Finally Finished!

I finished the necklace I started eons ago. It's just a fun little strand I put together to go with my summer wardrobe. I'm not really a necklace person so I'll probably wear it once all the while being completely self conscious that it will break and the beads will fall all over! Anyway, here it is!

Happy Birthday, Lucky!

I'm a dork. We all know this. So it's perfectly acceptable for me to wish my cat a Happy Birthday on the Internet, right? I can't believe we've been partners for six years already! I love that little black cat even if he does feel it's necessary to wake me up at 5am seven days a week!


2003 Five weeks old. :)

2004

2005

2008

Blame Canada!

I've been avoiding this blessed blog for longer than I should've been. Can't say I've been terribly busy. Just occupied with other things. That's all.

My friend, Sara, gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Addisyn, on October 23, 2008. I traveled to Atlanta for a conference in the beginning of November. Barack Obama won the Presidential Election (yay!) and I got to see my brother in that same week so it was pretty exciting! Throughout the rest of the month I saw Madonna perform at Ford Field for her Sticky and Sweet tour. I've always wanted to see Madonna live. Although I probably would've enjoyed the show more had it been 10 years ago, it was an entertaining performance! The folowwing weekend I traveled to Cleveland with my good friend Andrea to see our FAVORITE piano man, Harry Connick Jr during his current Christmas tour to promote his new album What a Night! I LOVE Harry! If you didn't know that then you just don't know me! Thanks to NED GOOULD for the tickets! Then came Thanksgiving! We had out-of-town guests here and the house was constantly full of food and fun! It was a great month in Detroit! I'm looking forward to a great holiday season and a better New Year!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Heeeeere's HARRY!


Harry Connick, Jr. knows home is where the heart is. One only need look at his New Orleans activism in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. But there's another place Connick once called home: Bronx, NY church, Our Lady of Victory, where the singer once worked as a young adult. The return was a special one as Connick performed a mini-concert of holiday songs for fans to coincide with the release of his latest Christmas album, 'What a Night!' which features four Connick-penned originals, including the title track and 'Christmas Day.' The album also features a duet with his daughter Kate on 'Winter Wonderland.' Following the performance, Connick spoke to AOL about recording 'What a Night!' and returning to Our Lady of Victory.

AOL: Is this the first time you performed with an orchestra in a church?

Harry Connick, Jr.: I've done some things in the past. The thing that makes this special is the fact that I played here when I was 18, when I first moved to New York. I was very lucky to be able to find a job playing at two masses here every Sunday, and it was a great opportunity. Not only did it help pay the rent -- they paid me 25 bucks for my two services here -- but it was also an opportunity for me to meet a bunch of wonderful people and a great priest. I have played in churches but this particular one really brings back some nice memories.

AOL: So this was like a homecoming for you?

Harry Connick, Jr.: Absolutely. I'm actually surprised that a lot of the people remember my being here because I was in and out. It was nice. They made me feel very welcomed.

AOL: How did this third Christmas album come about?

Harry Connick, Jr.: This CD was very unusual in that it was the idea of the record label [Columbia]. I hadn't really anticipated doing a third Christmas CD, and they said, "What do you think about that?" I said, "Let me toss it around for a while," because I already done two and I'm really proud of those. Then I started to think about it, and it's very easy to get me excited about creative things. So I thought about it, [and] I said, "Wow, there's some pretty good songs that I've never done." I went into the studio and just had a great time. It really turned out to be a really, really fun CD.

AOL: In addition to interpreting the standards, you also wrote some new tunes as well. Where do you draw inspiration from to write Christmas songs?

Harry Connick, Jr.: Different places. The main inspiration is what the holiday is about. It's about Christ's birthday, so that's a pretty big one. There's also all of the sort of secular interpretations of it -- Santa Claus, elves, Christmas trees, wintertime and all of the things that are associated with Christmas.

AOL: What was it like having your daughter Kate sing with you on 'Winter Wonderland'?

Harry Connick, Jr.: It was an amazing experience. It was profound because you can't predict a situation like that. You can't ever imagine that one day you would be doing something like that with your kid. I would look at her, saying, "God, it's like a time machine." All parents have that feeling when they look at their kids from time to time. They see themselves. It's a strange feeling but a wonderful feeling.

