Detroit's World Renowned Eastern Market

With a still-"contagious" wee one and a weekend to blow we came up with a great idea that was certain to please the whole group - we decided to hit the Eastern Market in Detroit.

The last time we visited, Rocketship had such a great time tasting and people-watching. She sat in her stroller for over 2 hours! Plus, Grandma Gigi speaks fluent plant and flower, so we knew we'd have to drag her kicking & screaming back to the car.

We ran into a new friend, Marcy (on the right with the flat) who was out celebrating her week-long 50th birthday with some long-time girlfriends. Happy Birthday Marcy! Read more about her goings-on on her blog Nothing to Blog About.

We even ran into some family at the flower shed. Turns out they come here every weekend. Hmm, note to self, talk to family more often! We bought some hostas and wild grasses from them for the side of our house, which we have strategically left bare for the four-plus years since we moved in...

We ate lunch at the green awning, the Russell Street Deli, which was a well-deserved recommendation from S's work colleague and friend (Thanks, Lisa!). It was delicious, or as E says, "Ab-so-ooo-tley de-lic-ious".

Another wonderful day in the D.

Don't Mess With Texas - Part III

Alert: post-lost-in-the-Draft-folder! Repeat; post-lost-in-the-Draft-folder!

It just occurred to me to scrounge around in all the blog drafts I (we) have begun, but have never seen the light of day. Imagine my surprise when I uncovered this one; the third and final installment from our San Antonio / Houston getaway from earlier in the year!

Hmm...let me see if I can remember what we did. Just kidding, we had such a good time, I will never forget!

After arriving at "Auntie" Megan and "Uncle" Drew's home in Houston, Grandma Gigi babysat little E (much littler at the time!) while this fearless foursome navigated the Houston traffic and experienced the World Renowned Houston Rodeo.

For years we had heard about the sheer size of this event, but it seriously needs to be witnessed firsthand to be believed! There were people everywhere (repeating this; EVERYWHERE!), but oddly enough it wasn't the kind of crowd that annoys easily. It was more of a large group just eating & drinking, enjoying the sun and hanging out. There was a lot of denim jeans on hand; many with chewing tobacco rings in the rear pockets.

The livestock building was stuffed with prize-winning animals of all breeds (BTW, I had two preemptive zanax to keep my esophagus open!), an exhibit where live animal births could be witnessed (from chicken eggs to cows!), and historic tractors galore (both restored and un-restored!)

The roof of this massive structure contains a split in it and it opens in both the North & South directions, like the sunroof on a car!

Inside the large building we found our seats and enjoyed the bulls & blood, dust & mud, the roar of the Sunday crowd....oops oh wait, that's a Garth Brooks song! But that's what they call it...they call the thing rodeo!

Among other things, the events menu included chuck wagon races, bull riding, and lassoing. But the highlight of the evening, yes maybe even more entertaining than the highly-talented, easy-on-the-eyes Taylor Swift concert, was the mutton bustin'! If you've never seen this event before, let me tell you, it is highly entertaining. Picture little kids in protective helmets, elbow and chest pads riding sitting on the backs of sheep and hanging on to their necks tight as the sheep race across an open area. It was nuts! I am almost tempted to create a future post on mutton busting alone!

Auntie Megan with little E! I remember hearing (perhaps in my head) "Quick, take a picture, Megan is holding Ellena!"

Uncle Drew and E watching the tube, probably ESPN's Sportscenter!

Playing in the yard. Hey this grass is different from our grass at home - it's green! Yeah, thanks for noticing honey.

And I'm down. Little help here!

In the shuttle on the way back to the valu-parking lot. Take a look at those little red eyes! Yes pun'kin, we pretty much always feel this way after a vacation. It was a fun experience, but it's nice to be back home! If I remember correctly, she was asleep before we paid to have the car released from the lot!

Don't Mess With Texas - Part II

The next leg of our trip took us to Grandma Gigi and Grandpa Jay's mountaintop hideaway. They like to call it their "rock pile". Now we know firsthand why this is...because of the seemingly endless number of terrain challenges, especially for gardeners. Gigi has 10 green thumbs though and can grow anything...even if it is out of pots! Her and Ellena went all over the grounds to inspect the spring inventory. Ellena really liked the smell of the lemon tree, which had tiny blossoms on it's branches.

All frogs and toads gather on sunny days. I am not sure why, but if you look closely you will spot an iron feline that has joined their ranks as well.

Ellena inspected the kitchen cabinets. Good news! Everything is A-OK! After some coffee and reminiscing, we went to San Antonio (or San-an-tone as the locals know it by) for some sightseeing and a bit of exercise. We ate lunch at the Legendary German Delicatessen Schilo's (Since 1917!). I highly recommend stopping in for a Reuben and a cup of split pea soup (served in a real coffee cup!). I heard the home made root beer is killer too, but I passed since it is most-likely loaded with sugar! Overall a great place to stop and rest weary feet.

Ellena liked Schilo's so much, she gave momma some kisses!

We then went down the street to a Mexican-type shopping district loaded with souvenirs, places to eat and beautiful music everywhere! We walked a lot on this day (well, not E, as she freeloaded in her stroller!) and needless to say rested very well at the end of the day.

Tune in next time when our vacation continues, and sadly concludes, in the mecca of Houston.

