Check these guys out!

Gotta love the fall, right? These little box elder bugs have made themselves right at home in my backyard!

2008 Renaissance Festival

So, better late than never, right?

The weekend of 9/6/08, Koleen, Mia, and I headed to Holly, MI for the Renaissance Festival. Mia was so excited, she got to get her Halloween costume early so she could wear it there. First, she wanted to be a witch, but after Koleen and I convinced her that a witch would be hung or burned at the stake at the Renn Fest, she went with the Renaissance Princess costume. :)
She did enjoy the attention from people and random passers-by bowing at "Her Heiness". It was great fun!

This is a picture of "Her Heiness" waiting for her Starbucks in Target. :)


Mia got to meet this fancy Fairy Princess lady.



And of course, Koleen and I enjoyed our favorite belly dancing ladies. We got there kind of late in the day, so we didn't get to follow them from stage to stage, but we did enjoy our 1 performance. "lla..lla..lla..lla..lla..lla..lla" :)

The weekend just also happened to be themed "Wine, Romance, & Song", so we got to enjoy a bit of wine tasting too. And of course, the much anticipated turkey legs!

Good times had by all!

Birthday Song

Do you know what the #1 song was on the day your were born?

Check out the link right HERE.

On July 29,1980 the #1 song was "Magic" by Olivia Newton-John.
(Yeah, I'm jealous of LeeAnn's Billy Joel song! :)

Comment back with your song or Post a link on your blog to your "Birthday Song".

Good times! Thanks for the fun LeeAnn!

I want these shoes...

So, I subscribed to the simple shoes blog quite a while ago. My friend in Baton Rouge is a Vegan, and I was trying to find her some comfy shoes...and I ran into the website with the shoes of my dreams! ;) Of course, there aren't any retailers in Jackson, but I found some in Ann Arbor and Lansing, so maybe I can go try some on. Honestly, I avoided the retailers in Baton Rouge because the shoes are kind of expensive, and I knew if I tried them on, I would be hooked! But, I've been saving my pennies, and I think its time to take the plunge of meeting my dream shoes in person! :)

Today, I went to their blog and found this nifty video about how they made their latest shoe, the planet walker. I don't know if it is my favorite of all favorites...until I try it on, of course. But, I wanted to show how they make their shoes, and what they are made of so you all can see why I love Simple Shoes!

Photo Story Fridays...a day late ;)

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Ok, ok...I know I'm supposed to do this on Fridays...but this week, deadlines aren't really working for me! :)

I took this picture in May. The reason I want to reminisce now is that I feel I could do better at recycling since moving back home to Michigan. Baton Rouge had the most "user friendly" recycling program. I give them kudos because everyone in East Baton Rouge Parish (they don't have counties) that had trash service also received a big blue can for recycling. There was no need to sort your recyclables, and they took all numbers of plastic! It was awesome. Of course, we lived in an apartment, so we didn't get our own Kirby...but it was fun to load up the car once a month to go to the pick up spot. They had the normal squishy garbage trucks parked in an empty lot on the third Saturday of the month. All you had to do was drive up in between the orange cones, and the volunteers had your car emptied in minutes! It was so convenient!

Maybe because I go more often it just feels as if I'm not recycling as much. Or, maybe it is because I am making a conscious effort to use less, compost more, and just have less waste overall. There's just something nice about not having to sort your recyclables. Maybe we can help Jackson, MI implement a system like Baton Rouge's. We'll see...

Photo Story Fridays

I thought this was a cute idea for posting on your blog. Photo Story Fridays...I'll start Friday ;)

THE RULES:
1- Post photo(s) that you took and simply tell the story behind it. Explain why you pressed the shutter button, what memory it invokes, what we don't know, why you love it or why you don't. Any subject. Humor and sarcasm; always optional. The shot doesn't have to be technically or creatively perfect; life isn't.

2- Mr. Linky goes up Thursday night. Link your direct post (not your front page) at Cecily's or Mama Geek's.

3- Copy the logo code into your photo post, so the other participants can be easily found and visited. Please play nice, keep it clean or get deleted. And visit others!




Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

I love cheesecake!!!

So, its probably a good thing that I never researched a good cheesecake recipe earlier in life...or I'd be over 500 lbs!! :) Cheesecake has been a favorite of mine since childhood, yet I have never made a "real" cheesecake of my own. Actually, the first place I requested my mother take me when I was finished with Navy boot camp was The Cheesecake Factory downtown Chicago! And that's where we went, then to Bloomingdale's!

It was a coincidence that Koleen just happened to have some leftover cheesecake in her fridge that she recently made for her sister's visit home...just after my birthday. Since no one made me a birthday cake, she gave me a healthy portion (about 4 pieces worth) to take home and act as my birthday cake. Needless to say, it was wonderful! And poor Mike didn't get very much, as I devoured it! It was so rich though, it did take me 3 sittings to finish it.

She told me it was her mother-in-law's recipe, so I copied it! I probably should have left it at that, and requested she bring it to some special event. But no...the cheesecake lover in me had to have it for myself. So, today I took on the challenge of recreating this nearly perfect cheesecake. I haven't tasted it yet, as it is still cooling...but I am ready to try it!! I took a picture before it was attacked...

Reiki Healing...

For those of us who are in a rut and feel like your energy is "stuck" somewhere in your body, you can feel the physical and mental strains related to it. I was fortunate enough to have a wonderful Reiki session in Jackson while going through a rough emotional time several years ago. It was amazing how a Reiki master can just stop and hover a problem area. They may even notice an ailment that you are having before you do, just by your energy flow! It is amazing.

If you are inquisitive, as I am, check out this site to learn more! Reiki Healing Lancaster PA
Nothing compares to the peace you feel after having your chakras aligned! :)

Palm Trees, In Michigan?

That's right...I had to bring a bit of paradise home with me from the south. Not that Louisiana was paradise, but it was a tropical climate! Like a tropical rain forest at times! ;)

I'm generally the one who kills plants, as I enjoy doing a million things at once and forget to water them. But, my goal is to fill this house with as much greenery as I can. Between the plants and the air filters, we should be in good shape! Or our lungs, anyhow! :)

I love when the palm sprouts new ferns (or whatever they are called). It is so cool, and curly....

Blueberries, mmmmm

Today, I picked blueberries for the first time. It was a gorgeous day for a nice drive to Grass Lake, to The Blueberry Patch. Anyone who knows me knows that I like to eat Organic whenever I can. I love the fact that there is an organic blueberry patch with over 3 acres with approximately 1000 well aged blueberry bushes so close to home!

Now, where's my free-range organic chicken farms that produce white eggs? :)

Check out these berries....now that I'm a canning fool, I'd better make some jam or something! The cookie sheet full are "flash frozen", and the bowl is for snacking! :)

Looks can be deceiving though...there are 3 lbs of berries there...and it took over a couple of hours to get them. Good thing it was a nice day!