Dead Eye

For a number of reasons, I am currently contemplating the purchase of a firearm.
I went to an indoor shooting range at lunch today with two guys from work to actually see what firing a gun would feel like. And also to try a couple different guns out so I'd be able to make an informed decision. I found out two things:

1. I liked it.

2. I'm a pretty good shot.


There's a cluster of holes in about the "1:30" area of the target in the second black ring that were from the .22.
I shot that one pretty consistantly high.
Then I tried the .357 with .38 shells. That's the cluster of green tinged holes in the middle.
It had a really nice sight on the top, so was a bit easier to aim.



Any suggestions as to a suitable choice for me are welcome. I'm going to exercise my 2nd amendment rights while I still can.

Score!

Our local scrapbook store is relocating. They have to be out of their old place by tomorrow. I was there last week when everything in the back room was 75% off. Let me tell you, that was nothing!

The deal today was anything left in the store that you could fit into a shopping basket (flush with the top) for a set price.

Here's what I got...

The best deals were the Making Memories date stamp I've actually been coveting, the girls each picked out an 8 x 8 album, a couple more mini albums and chip board albums for me, and then tons of embellishments and BLING!

Emily and I figured out the retail value of everything after we got home.

$551.80. Pre-tax.

I spent $40!!

It's going to be a crafty Christmas!

Intimidation

I was at the mall yesterday and came to a realization. I cannot bring myself to cross the threshold of a Hollister store. Is it because I know none of the clothes will fit me? I don’t think that’s it. Maybe I’m afraid that the skinny little girls that work there will be looking at me and judging me. “She’s not thinking that will fit her, is she?” Not that I’d buy anything there for myself anyway, but I’d shop for Katie. She can wear anything. And it would be obvious that the size 2 I’m looking at is a gift. Right?

But I can’t do it.

Does this look inviting to you?

Happy Gotcha Day!

It was three years ago today that Zhu Jian Xia became Maggie Jian Xia Berridge.

The memories are even more vivid for me because a family from the dance studio just came home with their new daughter, who is about the same age Maggie was. Every time I see her, I think "Wow, did Maggie look that shell shocked?". But to see Maggie now, you'd never guess how difficult those first few months were.

Here's a few reminders of the special day.

This next one's a family favorite...

And to prove she eventually got over it, here's a recent photo...

We love you, Maggie!

Identity Issues

Maggie is aware of, and often bothered by, the fact that she looks different than most of the people in our community. She routinely laments her shiny, straight, dark hair, her beautiful dark skin, her non-existent eyelashes and her little, flat-ish nose, all the things that we think make her beautiful. If it were up to her, she’d be Barbie.

We were at a party this weekend where Maggie was playing with Katie’s two cousins, who are Japanese. Martha witnessed this exchange in the kitchen as they ran through.

Maggie: “So we’re the same, right?”
N and L look at each other, then at Maggie, shrug shoulders and respond “Yeah”
Maggie again says : “We’re the same?”
N and L say “Yeah”

And off they run.

Wii -ner

Thanks to all of you who contributed to the 08-09 Dance Fund for the wii giveaway.
In order for those that do not get chosen to have time to procure Christmas gifts – we gave it away today. There were 11 different contributors, all with numbers from 24-50.
I went to a trusty online random number generator to select the winner


With 5 of the 11 contributors as witnesses, the ‘Get Numbers’ button was pushed…

And the winner is…..

Tim Laird!!

Thanks again to all who participated.

Star Girl

Emily is currently reading Star Girl by Jerry Spinelli in her English class.

The novel recounts the junior year of a boy named Leo at Mica Area High School, when a new student, "Stargirl" Caraway, sends the school, which up until that point had nothing unusual about it, into an uproar. Her unusual antics include wearing kimonos, Indian buckskin, 1920s flapper dresses and pioneer dresses to school. She carries her pet rat, Cinnamon, around with her in a bag with a life-size sunflower painted on it. During every class periods she puts a table cloth and a vase with a daisy in it on her desk. When it rains, instead of running inside like the other students, she runs outside to dance. She strums a ukulele during lunch every day and sings "Happy Birthday" to kids she has never met. She cheers for everyone at football games, including the opposing team.

