good 3 mile run tonight in this very fall like weather we are having.

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!

A Birthday with the Fam

Over labor day Krista & the kids came in town for the weekend to help me pre-celebrate my birthday. We hung out at the Manchester for the weekend. Sophie and Max kept us all on our toes, they have so much energy. Max loved the swing, he was so funny he could have hung out there for hours, just swinging back and forth, back and forth. Plus I had amazing renditions of Happy Birthday. However, my family revolted in my choice of birthday cake, which is always white cake with white frostings. That is why I love weddings, the cake. However the rest of my family loves chocolate cake (with the exception of my Uncle Jimmy - who also loves white cake with white frosting.)

It was also really sweet. Max loves to go with Grandpa on walks with Nina the dog. However, Nina needs a longer walk than Max can handle, so Grandpa always has to carry Max back. So on Monday morning grandpa tried to sneak out. However, it didn't work, even though Grandpa thought it would work. In minutes Max was standing at the window with his shoes and pajama's pounding on the window yelling, "grandpa, you forgot me? grandpa I am still here, you forgot me." So of course I started video taping, because well we couldn't have this wonderful guilt trip without grandpa being part of it. Please enjoy.

Summer is Over

Yes today school's officially back in session. Today was the first day with students. Today was the official meet and greet. I set the rules and the tenor of the class for the rest of the year. (yeah right) They say as a teacher you shouldn't smile until Christmas break, but I of course break that rule because I can't help it, I am honestly glad to be back at work. I really enjoy teaching. This first week is pretty quiet, it's not until the feel comfortable that they try to put me through my paces. However I am seasoned now... yes at year three I am feeling even better than last year. However the big decision tonight: what to wear for tomorrow? I have already expired my super cute European dress/fabulous shoes from DSW. Whatever I wear it will be cool, tomorrow's high is 88, so despite the fact the school year has started, I guess summer really isn't over yet, at least according to our friend Mother Nature.

We Won!!!!!

Bruce and I are big winners of the mega millions. We had the mega-ball and one number that puts our grand total of winning up to $3!!!!! Not to bad for five tickets... Ha ha.. We had another ticket with 2 numbers but you don't get anything for that. Well I guess I will have to wait until next time it is above 100 million...

She may look innocent, but today she was trouble..

Small Car - 8 People - Geneva, Switzerland

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

Set Your TiVo....
ANTM Returns September 19th

Well September has always been a big month for me. First and foremost it's my birthday month (KC, Meghan & Todd, you guys know what I am talking about), and when I say month I mean month (right Todd?) Second it is the start of the school year, third it is Bruce & my 3rd wedding anniversary... And last but not least it's the return of good television. Yes, when I say good, I mean everyone's favorite America's Next Top Model. And all the rest of the fall television line-up. But back to ANTM, this season is Cycle 9 and I can't wait... I can already feel the plot lines. The drama is ready to spew over the airways of the new CW. I can only imagine what Tyra has in store for us this year.

Here are a few of the other shows I will be tuning in to this fall. (Correction: My TiVo will be diligently recording for me this fall.)

Sunday
8pm - Desperate Housewives - I got back into this show last season, hopefully it continues to keep my attention. (September 30)
9pm - Brothers & Sisters - I kind of fell of this show as the end of the season approached, but I am hoping Calista & the gang can make a strong come back. (September 30)

Monday
9pm Heroes - This sci-fi action packed show has me hooked. I have to be honest, I am usually not into these type of shows, but this one is excellent. However, I have to be in the right mood because it is pretty intense, so I often watch it when I have time to pay attention. (New Shows Start September 24)

Tuesday
8pm - Beauty & the Geek returns to the New CW. Reality television at its finest. (September 18)

Wednesday
8pm -America's Next Top Model - Need I say more! (September 19)

Thursday
9pm - Grey's Anatomy - You can't get enough of McSteamy & McDreamy. (September 27)

And then there are all the MTV & Bravo favorites: The Hills (MTV) and Kathy Griffin's My Life on the D-List (Bravo.) Project Runway doesn't return with its fourth season until November 14. Will Tim Gunn return? He currently has a new show with supermodel Veronica Webb. I have meet Veronica Webb once in person, during that meeting she talked about herself in the third person. I wasn't as impressed with her as she was with herself. Despite my love for Tim Gunn I am not sure its enough to "make it work" for me.

