Thursday, June 25, 2009

Goodbye Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson died today.... King of Pop... so many hits. Here is one he co-wrote in 1985... I remember watching this.



From Wikipedia: The recording session in January 1985 was held during and after the American Music Awards. Michael Jackson skipped the American Music Awards ceremony that night to record the chorus of the song as a guide to the other artists. The artists who performed on "We Are the World" arrived in-studio from limousines (as most of them had participated in the American Music Awards) - except Bruce Springsteen, who arrived driving a pickup truck. John Denver, who had been actively campaigning against world hunger in the 1980s, had offered to participate in the recording, but was turned down. According to Ken Kragen, (who helped to produce the song), the reason John Denver was turned down, was due to the fact several people felt his image would hurt the credibility of the song. [2] Linda Ronstadt missed the session due to a bout of the flu and Pat Benatar was not available due to her pregnancy, since there was concern the bright lights and number of people in the studio would not have made it feasible for her to be present in the studio. Madonna was asked to take part in the recording but turned the request down. Although Michael Jackson and most of his brothers were at the recording, sister Janet, who would have her first hit album a year later, and Rebbie were not. The middle Jackson sister, LaToya, did participate. Also, brother Jermaine was the only Jackson brother who did not attend the recording. Cyndi Lauper's jewelry clicking required a retake of the bridge section and during a break in the session, the group broke out into an impromptu version of Harry Belafonte's 1950s hit "Banana Boat Song (Day-O)" which led to a suggestion, "This should be the B-Side." Stevie Wonder came back after the session to "touch up" his vocals.


And tomorrow...... Farrah Fawcett. Hey - leave me a comment if you want with your fave Michael Jackson song!

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Jon & Kate

Sooo... I get e-mails from the Discovery Store regarding sales and promotions they are running. Here is one that I received today:


Soooo - my question is - are they capitalizing on all of the publicity because of the impending divorce...... or are they just trying to get rid of these because of the impending divorce? I.E.... are most of their followers Christian parents that just won't be buying these videos anymore? I think it is interesting.

.... and sad... I'm so sad for this family.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Happy Birthday to "The Twins"




I'd like to wish my amazing older brothers a Happy 35th (wow) Birthday!!!
Jamey taught me how to ride a bike when I was just a little tike. I remember that he ran around the entire block with me...and it was a pretty big block!
Joey taught me some skillz along the way, one of which was this expression, "If it's not a life or death situation, remain calm."
They also liked to tell me that I was adopted!
A favorite story of theirs revolved around a race they ran with our dad in Decatur when they were kids.... The Turkey Trot. The story goes that Joey beat Jamey in the race .... but, forgot to grab his stick on his way through the finish line.... and our dad made Jamey give his stick up and give it to Joey. Joe likes to say that Jamey cried like a girl.... I'm sure Jamey has a different side of the story, though! ;)
Happy Birthday Guys! Love YOU!!

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Happy Father's Day!

To our Father's: Thank-you for all that you've always doen and sacrificed for us!!! We love you. Hope you all had an AWESOME DAY!!

And now a thought from Proverbs:
"A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just."~Proverbs 13:22 ~

Thursday, June 18, 2009

The Michigan Map



If you have ever asked a Michigander where they are from in Michigan - you've likely seen this image.

Yep - our state is shaped like a mitten! It's pretty cool actually - and I know the rest of you are likely to be secretly jealous of this tool.

I don't know of any other state that actually does this. I know in Illinois, when asked this question - I'd simply say, "central Illinois"..... or the usual assumption that if you're from IL you are from Chicago... so, you're always saying, nooo - not Chicago area.

When we first moved here our realtor told us that we'd see everyone doing this. We kind of chuckled and just assumed it was her thing.... it wasn't!! Everybody here does it, and we do it now!

When we lived in PA we picked up a strange voice inflection that you use when asking a question....we've actually grown out of that..... However, I'm sure we'll always use the Michigan map....it's just that cool!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

A Softball Win!

So - we won our softball game tonight!! However, our umpire was not very good.

I'll just tell you a little short story that my team was amused by. So - in MI softball - they don't use the mats like they do in IL..... if the ball lands on the mat it is a strike. Here they just have imaginary mats.

So - our umpire tonight had the biggest strike zone you can imagine for slowpitch softball. He proceeded to call me out (a strike out!) while looking at the last pitch. ---Mind you, every pitch at this "at bat" was a ball with any other umpire. It was kind of a moist evening, so I could see exactly where the the last pitch had landed. At his call I proceeded to stick my bat in the dirt on the spot where the ball had landed.... I then turned around to him and said, "You call that a strike?" He said yes...... soooo then I took my bat and drew the imaginary mat in the dirt for him, so that he wouldn't have any future issues seeing where the strike zone was located. I then walked (grouchily) back to the dugout. Each "at bat" after that - there were zero strikes called on me!!! Now, I will admit that I swung more liberally --- but, I also walked the very next at bat.

