About that silent night...

I was talking with my brother about Christmas last weekend, and all of the sudden, I began to get quite anxious. Christmas is less than 2 weeks away and I had...count 'em... a whopping total of 1 Christmas present purchased! I could feel my heart rate speed up as I feverishly began to make my lists. Oh my, so much to do, and literally, so little time.

I confess, I didn't even realize what was happening to me. That moment caused me to completely lose sight of that calm, peaceful night 2000 years ago. It's the silent night that I treasure most about Christmas.

Anyways, in the midst of all of this, I came across song by Straight No Chaser. It put a smile on my face because it expressed so well the anxiety that was building up inside of me.



Have a wonderful Christmas, Everyone. Enjoy the wonder of the silent night.

Two Cheeseheads and the Governor

So yesterday I had the awesome opportunity to meet Mike Huckabee as his "A Simple Christmas" book tour rolled through Indianapolis. It was fun seeing his bus pull into the Barnes and Noble parking lot, watching in earnest for him to get off the bus.

I have to tell you, the atmosphere at Barnes and Noble was really neat. The people in line were polite, patient and we all sort of became friends, brought together by this common bond. Of course we also stood there discussing current events and our hopes for the future. I have a sense that people are getting more involved in the political process than ever before. The people I talked to are quite motivated to have their voices be heard.

Amist all these conversations, Gov. Huckabee signed books, shook hands, and looked people in the eye as he thanked them for coming. I had him sign one of Clint's copies of "Do the Right Thing." (I thought about giving it to Clint for Christmas, but I couldn't contain my excitement...so I gave it to him last night. I must say, I think he liked it :))


Just as I was kicking myself for forgetting my camera, I remembered that I had Andria's in my car (even better :))!

I ran out to get the camera and who should I see coming in the front door, but my wonderful friend Julie! We laughed as we saw each other. "I should have known you'd be here," we said to each other. Us two cheeseheads even managed to get a photo with Gov. Huckabee before the event was over.

I think he got a kick out of it because both of us had already been through the line and all of the sudden we were back... together, like junior high girls mushing over some teenage pop star, wanting our picture taken with him. "So I guess you know each other," he smiled and said.

Julie & I...cheesin' it up big time

Keepin' the dream alive :)

Biking in South Haven

At the end of September, Clint had some time off so we took a few days and went up to South Haven, MI.

We stayed at a Bed and Breakfast that gave us free usage of their bicycles as well as a gift certificate to a Clementine's, a downtown bank built in 1897 that was converted into a restaurant. It was really neat...the inside had a lot of exposed brick and heavy woodwork. This was taken outside of Clementine's.

Downtown South Haven

Along Lake Michigan

Our first full day there, we biked around South Haven and along Lake Michigan. As we were biking back to our B&B, we came across the the Kal-Haven bike trail. The Kal-Haven trail runs E/W and connects South Haven, MI to Kalamazoo, MI. I believe it's 34 miles long.

We met two couples who had just biked in from Bloomingdale, a small town along the trail. They told us that they were staying in South Haven and had biked to Bloomingdale for lunch and then biked back. It was obvious that all 4 of them were in pretty good shape. As we were talking I heard them say something to the effect of biking "around 17 miles."

These were the bikes we tooled around South Haven on. Thankfully, we had better ones for our Kal-Haven Adventure.

The trail sounded like a lot of fun, so Clint and decided to bike it the next day. If you know Clint and I, you'll appreciate this difference between us.

He wanted to get up at 6am, bike to Bloomingdale and back before our breakfast at 9am. I, on the other hand, did not think that sounded like so much fun. There was no way we'd get off in time and be back in time for breakfast. Plus, the mornings were FREEZING and we didn't have a lot of warm clothes. "Let's go after breakfast," I convinced him. He agreed. And when we woke to pouring rain, he knew we had made the right decision.

By the time breakfast was over, the sky somewhat had cleared up. So we decided to risk it.

We rode into town to buy me a sweatshirt and we were off. Our host had graciously told us that as we rode east, the trail would gradually incline. So here we go.

Biking.

Uphill.

By about mile 6 or so, I'm really feeling the burning. But, no big deal. If we're only biking 17 miles, the halfway point is coming up. I mention this to Clint and he get's a big smile and says, "no, it's about 17 miles ONE WAY." You've got to be kidding me. I just might die. I haven't biked for probably 10 years! I couldn't believe it.

Pride can take you a long way.

I kept biking.

And biking.

By the time we reached Bloomingdale, my legs were on fire. And I felt like a jell-o man when I tried to walk. Bloomingdale wasn't that impressive. But we had lunch and as we were eating, we noticed that the sky was looking quite dark. Again...you've got to be kidding me.

We start biking back to South Haven, and really noticed that the trail was at a gradual decline. Which was so so nice.

Somewhere around 8-9 miles into our journey back, it began to spritz. The spritz turned into drizzle and the drizzle into rain. And at times, the rain turned into heavy rain.

By the time we got back, we were soaked, tired and sore, and ready for a warm clothes and soup! But Clint and I had so much fun being together and chalking up another memory in our journey together. And the trail was quite pretty. :)

My 5 Things...Quick before they change...

Last night, I was laying in bed thinking about my 5 favorite things and before I knew it, I had nearly 10 favorite things. So I decided only to share my initial five favorites.

1. Aveda's Smooth Infusion Glossing Straightener
This is the best product I've found for straightening hair. Love it, love it, love it.


2. Honey Crisp Apples
Delicious!! How did I not know about these apples?! I've always been a golden delicious/granny smith fan, but my allegiance has quickly changed.



3. Total Energy Exhilarating Body Wash by The Body Shop
A great (but somewhat expensive) way to start my day. Every once in a while I treat myself and by a bottle of this.



4. My Fireplace -- wood burning, of course.
I don't think I could survive the winter without it. It makes the long, dark wintry nights so much cozier.



5. Anthropologie
Absolutely in love with this store. Everything about it. And keeping my eye on one fabulous gray shirt...

Miller Time

Last weekend, Kendra, Holly, Tami and I had a small baby shower for Arlan and Katie. My grandma even got in on the action, letting us host the shower at her house.

Tami and Heidi put together the cutest diaper cake, decorated with toys from the '80s. And Holly brought quite the entertainment. In plastic cups, she froze small plastic babies in ice. The first guest to unthaw their baby won by exclaiming that her water broke. It was a great way to spend a Saturday morning. Congrats again, Arlan and Katie. We're looking forward to meeting your little girl.

Tami and Heidi's diaper cake

Arlan seeing how many pieces of clothing he can put on a clothes line while holding a baby and talking on a cell phone.

Each person was given a tub of play-dough and told to make a baby. Kate picked Tami's as the winner (the blue "baby" above). I think that's Jami's "turtle" baby behind Tami's. Love ya, Jami. :)

All of us at the shower, well, except for Arlan who graciously took our picture.

Flash Mob and the Black Eyed Peas

Ok. I have to be honest. Before last night, I hadn't even heard of a Flash Mob. But Dustin and Randi showed us this video of Oprah's Season Premiere which was taped in downtown Chicago. Apparently, Michigan Avenue was closed down for the taping of her opening show and part of the show included a concert by the Black Eyed Peas.

Anyways, this crowd of 20,000+ people surprised Oprah by taking part in a choreographed dance to "I've Got a Feeling." Check it out!

Perpetuum Jazzile