Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

I have been meaning to write this post for the past few days, and even today I am a bit tired and a wee bit cranky, but I am going to see how it goes.

This Thanksgiving I am thankful for so many, wonderful things!  The four-day weekend started off with a nice surprise to get me in the Christmas spirit. On my way home from work I was checking my Facebook (like everyone does) while waiting at the terribly long light to exit I-75.  My friend Ann Atomic had received a free turkey from her work, but was not planning on cooking it and was looking for someone to take it off her hands.  My family has continued to grow over the past years, and yet we continue to cook the same size turkey.  I figured what they hey, I can get this one from Ann, and bring Mike's turkey cooker to my sisters and then we'll have enough, if not extra.  Well, I called up Ann and we figured out a way to meet and for me to pick up the turkey from her. During the conversation I mentioned that I was near a local nursery and she asked if I could take a look at the living trees and just let her know the costs and what types they had.  Ann and I have a mutual friend that works at the nursary, Alex.  Alex and I wandered around and I described each tree and the price and eventually Ann decided that she would wait on getting one.  Alex and I were feeling big-hearted, and decided to go in halfsies on a tree for Ann.  Alex must have been a bit more big-hearted than me because before I could pay for it, he had already taken care of it. So long story, short. I traded a living Christmas tree for a Thanksgiving turkey.  It just seemed so right for the season. 

I got home from Ann's just in time to say good-bye to Mike and Diesel as they headed upstate for Thanksgiving and hunting with his family.  I made up a shopping list, went to the store, and got all of the things I needed to make some treats and a side dish.  That night I went over to Jessie's house to visit with my Aunts from Boston.  It is always nice to see them.  I was lucky to have found a few days over the summer for my sister Jerrica and I to fly out and spend with them in Boston, visiting and sight-seeing. Traveling this past year is something I am hugely thankful for.  And that I really hope I get to continue doing this next year! 

And of course there was Thanksgiving day.  I packed up all of my goodies I had made the night before, and Mike's Mom and I headed on over to my sister's house. We ate, chatted, cooked, ate, ate some more, and ate a little bit more.  Later that evening my mother and all of her sisters gathered around the table and went through my late grandmothers photos.  There were hundreds of them. There were pictures of people we didn't know, and of some we hadn't seen in a long time.  Pictures of things we couldn't make out or of those less flattering.  But there were some absolute gems!  I posted a few to my Instagram account and to Facebook.  There are plenty more that I need to scan so a few of us can have copies.  Oh, and the stories!  So much laughter! 

I am so very thankful for my family.  Looking back at all of those photos, many of which were taken during this same holiday, with everyone gathered around my grandparents table at their farmhouse.  Spouses and significant others have come and go, and many of them have passed on, but we were a family and we will continue to be.  Sharing Thanksgiving dinner with each of these people year after year is an honor, and I hope that I can continue in this tradition with my only kids some day. 

A long time ago, when I had just turned 21, I was working for a company called Edcor.  Many of my co-workers and I would regularly hang out after work and one of our favorite places to do that was at Mill Street Bar & Grille.  And the best times at Mill Street was when Exit 69 was playing a show there.  Mill Street was owned by a former co-worker, Earl, and one of the members of Exit 69 was also a co-worker, Doug.  For a long time, Exit 69 had a monthly gig and I am pretty sure that I personally attended 90% of those gigs.  I promise this is going some where. Well, 10 years later and Mill Street is celebrating its 10th anniversary.  Earl invited Doug and Exit 69 to do a reunion show. Thankfully, all of the guys were up to the challenge and in just over a month were able to schedule some rehearsals and show up on Saturday ready to rock.  And rock they did!  Earl put on an amazing party with free appetizers, a chocolate fountain, and an ice luge.  The guys of Exit 69 rocked out all of the old classics.  And best of all, I got to see friends that I hadn't seen in years!

It was a fun-filled weekend with friends and family, stories and celebrations, old pictures and new.  And so much food!  Honest, I think I gained like 4 pounds! I will forever be grateful for all of the amazing people in my life, and I am only looking forward to the on-coming years.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Giving My Liver A Workout and Other Stories

There were so many things going on last week I couldn't even find the time to write.  My apologies up front for this being a long one!