I wouldn't do this with every umpire.... but he was pretty friendly at previous games...so, I thought I could probably get away with the arguing. Plus, it's rec softball - you just can't let yourself get walked all over! Right?!? :)

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

A Few Pictures from the Wedding

Two of my old friends from Tate & Lyle got married this past weekend.... we had a great time seeing a lot of friends that we haven't been able to hang out with for quite a while.

Some of my favorite parts of the wedding/reception:
1. The Children's Choir - Rita's nieces and nephews sang as the parents and grandparents were seated - it was adorable.
2. The overs on tears during the ceremony by Brandon.
3. The basketball huddle for the bridal party introduction.
4. The bouquet toss, song: If you liked it, then you shoulda put a ring on it.
5. Ummm- the amazing buttercream icing on the amazing cake... that we plotted to "find" extras for the rest of the evening. (okay, we considered "stealing" extras)
6. The dancing....and so much more!

Here are some pic's:


The Bride & Groom


Wom, Liz, & Craig! Liz cutely jumped in w/the boys!


Pete & Jenn Olesen & Lizabella


Wom is wearing a dress! hehe


Us!! :)

The guys - always doing something to make us all laugh!

Aweeeee.... how sweet!! The End!

a

Monday, June 15, 2009

Mr. President

There is a saying that goes something like "showing up is half the battle" or something like that. This could not have been more true tonight. I have been a board member of our homeowners association for the past year. Tonight we had elections for officer positions and I was elected President, mainly because I couldn't think of a good excuse fast enough to take my name off of the list. It was interesting to me that the other members who were actually qualified to do this mysteriously didn't show up. One guy that did show up and would have been a logical choice had a run-in with the shower curtain in the bathroom and completely pulled the shower curtain rod out of the wall as he fell into the bathtub during a bathroom break effectively disqualifying himself from the running. It was awkward at the time, but may have been a brilliant strategy to not get elected! As you can see I'm not thrilled with the whole situation, but the silver lining is I'm sure I'll have some funny stories to share about our whiny neighbors. -Dave

Sunday, June 14, 2009

As we arrived to Lafayette....

So - if you read the last post you know that we went to Lafayette, IN this weekend for a wedding. Two of my old friends from Tate & Lyle got married - it was a beautiful and fun wedding - I have several pictures that I can share .... just as soon as I get them downloaded!

BUT - for tonight, I have a couple of fun pictures.... just as we arrived in Lafayette we were sitting at a stop light when I heard some bickering off to the right. I look over to see this guy bickering with some ladies that were on their own bikes:

Hmmmm... upon further examination I noticed this guy had oxygen attached to him - see the tube running into nose? And the hospital bracelet on his arm? This was so funny that I pulled out my cell phone and snapped two secret pictures.... although it looks like he is smiling at me, I'm 92% sure he didn't see me taking his picture. How cool is he? Who leaves the hospital on oxygen and drives his Harley home? This guy does! Here are some closer up pictures, just in case there is any doubt in your mind:



Saturday, June 13, 2009

Yesterday - Mt. Biking again!!

I am typing this on the road - we are headed to a wedding in Lafayette, IN - so I promise better posts tomorrow. We
went trailing again last night, and no injuries! Thank goodness!! Snickers came along and had a wonderful time. After that we rented "Gran Torino"... And popped some popcorn! Great movie, we definitely recommend it!

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Illinois

Illinois - The "s" is silent!

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Knee Update & Why the Poll?

Just wanted to let those concerned know that the knee appears to be fine. I iced and elevated it last night....and considered getting it checked out today, however - I'm not much for going to the doctor, so I didn't.

It really hasn't been very painful today, and I even played softball!! A Double, and 4 Singles ---- so, I think the old knee is going to make it!!

Sooo..... the Poll: WOULD YOU OR WOULDN'T YOU??

I have a friend that had those very things happen to her. She had eaten one of those Pizza Loafs for dinner, and about 1/3 of it was on a plate with used ranch dressing near the sink --- when a friend (girl) came walking out onto her porch eating it! This is not a "been friends with you for 15 years" kind of friend. SO - it was shocking. And then upon completing the pizza asked if they were going to eat their leftover Mexican in the refrigerator. [SO, not only did she see leftover boxes, but even went so far as to open them and see what was inside.]

I agreed with my friend that this was rather shocking behavior. It seems most people wouldn't eat off of the pizza loaf... but I also would not open up leftover boxes in a friends refrigerator, esp a friend that I had known less than a year.

Soooo - that is the story! Isn't that funny?!?! If you voted that you would do one of these things, I invite you to leave a comment and explain yourself!

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Global What?

It's a good thing Al Gore and the global warming camp changed their term to "climate change" because it is definitely not getting warmer in Michigan! Today is June 9th and we still have not turned on our air conditioner! In fact, we have the heat on tonight because we left the windows open today and it was 64 degrees in the house when we got home from work! It froze last week in northern Michigan and it's not supposed to get above 74 in the 10 day forecast!

I'm not nearly as interesting as Jill's blogs but I am filling in tonight as poor Jill had an accident on the mountain bike today and we think she may have torn her lateral meniscus (that's what Dr. Google says anyway!) She has "water on the knee" so hopefully it's not as bad as it looks. More to come.... -Dave

Monday, June 8, 2009

Standin' on a corner in Winslow, AZ......

