Rain, Rain Go AWAY!!!

June in Michigan has proven to be incredibly wet this year. April Showers bring May Flowers, but what does June rain bring?? A huge list of weekend to-do's that aren't done, a tan that's not developed (or a burn in my case!) and a whole lot of headaches from the humidity and fluctuations in barometric pressure. On the other hand, the grass is greener and the flowers are bursting with color.....and since today is our 11 year wedding anniversary, I'll say the rain is sure to bring us a little bit of luck for the rest of the year!! I'd still like to see the sun though!!!

Cars but NOT Golf!!!

Our Colorado Cousins, Dave & Carly, are expecting their first baby girl any day (maybe they have had her already - Carly told us Dave was technically un-savvy so we wouldn't see it on their blog or in an email anytime soon!!!) At any rate, Carly has been enjoying some bed-rest prior to the small-fry arrival. She wrote last week that she was kind of into watching golf but wasn't sure she would be able to stomach the NASCAR races. Coming from my family, NASCAR is the rage - and I am proud (is that right word!??!) to say that today I caught both the Indy race in Iowa as well as the stock car race in California (actually watching the end of it right now!) Now, if I could only bring myself to watch golf!!!!

Happy Summer!!!

It is officially the first day of summer! We had a free Jeans Day at work today - in honor I put on my favorite pair, along with a bright yellow shirt and my fun turquoise clogs with a daisy on each foot. I take full advantage of the jeans day - I swear, I would be ultra-productive if we could wear them everyday!! Back to my clogs - they were an impulse purchase with my friends Kris & Amy a couple of years ago. Something about "buy one, get one free" makes everything look appealing - the funny thing is I love them! AND, everytime I wear them to work (which is about twice a year on Jeans Day) my boss compliments them. Today he said they were the best part of my wardrobe! At any rate, thanks for Kris & Amy for talking me into them!!!

The conversation at lunch today revolved around what everyone is doing for the summer....silly, my first response was "working". As I thought through it, I can pretty much name a meeting, flight, car-ride or commitment I have from now until August 1st. And, only 4 of the days involve PTO (our vacation time!) Needless to say, I feel as though the summer is over before it has really begun. But, there are things to look forward to:

Tony & I will celebrate our 11th Anniversary on June 28th

We are spending the 4th of July weekend in the UP at the Cabin - my favorite place.

I am leading a national conference in Scottsdale, Arizona the 3rd week of July (yes, Scottsdale in July, but we get a killer rate at the resort!) This always rejuvenates my feelings about work!

Sarah and I are taking a jewelry class in Ann Arbor - fun bonding and great skill development!!

I am spending a few days in Chicago with Tony's mom & her best friend - another great girls shopping weekend!!

The fam is heading back up to the Cabin in August for a week of fun and frolic on the beach.

So, overall, it's not as "over" as I originally thought - it would just be great if summer lasted for 8 months!!!

Simply Amazing...

Those are the only words I can really use to describe our Relay for Life experience this weekend. Simply Amazing.

The quotation that rolls through my mind is, "“Never underestimate that a small group of thoughtful, committed individuals can save the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has.” by Margaret Mead. Our team, the Deloitte People Movers, had only 23 active members and we raised nearly $13,500 for the fight against cancer. The event itself raised over $320,000!! Simply Amazing.

I asked my teammates to wear a pedometer during the time they were walking in an attempt to quantify our fitness efforts. Although the event was scheduled for 24 hours, we had a bit of bad weather which shut down the track for 6 hours. In the 18 hours we walked we logged over 100 miles. Simply Amazing.

Through our on-site Relay fundraisers, we sold over $650 worth of hotdogs and $450 worth of sno-cones. And the supplies were ALL donations. Simply Amazing.

My family participated in Relay this year. Simply Amazing.