AOL: What can we expect from your December tour? Will you do both Christmas songs and non-Christmas material?

Harry Connick, Jr.: I think so. People get a little bit Christmas-ed out if I play all Christmas songs. I'm gonna play some songs from each of the CDs that I've done before, and then throw in some other stuff. I'm not sure what it's gonna be. We try to change it up every night.

AOL: What's next for you after the Christmas album and tour?

Harry Connick, Jr.: I'm promoting a movie that's coming out in January with Renee Zellweger. I'm excited about that. I'll be going into the studio [next year], touring and just kind of keep it rolling.

--David Chiu

So I'm up late anyway...

A few weeks ago I blogged about seeing Kid Rock at the Lafayette Coney Island over on Michigan Avenue. Well, thanks to my friend Lottie, now I know why! Damn it...my fifteen minutes of fame flashed right before my very eyes!! Watch the video because it's VERY cool (for a Detroiter) and showcases a hundred Detroit landmarks, including the street I live on and 20 other things that are minutes outside my front door! Pretty sweet! If you want to see the "Lafayette Coney Island" portion look out for about 3:40 minutes into the video. He was wearing that pink golf hat and white tank when I saw him. I actually stood right behind the employee while they were filming him making the coney dogs really fast!! Before you ask, no, I don't know any of the cops in the video. At least I don't think I do! :)

I would have to agree!

I mention my friend Di in my blog quite often. Probably because she's easy-going, fun and always up for impromptu get-together. Not many in my circle of friends are willing to break out of their mundane routines to venture out of the local suburban-strip-mall-hole-in-the-wall...let alone venture downtown! Di and her hubby Eric are more often than not a "definitely" on the RSVP list. Living downtown is always interesting. I would NEVER be able to go back to neighborhood living after seeing that living in the center of it all pretty much rocks. I ran into Di while taking Bailey for a walk last week and to my surprise she blogged about it on The Detroit News weblog! Pretty cool! I can only agree with what she says! :)


Me, Adam (Hey, he's from Toledo, OH...ask him how cool Detroit is!), Jane, Di and Eric at the Detroit Jazz Festival 8/08 Just one of the many exciting things happening in Detroit this summer!

Where do I start???

I was lucky enough to have a FOUR day weekend and I couldn't have had more fun! Goodness...lets start with Friday...nothing much happened that day. I spent the entire day in the house doing nothing. Everyone needs a day like that! I can't even remember what I did Friday night...hhhhMMMmmmm...Ohhhhhh, yeah, the Detroit International Jazz festival kicked off on Friday night. After trying to meet up with some friends that we could not find to save ourselves we walked down to the riverfront to check out what was going on. They wouldn't let us go into Hart Plaza because we had the dog with us. Losers! So, after I got a call from my co-worker we went down to the Police base and joined them for a little impromptu cook out. It was nice and relaxing even though it felt like a million degrees outside! I got home pretty early because I wanted to re-energize for the following day when BONERAMA would make their Detroit debut at the Fest!!! The show was AWESOME!!

Later, some of us hung out for the duration.


The fun continued on Sunday when I found out one of my oldest friends (since 6th grade!)Lottie was in town! :) We met up with Bev and Steve and continued my busy weekend! Downtown Detroit was PACKED because of the Jazz Fest, Tigers game, Grand Prix and Obama coming in the morning.

THEN, Barack Obama made an early afternoon visit to Detroit to speak to an awesome crowd of Supporters! On this Labor Day he was focused on the Union/Teamsters. Everyone knows that the American Automotive Industry has suffered a huge blow in recent years causing high unemployment rates in the Motorcity and Michigan primarily because of the shitty economy causing many factories and suppliers to close their doors. We couldn't get anywhere CLOSE to the actual platform he was speaking from but they did set up big screens for the huge crowd to watch the speech. It was a patriotic way to spend Labor Day in Detroit. :) It's nice to see a city come together for a candidate we believe in.

