because of the 1200 emails. That's why I haven't blogged yet. I was going through my "sent" box and deleting them. Yikes. It's been awhile since I've done that.
But that's all I have time for tonight (because I just spent an hour and a half deleting only a third of those) because I have to be well rested for the West Michigan Annual Conference which begins tomorrow.
Perhaps I'll be writing about that over the next couple of days.
You'll have to wait and see. I could find more interesting things to write about.
Like deleting 1200 emails...
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Monday, June 4, 2012
working on that bucket list
The more I think about a bucket list, my bucket list, the more I come up with.
One of the things I'm putting on my bucket list is to go to Lake Ontario. Technically it is part of the Great Lakes and is therefore claimed by Michigan. I don't know how strongly other people from Michigan feel about this, but um, have you ever looked at a map?
I have and it appears that we might have actually been closer to Lake Ontario when we lived in New Jersey.
Now to be fair, I googled directions from both houses to Rochester, NY because I needed an end place. When I just chose Lake Ontario, Google maps told me it could not give me directions.
Here are the facts:
It is 389 miles from Toms River, NJ to Lake Ontario (as roads go, not as the crow flies)
It is 452 miles from Grand Rapids, MI to Lake Ontario (as roads go, not as the crow flies)
Now, by the time you get to Rochester, NY from Michigan (by way of Canada), you have driven along quite a bit of lake shore.
So if I move my end marker to the closest point which is Lakeshore Road in Burlington, Canada; that makes the trip shorter. It is 328 miles. To be fair, I changed the end point from Toms River too. The closer point is East 1st St, Oswego, Canada. That is 343 miles from Toms River.
So do I live closer to Lake Ontario now? Or when we lived in New Jersey? I think as the crow flies, it may still be NJ. I can move my marker to make the route shorter and it become 333 miles. We're getting closer. So maybe it is Michigan.
Who knew both places were basically equidistant to Lake Ontario? We're talking about a five mile difference. I'll leave it at that and go back to why I want to visit Lake Ontario.
Oh? Did you think I just want to visit there just for fun?
No. If it's on a bucket list, doesn't it have to have a reason? Maybe not, but I have a reason!
I want to visit Lake Ontario because I have been to the other four Great Lakes. Doesn't it make sense that I go to the fifth lake?
For example: when I went to New York City on the Young Adult Mission trip (which I can't believe but I did NOT blog about it, at least that I can find) in 2010; I went to all five boroughs. We went to Staten Island to catch the ferry to Manhattan. We stayed in Brooklyn and we worked at a site in Queens. My group had a small amount of extra time one day and we just happened to be on a train whose last stop was in the Bronx. So we didn't get off at our stop, but instead rode the train to its last stop, got out, went up the stairs and outside, took a quick photo, and went back down to catch the train back to where we were supposed to be meeting the other group (at Grand Central Station).
I've been to all five boroughs.
I've been to four of the five lakes.
I want to make it all five.
One of the things I'm putting on my bucket list is to go to Lake Ontario. Technically it is part of the Great Lakes and is therefore claimed by Michigan. I don't know how strongly other people from Michigan feel about this, but um, have you ever looked at a map?
I have and it appears that we might have actually been closer to Lake Ontario when we lived in New Jersey.
Now to be fair, I googled directions from both houses to Rochester, NY because I needed an end place. When I just chose Lake Ontario, Google maps told me it could not give me directions.
Here are the facts:
It is 389 miles from Toms River, NJ to Lake Ontario (as roads go, not as the crow flies)
It is 452 miles from Grand Rapids, MI to Lake Ontario (as roads go, not as the crow flies)
Now, by the time you get to Rochester, NY from Michigan (by way of Canada), you have driven along quite a bit of lake shore.
So if I move my end marker to the closest point which is Lakeshore Road in Burlington, Canada; that makes the trip shorter. It is 328 miles. To be fair, I changed the end point from Toms River too. The closer point is East 1st St, Oswego, Canada. That is 343 miles from Toms River.
So do I live closer to Lake Ontario now? Or when we lived in New Jersey? I think as the crow flies, it may still be NJ. I can move my marker to make the route shorter and it become 333 miles. We're getting closer. So maybe it is Michigan.
Who knew both places were basically equidistant to Lake Ontario? We're talking about a five mile difference. I'll leave it at that and go back to why I want to visit Lake Ontario.
Oh? Did you think I just want to visit there just for fun?
No. If it's on a bucket list, doesn't it have to have a reason? Maybe not, but I have a reason!
I want to visit Lake Ontario because I have been to the other four Great Lakes. Doesn't it make sense that I go to the fifth lake?
For example: when I went to New York City on the Young Adult Mission trip (which I can't believe but I did NOT blog about it, at least that I can find) in 2010; I went to all five boroughs. We went to Staten Island to catch the ferry to Manhattan. We stayed in Brooklyn and we worked at a site in Queens. My group had a small amount of extra time one day and we just happened to be on a train whose last stop was in the Bronx. So we didn't get off at our stop, but instead rode the train to its last stop, got out, went up the stairs and outside, took a quick photo, and went back down to catch the train back to where we were supposed to be meeting the other group (at Grand Central Station).
I've been to all five boroughs.
I've been to four of the five lakes.
I want to make it all five.
Sunday, June 3, 2012
my cameo
For those of you who are car enthusiasts, no I did not mean Camaro.
Nor did I mean a cameo appearance.
I mean the kind of pendant that hangs around a neck. It's typically a silhouette. They are carved out of shells, coral, or stone.