Tuesday night I met up with my best friend Gabby and went to downtown Royal Oak.  We had dinner at Little Tree that included a bottle of Kirin Ichiban, which was my first Japanese beer.  I have to say that I liked it a lot.  After dinner we walked over to the Main Art Theater for the Mitten Movie Project's Zombie Night.  The MMP is a monthly film festival dedicated to screening independent short films. This month's theme was Zombie's and included Kill Me Again by Set Jester.   Over the summer, Gabby had volunteered her time as a zombie extra for the film.  Though it wasn't the first time I was seeing it, it was still great to watch all of the other films leading up to it.  My personal favorite was a film called Smush! by FroBro films and a close third was 72 Hour Zombie by Daniel Duane Productions. The audience voted on their favorite short at the end of the night and the winner goes on to compete with the previous months winners in December.  By a mere 2 votes, Smush! beat Kill Me Again.  It wasn't me, I still voted for Kill Me Again!

Wednesday night was filled with anticipation as well!  I had found out over the weekend that there would be two opportunities to take the new NSO Certification Test before the new rules come out in Jan, the only issue was that we had to take it before November 15th! Quickly, I contacted our Skater Rep who arranged for any NSOs or Refs to take the test that Wednesday during practice.  The test was so new, it was really hard to study for.  There were 8 or so of us from DDG and the nearby Lansing Derby Vixens who took the test, but unfortunately, none of us did that great.  But, we all now have a good idea of what is on the test and what to study for next time, and since we got it in before the 15th, we can all take it again in a month! Even though I am disappointed I failed, I am still happy I took the chance.  I will be more prepared the next time. 

After getting home late Wednesday, I decided to spend Thursday at work powering through as much work as I could.  Friday was available to take as a vacation day, but with the holiday coming up, I didn't want to be too overwhelmed on Monday.  I accomplished my goal, and  got the heck out there looking forward to my upcoming 3-day weekend.  By the time I got home that afternoon, Paul had all of his stuff packed and was ready to head down to Florida.  Well, not after grabbing one (or four) last drinks that is.  Just another reason I was grateful for having Friday off!

Friday started off with lunch with Gabby followed by some shopping for a skirt for my new Season 8 boutfit.  We were really successful in finding exactly what I wanted in a size that fit perfectly.  Little did I know, comfort was going to be a much bigger necessity!  Later, Gabby helped me make a taco dip to take over to the Circuit Stomper's house.  We had a pre-season potluck and watched Army of Darkness.  There was lots of good food, many great laughs and I couldn't ask for a better crew!

Mayor & I in our new boutfits

Speaking of my crew... The Stat Army of Darkness knocked one out of the park on Saturday!  The season opener of the Detroit Derby Girls featured a rematch between the Grand Prix Madonnas and the Detroit Pistoffs.  The GPM's took home the official win, but I still think the real winners were that amazing crew of officials.  Well ok, the fans totally won too with great derby, little to no interruptions (only one really tiny OTO), new merchandise, and fantastic beer specials! I mean you couldn't ask for a better night in Detroit.  Ok, so I am a little partial... I love my sport, my team, my city!

And that was just the start of the night!  Later it was a great after party at Mercury Burger Bar, that was outside, but warmed with a great fire, many drinks and friends. Later, a few of us grabbed one last drink at the Anchor Bar before grabbing conies at the famous Lafayette Coney.  Many more laughs were shared by all!  And, since I have never done a real side-by-side comparison, Rev and I had stop next door at American.  I am sure we all have our own opinions on the matter, but I still think Lafayette is the best Coney in town! We met back up with a few more friends and before you knew it we were all drifting off to sleep to the soothing sounds of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.  ZzzzZzzzzZzzzzz...

And if I couldn't possibly squeeze anymore into my weekend, Sunday was spent helping Mikey turn his venison into homemade brats and sausages.  I know it probably doesn't sound like much fun, but its good quality time spent with by boy.  And after we had that all cleaned up and put away, we played a round of Ticket to Ride.  Speaking of which, I can hear him in the kitchen right now cooking up a storm.  He hasn't yet asked for my help, but I should probably get in there and see if I can do anything thing.  I'll be having my fair share in the kitchen later this week as well with Thanksgiving Thursday. I know! I can't believe it's here already either!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  I'm sure you'll hear from me again soon as I will probably have things I am thankful for to share... Like the big Exit 69 Reunion this Saturday!  I'll be there and you should be too!