The Billboard

For those of you who have not yet seen one of the 20 billboards, here you go!

The "First day of School" feeling

My fabulous month (well, really a month and 1 week) off from work and the world of insurance will be over in 48 hours. I am starting my new job as a Producer for Berends, Hendricks, Stuit on Monday. I'm not sure if it's because there is a hint of fall in the evening air, or if it's because Target has their full "Back to School" display out, but I seriously feel like the summer is over and I'm about to start my first day at a new school.

I have found myself doing all of the same things that I did when planning for my first day of school growing up. I have my first day outfit all planned (and day 2, 3 and 4) and I've even packed my bag already. I have new pens, fresh pads of paper and my favorite pictures of me and my friends from this summer. (The pictures will be on my desk instead of a locker of course)

The nervous/excited butterflies have officially taken over and all I can think about is my first day. Let's hope I can find my way around and am not late for anything! Hey, maybe if I'm lucky, a cute boy will even wink at me in the hallway.

Slydial

Have any of you head of Slydial? They were talking about it on Fox News this morning and I think it's brilliant! I think we've all had those moments where you have to call someone but are praying you just get their voice mail so you can leave your message and not have to get stuck talking to them. Whether you want to cancel on a date, call in sick to work, or decline an invite to something. Well, now if you call 276-Slydial from any land line or mobile phone, you just have to listen to a quick advertisement and then it connects you to the person's voice mail. The funniest part to me is, you can add different background noises. So, if you want to pretend like you are going to be late because you are stuck in traffic, you can leave traffic background noise. And it's all free!

Here is the web site. I may have to try this out on someone later just to see if it really works!

http://www.slydial.com

I love Lobster

Lobster dinner #1:



Lobster dinner #2:


And lobster dinner #3:





I love lobster :-)

Michigan woman killed by lightning in Maine

I have received a few e-mails asking if I'm still alive so I thought I'd ease the mind of everyone. I'm OK! This is a really sad story though....

STANDISH, Maine (AP) -- Authorities in Maine say one of two people killed by lightning late last week was a wife and mother of three from mid-Michigan.

Detective Sgt. James Estabrook of the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office says the victims have been identified as 28-year-old Krysta Bearor of Clare, Mich., and 22-year-old Anthony Clarke of Standish.

Estabrook says Bearor, her husband and their children were visiting her parents in Vassalboro and were at a home in Standish, 80 miles north of Boston, when powerful bands of thunderstorms were sweeping across Maine on Friday evening.

He says Bearor and Clarke had gone outside to retrieve a pair of eyeglasses the family dog had taken from one of the children when they were struck.

Fort Knox and Penobscot Narrows Observatory

We did a little site seeing on Sunday and decided to go to Fort Knox. Fort Knox is located on the west bank of the Penobscot River in Prospect, ME. It was established in 1844 to protect the Penobscot River valley against possible future British naval incursion. Here is us being the typical dorks we are outside the entrance....




After visiting Fort Knox I convinced my father to go to the top of the Observatory with me. The observation tower is 420' above sea level! Both being afraid of heights, we were a bit nervous after we got off the 50 second elevator ride to the top. The view was amazing though.

Pictures of the Coast

Here are some pictures from our time in Camden, ME this week. More to come soon!

Idea for Wine Nite...

I had the most amazing dinner tonight and believe it or not, it was not lobster.

We went to a resturant right on the ocean that had a Sunday Night Pizza buffet. As we sit at our table facing the ocean, ordering bottles of wine, servers would come around with different gourmet pizzas. They had everything from clam chowder pizza, to nacho pizza, macaroni pizza, loaded stuffed potatoe pizza, blonde porsciutto pizza with fontina cheese, and much more. It was such a fun dinner and so delicious. I thought something like this would be perfect for our Wine Night resturant!

Unfortunately the cord for to upload pictures from the camera onto the laptop is about 250 miles away. You will have to wait and see pictures from tonight, along with other events from the past few days, on Tuesday.

Wish you could all be here!!!

Off to Maine

I leave for Maine tomorrow and I promise this blog will become much more exciting then. I can't wait to share pictures of the coast, lobstermen, and my adventures with you.

Here is the resort that I will be staying at Friday - Wednesday: www.samosetresort.com

I wish I could take everyone with me so you could all experience the beauty of Maine. It's truly gorgeous. I can't wait for my first sniff of the ocean...

You know you're old when....

I remember the days where I could spend a night out enjoying some cocktails with friends and then actually be productive the next day. Friday some old co-workers threw a little going away party for me at The Woods. We started there, moved on to Rockwells and then HopCat. When everyone went home I went back to Rockwells to meet up with some other friends and went to bed around 3:30am. After sleeping until 5:00 yesterday afternoon, I went over to Becky and Liz's. This is when I realized exactly how old I have become...

We stayed in on a Saturday night, pounded Advil, watched a Primetime special about Bears, another about Child Brides, and then I was back home fast asleep by 11:00 at night. (while taking some more Advil before I went to sleep)

I still feel hung over today and my body still feels like it was hit by a bus.

