On the Bright Side

Whew. The semester is almost over! I went through a mid-term slump, so now I'm playing a little catch-up and sorta cramming for finals. I have my Chemistry final tomorrow. It's actually an optional final, and will only count toward my grade if I get a better score than I did on any of my other tests. Since I got a big fat D on my last exam, the final will be replacing that. It's a cumulative test and I'm really hoping there are more questions from the first two exams (which I actually did okay on) and less questions from the last exam.

Chemistry is really the only class I'm very worried about. I get to have a sheet of notes for my Statistics final. I'll be writing all kinds of formulas (formulae?) on there because the points I missed on previous exams were due to using the wrong formulas at the wrong time. I'll be done with this semester precisely one week from today! Woot!

I'm not going to be taking summer school as originally planned. David has been laid off from the Railroad, so I'll have to become a working mom. I really hope I can get a job as a dental assistant, so I can get some experience for the dental hygiene program and so I don't have to go to Convergys. Blech!

Hopefully David will be picked back up to work soon; there are about twenty people with seniority over him who are also laid off, and business is pretty slow. He will be able to collect Railroad unemployment (not from the government), so there will be some income from that. We have mixed feelings about collecting the unemployment. On the one hand, David and I are both young and able-bodied, and there's really no reason we can't both go get jobs. On the other hand, if David goes out to get a job, he'll have to tell any prospective employers that there's a chance the Railroad will call him back to work the next day, and he'd quit the new job. So we are looking at the unemployment thing as sort of an insurance that he's paid into since he started working at the railroad, and now he's collecting on it. Hopefully not for too long. The Railroad will also continue to provide health insurance (and they'll pay the premiums!) for up to three months for David, and four months (or maybe six--we've heard two different quotes) for the kids and me.

There really is a bright side to all this! The boys have loved having David home more often (and I've appreciated it, too. He folds laundry and empties the dishwasher which are the chores I hate to do most of all)! We've been able to spend lots of family time together. Also, he's been able to make it to all our soccer games (we're in the coed city league again this Spring).

If worse comes to worse, we can always sell a bunch of stuff and move to Arizona City. They've got some good deals on houses there!

Final Detroit Post

I'm finally going to wrap this up. For real this time!

Day 5: Tuesday, April 7

We checked out of our hotel and went into Detroit (I think I forgot to mention previously that our hotel was about 20 miles outside of downtown Detroit) to find some souvenirs from the games. Everything was half-price, so we got some good deals on the NCAA Final Four gear.

We did some shopping in the towns surrounding Detroit, then headed further away from the city toward my good friend Kadee's house. We stopped at a massive mall on the way, and did some real shopping. I guess there are bigger malls in existence than the one we stopped at, but not in Idaho. I scored some new jeans, a few new shirts, a jacket and the Easter dress I got for Samantha. David got a few new shirts, too. He even got a brown one! (The majority of the shirts in his closet are gray because it "goes with everything." I've been trying to teach him that there are other neutrals besides gray, but it's not sinking in.) We got everything for bargain prices, too, which was great.

We had dinner at a very disappointing Thai restaurant. The waiter wasn't Thai and the food wasn't good. It tasted like Chinese food. I love Chinese food, but this wasn't good Chinese food, either. So sad.

We got to Kadee's house early evening, just in time to meet her cute kids before they went to bed. Kadee and I chatted a little, then she introduced us to "The Biggest Loser" TV show--I'd never seen it before (I had at least heard of it), and I gotta say, I'm a little hooked! After the show was over, David and I made a McDonald's run because there's no better way to enjoy watching a weight loss program than with fries and a shake!

Day 6: Wednesday, April 8

My favorite part of our trip (besides getting some new clothes) was hanging out at Kadee's house. Her kids are so cute! And even though I had to do some homework, the rest of the time we spent doing pretty close to nothing; just sat and chatted and played dolls (with Kadee's daughter; not like Kadee and I just sat and played dolls with each other. I think we've outgrown that...). My kind of vacation.

We did go out to "Big Boy's" burger joint for dinner. It was delicious. And we rented the movie "Yes Man" starring Jim Carrey. Hilarious! I thought it was the perfect way to end a vacation.

Day 7: Thursday, April 9

Our flight was scheduled to leave Thursday afternoon, so we headed back toward Detroit to see a few more of the sights without the crowds that were there for the games. We wandered around the gift shop at the Tigers' stadium, Comerica Park, then we went over to Hockeytown Cafe to have lunch.

