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June 27, 2005
Visitors Abound
Friday, Jessica called Don at about 5pm and told us she was coming to visit us. So Don calls me and informs me that we have less than an hour to prepare a barbecue. Jessica came over with the Nance and Baby Derek and Greg came over as well. We made lots of food and really enjoyed ourselves, especially for such short notice! Derek is so cute, but I think Jessica wanted to slap me for "teaching" Derek how to go up and down the stairs. That was all he wanted to do! But it makes her very nervous. Fortunately for her, her stairway has a door that they can close to keep him off them. Plus he was VERY excited by our cat, Gabriel. He knew how to pet the cat nicely and even tried to offer him some kibble! And now he's walking so well! I swear, he is SUCH a cutie!!
Then, Saturday, I went to both advanced and regular karate class. I was completely drained after that. Not used to 2 hours of karate in a row. I do NOT know how Don can go all afternoon on Saturdays! I went home and took a nap so that I could go to Greg's party for his stepson's graduation. We had a great time and ate lots of great Middle Eastern food, including Sue's Fatoush salad (holy cow, it's the BEST!), and Super Sonya's cheesecake (COMPLETE HEAVEN!!). There were lots of people there and it was nice that when we got tired, we just had to drive across Zeeb Rd. and we're home!
Sunday, we drove to W. Bloomfield to join my family for Dim Sum at our favorite Chinese restaurant, Shangri-La. We got there late, though because the city had put their art fair right in the middle of Orchard Lake Road! What a bunch of morons to do that on such a busy street!! My parents were there along with my sister and her family. Unfortunately, my aunt was not there. I wanted to thank her for the lovely card she gave Don and me for our anniversary. I'll have to mail it to her instead. I rode back home with John, my sister and the kids--they wanted to come to see our new house, which they loved. The girls were just fascinated by Gabriel (like Derek). I think they were going through pet withdrawal since their cat died 2 years ago. After they left, we spent the afternoon putting more of the house together. I did a ton of laundry, we arranged the furniture in the guest suite, and Don put a bunch of stuff away in the basement. Then we just wanted to relax the rest of the evening. We watched Return of the Jedi and Episode III (though I went to bed before that ended--couldn't stand to watch the ugly scene with Darth Vader getting burned!).
Jeez, and next weekend is our housewarming party barbecue (which I know will be a ton of fun) as well as the Tiger game with Greg. Am I ever going to get a breather this summer??
Posted by Amy at 10:30 AM | Comments (1)
June 24, 2005
Time to Relax!
Dammit, the Pistons lost! Not by much though. They gave it a good effort, but they kept getting called for fouls. Stupid refs! Stupid Spurs! I'm bummed, but then again, there's always next year. At least all the late-night BB games are over with and I can finally start relaxing, maybe going to bed early for a change. Aaahhh! To sleep, perchance to dream.
Plus, things are winding down for me and Don and we can finally start to really enjoy this gorgeous summer weather we're having! Can't wait to have our BBQ and have all our friends over to see the new house.
Posted by Amy at 02:45 PM | Comments (2)
June 23, 2005
Quicken Loans' Annual BBQ
Wow, what a fun week here at Quicken Loans! Tuesday, we had a rally for the Pistons. They gave out t-shirts, had a hoop for shooting baskets, a dunk tank and hot dogs. We spent an hour outside eating in the company of our fellow employees (or teammates, as we call them here). We were having a great time whooping it up to cheer on the Pistons. And Channel 7 and Channel 4 came by to get footage of our rally. I saw it on the news when I got home.
Today, we took a new photo of (almost) the entire company for the website and we had our annual BBQ out in the parking lot. They had pie-throwing contests and a ton of food. There were hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, ice cream, chips, etc. They also gave out frisbees which me and a few guys tossed around for about an hour. I forgot how fun throwing a frisbee around could be! We had such a great time.
