"Everyone Left California in 2000"

That's a paraphrased line from this story from Reuters. Apparently spite isn't strong enough to hold a community together.

It's hard for me to describe how jealous I am of The New York Times' Frugal Traveler. There's got to be something about me that he wishes he had. I bet he doesn't know how to make chocolate mousse.

I applied to a job with Habitat for Humanity in Bratislava a few weeks ago. They didn't call me. Sigh.

Hee! I guess Clinton and Stacey haven't made it to Beijing.

Notes from all Over

I did find some interesting stuff online. The world never ceases to amaze.

First, this from MSNBC.com. Um, anybody ever hear of cooking?


This was bound to happen I suppose.


Apparently we don't know a lot about glass. Who knew?

Vacation Bible School Day 1

Re-reading some posts I realize I've talked about his a lot the last few days. It's a pretty big deal at our church. We get about 100 kids over the course of the week. Pretty much everyone helps. It's crazy and busy and loud and fun and we all are glad when it's over, and then we all come back the next year. I am teaching 1st grade this year with my friend Amy. We had 11 kids last night. I got pictures at recreation. I'll try to get some others when they're not moving.

They had to carry water from one bucket to another using cups with holes and jumping, skipping, etc along they way. This is Lyric.

Hannah

The group, cheering each other on.

VBS is all I have time for during VBS week, so expect some more of the same. Maybe I'll see a good artile online I can share too.

Another Great Weekend

This weekend I was flying from start to finish. There were the usual things like laundry and snack-making, but the added fun was my sister and her family were in town from Florida. Yay! We started out Saturday with a trip to Starbucks, yum. Then we went downtown to Eastern Market.

I've talked about the Market before. We all like to go. This is, left to right, my niece Rebekah, my mom, and my niece Julia. We bought fruit and chocolate and candy. Mmm-mm.

Saturday I did some prep work for Vacation Bible School (VBS) and I watched The Greatest Show on Earth on DVD. Pretty cool showing the old-time circus, but could Betty Hutton over-act a little more? I don't think she could. Still a good movie, a classic.

Sunday after church we went to see my grandmother who has been blessed with 96 years.

Left to right, Mom, brother-in-law David, Rebekah, sister Holly, Julia, me, Gram. Pretty good looking group.

So tonight starts VBS. It's always a great time, but a lot of work and tiring at the same time. I'll get some pictures of that too. Should be fun.

TGIF

Hey, this story from MSNBC.com is scary in a lot of ways, but the most horrifying to me is how long would an Australia to London flight be? It doesn't say if it was a direct flight, but I'm assuming since that's listed as the destination. Ugh. Can you imagine being on a plane that long? First class would so be worth the price.

Busy weekend ahead. Sis and fam are in town and I've got to get ready for VBS. Whoo Hoo!

Ch-Ch-Changes

This is interesting from Business Week Online. I contemplate working from home a lot. I love the ability to work remotely. But there is something to be said for face time in building relationships, which is still a big part of the work world. And I'm not just talking about business relationships. We (or at least I) need to keep practicing relationship skills. It's Biblical too: "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." (Proverbs 27:17) Finding the balance would be key.

I am currently trying to find time to prepare for Vacation Bible School next week. I am overwhelmed by all I have to do by then. Should be good posts next week, though.

Back to Reality

I thought this was cool, a New York Times article about the MOMA exhibit I saw this weekend. It's not often I read about something in the Times that I've already seen.

This one is making me think I need to firm up my Italy plans for next year. Who wants to go with me?

This one from BusinessWeek.com gives me hope for the economic future of America. Someone is always coming up with something new.

And, lest I forget, here's the snack for this week.

Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Here's the recipe, but I use shaved Callebaut semi-sweet chocolate instead of the chips. Makes all the difference if you ask me.

New York, NY

It was hot, in more ways than one. I just got back from a fabulous weekend in New York. It was in the 90's, temperature-wise, but we didn't let that stop us. I've got pictures to help tell the story, so let's get to it.

Friday I started out the day with an awesome foot massage at the Fishion Herb Center in Little Italy. Parts of it really hurt, actually, but later my feet felt great. And, the chart on the wall said my spleen got a massage at the same time. Bonus!

I met former boss Jeff for lunch at Bryant Park, and then I went uptown. I roamed Central Park for a while, sat and read in the shade, and then went to one of my favorite stores, Zabars.

It's a great specialty food store on Broadway at 80th. I bought some babka for mom. Mmmmm.

Dinner Friday was with my cousin Tim, my host, and his partner Jeff. We went to Uncle Nick's on Ninth near 46th.

I'm not holding up too well in the heat, am I?

Saturday we were up and out early.

First off, we went to the Hell's Kitchen flea market.

Tim scored an awesome paint-by-number Last Supper. Also Little Boy Blue.

Next over to the South Street Sea Port to get a look at the waterfalls.

Tim and Jeff

After the waterfalls we swung by the Skyscraper Museum and then went to the Met.

On the roof were these great larger-than-life sculptures.

And some great views of the park and the West Side.

Saturday night we went to see [title of show]. It was great, I highly recommend it.

Look! I'm on Broadway! I'm looking better and better, aren't I?

Sunday there were more museums. First, MOMA where they had an awesome exhibit on pre-fabricated homes.

Micro-house.