Jane and I finished off the day by going to the Ren Cen and seeing the movie Tropic Thunder. This movie is definitely a film that appeals to men that like war/combat/shoot-em-up movies. :/ There were some funny parts and wasn't a complete waste of time but I do not recommend it very highly...
On the way to the People Mover we FINALLY stopped to take a picture outside the YMCA across the street. Ever since we moved into our loft downtown we've said we need to take a picture with this fun statue! :)

The week ended when we took Bailey for a walk. Doesn't she look VICIOUS?!? heeheeeeeee... :)

Singing Sweet Home Alabama all summer long...

Today I had a celebrity sighing! A rare thing to experience in Detroit. I was riding in the scout car with one of the Sargent and we stopped by the Lafayette Coney Island to grab some coffee, of course...there was a crew there filming what looked like a commercial and then we spotted Kid Rock and his entourage crossing Michigan Avenue! I'm not a Kid Rock "fan" by any stretch but it was exciting for a regular work day! He gave a salute to Sargent Stephens and seemed to be polite to those that recognized him. I tried to take a picture of him with the camera on my phone but the memory was full! Rats! I've known it was full for some time but never bothered to clean it out. Sargent Stephens asked me if I wanted to go talk to him. My response was "Will you back me up with your weapons if I ask him why he doesn't wash his hair?" His response was "I don't want to be on the 11 o'clock News tonight." Ahhh, this new job is FUN!!! The rest of the night was rather uneventful. Ran into a few "regulars" in the homeless population. Wrote a ticket to a guy trying to illegally sell parking spots he didn't hold a permit for to some poor souls going to the Tigers game at Comerica Park. Later we picked up the pace to nab a few young punks attempting to break into some cars. Nabbed them in the Brewster Projects...a place I was told was NOT safe to go through in a Detroit Police vehicle. Greaaaaat! This AFTER I removed my bullet-proof vest because it makes me feel like a turtle!! The Central District is really very quiet from what I've heard and experienced so far. That's awesome to know since I live down in the district now! Yay for not living in the 'hood anymore and for seeing Kiiiid Rock! :)

Well, Hello!

August 23, 2008

Quote of the Day
"Never regret. If it's good, it's wonderful. If it's bad, it's experience."– Victoria Holt

I like that quote. There's a lot of truth to it. It reminds me of the conversation me and my co-workers were having on the beach yesterday where we attended the company picnic at Metro Beach. Being the deviant, red-headed-step-children that we are, we wandered off to the beach to fly a kite, gossip and play while everyone else cleaned up. Heh. It was a great afternoon. I even got a lot of sun! I love it! I guess I miss the Lovely Ladies of the Home Based Team. It's only been a little under 2 weeks since I left the Kelly Road office for my new position as Police Liaison but I miss them terribly! It was great to see them. :)

So ends my first week working Jail Deversion with the CAPPA Program. I LOVE my new position! I got to ride around downtown with the DPD. We made some promising contacts with some of the population we serve. They have been welcoming and accepting of our offers...some more than others. Officer Justice is a HOOT! I am going to have so much fun working with this woman! I swear, she's my sister from another Mister. I'm sure we're going to get into so much trouble it would be illegal or at least against PD policy! I think 95% of the force that I've come in direct contact with have recommended I join the Academy. The sad thing is, I would get more money for going to the PA than I do in my current job with a Master's Degree!! It's SO tempting. I've been told that being a white female they'd snatch me up in a second! Also, with my degree I'd probably end up Sargent or Supervisor in no time. It's tempting! I'll give this a few months and see how it goes and just maybe...

I almost forgot!

I LOVE surprises! Irv brought me a little surprise from St Louis!

There is a pub in STL named "Riley's" and I love it (for obvious reasons!)
Irv sent me one of the shirts from his softball team last year... He was thoughtful enough to bring me another t-shirt when he came back this weekend. I am going to wear it with pride! Thanks, Irv. :)

