I cannot think of a clever title today

I have found the most perfect diet – bronchitis. I came down with it last Friday, it hit me full-force Saturday and I was in bed most of the weekend and on through Monday. I didn’t eat all day Saturday, and when I did eat my entire diet consisted of Progresso chicken noodle soup and Sprite. Even now I don’t have an appetite, which is a new experience for me.

Thank goodness my mom was here. Michael was in a play last week and she had already planned to come up, so she snapped into action and started bossing me around. “Go to the doctor!” “Did you take your medicine?” “Why aren’t you in bed?!” “Take a nap!” I don’t know what I would have done without her here. She just left and there is a palpable sadness in the house.

So now that I’m back among the living I am anxious to post a picture of Michael in the play, Hamelot. It was a western spoof of Camelot. Michael played a cow farmer, One-Eyed Ed and he won the cast-voted Comedian award for the third year in a row. He does love acting.

That was our success for the week. Our semi-failure was Rebecca’s Grand Prix car, a competition of pinewood derby cars from her Awana church group. She and Sean worked feverishly on her yellow Hummer. They used the brochures they picked up at the auto show to make the design and to ensure the artwork matched the car. It looked good. Unfortunately it didn’t exactly drive well.

The way the Grand Prix worked was each car was in four different races on the four different tracks (those Baptists are nothing if not fair). Three of the four times her car didn’t cross the finish line. And the one time it did it clocked in with the slowest time. My engineer husband was not pleased. He began analyzing the situation, revamping the design and placement of the wheels. The mental notes were all over his furrowed brow. I had just leaned over to him and said, “Honey, just because you work for GM doesn’t mean your pinewood derby car is supposed to be perfect,” when a woman who went to engineering school with him spotted him and said, “I thought you were an engineer!” Ha ha ha. On what planet did she think that would be helpful?

Rebecca handled it well, but she was very disappointed. It helped her when Michael reminded her that he never won the speed award, either. He always won for design. And come to find out, so did Sean.

We got Rebecca a doughnut afterward to celebrate, and that did seem to lift her spirits. There’s not a lot a chocolate-covered sprinkled doughnut won’t fix. Or in may case, a can of chicken noodle soup.

The car was supposed to make it through the checkered columns... On the bright side, at least this way I got a really good picture of it.

That's a lot of steel (and plastic and rubber)

We made it to the Detroit Auto Show on Sunday. It was an intimate little affair: my little family, 500 shiny new cars, trucks and SUVs and every living, breathing person within a 200 mile radius. Holy cow, was it packed. Beyond packed. We could barely see the cars on display, and there were long waits to sit in the front seat of many of the cars. (Which is kind of like sitting in the front car of a roller coaster to die-hard car show aficionados. Don’t laugh. I live with three of them.)

It was very difficult to get good pictures because of the throngs of people circling each display. Rebecca, for the first time, saw a benefit to being small; she could slither right up to the front of the crowd to see what those of normal stature could not.

We got there around 10. I hate to say it, but by 11:30 I’d seen enough. When we took a break for lunch and the customary, “What car did you like best so far,” question came to me I couldn’t remember a single thing I’d seen. It was a huge blur.

We were back on the convention floor at 1 and by 2:25 Rebecca was done. That was bad news, because Sean’s plan didn’t have us leaving until 4. The Saturn display included several futuristic chairs on display so the kids sat there for a few minutes to recharge their batteries. Then it was on to the Jeep and Dodge displays, where Rebecca, Amy and I found a meagerly padded bench, but it was enough. We sent Michael and Sean on their way with instructions to pick us up when they’d seen everything over that way … all the cars were a big, glossy blur. I didn’t know what they were looking at much less what I’d seen.

Around 3 Sean came back and announced, “We’ll see Honda and be on the way.” I think the girls and I nearly sprinted to the Honda display, where mercifully they also had chairs. Sean and Michael inspected the Hondas, especially the Pilot which will be a direct competitor to the cross-overs being built at Sean’s plant.

We finally got out of there at 3:45, fifteen minutes before schedule. Shocker. We hadn’t been on the road more than ten minutes and each of Sean’s passengers (including the momma) were sound asleep. We were plum worn out.

Here are some pictures of the glorious day...

Sean and Rebecca entering the Ford display

"Gimme an A!"