.....Such a fine sight to see!


My Mom & Randy drove out to California this weekend to pick up my nephew, Jimmy ---- and when I spoke to them this morning they told me they had just stopped in Winslow, AZ and took pictures standing on the corner. If you do NOT know what this means, please go to Itunes and download the song - it's really a classic. P.S. Do YOU see the flatbed Ford reflecting in the window?


And on the 7th day.....

..... Jill rested. Okay - so I did miss a day of blogging, but I plan to post two blogs tonight to make up for it.

First of all, this is my dear friend Lizabella. She was in our wedding - and the big news is that she just turned 30 on Saturday!!! WooHoo! She always like to tease me about being older than her.... but, alas, we are both in our 30's now. And Liz, "We laugh in the face of our 30's!"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Pool Boy?



Who needs a pool boy when you have a pool husband? :)

This picture shows huge progress over a couple days ago when the pool looked more like a lake. We came home from work one day and on our front step was a flyer stating "Looking for Someone to Clean Your Pool?" Maybe it was a hint from one of our neighbors. Ha. Only Kidding..... but, the pool is now on it's way to swim-worthy title.

It hasn't been warm enough to even turn on an air-conditioner here in MI, so we haven't been in much of a hurry to get it opened up this year.

Here is reason #2 to come visit us in Michigan.

Friday, June 5, 2009

Photo Flashback



Bull Shoals, AR

2005

Dave & Lyndon,

Cuddled up together on the Jet Ski! How Sweet!!

Thursday, June 4, 2009

I just KNEW it!

You know....sometimes a gem just happens upon you, and you just KNOW to hold on to that little gem.... and one day, ONE DAY - you'll thank yourself for saving it.


Sooo... I get emails from this group that gets designer label products at discounted prices...and sell them to you at discounted prices....which are still, actually, outrageous prices. It is fun to skim through, though, and see what kinds of things they are selling for outrageous prices. I mean, earlier this week they had single pairs of underwear for over $100.... nothing really special about them, that I know of. Anyhow - here is what I stumbled upon today:

Now - would you pay $85 for this owl pendant? Apparently, many-many people did - it sold out as you can see!!! And it sold out in less than 7 hours.
When I saw this owl pendant I had a couple of thoughts....the first being - hmmm, so owl pendants are in style? ....and secondly - Hey! I HAVE an owl pendant.
About 5-6 years ago, at a reunion - we were doing a white elephant gift exchange. It is where you bring an item you no longer want, and then someone else gets it.... at this particular exchange all of the gifts were wrapped. I happened to have ended up with an owl pendant. I've been saving this gem since then - it's been in my "costumes" bin down in the basement ---- I just KNEW, though, that someday I would find this little gem useful. I kind of thought I might be able to use it as "bling-bling" at some point. Well, here it is:
What do you think? Shall I wear it? Am I suddenly in style?? And who will give me $85 for it?

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

We Have Something You Don't Have! (Probably)


Remember Bob's Big Boy??? We still have them ALL over the place here in Michigan - I'm talking almost any exit off of any interstate!! These Michigander's love their Big Boy. I was surprised when I checked online that some other states do still have these around - not too many though.
Big Boy actually invented the concept of the Big Mac...... I used to just love eating at the Big Boy when I was a kid. For those of you that didn't know - Decatur used to have one!! I believe it was where the Blockbuster plaza on Pershing is currently located. My grandma and grandpa used to take me there, and it was always such a special treat.
Soooo... just one other reason to visit Michigan!!! Come to town and get your Slim Jim sandwich - or whatever was your old fave!

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

East Bound and Down, Loaded up and Truckin'!

Just one of the random songs that has been in my head this week. If you do not know this song, I recommend that you rent "Smokey & the Bandit" .... it's kind of classic Americana.

I drove by a trucker today that had this on the back of his truck, "If it weren't for truckers you'd be homeless, hungry, and naked." I pondered this for a bit, and decided he was right. I especially feel sorry for the truckers here in Michigan in the winter ---- most drivers have no respect for what a big giant truck could do to their tiny car with added risks such as snow and ice on the road. Anyway - I thought of that song and that movie when I read this....it is a good 'ole truckin' movie. :)

Another embarrassing moment and random song that I had in my head yesterday was "Mustang Sally". I was waiting in an exam room of one of my clinics for the office manager...it is a mixed animal practice and on one of the walls of the exam room were some pictures of horses. One of which, of course, was a Mustang. Now, in my head, I thought it would be at least a 10 minute wait. I had noticed that they were finishing up a surgery in the other room. SO, of course, I began to sing "Mustang Sally", OUTLOUD. Just then, as you can guess - the doctor rounded the corner...face to face with my silly singing. It was a little embarrassing.

So - I thought you all might enjoy these moments. If you've known me very long, you know that everything I see and read makes me think of song. :)

Monday, June 1, 2009

34 Years Together!!


Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad Harder!!! Maybe one of you would like to write a guest post about how you met? :) Hope you had a wonderful day together, and many many more - and thank-you for always being a shining example of marriage.