And I also ran into someone else I know: Tom Gilpin. He studies Aikido at AMAS. Coincidentally, Tom was hired by Quicken Loans to take candid pictures of this event. He'd brought along his daughter, Jackie, who also studies Aiki. She was his assistant for the day. He made me pose as if I were throwing a frisbee. He also took some other pictures of me with my friends at work.
It was the most PERFECT day as far as weather goes! Sunny and clear, warm and breezy. I just wish I could have changed into shorts. We got kind of sweaty playing frisbee. I REALLY didn't want to go back into work. Oh well. Weekend's almost here!
Posted by Amy at 01:30 PM | Comments (0)
June 20, 2005
It Keeps Going...and Going...
Remember how I said I've been so busy that I'm exhausted and can't catch up? Well, it's still going. Thursday, was the basketball game and this weekend, we went up north to visit Suino Sensei and his wife Pam. We drove up Friday after work (well, I drove) and let me tell you my butt HURT! They cooked us a very yummy stirfry dinner with cabbage, chicken and rice. We hit the bed and I crashed hard.
Then Saturday, we got up, ate breakfast and started training in Iaido, the martial art of the Japanese sword. It was my first day in Iaido and it was really really cool. Suino Sensei is one of the most premier Japanese swordsmen in the country and to have him teaching me personally I find to be a huge privelege. Not to mention he's a great teacher and a super nice person! There were 5 other guys from his former E. Lansing dojo, including an instructor or two. We trained for a couple hours in the morning, went out for lunch in Traverse City, came back and did another two hours. For me, it seemed too short. I was so fascinated by what I was learning, I could have done it all day if it weren't for the fact that my arm was giving out. I'm using muscles in a way I'm not used to using them.
We all went out to dinner that night with my best friend Rae at this BBQ place. It was ok food and a somewhat amusing experience since they were trying to promote their German potato salad in a Texas style restaurant. No one liked it and we took it home to feed to the outdoor critters at the house. Even they didn't like it! But it eventually disappeared that night since it was probably the only thing left for them to eat. Rae and I also had our annual gift exchange. We save our X-mas and birthday gifts till we can visit, usually once a year. There were things I gave her that had been wrapped for a whole year that I forgot what I had bought her! It was Christmas in June!
Sunday, we drove back to Ann Arbor in time to straighten up the house and fix a steak feast for my dad for Father's Day. Mom and Dad came over to see the new house--I think they were thoroughly impressed with it. And Dad was so excited that we cooked him steak, he said, "This is the PERFECT Father's Day dinner!" I proved how well I know my dad that I made sure we had a T-bone steak and corn on the cob. I know how much he LOVES them. He even said he was secretly hoping he'd be getting a T-bone and corn on the cob. Happy Father's Day, Daddy!
Plus, we stayed up late watching the Pistons lose to the Spurs by only 1 point! And today, I'm really fighting the exhaustion. It was tough getting up after so much weekend activity. Maybe I'll take a nap in my car at lunch! We still have a little bit of cleaning to do at the old house. After that, I'm going to bed early!! And no karate for me tonight!
Posted by Amy at 11:00 AM | Comments (0)
June 17, 2005
What a Blowout!
I was lucky enough to get a ticket to Game 4 of the NBA finals at the Palace between the Spurs and the Pistons. The Pistons kicked their asses something fierce with a score of 102-71. 31-point difference!! We got to watch from the upper bowl suite and we packed it with people from work. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take Don, but I know he had fun just watching it at home.
But I'll tell you, me and a few other people were whooping it up!! We made SO much noise and we had a BLAST! When my Thunderstix deflated from banging them so hard, there were, of course, phallic jokes galore!
But I got my Ben Wallace bobblehead, the last one to complete my collection. We also got some great pictures of our marketing team, including one with all of us wearing our jerseys. There was at least one person with each of the entire starting lineup (above). And we were joking all night long that our friend Regis looks like Carlos Arroyo. We were yelling at Regis, "Come on Arroyo! Are you awake? Get that bucket!" And poor poor Tim Duncan! He was so dejected-looking. He looked like someone ran over his puppy!
