Grand Haven

Sunday was a beautiful day so we decided to drive out to Lake Michigan. It's on my list to see all five great lakes and since we were only about 45 minutes away, this was a good time to see Michigan.

First though we started the day with my first visit to Panera Bread. There are rumours that it is coming to Canada. We'll see. I hope it does. It was delicious! Speaking of firsts, I also got my first piece of Vera Bradley! Diane gave me the ID case in Mediterranean Blue which just happens to fit my BlackBerry perfectly. I love it!

We weren't at the lake all that long. Just enough time to walk along the waters edge to the pier down to the end and back. Still, in that time we both came home sporting rosy arms and cheeks.

It was a perfect day. The sun was shining warmly and the sand was almost hot but the breeze kept us cool. We took our time walking and chatting and just being together again. It's been too long!

We stopped at Starbucks for Frappy Hour on the way out of town and then at the grocery store. When we got back to the house Jim bar-b-qued hamburgers and we had a lovely dinner.

Monday Diane had to work so I slept in a bit and left around 9. I hit Target on my way out of town and found a really cute pair of sandals. All in all a successful weekend :)

Kenny Chesney 2011

I could have sworn I posted this but it's not showing up so I'm going to try again. Sorry if it's a repost.

This weekend I finally made it over to Michigan to see Diane. Being able to do this of course is one of the reasons I moved to Ontario. I feel like now that school is over, I can do the things on my list! Diane and I have always wanted to attend a Kenny Chesney concert together...after all, he's the reason we're friends. Kenny played Grand Rapids on Saturday night (his first show here since 2008) and we went together. Uncle Cracker opened the show and I really enjoyed his set. I don't know very many of his songs but it was fun to listen to him sing in his home state. Of course he did do "Smile" which I love so that was enough for me :) He also did a fun cover of Kenny Roger's "The Gambler" which he prefaced with a story about how when he was eight or so, you couldn't tell him that he WASN'T Rogers :) And then how a few years ago he actually got a call from Rogers himself, but he hung up on him LOL. This was my first time seeing Billy Currington in concert. It was alright. He's not my favourite singer by far but he is easy on the eyes ;) He sang most of his singles and a few new tracks. For "People Are Crazy" he changed the line to "women are crazy" which got a big cheer from the crowd. He sang Must Be Doin' Something Right, That's how Country Boys Roll, Pretty Good at Drinking Beer, Good Directions (my personal favourite of his) and a few others including a cover of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" We had floor seats in the third section back so it was easy to go up closer to the stage to get a closer shot. Between sets we had a lady behind us take this picture of Diane and I. At one point Kenny said “I believe music is the most powerful thing in the world. It can take you back to a certain place in your life like nothing else.” That is a theme he often visits with his music but I have to admit, I wasn't prepared for the emotional roller coaster that this concert took me on. I was telling Diane afterwards that I've been a fan of Kenny's for awhile, starting in earnest after she and I started talking. Each of his songs literally took me "back". Back to Pennsylvania in 2005 when we were riding around through Amish country in The Barge and all I wanted was Starbucks and a Walmart where I could pick up "The Road and the Radio". Back to that night in December 2005 when Diane and I met for the first time and got lost in Seattle. Back to 2006 when Erin picked me up from Dulles airport and our first stop was Target for LIVE. Back to working in various offices. Back to certain times, people and situations. To my trip out here and looking forward. It was amazing. Very emotional. The rather drunk guy beside me was a little worried when I sat down during a few of the slow songs but I needed to collect myself!!! As I had predicted, he opened with "Live a Little" and then worked through Hemingway's Whiskey, Somewhere with You, Never Wanted Nothing More, Everybody Wants to go to Heaven, Out Last Night, Beer in Mexico, Anything But Mine, Young, Big Star and more. During "Living in Fast Forward" I reached over and gave Diane a big hug when he sang the verse: My friends all grew up and they settled down Nice little houses on the outskirts o’ town They work in their office And drive SUVs They pray for their babies And they worry ‘bout me He ended with "Summertime" which he brought Uncle Kracker back to duet on and then they did a cover of David Allen Coe's "You Never Even Called Me By My Name". The final song was "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" which Billy Currington came out to help him with. The encore was "Boys of Fall" and clips of the documentary were playing while he signed things from the stage.

Michigan Memories

Warning: This is really, really long and should probably be a bunch of separate entries but that would take way more brain power than I have available right now so I'll just appologize in advance.

"Michigan Memories" is what Diane's dad dubbed the mosquito bites that we all picked up and while they are the most persistant annoying reminders right now, I have SO many happy memories that it makes it worth it ;)

This trip was amazing. For anyone who doesn't know what I'm talking about, this weekend I flew to Grand Rapids, Michigan for the wedding of my friend Diane and her fiance Jim. I had a wonderful time. I met tons of awesome people, had a blast hanging out with Diane and getting to know Jim.