It looks like I will have my weekends free.

What new shows will I add, well none have really tickled my fancy. To be honest since I have been home I haven't really been paying attention to what's ntew I am trying catch up on what I missed, while enjoyng my new found passion - Sudoku. Oh yes, I am addicted to this number crossword puzzle. I have found myself going to bed early so I can complete these puzzles in bed. Yes, I am that lame, but really are you shocked?

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.

Mmmm chicken....

The extended fam got together in Frankenmuth for a deluxe chicken dinner and for Courtney's 24th birthday. Thank you Aunt Janet & Uncle Jack. It was a good time as always. Plus Uncle Bert, Aunt Janet, Denise & Beth Ann were down from Calumet, dropping Beth Ann off to college at SVSU, so they were part of the reason for the celebration. This year is the first time that Uncle Bert has been south of the Mackinac in 18 years. The picture isn't the best because the girl who always carries her camera (me) unfortunately let it at home, so we improvised and used my cell phone.

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.

The 7:11 Running Club

Every morning in Geneva (with the exception of the days we were traveling together) you could find a group of 8 by the rock ready to run. I would not say we are the fastest running club out there (with some exceptions) but we did our best. The rule was "we'll wait for you." Now we may wait for you at the end, but we didn't head in until everyone had finished.

This club soon blossomed into great friendships. Very much like undergrad, however now we had skype. The name of the club evolved from the time we meet every morning and soon that is how we were referred to in class.

We had our adventures to Chamonix, the Geneva Festival (where we missed the last bus from downtown and had to hike back to the JKC,) the van trip on the autobahn to Heidelberg, the trip in the down pouring rain to get fondue and the hours and hours of enjoying classics like Nena's 99 Luftballoons and R. Kelly's Remix to Ignition (Helen: some of them know the words better than I do.) Oh and don't forget the trip for fondue in the pouring rain (see picture on the left,) so on the way home we all decided it would be a good idea to fit ourselves into a very tiny European Colt Fashion instead of walking back in the downpour to the bus. We managed to squeeze 8 people into the car meant for 5 (three of which should be very small children.) It resembled a clown car when we all got out safely at JKC. Don't worry dad we were all buckled in if you count a human as a seatbelt.

So I hope this blog entry does justice to my new friendships. It certainly made our studying abroad more fun. And it also helped me insure that I didn't come home weighing 100+ pounds more than when I left because let me tell you that I ate my fair share of chocolate. Some people (not me) even lost weight on the trip.

Our last run in Geneva was from the JKC to the city center to see Geneva's famed water fountain that is in Lake Geneva. Well it turns out that the fountain doesn't start until 9 am. So we made our long run, with our bus passes only to find out that there was no fountain running, as you can clearly see in the photograph on the left. If the fountain were on we would be very very wet. We had to take the bus back because even though we got up early to run we weren't going to get up that early are you crazy. Plus we had bus passes and we had to use them one last time. To top it off we thought we would surprise the class with croissants for breakfast on our last day courtesy of all of us. Then we get back to the JKC with our bag of croissants in hand only to find out that on the last day the kitchen gave everyone croissants for breakfast. Oh well, we had fun anyway.

I loved running with all my friends and I will miss waking up to run with them, however, I will not miss the gi-normous hill that we had to run up at the end of our run, everyday. Despite the end of our official meetings for the year we do have some extra-curricular activities. For example most of the club will be running the Bobby Crim on August 25th. There has also been talk of running the Detroit Marathon as a relay team.

And I forgot to mention, as we all know every great club has a t-shirt. Hence our global program t-shirts you see us wearing in these pictures. (Don't ask me to explain what it says, becuase I am not sure I know exactly, just know that it is computer code: ruby on rails to be exact.) So Bruce has been busy making our very own t-shirts which we will sport on crim day. The colors will be simple, like the Swiss flag. Red with white writing.