We visited the Donadio Cameo factory (by the way, if you click the link, choose Inglese) when we were on our Mediterranean cruise. The factory is between Naples and Pompeii. They explained the process of making cameos, and how most of the carving now is done with lasers. They are still carving them by hand at Donadio (or at least that's how I understood it, have you ever taken a tour in another country? Their interpretations into English aren't always correct.)
Bill bought one for me. By comparison, it was small, but I liked it best out of all the choices. It's a blue-ish green. I don't wear it too often and I don't wear my hair in a bun (that's just a reference to being "old-fashioned") when I wear my cameo. Hair-do aside, I don't have too many outfits that it goes with.
Not that it matters.
I'm way off track.
I wore it today. It reminds me of our trip and not wearing it that often brings more meaning.
I'm blogging about this now because I never finished blogging about our cruise. Since I wore it today, I thought I would reminisce and share the story of my cameo.
*Editor's Note: I've been seeing a lot of photos being posted via Instagram. So I just added it on Bill's phone, took this picture to post and may be addicted...
Nor did I mean a cameo appearance.
I mean the kind of pendant that hangs around a neck. It's typically a silhouette. They are carved out of shells, coral, or stone.
We visited the Donadio Cameo factory (by the way, if you click the link, choose Inglese) when we were on our Mediterranean cruise. The factory is between Naples and Pompeii. They explained the process of making cameos, and how most of the carving now is done with lasers. They are still carving them by hand at Donadio (or at least that's how I understood it, have you ever taken a tour in another country? Their interpretations into English aren't always correct.)
Bill bought one for me. By comparison, it was small, but I liked it best out of all the choices. It's a blue-ish green. I don't wear it too often and I don't wear my hair in a bun (that's just a reference to being "old-fashioned") when I wear my cameo. Hair-do aside, I don't have too many outfits that it goes with.
Not that it matters.
I'm way off track.
I wore it today. It reminds me of our trip and not wearing it that often brings more meaning.
*Editor's Note: I've been seeing a lot of photos being posted via Instagram. So I just added it on Bill's phone, took this picture to post and may be addicted...
Saturday, June 2, 2012
shhhh, it's a secret
Grand Rapids is becoming known for it's art scene.
Art Prize has helped that. But so do a myriad of other festivals.
Currently, the Festival of the Arts is underway. Music, art and food bring thousands of people downtown. Street are closed off and pedestrians take over.
Typically the weather is warmer, but since March decided to show up now, last night was dismal, today was decent for the first half and is turning out to be okay tonight. Hopefully the weather will cooperate better tomorrow.
We stopped by, searching for someone Bill knows through work. We listened to the Grand Rapids Accordion Ensemble. They sounded good. Then we headed over Devos Place to watch Sarah play volleyball. They won the first game, but not the other two. Oh well, she played very well. She's come a long way since I first watched her play volleyball in Jr. High!
We're a very busy city, it seems like there's always something to do.
Art Prize has helped that. But so do a myriad of other festivals.
Currently, the Festival of the Arts is underway. Music, art and food bring thousands of people downtown. Street are closed off and pedestrians take over.
Typically the weather is warmer, but since March decided to show up now, last night was dismal, today was decent for the first half and is turning out to be okay tonight. Hopefully the weather will cooperate better tomorrow.
We stopped by, searching for someone Bill knows through work. We listened to the Grand Rapids Accordion Ensemble. They sounded good. Then we headed over Devos Place to watch Sarah play volleyball. They won the first game, but not the other two. Oh well, she played very well. She's come a long way since I first watched her play volleyball in Jr. High!
We're a very busy city, it seems like there's always something to do.
Friday, June 1, 2012
dog tags and pets
It's time for a pet PSA.
If you own a pet that likes to go outside and you purchase a cute collar for the pet, please be sure that when you make the tag for the cute collar that you don't go all fancy. It's not necessary. Plus, it does not help when your pet becomes lost or wanders away. The sad person who finds your pet and is willing to call you to make sure you know where Suzie is, does not want to have to decipher, let alone fight with the pet just to read the phone number on the tag. A simple font will do. And please, make it big enough to read.
Have you ever tried to read the number off of a collar of a very excited puppy? They lick you everywhere. They are too excited to sit still long enough for you to read the number on their collar.
Or a very friendly cat? Because a friendly cat does not equate to a cat wanting you to have anything to do with that stupid collar that some other human has forced it to wear.
Both of these things have happened to me. In the case of the excited puppy, Bill was there to dial the phone while I got licked. In the case of the friendly kitty, it was raining and eventually (after I was covered with cat hair) I managed to get the phone number. Or the best number I could decipher because the font was all script and fancy.
Hence my PSA.
Thank you.
Your neighborhood pet rescuer.
If you own a pet that likes to go outside and you purchase a cute collar for the pet, please be sure that when you make the tag for the cute collar that you don't go all fancy. It's not necessary. Plus, it does not help when your pet becomes lost or wanders away. The sad person who finds your pet and is willing to call you to make sure you know where Suzie is, does not want to have to decipher, let alone fight with the pet just to read the phone number on the tag. A simple font will do. And please, make it big enough to read.
Have you ever tried to read the number off of a collar of a very excited puppy? They lick you everywhere. They are too excited to sit still long enough for you to read the number on their collar.
Or a very friendly cat? Because a friendly cat does not equate to a cat wanting you to have anything to do with that stupid collar that some other human has forced it to wear.
Both of these things have happened to me. In the case of the excited puppy, Bill was there to dial the phone while I got licked. In the case of the friendly kitty, it was raining and eventually (after I was covered with cat hair) I managed to get the phone number. Or the best number I could decipher because the font was all script and fancy.
Hence my PSA.
Thank you.
Your neighborhood pet rescuer.
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