I should be packing… September 29, 2005

…my suitcase for tomorrow. After work I’ll be heading for GR for a baby shower. I know, who has a baby shower on a Friday night? But don’t worry, I not only checked the invitation thoroughly but I called to RSVP and I am confident that it is tomorrow and not a month from now. I’ll be spending the night in GR and then heading to Kazoo the next morning for a meeting with the other leaders of the Chrysalis retreat I am “in charge” of that is coming up in four weeks. Yikes.

Life has been busy indeed. Thank goodness for this blog to keep my friends and family updated I hope you all understand and forgive me for not calling. Not that I’ve ever been much of a phone-talker. I really don’t enjoy talking on the phone, but I’ll do it if there’s something to talk about. For example:

Last night I talked on the phone with Holly Kuehnle. I live two hours from where I went to high school, so I don’t see many alumni around town. But I was recently back in Hartford and ran into Holly’s parents. They gave me her phone number and I was looking forward to getting in touch with her. Holly and I went to high school together and were involved in a lot of the same activities. As it turns out, she lives in my neighborhood. She jogs on my street. It is an awfully small world. We had a nice chat and we’ll be getting together next week. I can’t wait.

I would love to tell you all about my week, about the delicious chocolate cake Chey baked, about the not-as-terrible-as-I-thought trip to try on bridesmaid dresses, and the lovely evening I had with our pretend children Josh and Jessica. And eventually I would like to tell you all the funny-but-true short stories Mike and I have created over the years, but at this moment I still need to pack my suitcase. So you will just have to wait.

Familial blogging September 29, 2005

I’ve got the whole family blogging now! Brett and Kari have their own blogs, and Mom and Dad are commenting like crazy. We just need to get Mom and Dad signed up with Blogger. You know it’s free, right?

Now all we need are e-mail alerts every time someone posts or comments. Is there a way to do that with blogger? Hm. That would be nice. I have to say, I’m really enjoying this new avenue of communication, and it just goes to prove that I am not the only nerd in the family See, it IS genetic!

Eat at Sweet Mike’s September 28, 2005

For those of you in the Lansing area…

I just ate the most amazing chili for lunch. They make it from scratch at Sweet Mike’s in Holt. Go there. It’s on the corner of Cedar St and Holt Rd. They are originally an ice cream place but they have added fresh sandwiches, soups, and salads to their menu. Everything there is delicious. And if you leave room for dessert, share the peanut butter sundae with someone special. YUMMMMMM.

Steven Banks September 26, 2005

I was telling Rachel last weekend that I know of a guy who does a great Bob Dylan impression (they were watching a Bob Dylan documentary). I tell her his name is Steven Banks. She says yes, from the Steven Banks Show on public television, or something like that. I only know him from the Showtime Special, but I say that he writes (or wrote?) for a Nickelodeon cartoon. It’s the same guy. Of course, no one else in the room knew who he was. I am always amazed at Rachel’s knowledge of obscure entertainment. Rachel has never seen the Showtime Special, and apparently I’ve never made Chey watch it either. I think it’s about time for another Steven Banks party.

I did some internet research for you (you had to see this coming):

“The Steven Banks show began as Banks’ play “Home Entertainment Center,” which aired on the Showtime Network. The play depicts Steven coming home from work and having to provide a speech to the board of directors at work. Rather than work on the speech, chronic procrastinator Banks embarks on various diversions, such as picking up various musical instruments in his cluttered apartment and improvising entire songs. The play became the basis of a pilot which Showtime aired, but never developed into a series. PBS picked up Steven Banks for his own show in the summer of 1994, when public television was under pressure from right-wing critics who criticized PBS as a “liberal media elite”, and gave him a limited 8-episode run on Monday nights from July 11, 1994 to September 5, 1994.

The series was based on the pilot, and featured Michael Kostroff and Teresa Parente as the entire supporting cast, as well as various other one-time roles. Banks was still himself, still a bachelor in his mid-thirties, acting out his own fantasies and procrastinating in his cluttered apartment in what some critics described as “Pee-Wee’s Playhouse for baby-boomer shut-ins.” However, the show vanished from the air in September of 1994, leaving 5 episodes untelevised in the U. S.”

When the Showtime special aired, my mom taped it and we watched it over and over again. It was hilarious. We laughed our butts off every time. But then at some point the tape got misplaced. We looked for it for years. I searched the internet to find another copy and after 6 months I finally found one. So now we each have a copy. The whereabouts of the original tape were still a mystery for several years, until Kari was reunited with Mark, her high school sweetheart. Kari was telling him awhile back about Steven Banks. He said, “Yeah, I remember. I still have the tape.” Oy. The hilarity continues.

The The September 26, 2005

A band from the 80’s with a weird name. Uncommon, I know. XM plays them a lot on Channel 44, Fred. Like the song currently playing, called “This Is The Day.” The song is on the Empire Records soundtrack. Brett and Kari, do you remember? That was a good soundtrack. Why haven’t I watched that movie in awhile?

What I like to think about… September 23, 2005

I am a whiner. September 22, 2005

I am. I admit it. And Chey will confirm it. I have been whining about my messy house for weeks now, not wanting to clean it myself. Chey knows someone who could come and clean it for me and has suggested numerous times that I just call her and be done with it. I hate cleaning. It is a necessary evil in my life. (Lord, can’t you rid me of this evil? You’ve done it with other evils…) So it would be nice to just have someone do it for me. But my pride will not let me go there. It’s my house and I need to take care of it.

We learn as early as childhood that there are some things that we have to do that we aren’t going to like doing, but they must be done nonetheless. And when we are children we hate that, and we whine and moan about it, but our parents make us do it (or else!). But I am an adult now. I should be able to just do it, without the whining. Well, last night I did. And guess what? It wasn’t that bad. It even felt real good when it was done. I only finished three rooms out of seven, but it still felt real good. Real good.

I’ve got to stop whining. Seriously.

[Side note: Susan Ashton is singing on XM radio currently. I love her voice. Love it.]

This Tuesday lacks luster September 20, 2005

Tuesday. Typically my favorite. This one just doesn’t feel very special. I have lots to do and I can’t procrastinate with any of it. This morning I am letting it get to me. Or maybe I am just tired. Either way, coffee ain’t gonna fix it today. Psalms 55:22 – “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.” Oy, I’m totally gonna do that.

The Possible Polygamist September 16, 2005

Mike and I had an interesting discussion the other day. We were commenting on some white men we know who have managed to “accidentally” get their black girlfriends pregnant. It’s no secret Mike has been trying to get me knocked up for six years now. So he suggested that we become Mormon and move to Utah so he could find a nice black woman and make her his second wife. I suggested that while he was at it, make sure it’s a woman who will cook and clean, because I would love to pass that burden on to someone else.

Fast forward to last night. My friend Chey came over to help me clean the house. I was baking in the kitchen when Mike came home from his late night at work. So what does he open the front door to find? A beautiful black woman (fertile, even!) sitting on his couch, folding his laundry.

Irony, or perhaps divine intervention? Chey and I have said that when we become widows we will move in together because we make such great roommates. Maybe we won’t have to wait that long. The only snag is that she already has a husband. Hmm… don’t you think polygamy should work both ways?

Okay, yes, I’m off my rocker. But you all knew that.

My new job September 16, 2005

Things I like about my job:
A) Fresh coffee all the time
B) A spacious office with a door and four windows
C) My boss and I have the same sense of humor
D) I am the prettiest girl here (but only because I am the only girl)

Things I don’t like about my job:
A) When it rains, the plumbing backs up and makes the office wreak of sewage.