Don't Mess With Texas - Part I

We decided to kill two birds with one flight - take a little family vacation and get E on her first airplane ride. We were blessed to be able to get the rearmost seats on a semi-full flight to San Antonio. Before and during the flight we prayed not only for safe travel but also that the pressure inside the plane's cabin would not hurt Ellena's tiny ears (it didn't). In fact, she seemed to really enjoy the new surroundings inside the plane. Here is one way to know you have been bit by the wintertime cabin fever bug and just want to get out and go somewhere. You wake up and decide it might be a good idea to take your nine and a half month old for a three hour plane ride. Yea, if you happen to be feeling that cooped up it might be a good time to make yourself an appointment to see your doctor, or just pick up a big Slurpee from 7-11, pull the covers up to your neck and watch re-runs.

When you're pregnant (or a father-to-be), everyone just keeps giving you great advice like "Your whole LIFE is going to change". Naturally, that seems obvious, but I now understand the underlying implications. For context; in one flight we practically turned into "that family with the child". Even though Ellena was moderately good, we were still the only family with a baby, thereby making us "that family".

My advice to anyone who has never had this experience, but desires to know what it is like? Easy. It can be recreated at home! Just sit in your favorite living room chair with your child on your lap....for 3 hours! Don't let her (or him) crawl off your lap, scream, slide the window shade up and down repeatedly, destroy the coveted Sky Mall, kick the seat back, spill what little beverage you are lucky to be served, or pull the hair of the guy in front of you (who is trying to sleep, BTW).

I felt like we deserved to pose for a post-flight picture once we landed.

We were met by Grandma Gigi and Grandpa Jay and they had arranged for us to go to dinner with Jay's oldest son, Jason and his family (Wife Elsa and daughter Brisa). To kill time before the dinner (Jason needed to end his workday first), we were taken to one of San Antonio's secret spots, the Chinese Tea Garden. It was a beautifully well-kept sunken oasis with fish ponds and flowers galore. We were enjoying the quiet time and the weather, but as you can see, the heat was wearing Ellena out!

At the restaurant, we had authentic Mexican fare (thank heaven!) and Ellen took right to the ladies.

The guys were highly amused with the baby talk and hugs and kisses...

I have more in store for post II, but currently there is a request to shut down for the night. Who can deny such a request...More to come!

Back In The Mix

What! No posts have been made since last Sunday? No new content?

This is blog suicide!

Well, more realistically, it resembles a thought loop I’ve been stuck in all week. Some of you have most-likely been here at some point. At home, there are more critical tasks, such as helping S with the baby and giving her a break, I convince myself that “I’ll do it at work”. Once I’m at my desk the next day, I get sucked into work tasks and say to myself “I’ll do it at home”. Then before I knew what happened, an entire workweek has passed! At any rate – TGIF!

This has been a challenging week. First off, it was difficult to get back into “the swing of things” after a 2 week break. Of course the first day back was near useless for everyone I work with. Similar to the first day of school, most water cooler conversations began the same way…”How was your shut down? What did you do?” Nobody really pushed it that first day back.

I was surprised to witness so many people say the same things. Here are some examples:

- “It was so great to have time off, even though we didn’t really go anywhere”
- “That was so much better that dotting the calendar with 3-day breaks that don’t result in the true goal – recharging”
- “I never would’ve taken 2 weeks off, if left to my own choosing”
- “It felt great to slow down. Usually when we take a vacation, we travel. This time we just stayed home”
- “I’ve never taken 2 straight weeks of vacation since I began working”

Above all, I’d say it was a successful 2 weeks for us, and we look forward to it again next year, assuming the high probability that it will be offered up for employees again.

To recap the time spent home on our “summer vacation”, here’s a list of some of my own personal observations. Some of these we already known, but it was enjoyable to “learn” them again:

• Going to the dentist is a LOT more enjoyable when you leave work early on a weekday rather than going during vacation!

• Doritos now produce a TON of different flavors and, when on sale at $2 a bag, it feels like an official summer to try some of them out! Not bad at all, but even the Spicy Habanero flavor isn’t as hot as I’d like them to be!

• Turner Classic Movies rock! Ellena and I had quite a tradition of catching the early programs (read: anywhere from 6:00 AM to 9:00 AM) while we gave S a break to catch up on some well deserved sleep. What we found is we really love comedies from the 60’s. Check out www.tcm.com for more information. The site alone is worth the visit.

• The movie Fun with Dick & Jane is very creative, but a little too scary for these economic times.

• Pulling weeds in the early morning sun, while the grass is still dew-covered, can make a person feel retired. Rare enjoyable moment – waiving good morning to your neighbors while wearing no shoes and holding a bad of weeds as they drive off to work.

• Tom Hanks really nailed his role as a 13 year old boy surviving in a 30 year old body in the 80’s comedy, BIG.

• Changing diapers is easy, and to be honest with you, I think I’m pretty good at it. In my own personal search for God-given talents, I question – Is this one of them?

• Drew Carrey doesn’t do Plinko justice on The Price Is Right.

• Bug spray should always be applied before a fireworks show - always. If ignored, it’ll be simply too distracting to enjoy the celebration.

• Making cookies from scratch isn’t nearly as simple as using these quick packages of “ready-to-go” dough, although it’s more rewarding in 2 ways, both in the feeling of accomplishment and also in the consumption of lots of “extra” raw dough.