There was this great bowl in the gift shop too. $150, so I left it there.

On the way out, I saw this sign.

Who doesn't miss Jerry?

So then, we went to the New Museum.

The exhibit? Well, let's say I don't feel the need to go back. There were some great views from the roof, though.

After the museums we went to see Get Smart at the movies. I was very pleasantly surprised. It was exciting and funny.

Monday morning I went to The City Bakery for breakfast. Hot Chocolate and a chocolate croissant. Mmmmmmm.
Then I took the train up to 42nd street to go sit in Bryant Park. I passed through Grand Central Station.

Hilarious!

I had lunch with my friend Emily (see post below on the great wedding shower) and then I got on the plane to come home. It was a fabulous weekend. Thanks Tim, for everything.

Swimming with Dolphins

My brother is a Navy chaplain stationed in Hawaii. My niece, Katie, recently got to go meet some dolphins with some of her friends.

I just love this picture!

So I'm on my way to New York for the weekend. Whoo hoo! I'll see if I can post from there, otherwise there will be an update on Monday.

Snack du Jour

Today's snack is Amish Friendship Bread.

It's really just like coffee cake, it just takes 10 days to make it. I like it, so if someone gives me a starter, I follow the directions and make it, but I rarely pass it on. Does that make me a bad friend? Oh well. I don't see why you need to wait 10 days to make coffee cake.

There is also an interesting thing happening on my facebook page. I decided I wanted to be clever this week with my updates, but didn't expect my friends to react to it like they have. I've gotten lots of interesting posts on my wall.

A Perfect Shower

Yesterday I went to my friend Emily's wedding shower.

Emily is the beautiful one in the middle holding the ribbon bouquet. The other ladies (also beautiful) are the hostesses, Gay Garcia, Chris Radzilowski and Donna Bautel. Gay is the one in the blue, and I'm sorry, but I don't know which is Chris and which is Donna. What I do know is that if they gave Oscars for wedding showers these ladies would run away with the gold statue. It was maybe the best shower I've ever been to. First, no games. Hooray and hallelujah for that. The meal was simple and delicious. We ate, Emily opened the gifts, and we went home. Door to door in about three hours. Thanks for the great afternoon ladies!

Gotta Dance

As promised, I have a shot of the tap dancing class. I'm not in it, of course, I'm taking the picture.

The woman on the left in the black shirt is our teacher, Stacy. She's a great dancer and a great teacher. She can come up with really creative ways to teach and re-teach so we all get it, and she never loses her cool. I'm have a great time, and I'm grateful she's giving her time and talents like that.

It's a rainy Saturday in Redford. A good day for a wedding shower, which is where I'm headed. I'll try to get pictures there too. Not sure.

John for Justice

My friend John Boufford is running for 52-3 District Court judge in Oakland County. Last night I went to a fund-raiser for John and took some pictures.

This is the banner outside the room. I helped design it, which is kind of cool.

This is John. I think he would make a great judge. If you live north of South Blvd in Oakland county, remember him in November. He's not on the primary ballot because there's just two people running. For more info go to www.johnforjustice.com

At the party, I spent some time talking to another friend, Mary Ann, who just got back from a trip to Africa. I am pea-green. She went with a group of friends, one of whom was Frank Markus, who writes for Motor Trend. He posted this blog with a bunch of pictures. Looks like the lions would like some privacy!

I'm going to tap class tonight at the Barn. Hopefully I'll get some pics there for tomorrow. Should be hilarious!

The Ideal Husband

Today's recommended reading is again from the New York Times. It's Maureen Dowd's column from Sunday. She asks a Catholic priest to summarize what a woman should look for in a man, based on his 40 years of marriage counseling. It's brilliant. Common sense for the most part, but that's part of what makes it so great.

Weekend Wrap-up

Hey,

I just occurred to me that blogs could be the 21st century version of a diary or journal (DUH!). Instead of hiding it under the mattress we hang it out for anyone and everyone to see. Interesting.

So, I did indeed finish the brownies and the peanut butter ice cream. Here are some pictures.

These are the brownies, complete with parchment. It's amazing how much easier things work out if you follow the recipe. Sigh.

This is the finished product. Yes, the corner fell off and I had to reassemble. Whatever. It will taste good.

I went to see Disney/Pixar's Wall-E today. Not life-changing, but cute. Not a big laugh out loud movie, and not very subtle in its message, but still entertaining and I'm glad I went.

Today would have been my Dad's 69th birthday. I miss you, Daddy. Happy Birthday.

Happy 4th! I had a great day. I made these brownies and learned the hard way that when Martha says to use parchement, you really better use parchment. Oh well. Tomorrow is another day.

I also went to Greenfield Village this afternoon. I hadn't been there in a long time and it was really interesting. My brother gave me a membership for my birthday so I can go all year. SHould be fun.

Tomorrow I'm going to try the brownies again. I'll try to remember to take a pictures.

More Food News

As always, the New York Times has great food news today. Here is an article on foods we should be eating. I like stuff like this for two reasons, I learn more about something I'm interested in, and it's like a game to see if I can now eat some/all of those things in the near future. We'll see.

And then there's The Minimalist. Now I want to make all those salads! There's no time!

This weekend I'm going to make brownie/peanut butter ice cream sandwiches for the snack next week. I love long weekends.

Happy 4th!