At conferences last night, I was told by the English teacher that Emily is their Star Girl.

I couldn’t be prouder.

OK, OK

I've been told to update. I was trying to leave the wii post up in order to make it easier to get in on the fun, but apparently Katie needs to know what's going on at home.

The fall school, dance, soccer schedule is in full swing and seems to be manageable, thanks in large part to the car pool participants.

Last weekend I took Emily's Girl Scout troop up to Newaygo for the night. The girls planned all the activities and the menu, then rotated prep and clean-up duties. The weather was perfect and we had a great time. Especially because I didn't have to do all the work!

Maggie has been tearing up the soccer fields on weekends. She has scored at least one goal in her last three games. Last night at practice, her coach told me she was a 'little spark plug'!
GO ORANGE TIGERS!!

This weekend we will miss the soccer game, but are looking forward to the Halloween Haunt activities at King's Island with our friends. The Cedar Faire season passes have been well worth the money.

Wii!!!!

OK ladies and gentlemen.

In an effort to generate some much needed revenue for the upcoming dance season I am giving away a Wii!

That's right, I said GIVING AWAY.

How do you become the lucky recipient of this technological wonder? It's easy. Just look over to your right a bit and you'll see the CHIP IN button on my sidebar. For every $10 donation you make you will get a number assigned by me. (I'll email you with your number). Once I've got 50 numbers, I'll use a random number generator online to choose the lucky number that will receive the wii. Easy, eh? So, donate!! My girls will thank you, and I will thank you, and you'll have a 1 in 50 chance to get a wii! If you want better odds, just donate more!

Books that cause me distress

I took INKSPELL up north with me this weekend. It's the sequal to INKHEART by Cornelia Funke. The first book was very imaginitive and wonderful. I had high hopes for the second. Imagine my dismay as I neared the end of the 633 pages and realized with about 20 pages to go that there was NO WAY the book would be able to wrap up all the loose ends in a satisfying package within the remaining pages. I kept reading, hoping I was wrong and Cornelia would pull some amazing twist to tie a neat little bow. Alas, it was not to be. How can an author expect us to read through that many pages and NOT FINISH THE BOOK!?!?!

Especially when the third book isn't even available in the states yet!

Reading is supposed to make me happy.
I am not happy.

conflict of interest

I’ve done quite a bit of buying and selling on Craigslist recently. I’ve sold Katie’s Honda Spree and our pop-up camper. I’ve bought our new vacation home, many of the items to furnish it, and most recently I found uniforms for Emily to wear at Blue Lake this week, saving myself about $80.

My problem is the incredible guilt I feel using Craigslist when I know that the newspaper industry, our bread and butter, is struggling so much to survive.

Kidefinition

Inspired by Maggie after using the port-a-jons at Picnic Pops last night:

Hanitizer: A supplement or alternative to hand washing with soap and water. A variety of preparations are available, including gels, foam and liquid solutions.

Dance placements

You may have seen the waiting mailbox post a few days ago. The days before and after dance placements for the coming year are recieved are very stressful. We love our studio and all the teachers and know that they do their best with placements and have the best interests of all the dancers in mind. The follow-up 'what teams are your girls on?' and 'can we carpool?' phone calls are at a frenzy for a couple days.

This is going to be a great year for the Berridge girls, although it might be a bit hard on Emily. Emily has been dancing for longer than Maggie has been alive. She takes it very seriously and has worked hard to improve herself in all disciplines over the years. She got great placements on 3 small groups - tap, jazz and ballet, and then large groups and lines also in tap, jazz, hip-hop and lyrical and will also be in the production number.
It was a bit difficult for her to see the dances her little sister was offered. Small groups again in tap and jazz, with a ballet added. The large groups to go with those as well, along with hip-hop and production. And here's the hard part...Maggie was offered a tap trio and solo. We are very excited for her, but it did take a couple days for Emily to come to terms with the hard facts, summed up beautifully by Aunt Stacey "Cute always trumps hard work."