The Cohort Departs

Well I have written about our rough departure from the Geneva airport, but I haven't written about our last days with the UM Global Cohort (in Geneva we called it program, because they word cohort is interpreted as an invading force.) We wrapped up our program with a busy week of classes, buying last minute souvenirs and of course running with the club. (ok, we might have had a little fun too.)

As far as the learning goes we were given time to develop our websites with our groups. Bruce and I are working together with Tony & Angi on a website called FlikNews. The goal of our site is to develop a cross between a journalism and a social networking site, a site that gives students an outlet to share their journalism and an outlet to get direct feedback from around the world. We are working with the International Baccalaureate Organization, which can help us link up with schools all across the world. We want to integrate video, audio and photojournalism. Right now we are in the middle of developing everything for the site coding, design and content. We will work on the site throughout the rest of our graduate program.

Ok now that the learning is out of the way, we did have a lot of fun especially the running group. I was going to write all about the group in this entry, but after looking at the pictures, I have decided that it the group needs its on blog entry. The picture is a sneak peak above.

EasyJet - Not So Easy

Things I Learned About Budget European Travel

Well here is a few things that I have learned in my recent travels in Europe. Europe has all these low cost airlines that you can fly and get around relatively inexpensively. However, what they don't tell you online is that when you book a flight to say Paris or Stockholm you may not really be flying into Paris or Stockholm.

Let's use Paris as an example, because that is where my travel disaster began. It actually began in Geneva when our 6:45 EasyJet Flight to Paris (Orly) was late, 4 hours late. Which meant that our 7 hours layover in Paris was not enough to get us to the other airport that was about an hour north of town to make our flight to Stockholm. However, I learned as I sat in the airport in Geneva waiting for our flight that our flight wasn't actually to Stockholm it was to an airport 100km south of Stockholm and we would have to take a bus from that airport to the city which would cost us almost as much as the plane ticket from Paris to not quite Stockholm.

Needless to say when we arrived to Paris we had to make a decision, do we bust our tails with all our luggage (that would be luggage for a three week stay, with two cameras, a camcorder, two computers - we needed all this for our class) across town spending money on buses and taxis just to either just make this flight to not quite Stockholm or just miss this flight. So we said ok, let's try to regroup and see if we can spend one night in Paris and head there tomorrow. Well that didn't happen because we could not get a hold of the Ryan Airlines because they only have office hours Monday-Friday (this was Saturday.) We tried to change our flight online but because it was the day of the flight that was impossible. So we checked other airlines and nothing was under well $1000. So that was out. Then we said ok, let's skip Stockholm. So I had to cancel our hotel which was difficult because I booked it online.

The next plan was to skip Sweden and try to fly to Oslo from Paris on Monday or Tuesday. Well, that proved to be challenging. The airline that I booked the flight from Stockholm to Oslo, would not allow us to use the money from that flight and apply it to a new one. Although the internet said we could adjust the flight, they claimed that was only the date and time, not where you were taking off. I still claim that they need to be more specific, damn you Scandinavian Airlines.

After nearly an hour of Skyping (thank you skype) from our computer in the baggage claim of the Orly airport. We said, "Screw Scandinavia, we are staying Paris." We booked a very nice hotel on Expedia, which actually gave us a pretty steep, yet welcome discount. We called our good friends at Continental Airlines, who after two tries (the first was disrupted because we ran out of prepaid airport internet minutes) was able to change our flight from Oslo to Newark to Paris to Newark three days earlier. I have never been so thankful to great US customer service. I know what you are all thinking: What airline customer service, you have to be kidding me. Trust me I am not. After an hour of trying to deal with European Airlines and Hotels and getting little to no where, the ladies we spoke with at Continental were a welcome change. I think they could sense the frustration of our day in our voices and they were just NICE. It was so refreshing.