I left home right after work on Tuesday and drove down to Seattle. I stayed the night with Dars and Wednesday morning she took me to the airport. I had a layover in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (during which I bought cheese and watched the olympics) and I arrived in Grand Rapids at 11:30, local time. Diane was there to meet me and we went straight back to their house.

Thursday morning we had a list of errands to run. Picking up the marriage license, a tux, stopping at Michaels, Target, the bank and more. We also made a number of runs to the airport to pick up her Mom, Dad and brother and then, the other bridesmaid, her friend Laura.

Laura and I really hit it off. She is an incredibly cool, insightful, interesting woman and I really enjoyed getting to know her.

Thursday evening, once everyone had arrived, we all gathered on Jim and Diane's awesome back deck for pizza. It was the first time that Diane's family had met Jim and his family and everyone got along famously.

My big thrill for the night...actually there was a few. The first one was seeing fireflies for the first time. I was talking to Laura but I kept focusing my eyes just past her head. Finally she asked "what are you looking at?!?" I realized then that the flashes of light that I kept seeing were fireflies!!! We don't have them up in Canada so this was my first time seeing them. Very cool.

Another first was Diane gave Laura and I bags with black flip flop Crocs in them!!! For any of my non-SS readers, Crocs are a *huge* deal on the board but I've never had my own. I was very excited to get them and I wore them for pretty much the rest of the weekend (including at the reception).

Friday morning Diane, Laura and I got up and went for spa pedicures. They were wonderfully relaxing and we all came out of there with matching French pedicures with daisy's painted on our big toes. Diane and I got manicures as well (Laura had just had her nails done so she opted out).

After our pedicures we went for lunch at Logans. The best part was the "mini bucket" desserts we got. So cute! After lunch we headed over to the reception hall. Both families were there to help set up. We had to arrange all the tables and set up the chairs and Diane's mom, dad and uncle formed a team that ironed 25(!) table cloths!!! They had a system going which worked great. The rest of us made center pieces, bouquets and set out the favours at each spot.

Once the reception hall was ready to go we headed over to the church. There we assembled the arch and before the rehersal, we ate a yummy dinner prepared by Diane's amazing mother-in-law. HUGE pans of lasanga, caeser salad, garlic bread and to-die-for-brownies.

The rehersal itself went great. I was way more uptight about everything than Diane & Jim and I'm lucky I didn't get kicked out :P They put up with me though. Jim's mom had bought him a t-shirt with a tux printed on it to wear and Di had a makeshift veil and bouquet. When the pastor was reviewing the part about exchanging rings Jim pulled a ring pop out of his pocket and presented it to her LOL

Near the end of the rehersal, the photographer, SS member Tiffany (Tiff McPinkie) showed up. It was wonderful to meet her and hang out with her. She stayed at Diane's Friday night (along with Laura and I. Jim and the boys went to his parents) and we had a great time chatting into the evening.

Two other ScrapShare members, Rene (HavaDrPepper) and Jen (momof2greatcats) joined us midway through the rehersal as well. They drove together from Ohio and it was awesome to finally meet them and spend some time together.

Saturday was showtime. Diane, Laura and I hit Burger King for breakfast on the way to the hair salon. I actually did my own hair so I just got to observe and visit while Diane and Laura were pampered. Diane's hairdresser, Joyce is awesome. Di's been going to her for a number of years already so they are both super comfortable with each other.

Once our hair was done, we swung by Di's house to pick up the dresses and then headed for the church where we dressed and Laura did our make up. Despite my worrying (Diane was freakishly calm during the whole weekend so I took on the role of anal neurotic bridesmaidzilla) everything was exactly on time. We finished primping and preening with exactly one minute to spare. Perfect!

The ceremony was beautiful. Everyone was exactly in place and everything ran smoothly. The pastor's sermon was fantastic. I have been to many, many weddings and this was one of the nicest ones I have heard yet. The cool thing was it was only the second time he had performed a wedding!!! He is actually Jim's brother-in-law as well. The premise of his message was that life is a story and a marriage is a novel you write together. You only have one pen to write the story of your life now and you have to work together to decide when a new chapter will start. It was wonderful.

For the recessional Mr. & Mrs. Bryan walked out first (obviously) and then Laura and the best man, Jim's friend and cousin, Bill. Last I got to walk out with both of Jim's boys, one on each arm. That got a laugh from the congregation :) The wedding party and parents lined up for a receiving line and then we and the rest of the family went back into the church for formal photos.

From there we headed out to a park by where Jim & Diane work. It has beautiful landscaping that includes a gazebo and waterfall. Tiffany took some beautiful photos there. It was a bit of an adventure because the wind was blowing so hard. It actually took Diane's veil right off her head!!!

We arrived at the reception hall a few minutes before our precise "5:05 pm" entrance was scheduled so we hung outside for awhile. It was *hot* that evening. Hot and muggy...until midway through the reception when the skies opened up and the deluge started. Even then it didn't really clear the air though.