Projects

In an attempt to justify the large amount of scrapbook supplies I have in my basement, I occasionally whip up some sort of crafty home decor item.


Check out the sign and memo board I made for the kitchen up at the lake.


The words for the sign are courtesy of my friend Cara.

And the memo board was a kit, but it came with some dark black and red papers. I replaced with the fun, bright colors to go with the kitchen.

Contest!!

Ok faithful readers (both of you!) , here's my chance to actually give something back to those of you who follow along with my goofy life.

Rick and I walked around the lake Saturday morning.
At one point, in the middle of the road, we come across a spread out pile of poo with about a 10 foot trail of toilet paper streaming from one of the 'nuggets'.
We were cracking up and for the life of both of us could not come up with a plausible story for how it got there.

We finished our walk and told Em and her friend about it. Of course they wanted to see. So I grabbed my camera and we drove back.
Someone had cleaned it up by the time we got there so you'll have to use mental pictures to inspire you. The contest is simple. Come up with the best story of how that little tableau appeared in the road. You have until Friday, August 1. Keep it family friendly, as the favorite will be chosen by majority vote of Rick, Em, Maggie and myself.
Winner gets a custom made, refillable journal hand made by yours truly.

Cue Tom Petty

Emily thought dance team placements for next year were supposed to be here by last weekend. I thought they were supposed to be mailed by the weekend. Either way, she'll probably be out there every half hour this afternoon.

The waiting is the hardest part...

Sold!

She's been good to us for the brief year that we spent together, but we have a new relationship now. We've moved on to bigger and better. But don't worry, we've found a family to step into our shoes. It's a lovely couple from Grand Haven who will take her away for nice weekends and appreciate her for who she is.

Buh bye little Jayco.

Now to decide how to spend the money...

In the market for a camper?

http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/rvs/759442830.html

Where have we been?

At the lake, of course!

We had a fabulous 4th of July weekend with our friends, despite some plumbing issues.
Jay was incredible and probably saved us a couple hundred dollars in potential holiday weekend plumbing fees.
I've reserved a copy of The Complete Guide to Mobile Home Repair at our library so we'll be prepared for the next crisis.

This week is dance auditions. A gruelling two weeks will follow, with the girls running to the mailbox each day to see if their team placements have arrived. At least Emily has camp for the first week, so her mind will be otherwise occupied.

Girl Scout Day Camp

After a very busy, mosquito filled week, I am happy to say that my first attempt at Girl Scout Day Camp Director was a success. The girls all seemed to have a great time. I couldn't have done it without my good friend Joy
and her daughter Kendall.And of course the highlight of the week was our special guest author, my sister Stacey.

She was awesome and all the girls loved learning about the writing process and secrets about The Fairy Painting. Thanks to all who made it a great week.

Random 'tweener thought

We were driving home from Cedar Point the other night and Maggie asked where we were.
Mom: Canton
Maggie: What's next?
Mom: Novi

Emily: Those are both very negative sounding places, CANTon and NOvi.

Hair Hair!!

School is out.

Dance performances are done for the year.

Time for a fresh haircut!

Maggie went first.

This is before, of course

She complained the whole time that I told them to take too much off.

Here's the results. Healthy and shiny.

Mom was next. Here's before - frumpy dumpy

And after.

Let's use the summer humidity as a styling too.

Also note the V-neck Cedar Point suntan.

And here's the most drastic.

This chickie's hair was getting so long.

It was also very damaged due to all the dance ponytails and buns.
So...
How stinkin' cute is this?
Look how shiny and healthy it is.

And what a kid.

She made sure that they took 10 inches off

so we could send the hair in to Locks of Love.