To be honest this was the first time this trip I seriously missed the US. Don't get me wrong I missed my family, my dog and cats, our friends and our house, but I think having Bruce over here made it just a lot of fun. But after this horrifying travel day, I just wanted to through my hands up and cry, it was comforting to just have someone on the other end of the phone who was empathetic.

So the last two days have been spent in Paris. I have really fallen in love with the city! It is beautiful in the summer. The last time I was hear was Spring Break '99 with 'Julie Foster' and my friend Griner. It was cold and it was March, I left liking the city but not loving it. But this time, I fell in love. We went up the Eiffel Tower, went to the Louvre, shopped on the Champs Elysees, drank Cafe' ole and just had a great time. We come home tomorrow, a couple days sooner than expected, but I am excited to come home and get a head start on getting things settled before school starts next Monday.

In summation of our disastrous trip to Norway and Sweden that didn't happen. What I have learned is if you are going to go budget, be ready for things to go wrong. When they do, be flexible and be ready for back-up plans one, two and three. Skype is essential for any computer, it made making phone calls in the airport a breeze and at .02 a minute it was easy to call the airlines, without an armload of Euros. And I would have to say that Bruce said it best, you can either go cheap, but when you do that you have to be a backpacker with one bag. Trying to jet around Europe with three-weeks of clothes in very heavy suitcases is nearly impossible, as we discovered from the Metro trip from the airport to our hotel. So tomorrow we have learned and we will be taking a cab to the airport, which the hotel will call for us.

Deustchland war Wunderbar!
Translation: Germany was wonderful!

This past weekend we (the 7:11 running club) headed to Heidelberg, Germany for the weekend. The trip evolved since we first arrived in Switzerland, initially it was just going to be Bruce and I going to visit Harald & Barbara NiederstraBer. Then we were all going to go by train, then the train was too expensive so I was going on my own, without Bruce. Then we got a van, a 9 passenger van name Margot.

On Friday at 2:45, we were supposed to leave at 2:30 but we were waiting on our perpetually late friend Joe. When we finally hit the road, we realized that the map we just bought ended virtually five miles outside of Geneva (ok, it ended at the Swiss border, but we like to pick on Bruce.) As for seating arrangements, in the front seat we had Bruce (our pilot,) me (our co-pilot,) and our co-co-pilot (Robert.) Yes we were squeezed in close. In the back everyone else had an empty seat between them, but we were Bruce's amusement for the 5 hour + trek to Heidelberg.

When we got to Heidelberg, we got lost immediately. Why? Well first off we had no map. Then secondly there were no street signs in this city. And when there was a sign Bruce was driving at top speeds through all the intersections. Needless to say we got lost. We ended up on the wrong side of town, which needless to say was not that far from the right the other side of town. But we called the hotel and needless to say they did not have the patience for my bad German, we eventually decided to quit trying to find it on our own and we called in reinforcements: Harald. It was wonderful, I mentioned one landmark and he was like I know where you are pull over and I will be there in 5 minutes. And he was.

He and Barbara were at the train station. It was so great to see them again. I love them so much! Harald is so wonderful and so is his mom. We had a great little reunion while everyone in the van waited for us. Then Barbara hopped back on the train to go to an outlying city where she was spending the night with family. Harald hopped back in the car with us and we found the hotel within minutes. Funny how it works when you have someone who knows where you are going.

We got to the hotel which ended up being a bed and breakfast. Yes I booked my five rowdy running club buddies in a bed and breakfast. It is hard to pick a hotel on the Internet that doesn't look to crappy but doesn't cost a million dollars a night. We got in and the inn keepers knew well ZERO English. In fact the woman said to Harald when he came in to clear things up, "Is there anyone in this group who can speak better German than this one." That is where she pointed at me. Funny thing is the girl who could not speak it could surely understand the insult. Harald later told me she was a "crazy old southern woman." He and Barbara lied to me all weekend and told me that my German was wonderful. I know they weren't telling me the truth, but it surely made me feel good.