Here's one of those die-hard front seat sitters...

Here's another one...

"We can't miss a single brochure, especially for the car I build!"

My boys checking out their new treasures.

In front of a new Hyundai.

Rebecca liked this one from China - she said it reminded her of the car in the Richard Scarry books.

More front-seat sitters.

The best part of the Honda dispaly... notice Sean and Michael looking at the car while the girls sit. I took this while sitting in one of the other white chairs. Thank goodness for the comfy Honda chairs! (You have no idea how it pains me to say anything nice about Honda...)

Cute Rebecca!

Amy looking cool, dreaming of the day she gets the keys...

This was one of Michael's favorites, the Camaro Bumblebee from the Transformers movie.

Buick Riviera Concept

Sean and Michael have been going through the brochures so the afterglow is still shining. It was another fun day at the car show, but I must say I am relieved to have a year to rest up for the next one.

Happy Birthday, Honey

It's birthday time for my dear husband. Feels like we just did this. Time is flying by.

Believe it or not, I am nearly ready for tonight’s little party: sweet tea’s brewed, shrimp linguine’s made, bread and salad are ready to go and the German Chocolate Cake is baked and frosted. I still need to make pb & j sandwiches for the little people who don’t like the shrimp (so sad) but other than that I’m ready and I still have 90 minutes until our friends arrive. I just hope Sean will be here before Molly and Jeff.

Sean’s favorite part of his birthday is the fact that the 2008 North American International Auto Show opens around the same time of his special day. And this year is no different; we’re heading over to Detroit this weekend for our annual pilgrimage to the shrine of everything new and shiny on four wheels. The kids and I are always excited as we prepare for the trip, but after three hours the girls and I are ready to hijack one of those concept cars and bust out of Cobo Hall. Sean and Michael, on the other hand, could look for hours.

Last year we took the wagon because I knew Rebecca would need a break, and because the boys collect so many brochures they can’t hold them all. Michael’s second bag actually broke last year. Thank goodness we had the wagon or the 278 brochures might have been lost forever! (Now they’re just lost forever under his bed. He gets that honestly because that’s where Sean stores his.) I don’t know what we’ll do this year; I have a feeling Rebecca will take it as an affront if I take the wagon.

When Sean was in college, a portion of his parents’ home burned. All of the brochures and car magazines Sean had collected until that point were lost. I used to feel badly for him about that; now I am so thankful. I don’t know how to manage all the ones he’s collected over the last 12 months; I really don’t know what I would do with brochures dating back to the early 70’s.

So Sean will spend his weekend looking at cars, reading about cars and (probably) dreaming about cars. Like his dad always says, they can watch cars or women. I’ll take cars.

Look Who's Copying the General

Well, what do we have here? Looks like mighty Toyota is stealing from the General... you'd think if they were going to so blatantly copy the Buick Enclave they'd have the smarts to not show it with the Enclave's signature Cocoa color.

Holy cow is it ugly.

I love this paragraph from the Motor Trend website:

DETROIT - Toyota describes its 2009 Venza as a vehicle for sedan owners who want to move up and SUV owners who want to downsize. It has the comfort of a Camry, the function of a 4Runner and the luxury of an Avalon. And, Toyota neglected to say, the look of a Buick. Why not? Until the American brand's emerging renaissance, pundits called the Avalon "the world's best Buick." For the Venza's premier, Toyota even copied the Buick Enclave's signature Cocoa bronze paint color.

Who would have ever thought that Toyota would be compared to Buick in a positive light... GM has come a long, long way.

Here's the real deal (and in case you forgot, my husband helps build these!):

Life After College

Like most college graduates, I receive a magazine touting my alma mater’s recent additions, endowment information and the like. It also highlights successful graduates. In the most recent edition the SAU Journal spotlighted my former classmate Leah and her growing jewelry business.

It seems Leah, after graduating from SAU with a communication degree, went on to earn an MBA in public relations, and had a successful career in television management. Then last year on a lark, she took point on she began making jewelry, and she now has a very exclusive jewelry line; all her pieces are gorgeous.

Leah and I were in lots of the same communication classes and we both worked at the radio station. I enjoyed her company and was very pleased to read of her achievements.

Of course, I read the article on her right after cleaning out and reorganizing my pantry, which was my big achievement for the week. And that got me thinking about who gets highlighted in alumni journals.