The luminary ceremony at 10:00p.m. found us lighting hundreds of bags decorated in honor and in memory of many of our family and friends. The words and pictures told so many stories, and provided a constant inspiration for everyone there. The words HOPE and CURE illuminated both sides of the track, reminding us that we will always have hope that a cure will be found. Simply Amazing.

To all of you, who donated your dollars and your thoughts, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. My Reason to Relay will always be to honor my mom's legacy. While many of you have your own friends & family to honor and support, I am touched that you all remembered my Mom in the fight as well. To me, you are all.....Simply Amazing.

Relay For Life

I think the last time I pulled a true all-nighter I was in college - and frankly I didn't do that very often. Relay for Life is this weekend - which means 24 hours of fundraising, walking, laughing, crying, family & friends.....and 24 hours without sleep. I will be participating in honor of my mom, and will also honor the family, friends and loved ones of many of my friends whose lives have been touched by cancer. As many of you know, I am the Captain of the Deloitte People Movers Relay for Life Team. As over-achievers typically do, we have set our goals high and have lofty expectations. We have raised 76% of our goal of $15,000!! That in itself is incredible for 20 individuals!!! We have fundraisers set for the day so our hope is we will exceed our goal by the end of the event. And, we have committed to having someone from our team walking on the track EVERY MINUTE of the 24 hour event. That is quite a feat for our feet! We are using pedometers this year so we can try to gauge how many miles we are walking - I know it is going to be a lot!! We are expecting 90+ degree weather in Michigan this weekend, some rain (let's hope that is wrong!) so I have my sunscreen packed and the water is ready. Whatever you are doing this weekend - for a second, a minute or an hour, please think of me during my 24 hours at Relay for Life and send your happy thoughts and energy - we'll need it!!!!

WELCOME HOME STANLEY!!!

The Red Wings Did It!!!

Welcome back to Hockeytown Stanley!!!

GO WINGS!!!

Let's Go Red Wings....

Here it is, game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals - can you hear us cheering!?!? The Red Wings are fighting for their 4th Cup in 11 years and they are less than two periods away from a W. We've seen it before, in fact in the triple overtime game on Monday, they were 34 seconds away from the W...so close we could almost feel Stanley being lifted above heads into the wee-wee-wee hours of the morning (since it was well after 1am when the game ended!). So, here we sit, watching the game on TV, sure my friends Holly & Nathan in Pittsburgh are doing the same, and we have our fingers crossed. And we haven't shaved. And we have on the same socks we have been wearing throughout the play-offs. OKAY, so we have our fingers crossed. What a great day it will be in HockeyTown tomorrow if the Wings come back to Detroit with a victory...and Stanley.

Family Fun - For A Good Cause

This weekend was our Fourth Annual Alma College Maroon & Cream Gala. Tony is the current chair of the Alma Metro-Detroit Roundtable, which sponsors the event. It is a fundraising gala for scholarships at Alma College. Tony and I often laugh that we were the only two kids at Alma in the early 90s who didn't have scholarships, but we are motivated to raise dollars for scholars nonetheless!! The event was wildly successful and a lot of fun! It was at the Orchard Lake Country Club - the weather was beautiful and the view from our ball room was fantastic. The event raised upwards of $10,000 for scholarships - clearly exceeding our expectations.

One of the things that made it even more special for me was my family's involvement in the event this year. We had a Catania/Grant/Barnett Table for the first time in the event's history. Tony & I were joined by my dad & his fiance Gloria, my brother Eric & sister-in-law Kelley and my sister Sarah & brother-in-law John. We had a ton of fun at our table and we all walked out with "something" after having successfully bid on auction items - except for the Pizza Sam's pizza I bid on - we ate that!!!! All in all it was a great night and I am thankful my family shared in it this year!!

Up next - RELAY FOR LIFE!!! I am excited again that my family will be joining in my efforts to raise money for cancer research at the 2008 American Cancer Society West Bloomfield Relay for Life. They will be walking, cheffing up omelettes, sharing memories of our mom and making a difference. Check out our site at: http://main.acsevents.org/goto/catania.