On Saturday morning, Barbara returned to Heidelberg and we meet up with her for Breakfast. Then the rest of the group arrived. Bruce (who ends up sitting there smiling while I try to speak German and Barbara and Harald try to help me) went off with the 7:11 crew to the Schloss (the castle.) I spent the day with Harald and Barbara and got my own personal tour of the city. I also got a Heidelberg College t-shirt. That is the school Harald is currently attending. It was a lot of fun hanging out with them again. We did some shopping had a couple Berliner WeiBers.

We met up with the rest of the group at the bar after a hard day of climbing up to the SchloB. There we learned that Robert had fallen in love with the Man Bag aka the Man Purse or the Murse (he actually confiscated Meghan's bag and converted it to the man bag.) Since then Robert has been obsessed with finding his own Man Bag and Man Capris. He is determined to bring high fashion back to Ohio.

Barbara went back to her family's home around dinner time. It was tough to say goodbye, but they are planning on another visit next year. They might even come to our graduation in Geneva, which will be 8/8/08.

Harald however took us to dinner at a tradition German restaurant. Karyn & Bruce had sauerkraut, I ate a German Pretzel with butter and a beer. It was delicious. We ate well in Germany. Unfortunately Harald had a wedding he had to go to, he felt bad because he was leaving me, but after hanging out with the gang, he was wishing that he could totally blow off the wedding.

But Harald hooked us up with the skinny on the nightlife of Heidelberg. We had a great time hitting the town as a crazy group of Americans. Then we made the 5+ hour trip back to Geneva. I must say we had a soundtrack for the trip: Blame Canada from the South Park movie, R. Kelly - Remix to Ignition and of course 99 Luftballoons from Nena. We listened to 99 Luftballoons probably 10 times each way.

Celebrating Swiss Day

Yesterday was Swiss Day. The day they celebrate their independence. The running folks headed downtown for the late night festivities. (Needless to say we canceled running for Thursday morning before we left for downtown.) But it turns out on holidays the bus schedule is lighter, which means of course we missed the last bus home. So after a night of fun, lead to a long walk home. Yes we could have stopped at the train station and hailed a cab, but now becuase we are the running club we ended up hoofing it back to the John Knox Center.

The big events at the Swiss Carnival besides the long walk home where the spontaneous parade that we ran into on our way down. And of course the huge carnival ride that the rest of the group besides Joachim and I went on. It went straight up and spun around. I opted out. Go figure.

Needless to say today was a rough morning - as we all made our way to the classroom. It's 10:30 pm and we are finishing up on our video projects and our assignments. It was a cold wet day today, so it wasn't bad to be in the classroom. However, I have one last assignment to do, but I am tired and the TiVo Changed My Life blog is calling.

On another note, I am not taking the train to Heidelberg after buying my ticket today. I am still going to Heidelberg, but the train ticket was 323 chf (swiss francs) that's about $270. And that was a cash, which meant the rest of the group didn't want to come, which was fine, but I really wanted Bruce to come. Then we found out we could rent a van, so I was able to return my ticket with only an 18 chf penalty and we are heading tomorrow on the Autobahn. Now where will park a 9 passenger van when we get there, that I do not know. But I think it will be fun. I will spend most of my time with my host family, but I am sure we will all meet up for dinner and such. And we all the very long and what I can only imagine will be an interesting trip. I really have to thank Marc the director here at the Jon Knox Centre. He drove me to the train station, not once but twice today. He also spared me from struggling through trying to speak French and get a cheaper train ticket, then returning my train ticket!

Well now it's time that I need to finish my homework. I am really excited about seeing my host family tomorrow. They are such wonderful people.

In the meantime if you haven't yet, get skype - NOW! Just search my name and let the fun begin!

Here's my first Graduate Program video project!

Please note that this was filmed with my kodak v510 digital photo camera (that also has video, but no mic input and we had no tripod.) If my students are reading this, I had no tripod available. The quality isn't that great but I hope you find it funny, feel free to laugh at me, everyone else does (see post below.)

If you hate heights - avoid cable cars!