Dinner was catered and delicious. BBQ chicken, beef, roasted red potatoes, mixed veggies, rolls and probably something else I'm forgetting. Diane's inlaws were key in making sure all the food was ready and served properly. Awesome people I tell you.

For the rest of the evening we just proceeded to have fun. There was a brief open mic while we were waiting for dinner to be ready and a few people gave wonderful speeches. The cake that Jim's aunt (his mom's twin sister) made turned out perfect. It was decorated simply just like Diane wanted and tasted great.

The dances were a blast even if Laura and I were often the only ones up there :) Lots of good memories. Oh, and I *didn't* catch the bouquet. I already have four. This one went to Aunt Joan (the one who made the cake) and she was thrilled!

There is so much more I could say about the fun time we had at the reception. Meeting new people, dancing and more but this entry is already getting too long. The one interesting thing was, knowing I was surrounded by so many wonderful photographers, I didn't take a single picture on my camera ALL weekend!!! If I ever felt the urge to take one, I'd just grab Diane's camera. Between me, her and everyone else that used it, we managed to log over 300 images over the weekend so I know there won't be a shortage of pictures!

One thing we don't have photos of is what Jim, Diane, Laura and I did after the reception. Still dressed in all our wedding finery, we drove in to downtown Grand Rapids to Mojo's Dueling Piano Bar. It was a blast. There were no less than five bachelorette parties there and at least one other wedding party. It was a great way to finish up the night.

Sunday Diane and I got up and took Laura to the airport. Then we went for brunch with her family and took them to the airport. (Kind of a reverse of Thursday). Jim dropped off the rental car and we all went together to drop off the tuxes and then we went back to their house. His parents where there and stayed while Jim & Diane opened their presents.

In the afternoon Diane and I watched "Hairspray" and then we all watched the Olympic Closing Ceremonies together while Diane uploaded photos.

Monday was my turn to fly home. Again I had uneventful flights (unless you count the warm cookies ;)) and Dars picked me up in Seattle. I took my time coming home and went to bed early when I got there.

So there, my attempt at capturing five wonderful days in words. It's hard but it's a start :)

Congratulations Jim & Diane and thanks for letting me be a part of the begninning chapter of your life together!

When "should" turns to "do"

Monday afternoon I came back from lunch and my co-worker and I decided to finally do the office re-organization that everyone has been talking about since before Christmas. We dismantled a desk in one office, move it into another. Took the makeshift "desk" from that office and distributed the pieces around the office. Moved a credenza and the photocopier, aranged a bunch of filing cabinets and supplies. When that was done, I worked with my boss on flinging magazines. We filled seven boxes for recycling and I had the wonderful task of carrying them down the stairs and outside. By the time I got home I was *exhausted*. Dance was cancelled due to the weather so I watched the second "Jane Eyre" video that I had (you're right Sherilyn, it was way better) and went to bed early.

Tuesday the nasty weather started. A huge dump of snow, closed schools, treacherous roads. I had my first BerryBeat Festival meeting. Because of the meeting I didn't get in to work until 10. The roads were pretty interesting but quiet too so I could set my own pace. The weather didn't let up all day so we were let out at 3:15. Tuesday evening I had the whole evening to myself. It was wonderful. Granted I ended up working until almost 7, drafting the minutes for that morning's meeting but I set my own pace and just hid away in my apartment.

I even went digging in some boxes and found some candles that I've been hoarding for some unknown reason. It's amazing how much difference a little bit of light makes when it's cold and blowing outside.

Wednesday the weather was again nasty. The snow kept up and when my boss gave me the choice to go home at lunch, I lept at it. Of course then when the store called and asked if I could come in early I conceded so I didn't really gain anything other than more hours at the store.

In between leaving the office and going to the store I stopped in at my friend Jenna's. I haven't seen her in awhile so we spent a little while catching up. She mentioned that she's working on memorizing all the US states. That evening at the store I challenged myself and I managed to write down 49 states from memory!!! The only one I missed was Missouri. I also named all 28 NHL teams. I used them to cross reference a little bit but some how the fact that St. Louis is IN Missiouri escaped me. Pretty good though huh? 49 states off the top of my head?

Today it's raining so the snow is slowly washing away. I asked Veronica the other day "when's the next plane to Australia?" and she said "Anytime you want to come". Believe me, if it was just as simple as getting on a plane I'd be there in a heart beat (although my heart would probably stop when I get there because I understand it is REALLY hot right now). Too bad there are things like tickets and vacation that has to be considered :P

Speaking of vacation, Southwest has finally extended their booking dates (I want to compare how much they'd be to fly to Diane's wedding). They've extended them to August 22. The wedding is on the 23rd. That is absolutely no help!!!

So, back to waiting :)

~Heidi

No more secrets

Remember a few weeks ago when I alluded to a friend that was "moving forward" in her relationship? Well, she's moved alright.


Congratulations Diane & Jim on your engagement!!!


She's asked me to be a bridesmaid too so it looks like I'll be making a trip to Michigan in 2009. I can't wait! Bring on the wedding planning!