I also bought Don a cool Pistons hat that had a 3-D stitched logo on it. When I got home, my sweet baby had waited up for me! But this morning, I'm kind of dragging. I was so wired after I got home, it took me a while to fall asleep. I can't wait till the end of today!
Posted by Amy at 10:45 AM | Comments (2)
June 15, 2005
One of Those Days...or Months
Ever have one of those days when you feel so tired and exhausted that you just can't catch up to being yourself? I think I've felt that way for about 2 weeks or more. I've been so busy and stressed out for several weeks now that I've really become burned out.
First, there was the karate test, for which I had to spend lots of time practicing and for which I was very nervous.
Then right after that, we closed on the house.
Then we had to paint the house and get it ready for moving in.
Then we moved in.
Then we had to unpack.
Then we had to go to a wedding.
Then we had another wedding to go to and it was our first wedding anniversary in the same weekend.
Then I got tremendously slammed at work which brings us up to today, when I'm completly worn out.
Plus, this weekend we're going up north to visit Suino Sensei.
Hey, I think I hear music playing...what is that?...Why, it's...it's Bananaphone!!
Posted by Amy at 04:15 PM | Comments (1)
June 13, 2005
Another Busy Weekend
At least this weekend was more busy with celebrations than it was with work or moving. Saturday, we went to advanced karate class which is cool because they teach you more advanced maneuvers, but I haven't yet gotten any of my prescribed material yet. Kind of waiting for that.
Saturday night, we went to another wedding. Don's old roommate, Ian, got married. It was another Catholic ceremony which was an hour long and it was hot and muggy in the church--no A/C. But the reception was at Weller's in A2 and they had incredible food! PLUS, Ian's a big swing dancer and his swing dance group was there. So I got to dance a bit with Don, who unfortunately doesn't know how to swing dance. He just kind of bobs around and lets me dance circles around him. What a sweetie!! Though I do wish he would learn. But in his words, "Ain't gonna happen!" Oh well!
Sunday was our One Year Wedding Anniversary. We spent a few hours cleaning out the rest of the house of the junk we had left there and put it in the garage. I gave Don a book with some of our wedding pictures and most of our honeymoon pictures printed out and he gave me a boken (wooden sword) so I can start training with Suino Sensei in Iaido. (I now have formal permission from Scottsan.) Then we went to Meditterano's for dinner. Don had a great steak and I had my favorite lamb chops. I even got my creme brulee for dessert. It was a most lovely night. Except for the Pistons losing. I couldn't even stand watching the second half.
Next weekend will be busy too. Don and I are going to visit Suino Sensei in Traverse City. That'll probably be my first lesson. Yay, I'm excited!
Posted by Amy at 09:00 AM | Comments (0)
June 08, 2005
A Wedding During Moving Weekend
So in the middle of having to move into our new and bigger house, we went to our first wedding of the summer. Don's college buddy Steve got married to Becky. It was a Catholic ceremony with a lot of standing, sitting, praying and singing. They had a lady playing keyboards singing with her husband. They reminded me of the SNL skit where the lady and Collin Farrell sing some rock tune and make it sound like a church hymn.
The ceremony was outside of Grand Rapids at 2pm and the reception wasn't until 6pm. So we had to kill many hours. We drove around for a while, had some ice cream at Baskin Robbins in GR, and shopped at Target. Even after all that and getting a little lost, we still got back for the reception early. So we joined the bridal party at the bar for a drink.
We got to the dinner and were looking for our placecards, but didn't have one. Luckily, Don's friend Dave and his wife didn't show up, so we used their placecard. Unfortunately, they were the only ones at the table who had ordered the chicken instead of the beef, so we'll have to give him a little hell for pimping us. But it worked out well because we would have been sitting at that table anyway.