Of course by the time we were done Maggie wanted to get

back in the chair and get hers chopped off, too.

Troublesome new friend

I brought Mary Boleyn to work with me today (The Other Boleyn Girl). I thought we'd be able to get aquainted over lunch and then she'd sit quietly next to me while I finished my work day. She's been distracting me all afternoon, practically nudging me at times so I'll pay attention to her.

Get Away

Don't have the vacation time or budget for an exciting vacation this year?

Read this article by my sister for a low cost alternative.

Keeping the balls in the air

Here's my weekend -
Friday night
4-8 Dance end of year picnic/carnival
6-7:30 Maggie goes to birthday party of a friend (on Maggie's birthday. I warned the mother)
6-10 Em has school Bible study end of year hoo-hah

Saturday
8 am - Maggie soccer game - bring snack
10 am - Emily soccer game - team picnic after at assistant coaches house

Sometime Saturday I have to bake and decorate two cakes for the Family Partnership fundraiser for the Girl Scout end of year bridging/celebration at 6:00. And not forget to bring 2 crock pots, 2 coolers, rolls of tickets and the 'bridge' that's stored in my attic, plus all the cakes.

Between now and then I have to order two cakes from Costco (do I need 2 for 100 people?), come up with a 'carb' side dish for the dance picnic. Buy a birthday gift for Lindsey. Make a dozen leader thank you gifts. And somehow make Maggie feel special on her birthday - Friday.
We'll probably drive up to the lake on Saturday night right after the GS thing so I can decompress all day Sunday.

Stay tuned to see if I actually pull all this off!

It's official

We met in the parking lot of the Bunker Hill Chillin’ Grill to complete the transaction. I felt like a junkie. We handed over the big check, signed a few papers (ok, that never happens in drug deals) and then were given the key to our summer place –hereafter named the “cottage” (quotes required!). It’s on the shores of Brooks Lake in Newaygo, a mere 47 miles from home.

We take possession this weekend.
Sometime between birthday parties, end of year picnics for dance and Girl Scouts, and final soccer games, you can bet we’ll be making the drive up to check the place out with the eyes of new owners. Picture us now, standing arm in arm, surveying our domain.

Oh yeah, life is good.

Get Out!

Here it is...our new home away from home!


Let me know when you can come visit!!

Dance Comp IV

This past weekend was Spotlight, our last competition of 2008. Adjudicated awards are Emerald, Sapphire, Ruby and Diamond
Maggie's dances were entered in the Novice category and did extremely well.
Small Groups
A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes-Diamond
Overall Ruby (second place novice small groups), Special Judge's Award - "Future Stars"
Crazy Little Thing Called Love-Diamond
Category Winner (novice tap small groups), Overall Diamond (first place novice small groups)
Large Groups/Lines
Who Let The Frogs Out?-Diamond
Overall Ruby (second place novice large/lines)
Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo-Diamond
Overall Diamond (first place novice large/lines), Special Judge's Award -"Stars of Tomorrow"

Emily's groups did very well, also, especially her jazz small group, Hamster Dance

Small Groups
Dance to the Music-Ruby
Hamster Dance-Diamond
Overall Emerald (4th place Jr. small groups)
Large Groups
The Green Room-Ruby
Lines
Seasons of Love-Diamond
Wild Wild West-Diamond
I Saw Him Standing There-Diamond
Sister Act-Diamond

I'm very proud of both of them, plus the rest of our dance family. It was a fantastic season.

Grand Rapids Festival of the Arts is June 6-8 and will be the last time the girls will be performing these numbers.

GOOOOOOAAAALL!!!!!

Rick is coaching Emily's AYSO soccer team again this year and they've had a rough year. Saturday's game was finally a turning point. The girls all looked confidant and played really well. In the third quarter the game was tied 1-1.
Then came this awesome play by Emily.





She was playing stryker and was set up in front of the goal just as she should be. The ball came in from the side, right past a pink defender. Em positioned herself and then launched it right by the goalie.