R & R

I can't believe it's already Sunday! The days have flown by. Lots of adventures. Thursday I pretty much spent the entire day inside. Friday was running around non-stop from morning until night. Friday night we went over to the Eastside to hang out with some of the girls from the old days. Lots of fun conversation and noshing had by all. Saturday was a continuation of the madness. I picked Irv up from the airport and we all headed our separate directions. Baby shower in the afternoon. Baby showers, Bridal Showers, etc. kinda bore the crap outta me. :/ Just being honest... Last night Irv and I watched some of the Olympics. Michael Phelps won his 8th Gold in these games. History was made and we headed down to Cafe DuMongo. I LOVE this place! It's a little Speak Easy a block over from my loft. It's only open Friday nights from 8-2 and Saturday nights from 10-2. I have been in love with this place since Jane, Di, Eric and I first wandered over there last month. I've been chopping at the bit to take Irv there. We were entertained by the improv piano performers inside and a mentally ill man that came by the outdoor seating to put on a side show of his own. The proprietor of this unique establishment has no qualms about rushing out to rush the unnecessary entertainment away. This particular gentleman was not going to leave without a fight...or until the Police showed up. After awhile we decided it was time to turn in. Last time I looked at the clock it was after 2:30am. What a long day. Today I'm paying for it. Hopefully this glass of wine will knock me out long enough that I can muster up enough energy to head out to the 'burbs. I need to find some gear for my new work attire. I start the new job on Tuesday! It makes me uneasy to start a new job. Thankfully I'm working for the same agency so I pretty much know some of the people I'll be working with already. Should be an easy week as I'll be shadowing my supervisor the first few days and Friday we're off for our company picnic. Next Saturday I go back to the airport to pick Irv up on his return trip from North Carolina. Then the madness will continue until he heads back to St Louis the following Monday. *Phew*
I LOVE busy summer days!!!


The BEST thing to happen this weekend??? Jane went over to the YMCA across the street and added me to her MOT membership! I am forever grateful to her because the Y has stared me down since the day we moved in here and now I can go over there when ever I want! I think getting back into the groove and focusing on my physical fitness is just what I need with the hot days of summer transitioning into the cool, crisp days of fall. I have so much to be excited about these days! :)

Summer swings on.

Well, well, well. Look who's making time to blog. Since I've been busy I'm going to do this post Bullet Style.

*My room mate has not been smoking! Congrats!

*I'm finishing up my last week in my current position at the agency and after a few days off next week I'll start my new position as Police Liaison on August 19, 2008. I am VERY excited and nervous about this! It's natural to be anxious about the unknown, I suppose, even though I wouldn't consider myself the nervous type! Maybe it's the Kevlar vest that scares me? heh

*Our recurring out-of-town visitor stay with us last week. That means I had lots of fun! Irv is one of my dearest friends and we always have fun when we get together. He'll be back in another week. Yay!

*My friends and I have been enjoying the mid-summer opportunities around the city despite the People Mover being out of commission. It's scheduled to run again on the 18th and I can't wait till it's back! Not only do I miss it cruising past the front window every 4.5 minutes, I miss being able to get around town in minutes. Especially since my room mate's foot has been broken as long as it's been down for repairs! Her foot is on the mend so we're able to enjoy the festivities of summer more often.

*The Hip Hop Mayor has outdone himself! Geeze, I hope he takes this opportunity to do the humble thing and resign while he still has some dignity. Does he have no shame? Does he give a shit about the City of Detroit??

All together I've been having fun! I've been toting my camera around more often so here are some photos for your viewing pleasure. :)

Hear, hear!

Nature gave us one tongue and two ears so we could hear twice as much as we speak.

- Epictetus, philosopher

Sometimes I have to bite that tongue because I just don't understand the actions of others. You would think that being a social worker would make understanding an easy task for me. It doesn't. It does help me to sit back, observe, scratch my head, and think "What the F?" because half the things I say fall on deaf ears.

Moving forward...it's the WEEKEND! I live for them lately! I've got a few small things lined up. Nothing extraordinary but it'll be fun and entertaining all the same. I finally finished painting my bedroom and bathroom so I have plenty of time to relax in my new surroundings. I'm pleased with my choice of colors and decor! I'll post pictures as soon as I take them. You won't be disappointed!

Born and Bred.

Last night Jazz 98.7 sponsored a free cruise on the Detroit Princess so me, Jane and Bev headed for the riverfront. It's an easy task now that we're living in the D. Ten minutes on the people Mover and we were there! We had such a pleasant evening! I want to do it again...next time it's free.
Riding the people Mover to the riverfront

The Detroit Princess from the People Mover! This ship was actually built in New Orleans!!!

The People Mover coming in to the RenCen Station!

