Smothered in Secret Sauce

My sister Beth and brother-in-law Jon think that Paul and I enjoy keeping secrets. Believe me, that's far from the truth!

I can finally talk about 1 secret...a new job! On September 11, Paul will begin working for a company called Fiserv. Unfortunately for you, he'll being doing M&A work (mergers and acquisitions), another very secretive position (sorry Bethie and Jon...the secrets never end!). The company is based out of Milwaukee, but we don't necessarily need to move there. Until our condo sells here in Canton, we'll stay local. Beyond that, we're still considering our options. We'll keep you posted.

Farewell Grandpa

Last Monday, August 14th, my Grandpa passed away at the age of 79. He had been in a nursing home in East Lansing for the past 7 months, battling dimentia and most recently, infection in his toe and heal. The infection became unresponsive to antibiotic and eventually took his life.

Paul, Elise and I were able to visit with him for a short time on Sunday and while he was unable to speak or open his eyes, I'm sure that he could hear Elise say, "Hi, Gweat Gwapa" and then turn to me and say "Gwapa's sleeping". So sweet.

This picture is one of my very favorites of Grandpa. Taken at Errin and Rudi's wedding, it captures Grandpa's personality to the T. Wise guy, Smart Alec, feisty old man. We'll miss him!

Life Lessons

I have been known to watch TLC on occasion (what else is there to watch when you have less than 10 channels to choose from?). Have you seen these "Life Lessons" figurines that are part of their latest advertising campaign? Some of them are quite humorous (and the commercials are pretty funny too).

My favorite is says, "Just because you are a mom doesn't mean you have to wear mom jeans." You can see them all (and the clips) here.

Updated Pictures of Elise

I'm trying to get updated on posting Elise's pictures on our Yahoo! site. I think I'm current. Now it's time to get caught up on the scrapbooks (I'm 3 or 4 years behind). Yikes!

20 Months (June '06)
21 Months (July '06)

One down!

When we got home from our camping weekend on Tuesday, we found that our house guests were having a field day in our pantry. I wasn't surprised, but was frustrated that I had a mess to clean up (mostly mouse droppings). Paul set 4 old-fashioned traps with cheese before leaving for Minneapolis. I had a feeling that we'd catch something while Paul was gone. And sure enough, at 9:30p, I heard a snap!

Most of you would agree that I'm pretty tough, but when it comes to rodents and big bugs, I can be a bit of a baby. Without Paul home, I had to suck it up and clean up the mess. I armed my self with a double-lined grocery bag and a pair of tongs and set out to dispose of the body. It didn't go as smoothly as I would have liked....I dropped the trap once on the way to the grocery bag (less than 18 inches from the crime scene). And I learned that death by trap is not a clean assassination. I not only had to dispose of the body, but clean up the pool of blood too. Yuck!

Moral of the story: Do not set mouse traps on days when Paul is going out of town!

Camp-o-rama 2006

This past weekend marked my family's second annual Camp-o-rama vacation. It was our first year. My parents and siblings (Amy, Lisa, Marissa, Ryan, Beth and Errin and their families) all met at the Yogi Bear Jellystone Park in Fremont, IN. There were 16 adults and 7 kids! We had a great time and plan to do it again next year.

You can see the pictures that Paul took here. Unfortunately, we didn't have our camera out for the family pictures so I'll have to get those from someone else. And, we also didn't take enough pictures on Saturday when the whole family was together. Next year.....

Elise playing in the sand at the beach.

Libby and Elise taking a bath in the cooler.

Briscoe

Here's a new picture of our puppy, Briscoe. She went to the groomer on Thursday. It's amazing how quickly she becomes a woolly mammoth.

This weekend is my family's Camping Extraganza and Briscoe had a reservation with the doggie hotel (kennel). But, thanks to a last minute call, she'll be spending the weekend with Grandma and Grandpa instead. They'll receive 1,000 Briscoe kisses for that.

Going to the 'Big' Pool

No one can go to the neighborhood pool without her matching hat and purse (thank you Grandma and Grandpa). The stylish blue-tinted glasses are frosting on the cake!

Presents!

On Monday, my Aunt Susan called and said she would watch Elise so that Paul could take me out to dinner--her birthday gift to me. What a treat! Paul was home from work by 6:30 and we were in Ann Arbor by 7:15. After dropping Elise off, we headed over to Palio's, a delicious Italian restaurant on Main Street. I had Insalada Caprese and Capellini Con Pollo E Funghi (sounds funny, but oh so good). Yummy! Oh, and for dessert, Tiramisu of course. Elise had a ball playing with her cousin Ella. She was so wound up and sang all of her favorite songs to us on the way home, even though it well after her bedtime.

Because we didn't have time for presents on Monday, I opened them on Tuesday afternoon. Paul bought me a bag of Hershey's Kissables (interesting concept, but we've decided they don't taste very good--it was the thought that counts). Elise gave me a beautiful jewlery box. Inside were stunning diamond earrings. She told me that the reason she gave them to me now is because she is expecting them back at some point in the future. Indian-giver! I'm not sure who told her those items were both on my wish list, but I have my suspicions.

So far, being 30 is great. No different than 29. Let's hope it stays that way!

Crunchwrap Supreme

Have you tried the new Crunchwrap Supreme from Taco Bell? Here's the description:

A warm, soft, flour tortilla filled with seasoned beef, warm nacho cheese sauce, a crunchy tostada shell, cool sour cream, lettuce and tomatoes, and then wrapped up and grilled for maximum portability.

Sounds good, right?!? Last week, Paul picked one up on his way home from work. While he said that it tasted pretty good, it was the stinkiest thing in the world. I made him finish it in the other room. Any one else have that experience? Errin or Rudi (my fellow Taco Bell fans)?