I can guarantee you that I will never be featured in my college’s magazine because I’m just a housewife and mom. I don’t have a side business, I don’t make anything, I’ve never been famous; in the world’s eyes I am not a success. Even though I graduated from a Christian college (one might think their concept of success would be slightly different than the rest of the world’s) I am not worthy a review because I don’t “do” anything.

Knowing I will never garner a 300 word write-up I decided to write my own.

Christy, a 1992 graduate with a Communication/Professional Writing degree, landed a job with Atlanta Computer Currents as an editorial assistant following graduation. Shortly thereafter she married her fiancé, Sean, and settled into married life in a suburb north of Atlanta.

After six months at ACC, Christy moved on to a sports marketing firm specializing in leveraging NationsBank’s 1996 Olympic sponsorship. It was while in that position that Christy discovered she was pregnant with her first child. She worked until her eighth month of pregnancy, even though she threw up in the car on the way to work, all day at work, and on the drive home from work, and after a marathon pregnancy that lasted 42 weeks and an even longer (it seemed) delivery of 72 hours, she gave birth to a 10 pound, 2.6 ounce baby boy, Michael. And Christy discovered her true calling: motherhood.

Two years later, precious child #2, Amy came along, and then #3, Rebecca. During those years Christy developed a desire to raise her children in a loving, Christian home. She also discovered, however, that her marriage was in shambles. She and Sean had been so busy learning how to be parents they missed the part about being a couple. So they spent gobs of money on counseling and worked like the dickens to make their marriage succeed. It was only through years of prayer, hard work and lots of fighting (and making up) that they have succeeded in creating the marriage they have today, one marked by love, prayer and mutual admiration (and the making up thing).

Christy is currently homeschooling her three children, although she is rarely home. She is constantly on the road shuttling her precious cargo between basketball practice, piano lessons, friends’ houses, church activities, riding lessons and drama practice, not to mention basketball games and the occasional horse show.

She receives no monetary compensation, but the endless hugs from Rebecca make up for that. Plus, she says there is no greater reward than watching her son grow into a fine young man, one who is striving to learn about God and practice what he preaches.

“One day I know my little ones, who aren’t so little any more, will be living lives of their own. My hope is that I’ve shown them, among other things, what a loving, Christ-centered marriage looks like so they will know that type of relationship is still possible in this crazy world,” Christy said.

So that's what I've been doing in fifteen years since graduation. No Pulitzer Prize yet, but still, not too shabby if I do say so myself. And I didn’t even include the part about the reorganized pantry.

Poor Chef

I am feeling bad for Chef Cookaloni this morning. His beloved Ohio State football team fell to LSU in last night's championship game.

Michael and I watched until the half, and the whole time he was very conflicted. He wanted to root for the SEC team because he knew his grandfather was, but he didn't want to root against OSU because of the Chef. If Georgia had been in the game I know he would have wanted them to win but with OSU and LSU... well, he really doesn't have a love for either.

So, congratulations to LSU. And Chef, there's always next year.

Still Snowing

Good thing Sean cleared off the driveway yesterday - he made room for the snow that's been falling since last night. Looks like another inch or two is out there. And, of course, Sean is at work so I have to shovel the drive. I really, really hate shoveling the driveway. And it seems silly to do it now because the snow is still falling, plus the temperature is supposed to get to 40 this weekend... maybe I'll just wait until the sun melts the stuff.

I found this picture on Neal Boortz's website this morning:

It's a great picture of what really happens when the government "provides" welfare. I am all for personal charity; I am not at all for government charity. People don't understand freedom anymore, much less the concept of natural consequences. Of course, that's good news for Hillary, Obama, Edwards and their fellow Democrats.

Actually, the Republicans aren't squeaky clean on this one; President Bush hasn't found a spending bill he hasn't loved, and the only spending increase he vetoed in 2007 was the one raising the spending on poor kids' health care. Don't get me wrong - he should have vetoed it. But he should have vetoed all the other spending increases, too.

Oh, well.

On that happy note, have a great Wednesday.

Welcome to 2008

Last night brought the most snow mid-Michigan has seen on January 1 ever. And my husband thinks we don't need a snow blower... Thankfully our neighbor thought differently and graciously lent us his.