The Ladies on the cruise. It was SUCH a beautiful night. The weather was perfect. The moon was shining bright and the breeze was so relaxing!

*snicker* Right back at'cha, Kwame. It has been YEARS since I've been in Hart Plaza. It's so pretty!

Ah, The Spirit of Detroit. Just like the rest of Detroit it's "under construction" and will emerge a beautiful place to be!

Monday Motivation!

June 30, 2008

Quote of the Day
"Sometimes when we are generous in small, barely detectable ways it can change someone else's life forever."– Margaret Cho

I think this wholly applies to my profession. That's all I have to say about work because it IS a Monday and lately I've been struggling on Monday's. BUT~ It's my Birthday week and I plan on doing as little as possible and enjoying MY life! :) Happy Birthday to meeeeeee!

Groovin' on a Sunday afternoon.

I realized that I've been neglecting this blog among a dozen other things recently! I'm not an unmotivated person by any stretch of the imagination but I do procrastinate! I've been putting a LOT of things off lately. I try to prioritize but some stuff always ends up at the bottom of the list. The longer I put it off the less important it seems. That's where I'm at right now. I've been trying to complete some projects and I keep running into unexpected issues. One of my pet peeves is when I try to do a project that SHOULD be easy and it ends up being a pain in the ass! So, I'm just taking things in stride today.

A lot of this need to finish projects is because I'm getting geared up for the big move!! Tomorrow we sign our lease on our new loft apartment downtown! It's going to be a HUGE change but it's just what I need on the eve of my 35th birthday! We're moving into one of the lofts on Woodward and all are welcome to stop by! I hope to see a bunch of you on my doorstep SOON!

Full day.

Yesterday was an awesome day! Most importantly, I completed some paperwork! In addition, I saw four clients, went to the gym and did some yardwork!! All in a days work.

Monday Motivation!

It's baaaaack!

This weekend was busy! Saturday was the Race for the Cure! Sunday we headed out to Ikea and shopped till we dropped! We spent THREE hours inside the black hole that is Ikea! I love that place. I won't say how much money we spent on stuff we really didn't need. We also went to Lowe's and picked up a ton of things for home improvements. I also put the flowers in the ground on Saturday. I could sit outside and look at all the prettiness all day! We even had dinner out on the deck last night. It was nice. The house is looking really good! Too bad there's a "For Sale" sign on the front lawn...

UUugh!

Since my post has somehow mysteriously disappeared I will copy Stacey and give you the highlights bullet style with lots of exclamation marks!!!

*Today I bought new Capri's and a top (on sale) in sizes smaller than I have worn in DECADES! I will be sure to get some pictures this weekend to add to the "Before and After" Gallery!
*Tomorrow I'm going to see The Color Purple!!
*This weekend I'm going to Toronto and excited to see my family and friends, especially my dear friend Erica!!
*This week I'm catching up on work related matters and it feels good!
*Today I finally got Jen Lancaster's new book Such a Pretty Fat and I can't wait to read it and laugh my stupid head off! Thanks for sending it to me, Lisa!! :D

Oops!

Funny story. Irv called me yesterday morning and informed me that he was on an airplane! Oops! I thought he was flying in today but I was WRONG! Luckily I was able to manage my schedule and fit a trip to the airport into my day...

We went to the Lager House last night to see King Mellow Man and his Mellow Runnings. What a GREAT time! Now I need a nap. Go figure. Heh.

The BEST news today?? I am down another couple of pounds which brings my grand total lost to 28 pounds! :) Only 6 to go to meet my "Birthday Goal" and 21 to reach my lifetime goal. I'm so happy about this you don't even KNOW! I have officially fit into a horrible pair of hot pink shorts that I wore in 1992 and have never been able to fit into again! Until NOW that is. YAY ME!

Here is a picture of me in a pair of shorts that were always my "fat" shorts. Meaning that I always wore them when I felt I was having a "fat" day. Last year I couldn't even BUTTON them because I was so freaking HUGE! Look at them now. I can't even wear them anymore! That's some real PROGRESS, People! Did I mention how happy I am about all of this?? Should I DARE post the picture of me in the horrible hot pink 90's Sasson shorts? Maybe when I reach my Birthday Goal! ;)