So, I didn't discover anything new or facinating about Grand Rapids this weekend to blog about. I plan on getting back on track Monday and will hopefully have some more exciting news to report on then.:-)

Dinner with Liz and learning about ICCF

My day wasn't very exciting yesterday and I was thinking I'd have to blog about where to find great suitcase deals. (which would be Marshalls...I got a great suitcase for only $60)

Last night though Liz and I discovered something very interesting while having dinner and a glass of wine at Greenwell. The building behind Greenwell is the Inner City Christian Federation which provides housing opportunities to those in need. What Liz and I found more interesting was the history behind the building. In the early 1900's it served as a Children's hospital and at one time was an orphanage. Here is what we discovered:



The D. A. Blodgett Home for Children was a stunning building when it was dedicated in 1908. Long before the ceremony started the site was thronged with people who were eager to view the many rooms of the facility, considered one of the finest and best equipped private philanthropic institutions in the state. Expressions of admiration were heard at every turn for the beauty of the building and the perfection of its furnishings. The funds expended to make the home safe as well as beautiful were unusual.

The expense was understandable because the donor for the building, Delos A. Blodgett, was unusually generous. At the ceremony his son John Wood Blodgett said, “Always attracted to the helpless, it was but natural that the sympathies of the father should go out to the orphan . . . He designed to give to this city a home for children that fire could not destroy, and of such sanitary construction that disease could be lessened and controlled.”

Unfortunately Delos A. Blodgett died before the building was completed. But the realization of his plans was carried out in every detail by the tireless effort of his wife, Daisy Peck Blodgett. She determined the paint colors on the walls, the style of the furniture, and the design of the dishes used by the children at meal times.

This distinctive home functioned as an orphanage and became a national leader in the field of child welfare. First in the nation to begin placing children in the community through the practice of foster care, the D.A. Blodgett Home also developed Camp Blodgett on Lake Michigan to afford orphans and other underprivileged children a summer camp experience.

A clinic and residential care for children with orthopedic problems led to a combined program with the Mary Free Bed Guild. When foster care replaced orphanages, and the polio epidemic created a need for long-term medical residential care for children, a transition was made.

In 1948 the Blodgett heirs donated the building to the Mary Free Bed Guild and it became known as the Mary Free Bed Hospital. Despite removing the pillared porch and expanding the building with a large addition on the front, the hospital outgrew the facility and moved to a newer, larger site in 1976.


For eighteen years the building was only partially occupied by a variety of tenants. Completely empty and deteriorating for twelve years, it was close to demolition when ICCF purchased the building.

ICCF, a non-profit organization established in 1974, purposed to restore and use the building in its original appearance. With historic preservation and other tax credits and tremendous community support, ICCF hired Rockford Construction to oversee the building restoration.

After removing the 34,000 square foot additions built in the 1950s, ICCF moved forward to replace the original pillared porch, to strip and refinish the original woodwork, and to restore all the exterior terra cotta trim. The 22 month process has resulted in a remarkable architectural icon, an embodiment of ICCF’s commitment to revitalize communities and restore hope. ICCF has functioned in the building since September 4, 2007.


Bibliography
Books Available at the Grand Rapids Public Library
Olson, Gordon. “In the Name of All Marys”: A History of the Mary Free Bed Guild and the Mary Free Bed Hospital and Rehabilitation Center. Grand Rapids, MI: Mary Free Bed Guild, 1991.

My first activity

Well, I think I found something new to try today. Anyone have a feather boa I could borrow?

Cardio Strip for Fitness

Have you ever wondered how dancers stay in great shape? Find out for yourself in the class sweeping the nation, Cardio Strip. We will spend 15 minutes warming up, 30 minutes of cardio strip and 15 minutes of core work. Don’t worry, you aren’t taking off your clothes, you ‘re just using the moves strippers use for a great workout!! Bring your tennis shoes but the majority of the class will be spent in your socks or barefoot. We recommend having a feather boa. We will have them for sale at the front desk for only $5.


July 08th, 2008
06:00 PM - 07:00 PM

Location
The Collective of Kentwood
4620 Kalamazoo SE
Kentwood, MI 49508

First Day Off

Wednesday I resigned from my job and gave them my two weeks notice. I stated that I would be able to work through July 16th. The next day they told me that they would continue to pay me for the next few weeks but that I was to turn everything in and please not come back. My first reaction was plain shock -- what was I going to do for the next few weeks? I wasn't set to start my new job until August. While I do have a trip to Maine planned for the 17th - 27th, that still left me with quite a few days to keep myself entertained. I then realized that this might be the only time in my life that I have a full month of paid time off to do whatever I want!

I am not a blogger and really have no idea how good I will be at this! But, I'm going to attempt to share my daily adventures with all of you working people. I am hoping to try something new or some place new every day. If you have any ideas of things you'd like me to check out or try out, please let me know!

My first two days off I visited Higgins Lake with Kristin. Her family was wonderful and the area reminded me a lot of Maine. Her father took us for a wonderful boat ride Saturday. I had never seen lake water this clear!