After lunch, we returned our rental car and sat around at the airport for a while. We had an uneventful flight to Salt Lake, then a two-hour layover there. I did chat with a Laotian couple; I overheard them speaking with each other and it sounded like Thai (Laotian is very similar to Thai) from where I was sitting (pretending not to listen), so I asked them where they were from. They were both born in Laos, but moved to the U.S. when they were very young. They were on their way to visit the guy's mom in Fresno. So even though I didn't get to eat yummy Thai food in Detroit, I did have a Southeast Asian experience of some sort. Following our ridiculously long layover, we enjoyed a quick half-hour flight to Pocatello.

I'll be honest: by the time David and I take our annual vacation, a whole year or more having passed since the prior vacation, I'm a little tired of the kids and definitely ready for a break from the homemaking duties. So for the first few days I don't get too homesick. On the way home, though, all I could think about was giving my kids hugs and kisses. I got a little giddy, actually. It was kind of weird.

We got home around 10:00 p.m. Pocatello time. The kids were all in bed, but we woke them up so we could see them and say goodnight. I hadn't planned on waking Samantha, but she sort of woke up on her own (probably because the cat and dog were going crazy--they missed us, too!)

Thanks again to Kadee for letting us crash at your place. And humongous thanks to Roz for watching our kids for an entire week! I hope it didn't make you not want to have kids ever.

Detroit, Days 3 & 4

I guess I should finish up my Detroit posts so I can get all this stuff recorded before I forget what we even did there (goodness knows I can barely remember what I did yesterday...).

Day 3: Sunday, April 5

On Sunday we went to a Detroit Redwings game. It was the second hockey game I've been to in my life, and the first NHL game I've ever been to. It was so much fun! There was so much energy in the arena. It was good, fun, happy energy. Not like the energy coming from the kids we sat by at the Final Four games. The Redwings won this game 3-2, scoring the game winning goal with just 40 seconds to go in the game, so it was really exciting toward the end.

We also went to Canada on Sunday, just to check it out. Starting in June, you have to have a passport to travel across the border. For now, they just require a driver's license and a birth certificate. We didn't have our birth certificates with us, because we'd heard different stories on whether or not we actually had to have them. Turns out you do. The border patrol guy on the way in to Canada told us, "Well, you really should have them, but I think you'll be fine for tonight." And he let us in.

We had fun; just bummed around at a little park, then went to the casino, gambled with some Canadian money (I won one Canadian dollar), then after a couple hours we headed back across the border. We wanted to go over the bridge this time instead of through the Windsor-Detroit tunnel as we'd entered Canada.

We almost didn't get back into the U.S. The lady at the border gave us the third degree when she found out we didn't have the proper documents. She asked us all kinds of questions, some of them were the same question just stated differently to see if we'd change our answers. She searched our car, then asked us some more questions. Then she lectured us about how she didn't have to let us in and next time we go to Canada we should take the right documents with us, or better yet, just don't go. I know she was just doing her job, so I tried to be polite and cooperate, but still. The whole thing was just crazy. I mean, isn't Canada where people go for a better life (at the very least to dodge the draft, smoke some pot and/or escape sentencing)? I've never heard of anyone from Canada trying to sneak into the U.S.

Day 4: Monday, April 5

Monday we actually slept in, which is unheard of when one goes on vacation with David. He likes to "get his money's worth," i.e. cram every possible second with something. We took our time getting ready for the day (well, I did. David watched ESPN somewhat impatiently while he waited for me to fix my hair and put on make up--but I can't have people thinking he's with some homely girl. I gotta look nice), then headed into Detroit to walk around some more while we waited for the game to start.

The game started at 9:00 p.m. local time, which is so late. But they have to start late so the West-Coasters have time to get home from work and watch. The highlights of the game for me were seeing the Temptations sing the National Anthem, seeing the 2009 NBA Hall of Fame inductees, and seeing Larry Bird and Magic Johnson (I can't remember what they were there for...). We also saw Dick Vitale and some other ESPN commentators; we actually got to see them up close, rather than from the seventh row on the third balcony.

Dick Vitale is the older gentleman in the middle. He is one of two ESPN commentators whose name I actually know, so I was excited to see him in person. See the bleachers directly above the TV camera on the left side of the photo? That's where we sat. Ford Field has some comfortable seats, though, even up that high. They were better than movie theater seats (but with slightly less leg room).

The 2009 NBA Hall of Fame inductees.

The final score of the game was North Carolina 89, Michigan State 72. The game was not really as close as the final score would lead you to believe. It was 55-34 at half time; the Tarheels led by 20 or more almost the entire game.