After the dinner, Don and I were going to leave because we were so tired from moving, but before we could, Steve wanted to take a picture of all the U of M gang. Since I wasn't allowed because I'm an MSU grad, I went to the bathroom. When I came out, the boys were singing Hail to the Victors. Since I knew there were at least 2 or 3 other Spartans in the crowd, I started up with the MSU fight song and they joined in. Then I called out "GO GREEN!" and they answered "GO WHITE!" a few times. It was hilarious! I just couldn't let Hail to the Victors go unanswered!
By 9:30 I was so exhausted, I just wanted to see the insides of my eyelids. So Don and I drove home, trying to tune into the Pistons game the whole way home. We managed to get an ESPN AM station out of Chicago which came in better than anything else! Weird, huh? As soon as we got home I just CRASHED! And the next morning, I had to start unpacking some more. UGH!
Posted by Amy at 12:00 PM | Comments (3)
June 07, 2005
Moving On Up
Sorry for the lack of blog entries lately. As you know, Don and I have been very busy moving into our new home. Thursday, the crew from Two Men & a Truck came to pack everything up. Took them about 4 hours total and they did a much faster job than we would have. Not to mention I didn't want to have to pack in the first place! Then two other guys came on Friday and moved all our furniture to the new house. That took about 7 hours. We PACKED their truck and there's STILL stuff left at the old house!
I had to laugh because every now and then, they'd freak out at all the cat hair they were getting all over them, especially on their faces. I gave them one of those masking tape lint rollers so they could roll their faces. They were very friendly guys and took pretty good care of everything. Though they did scratch the china cabinet when they were trying to move the upper display cabinet off the base. But Don polished the cabinet with some furniture polish and it pretty much hid the scratch.
Then we spent most of the weekend unpacking all the boxes and trying to get our new house into some sort of order, including moving a bunch of stuff in the garage so we could put both our cars into it. We had to go to a wedding (entry to come) on Saturday in the middle of all of this too and by the weekend's end, we were pretty burned out. I'm so exhausted! I've got the kitchen and the master bedroom done. The rest is coming along, slowly but surely!
The house is huge and it's taking some getting used to feeling comfortable in it. Right now, there's way more space than I know what to do with, but I know we'll fill it up in time. The cats are adjusting to it too. Gabriel's used to moving; it took Hideous a couple days to adjust; Princess is still adjusting. I get the feeling she doesn't like such a big change. She spent the first 24 hours squealing, which she never does unless she's totally freaked out and scared. But she's slowly coming out of hiding. They all seem to like the upstairs cause they can look down from the platform and see everything. Gabriel got himself stuck up there the first morning. He's normally not allowed on anything higher than a chair and he seemed very puzzled as to how to get himself down. Don had to use a small ladder to retrieve him.
And unfortunately, our friends Eric and Lilly who were previously interested in buying our old house decided they weren't going to buy it. They decided to look for something newer and closer to town. Too bad--I really wanted them to have it. But now, we'll just put it on the market.
Posted by Amy at 04:45 PM | Comments (0)
June 01, 2005
Sad Loss
I've just been informed that there was a sad loss in the Gillman family. Mary's dog, Vicki (or more formally known as Lady Victoria of Sunnyside) has passed away. I didn't even know she had been ill, but apparently, her body system failed and they had to put her down. It's so very very sad.
She was a beautiful chocolate labrador who had a most kind and loving soul who always had a sweet expression on her face. She was always at the family gatherings at holidays and would accompany the Gillmans to the cottages at Meaford. She absolutely loved the water and loved to retrieve very large, heavy rocks from the shoreline. She always greeted me with a hearty wag of the tail and a friendly paw.
Vicki was an extraordinary companion to everyone, especially Mare. I believe her special gift was that she had learned to take commands not only verbally, but also in sign language. To her, it was all the same.
My deepest condolences to the Gillmans. Rest in peace, Vicki. You had a long and wonderful life and you gave us more than you'll ever know. We love you dearly.
Posted by Amy at 09:40 AM | Comments (2)