Blog Slacker - What have I been doing for 2 whole weeks!?!?!

It's official - I am on summer hours!! And, in enjoying the dog days of summer I have completely neglected my blog! So, I thought I would share what I have been doing for the past 14 days.....

Thursday, July 17th - visited a dude ranch in Arizona. Should have taken the time to learn the ChaCha Slide!
Friday, July 18th - A successful end to a fantabulous Deloitte National Leadership Conference. It was so fun to see the months of hard work pay off with a great experience, AND I shook hands with our CEO! Awesome day!!
Saturday, July 19th - Having arrived back in Detroit at 2am, I slept until 2pm! Sarah & the kids brought pizzas for dinner and I was entertained by the kids hula-hooping....with 5 hoops at the same time!!
Sunday, July 20th - Sarah & I took a jewelry soldering class in Ann Arbor. Interesting people, a good class and I am super-excited about my new skill (and the charms I made in class!)
Monday, July 21st - Back to the office was a tough transition - I managed to make it until 1pm. Took off a bit early for a haircut and color - clearly needed and much appreciated!!
Tuesday, July 22nd - Wore my new suit to work with my new 'do...felt like a million bucks!! And, Tony's stepdad Gary and his buddy Fred came into town for their annual fishing trip. It's always good to see the in-laws!!
Wednesday, July 23rd - Hopped on a plane to Chicago to meet Tony's mom Becky and her friend Roxanne for a Girls Shopping Trip. We got picked up in a stretch limo - I always knew I would love the lifestyle of the rich and famous!!!
Thursday, July 24th - Shopped the Magnificent Mile in Chi-town....what's not to love? Trekked to the Navy Pier and had a great dinner at the Drake Hotel.
Friday, July 25th - a walk to the Shedd Aquarium was a beautiful trek and we saw crazy penguins and Beluga whales.
Saturday, July 26th - the fun always ends too soon! Made it back to Michigan, picked up Willow and had dinner with Sarah and the kids (yummy pizza and lemony green-beans!)
Sunday, July 27th - Another day with Gary & Fred before they took off for Texas. We ate at the Breakfast Club, some of the best grub in our area!!
Monday, July 28th - First real day back to work was a challenge....going through almost 400 emails was enough to make my eyes cross!!
Tuesday, July 29th - Saw Jacob for the first time this summer - he's a great kid and skated well in his hockey game.
And today, Wednesday, July 30th - kicked it at work (thanks to a GREAT team!) and enjoyed a much needed Happy Hour with some colleagues.

So, that is the news you need to know......I promise to try to be more regular so you can read all the details as I go. Maybe I'll even add another picture or two!!!

Live from Arizona....

I am in Scottsdale this week at the Deloitte National Leadership Conference. It is a great event full of energy and excitement...it is truly a highlight of my job as a Recruiter for Deloitte. There are almost 500 students here...the best & brightest from across the country who are vying for internships in the next year, along with 130 of our professionals. It is fantastic opportunity to network and connect - even in the 103 degree sunshine!!!

One of the best parts about any Deloitte conference is the food - there is a ton of it and lots of great choices....I ate at the Courtyard cookout for lunch today and had some fantastic Mexican yesterday. There are 'breaks' set up all around the resort - fruit, granola bars, bowls of mini candy bars and treats....most of my favorites....except for the Chick-O-Stick. It's an interesting little diddy - made by Atkinson's - with a slight peanut butter flavor - all wrapped up in an orange bundle similar to a Combo. I don't recommend them at all, but was just wondering if anyone else has ever had a taste???

FORE!!

I think I might like golf. I never thought I would say it...I have only ever golfed about 8 times in my life.....but I think I may actually like it. I remember my first golf experience, at the Royal Oak Golf Club with Dean Pioch & Josh Doster - mostly what I recall was flipping my entire bag of clubs on the ground because I had no idea how to carry them. I am sure the boys laughed at me - even more so when I did it again. Since then, I only golf at our annual golf outings at work - twice a year. Clearly not enough time on the links to actually get good at the game, but I'm thinking I might give it some effort to see if I can develop the skill. I only played 9 holes today, and it was a scramble, but I wasn't so shabby. Granted, I wasn't stellar or consistent, but I hit the ball more than I missed. And, I only lost one ball in the water...good thing it was an old one!! So we'll see if I hit another course any time soon - at the very least I play again on August 1st for the second, and last, outing of the summer!! I'll let you know how it goes.....

Unplugged!!

This year at work the theme for the 4th of July holiday was "Deloitte Unplugged". We were encouraged to enjoy the 4 day weekend without laptops, phone calls, and basically without work. Now, if you know me at all, I tend to be a bit of a workaholic and don't much like to be "unplugged". Tony and I left Wednesday for the long weekend at Camp 5, our family's log cabin in the Upper Peninsula. We had Morgan & Maren in tow, along with Willow, and a truck full of goodies. I am happy to report I left my laptop at home, had my Treo just for the phone and only brought my beach books & magazines in my backpack.

The weather was fantastic (the warmest we remember the UP in July in years), the campfire roared, the beach was sandy and perfect for building, and overall a good time was had by all!! We gathered with old friends, barbecued on the 4th of July, played Hide & Go Seek in the woods and roasted smores over a huge bonfire. The girls learned how to play one of my favorite childhood games, Yahtzee!!, and sang to the Legally Blonde soundtrack all weekend (much to Tony's dismay). While the gas prices were tough to take, and the Mackinac Bridge fare is now up to $3.00, we decided it is still worth it all to get to the UP and enjoy the northern splendor. We both said we missed waking up to the sound of the Lake Michigan waves hitting the beach and the miles and miles of starry skies at night. The good news is it is only 4 weeks until we go back!! Until then, we will plug in and plug along.