Above is a video of the Temptations singing the National Anthem. It was amazing. Unfortunately, my camera ran out of memory just as they got to the big finish, but just this snippet gives you an idea of how awesome the whole song was. And how annoying the boys next to us were, with their, "Go Green! Go White!" chant in the middle of our country's song.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll finish up the Detroit stuff so we can all get on with life. It's David's birthday (has been for about an hour, as I'm writing this at 1 a.m.), so I'll make sure to get pictures from that, and I also have some pictures of egg decorating with the kids. Nothin' like giving toddlers permanent dyes to play around with!

Detroit: Days 1 & 2

Day 1: Friday, April 3

We got to Detroit around 5 p.m. Not wanting to be anywhere dangerous after dark, we stayed within a few miles of our hotel. We ate dinner at a little restaurant that served an awful steak (looked more like a pork chop), and a delicious gyro.
We went back to the hotel and got dessert in the hotel restaurant. David ordered chocolate cake, which was delicious. I ordered cheesecake with strawberry topping. The waitress brought it out, but it was not topped with strawberries. She told me they were out of strawberry topping and all she could find was this raspberry topping, but if I didn't like it she'd take it back and get me a plain slice. I decided to try it, because raspberries sound like they'd go well with cheesecake. It was horrible! I gagged down the first bite realizing she had put raspberry vinaigrette dressing on my cheesecake! I was getting ready to just scrape the stuff off, when the waitress noticed the look on my face and took the plate from me. She brought back a plain ol' cheesecake, which was yummy. Then she only charged us regular price for the chocolate cake and a dollar for the cheesecake (even then, two tiny desserts plus tip was still 8 bucks, but oh well).

Day 2: Saturday, April 4
We drove into Detroit, which was about 20 miles from where our hotel was. We had tickets to Hoop City, which was complete madness. It was a huge room full of 3-0n-3 games, Meet-and-Greets with players and coaches, face painting, and a bunch of other little activities.

While we were there, a surprise guest showed up: It was rap-star Bow Wow (formerly known as Lil' Bow Wow)! All the girls (and a lot of their moms) went cuh-razy. We stuck around to watch, and even though we couldn't understand any of the lyrics, it was kinda fun.

I got tired of Hoop City pretty quickly, so we left to walk around and explore the city. We walked along the river front and over to the GM building. There were some performances by local bands and lots of people just milling around waiting for the semi-final games to begin.

The GM Building, all decked out for the games.

A view of Detroit from the river.

A monument in honor of the slaves and those who helped them travel to the Northern States and to Canada through the Underground Railroad. The people in the statue are depicted looking at Canada, which is directly across the river--just behind me as I took the picture.

David and me at the riverfront. Windsor (Canada) is just behind us on the other side of the river.

After we got tired of walking around somewhat aimlessly, we jumped on the People Mover (an elevated train that travels the circumference of downtown Detroit) and headed toward Ford Field, where the games were to be held. We thought we'd grab a bite to eat at one of the restaurants or bar/grill establishments in the area before the game. We were wrong. Every place was completely packed; some even had throngs of people waiting outside the doors and down the street.

The games were a lot of fun. The two semi-final games were on Saturday night. There was so much energy in the crowd. The two Michigan State kids sitting next to us had a little too much energy for my tastes, though. They were so obnoxious and foul! We had started out rooting for Michigan State, but after sitting by those boys for about five minutes, we started cheering for all the other teams.

Michigan State beat U-Conn in the first game, 82-73.

North Carolina beat Villanova in the second game, 83-69.

This is a picture I took through my binoculars. One of the tiny figures dressed in green is Magic Johnson. He is a Michigan State alum and was at all of the games. And to think I was a mere 1000 feet from him!

Happy Easter

We're back! We had a good trip. I have almost 100 pictures, so I need to go through them and decide which ones to post. Meanwhile, here are my cute kids:

I found the cutest little Easter dress for Samantha at a giant mall near Detroit.

I couldn't find any shirts I was crazy about for Drew and Owen, so I just got them some little polos. I've been looking for short sleeve dress shirts for them, but haven't had much luck. I'll have to keep looking.

Detroit or Bust!

It's been forever since I've updated the ol' blog. And I'm gonna keep this one short and sweet 'cause I've got loads of stuff to do.

Last week was my Spring Break, which I spent doing laundry and getting the house in some sort of order so that this week, David and I can take our real vacation. We're going to the Final Four games in Detroit. My dear sister Roz is the brave soul who will be watching the kids while we're gone.

I'll make sure to take tons of pictures and stuff while I'm there, and I'm sure I'll have a big update post when I get back.