Here are a couple of close-ups of the action.




Notice the ball going past the goalie's shoulder.

Then look at the happy face of our girl!

Our team got their first win of the season.

Way to go, team!!

Politics

From First Lady to Vice-President...

No, I'm not talking about Hilary.

Katie's boyfriend Andy is the current President of student government at LTU. We've been jokingly referring to her as the first lady for quite some time. Well, Andy is now a lame duck, but Katie was elected as I.F.C. Vice President today. She'll be the person responsible for planning social events for the Fraternities and Sororities.

Way to go, Katie!!

Dance

Team pictures were this weekend, so of course I took my camera to get some shots in costume.

Here are my two favorites.:

Spring Time in Michigan

Yesterday we had a high temperature of 81 degrees.
Two 8:00 soccer games this morning and what was the temp? 43.
It's just wrong.

Both girls played hard but I won't post the scores.



How about some pictures, instead?

Super goalie Em stops a few...

...

Maggie up the side And trying to stay warm

Dance Comp 3 in 3D!!!

Not really in 3D.
I did want to make sure I posted the results from the last competition in Detroit because both the girls' groups have improved so much.
This competition's adjudicated awards are Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze.

Maggie
Crazy Little Thing Called Love - Gold - 3rd Place Overall Petite Small Group
A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes - Gold - 5th Place Overall Petite Small Group
Who Let the Frogs Out? - Silver
Bibbidi Bobbidy Boo - Gold - 4th Place Overall (tie) Petite Large Group

Emily
Dance to the Music - Gold
Hamster Dance - Gold
The Green Room - Silver
Sister Act - Silver
Seasons of Love - Gold - 5th Place Overall Jr. Large Group
Wild, Wild West - Platinum - 4th Place Overall (tie) Jr. Line
I Saw Him Standing There - Platinum 1st Place Overall Jr. Line

Way to go girls!

And the best news is our studio was able to negotiate a fantastic price for pictures of every dance, so I'll have tons of photos in a couple weeks.

Animal Kingdom

We spent our first day at Disney at Animal Kingdom. None of us had been there before, so we were excited to see it. The best ride by far was Expedition Everest. Very cool. The train even goes up to a piece of track that has been ripped out by the Yeti that lurks everywhere, then you go backwards for a bit to escape. Kilimanjaro Safari was also great. Lots of animals about and it was arranged so you really felt like you were driving right through their yard. It's Tough To Be A Bug was really cute too, but not for anyone with a phobia of creepy crawlies.
We rode all the rides we wanted to and were heading to The Lion King show when it started to pour! At least it was warm out so we didn't mind too much. We would have loved to spend more time there, but due to the rain and waiting family we watched the show then went back to the condo to dry off and drove to Grandma and Grandpa's. It was great to see them, Aunt Becky and Uncle Terry, and Curt and most of his kids. And of course Aunt Jeanne and the Laven's who were down for break, too.

It's been a while...

So sorry to all (both?) of my faithful readers regarding the lack of updates.
I'll start with the Disney trip which, aside from traveling, could not have gone better. We checked in to our condo booked through www.allstarvacationhomes.com on Saturday afternoon. Fantastic place! Maggie insisted we call it our 'New House' all week. The girls had time for a dip in the pool and then we headed to dinner at Whispering Canyon Café.

Before we left, I picked up a copy of The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World With Kids and HIGHLY recommend this book to any obsessive-compulsive travel planner. I compiled a trip binder with maps from our condo to all of the Parks, Grandma and Grandpa's, and to Downtown Disney. I also included detailed touring plans for each park from The Guide in a heavy duty sheet protector. Each day I grabbed the map and the touring plan, plus frozen water bottles, camera, sunglasses, etc., and off we went.
The touring plans can be customized on a website to fit your specific family's likes and dislikes. I cannot say enough good things about these touring plans. You make a specific plan for each park with details on when to pick up and use the FASTPASSES, plus what order to do all your chosen rides/shows in order to minimize your wait in line. AND IT WORKED! Magic Kingdom was at capacity the two days we were there, and we did so well with our touring plan that we were able to get more than what we had planned done, leave the park for the afternoon (that's in the plan) and come back and repeat our favorites that evening. Maybe I'll rent out my binder. Or even loan it if you ask really nicely.