This is my advice to all others like me who are afraid of heights. Here's a little back ground, I have never been a fan of heights from the days of not being able to jump off the high dive as a kid, to hating driving over bridges as an adult. My fear has not seemed to simmer with time, it seems to get progressively worse. Hence this weekend

So this weekend with the gang (our 7:11 running club) we took a bus to the French Town of Chamonix (pronouned ShA-mo-knee.) In the winter it is a huge Alpine skiing resort and in the summer it is a great little tourist town, great for hikers and mountain climbers. It also has access to Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Europe, it's 4,808 meters high. From Charmonix you can take a cable car up to 3842 meters, about 13,000 feet. And that's what the group decided to do, I gave some subtle protests, but my husband gave me the look that said don't be a baby, you are going. And despite my best effort to convince everyone that we should take the train to the glacier first, I did not protest enough. The next thing I know I am waiting in line to board a cable car.

As I wait to board this cable car, I get this over whelming fear as everyone else is laughing and joking about it falling. Yuck, yuck, yuckity... The next thing I know, I am crying under my sunglasses, trying not to be noticed. Which became difficult do to the fact that the tears, where now rolling down my cheek. I get on the cable car, and firmly plant myself on the pole. Then I try to calm down, which didn't happen. I am not sob (the silent kind) trying not to draw attention to my ridiculousness. All of the group, including my husband who realized that I was not faking the fear, started to promise me things. By the end of the ride I had two outfits from Anthropologie and they don't need to be on sale. So then other people on the cable car who had started to not really paid attention to me because they were looking out the windows to the spectacular views, now noticed this silly American with sunglasses on and tears pouring down her face. They begin to point and laugh at me. Yes, it is humiliating. I am starting to be able to laugh at it, but so far it's only a small chuckle. Not nearly as funny as anyone else finds it.

What I didn't know about this cable car trip is it isn't just one cable car. You get to a certain point and then get off and head to another immediately to head further up the mountain. I was horrified. The second trip was even more terrifying than the first, why well now we are over cliffs of rock that are straight down drops 100s of meters. It was windy and when we finally get to the top the car slammed into the side of the mountain, and everyone gasped as I almost collapsed to the floor. As soon as the doors opened I was off of that car as fast as possible.

I get off this cable car and what do I have to do, cross a freaking wooden bridge thousands of feet up in the air and the worst part is you can see holes in this bridge. It was like my worst nightmare. Everyone else is la-de-dah fine, because clearly I am only nut job on the trip. They are all walking around the mountain on these wooden decks that hang off the side of the mountain. No thank you! I stayed in the cave. Then after about 15 minutes, I said screw this, I am heading for the cafeteria/bar. This is Europe so every cafeteria serves beer and that is exactly what I needed. I had several, one of every flavor. Yes it was only noon, but desperate times calls from desperate measures. I have learned if you have a true fear and you let your husband talk you into taking a cable car up a freaking mountain and there is no way to get off this mountain besides going back down in the cable car and I couldn't live there, I needed to get some courage to get back down. So I opted for liquid kind. And it helped. I was scared on the way down but no more tears.

We actually stopped on the way down and went hiking. That I really enjoyed. We ended up at the blue lake, which is glacier water. Robert (pronounced Robear) from Ohio and Joe (aka Dusty Booth) also from Ohio, where the only ones brave enough to wade in, I did not. But I think I would have liked to do more hiking but we had to get back to the train station to catch our bus. Our 108 Chf bus, with a very cranky baby, who cried the entire 1.5 hour ride home.

Once we got back to town, we walked around the cute little shops. I really liked the town and could have spent more time there and less time on the freaking cable car. But who is keeping track. Despite everything, I really had a good time and I am really enjoying my new fun friends.

So how do we top off our trip up the mountain, well today we spent 4 hours at the laundromat in the red light district. Yes there are only two laundromats in Geneva, and only one is open on Sunday. It was really interesting to watch all the ladies of the nights walk by on Sunday. Our favorite was the Granny Tranny. There is more to come but it is 12 am and I need to get up by 7:11 in order to maintain my status in the club. (Pictures to follow.)