WE MISS YOU MOM!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Days Off

I've taken the 'short' week off with great intentions to clean out the house. Not sure what has gotten into me...if you know me I am quite a pack rat....but my focus has been on cleaning out the nooks & crannies that have held "important things I can't throw away" for the past 7 years. I have been somewhat successful, but tend to lose focus and get sentimental, but overall I am on my 4th garbage bag and feel a little bit cleaner (check the before & after picture of one of our storage closets!). Coupled with the fact that Tony is making great progress on the bathroom so the office will no longer be the dumping grounds for all the plumbing & tiling supplies, I think we will be able to ring in the new year with a somewhat put together house!

So Long DD

Tomorrow morning I will go to work (albeit only a 1/2 day) and my good friend and colleague, Doug Daniels, won't be there. He has accepted a great job with one of our competitors and is moving to Chicago next week. Don't let me fool you, I am incredibly happy for him, and equally as proud..I know this is a good move and he will thrive in his new role, but I can't help but know there is going to be a large void in his place. Tony asked me tonight how much I actually worked with Doug these days...and the answer is really not much. When I started at Deloitte, Doug was my go-to guy. He was the HR Manager for the groups I recruited so he was involved in daily recruiting decisions, giving me guidance & advice, challenging and questioning the process and overall providing insight into our efforts. As my role has evolved, and his did as well, Doug has simply become more of a mentor, someone I could, and would, always go to because every decision was more solid if Doug weighed in. Not to mention the fact that Doug is hilarious, and quirky, and thoughtful and fun. He truly will be missed. We sent him off on Friday night with pictures & stories and a lot of laughs..in true DD style.

Good luck Doug!! We miss you already!!

Happy Birthday & Hockey

Monday was the only night this week that I didn't have something to do....I'm not usually a "have something to do everynight" kind of a girl. But, this week has been exceptionally fun and there are still a few more days!!

Tuesday was Sarah's Birthday - she shares the day with Mickey Mouse!! Tony & I headed over there for dinner. Sarah made chicken divan, her favorite meal, and Tony brought the carrot cake. We celebrated in real birthday style...we ate cake before dinner!! Filled with just enough candles (and one to grow on) we sang Happy Birthday and then we relit the candles and the kids sang all over again! Morgan wrote Sarah a song that she played on her clarinet and we enjoyed a glass of wine...overall, a very fun birthday!

Tonight I trekked out to Jacob's hockey game. I haven't seen him in about a month and I swear he grew a foot and his voice got deep. He is cute as a bug, and growing up so fast. The game ended in a loss, but he managed to net a goal (with his birthday stick) which made it exciting. And, he only spent 4 minutes in the penalty box!!

Tomorrow we are heading out to an Alma Athletics Happy Hour in Royal Oak (how convenient is that!?!?) I'm excited to see who will be there and to reconnect with other alumni. Friday is a party at our friend Josh's new house...our friend Doug is moving to Chicago and taking a new job, with a new firm, so it's his going away party. A fun event for a bittersweet occasion.

So, this is my most popular week....one that I am sure won't happen again for a long while!!

It's Snowing!!

I LOVE MICHIGAN!!!

BOLT!!

Today started at 5:00a.m. (ok, 5:21 after I snoozed a couple of times). It was the start of weekend #2 of craft shows with my sister. We decided in the spring to try our hand on the circuit again this fall - so, I spent the entire day at Troy High School, chatting it up, selling our wares (mostly Sarah's!) It rained all day, and by mid-afternoon had turned to slushy rain....so being in the Troy High gym was not too bad (except I had to see all the League Championship banners for Women's soccer & basketball from 1987-1991...painful!) This evening I had great plans to finally take Chloe to see Beverly Hills Chihuahua...she knows practically the whole script but hasn't seen the movie yet...however, since that show didn't start until 9:45pm (clearly too late for us!) we took Morgan & Grant along and saw the sneak preview of BOLT. Great movie, about a dog which I loved, and it was in 3-D which didn't make me throw up this time. Paired with a big popcorn and soda shared with Morgan, it was a super fun date with the kiddos.

Weddings, Sweaters & Stuff

Hello there! I'm back! Honestly, I feel a little guilty that I haven't posted in a while, and am hoping to get back into the swing of regular blogging. I have had so much on my plate the last few weeks, I think this has fallen off the radar...but it's back on and I'm happy to be back into the swing.

So, it is November in Michigan and winter has arrived. The cold is actually quite nice, after many warm fall weeks. I enjoy the winter weather, but am not quite ready for snow (which we have had once). I mostly love to wear hats, scarves and mittens...good thing I am a Michigander!!

We spent a long weekend in Key West for Tony's cousin's wedding. Anna married Ryan who is stationed in the Coast Guard in the Keys. It was a beautiful wedding and Anna looks truly happy. We had a fun weekend with the family, including new baby Sam from Colorado. I was sad to miss Halloween with the fam & kids here in Michigan (this year everyone was Elvis!) but it was a fantastic family weekend filled with fun, food & beautiful weather!

I never thought I would be "one of those people" who puts a sweater on their dog. I am! And, even more surprising, Tony is!! Auntie Sarah picked out a nice wooly sweater for Willow at a craft show last weekend. Much to my shock, Willow LOVES it! When I first put it on her she sat in the middle of the floor for about 4 minutes - I wasn't sure she knew how to move in it. Now, she prefers to have it on for her walks (again, cold Michigan weather) and she looks fabulous. Tony says she is "fashion forward"!!

It's hard to believe Thanksgiving is right around the corner, but I am looking forward to a few days of food, family & shopping. The holiday typically marks the end of our busy recruiting season at work so it is a bit of a milestone....one I am definitely welcoming this year!

For now, I am putting on my hat and gloves and heading out to rake the leaves and walk the dog...in her sweater of course!!!