Happy Birthday Emily!

We celebrated Emily's birthday as our first day in Florida. We couldn't check in to our condo until 4, so we decided to drive a little ways along the ocean so the girls could see it. We ate lunch at a little cafe and got our feet wet, then drove on to our place very close to Disney.

Maggie had to wait forEVer (45 minutes) for the pool to re-open after some severe thunderstorms rolled through. But the girls eventually got to take a quick dip and then we went to Whispering Canyon Cafe at Disney's Wilderness Lodge for dinner. Much fun was had by all. Emily got to lead a hobby horse Pony Express parade around the dining room and also got a yummy dessert.

Will try to post pictures tomorrow. It's taking too long tonight and I'm egg sauce, Ted!

Dance Comp. II - The Sequel

The girls had their second competition of the season this weekend at the Macomb Community College Performing Arts Center.
As this is relatively near my sister Stacey's, we used that as an excuse to visit. Plus, I'm cheap and didn't want to spring for a hotel. Plus, she let Maggie sleep in a little on Sunday, and even did the mini dancer double bun hair-do and got her to the venue for me.

We went to dinner Saturday evening with Aunt Stacey, Alicia and Beau, and Katie and Andy (her boyfriend of one year as of tomorrow - YIKES!). Also got to try out Rock Band. If you think Guitar Hero is fun, add a drummer and vocals!
Sunday was a long day for the girls, but they did really well I'm sure in large part due to the support of all who came to watch -Stacey and Alicia, Katie and her friend Holly, and then later, Uncle Chip.
This competition had a rare opportunity - photographs allowed, as long as no flash was used. So Stacey got pictures of a few numbers for us. Maggie's are a little blurry. We figure it's because she was so much smaller on stage.
We got home shortly after 11 and I sent my crusty haired dancers to bed. Thanks to all who came to watch. Results follow the pictures, if you're interested.




Hamster Dance - Em's Jazz small group.
I think there are 10 in the group.












Crazy Choir - A.K.A. Sister Act. Tap Line (a bunch of girls)








A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes. Jazz small.
She's with the same 4 girls for the small tap, too. And yes, I meant 4. I know there are only two others pictured, but there are a total of 5 in the dances, including Maggie.


Scoring for this one was a little different than last time. Highest is Diamond, then Platinum, Gold, Sterling Silver, Silver and Bronze




Maggie
A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes - Gold, 4th Overall
Crazy Little Thing Called Love - Gold, 1st Place Overall
Who Let the Frog's Out? - Gold
Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo - Gold
Overalls for Maggie's groups were for all intermediate entries regardless of age (less than 3 years dance experience or less than 3 hours a week) and I believe the first place for Crazy Little Thing even earned a cash prize!

Emily
Wild, Wild West - Platinum
I Saw Him Standing There - Platinum, 1st Overall for Mini Lines and a choreography award.
Sister Act - Platinum
Hamster Dance - Gold
Dance To The Music - Gold
The Green Room - Gold
Seasons of Love - Gold, 3rd Overall for Jr. Large groups

If you're curious as to why Emily is in both Mini and Junior, those are based on average age of all the dancers in the group. So three of her dances were mini and 4 were junior.

Our studio was by far the largest group there. Chip and I got a chuckle out of the Studio Appreciation "Award" - Body Language got recognized for having the most entries. I think the other studios were pretty sick of hearing our name during the awards. It was a good day for our dancers.

Thanks again to those who shared bedrooms, allowed their lives to be 'taken over', shared video games, did hair, watched, photographed, applauded, etc…