say what?!?

sophie:  where's my chocolate bunny?

dad:  i think mommy ate it.

sophie:  no she didn't.  you're fat.  YOU ate it!

a HEMFI to remember...

once a year (every year) the state of michigan mandates my employer to take 2 hours of my life and bore me to tears.  work calls the event "HEMFI" (don't ask me what it means... i don't think even our CEO knows).  it is always the same required subject matter:  patient rights and privacy, corporate compliance, infection control, reporting abuse, and disaster plans.  with the same old lame corporate training videos (you know, the ones with the cheesy music and bad acting).

i dutifully attend these meetings year after year.  doing everything within my power to avoid appearing disinterested.  listening to our nurse educator drone on, answering all her questions, laughing at all her anecdotes, and bobble-headedly nodding in agreement to her opinions.

surprisingly, this year was different.  the guest lecturer was our new head of environmental services (aka: housekeeping/maintenence). and he chose this video clip to teach us about what NOT to do during a fire:

happy anniversary!

just wanted to let my charming, handsome and witty husband know that i love him very much. here's hoping the next eight years are just as fabulous. this one's for you, dear...

enjoy business time by flight of the conchords

BLOG DISCLAIMER:

those who lack a sense of humor should listen at own risk. turning off the computer's volume NOW is strongly recommended. may cause uncontrollable laughter, incontinence of the bladder, feelings of male inadequacy, feelings of female complacency and an overwhelming sense of reverence for the flight of the conchords. do not drink any beverage while listening to this song, as to avoid liquids being ejected through nasal passages. in rare cases, addiction can occur, causing the listener to play the song repeatedly in order to hear all the funny bits they may have previously missed. this blog is not responsible if listener hears song playing in their head during intimate moments. contact your psychiatrist if any of these symptoms persist for more than 4 days.

happy valentine's day to all...

enjoy sway by michael buble

my nickname

long ago, when i was a skinny little thing, my cousins "lovingly" used to (and some still do) call me "lulu".   it came about when i was around 8 years old.  we were over at their house and they were watching hee haw. you remember, that corny redneck show from the 70's/80's? well anyway, the character lulu (an insanely fat woman) came on and my cousin pat said to me "hey! you're on TV!" - or something to that effect.   everyone had a good laugh and the name stuck. there was also "dim kim" (mocking my supreme intelligence), "lashaun jackson" (named after my bff/twin brother steven "deshaun jackson" oprea), and "kimby" (for my love of gumby) but "lulu" has always been a family favorite.

rumor has it...

that certain alumni of suttons blah very high school class of '86 are planning a mini reunion this summer.  hence, the classic should i stay or should i go by the clash.

a break from the cold?

we came up with the brilliant idea that driving down to florida would be better than flying.  so when the winter storm warning lifted (at around 0500) on sunday jan 18, we dug ourselves out of our parking spot in front of our condo and departed on the first (maybe annual) hadzic family vacation.

somewhere around kentucky the natives started getting restless

kentucky on the way there... notice we have visibility

after 15 hours in the car, we were glad to get out

after 7 hours in the car on day 2, we finally arrived

the kids were totally lovin' not having to wear winter coats and boots

the wilderness lodge and its pool

garden sculpture

lobby of the wilderness lodge

out back by the pool was a "old faithful" which went off every hour

view from our room on the 7th floor

every night we were able to watch the fireworks from our room

the kids (and dad) were so awesome the whole trip down, we treated ourselves to ice cream as soon as we unpacked.  that was the BEST vanilla ice cream i'd ever had!

waiting for the ferry to the magic kingdom

main street

is that chip?  or dale?

had to buy them the obligatory mouse ears

exhausted after a fun filled first day

ben and goofy

giddy up! dad was just happy to finally NOT be the horse

our princess and her fairy godmother

ben, lauren, sophie and stacy's foot

we were able to meet up with stacy on her birthday and freeze together at the magic kingdom (high temp of 52 that day)

minnie's cottage

lauren was really helpful at keeping my kids in line for photo op's

chillin' on minnie's couch

prince charming

ben liked "pirates of the careberran" best

sophie's favorite ride was splash mountain.  she went on it 3 times!!!

and we all enjoyed spaceship earth at epcot

the kids LOVED the aquarium

"fish are friends, not food!"... but people are pretty tasty.

lazy hippos

lazy crocs

wandering giraffe

ben, sophie, lauren and aurora

later in the week we met up with cheryl, bruce, stacy, alex, lauren and gavin at downtown disney.  within the first 5 minutes, ben jumped into a fountain.  we had to buy him clothes to wear the rest of the evening.

sophie, lauren, and cinderella (nice pose girls)

and 5 minutes after eating, ben found more water and got soaked again!

dinner at cinderella's castle

watching the parade

cinderella and entourage

ben made a habit out of sleeping during dinner

sophie and pooh

blake and sophie

on the way back, we stopped in atlanta to see kelly, al and blake (sorry we missed you hannah)

kentucky on the way back (during their horrible ice storm)

be careful what you ask for...

my mother always asks me "can't you put music on your blog like stacy does?".  well, mom, yes i can. but the real question is do you really want to hear it?

knowing that the answer is most likely "probably not",  i've decided (anyway) to embed music that reflects my current state of mind. i'll give a little introspect as to why i chose it and change it out as i deem appropriate.

my first pick is fell on black days by soundgarden.  chosen to reveal my unmitigated frustration of putting down pergo flooring only to have it ruined by flood a few months later.  but i must sing the praises of pergo flooring.  it dried up nicely and looks as good as the day we installed it.  still, we have to rip it out and replace it to avoid any mold infestation.  and a shout out to our "guardcat" chewy for alerting us to the leaking toilet.  it could have turned out to be much worse if not for him.   

my first job: forced child laborer on local cherry farm

i filled tanks of cherries with water and used a badminton racket to skim off all the undesirable stuff that floated to the top. did it for one or two seasons and was paid minimum wage (around $3/hr) which was just enough to cover room and board, meals, transportation (even though i lived with my folks right across the street), and ER visits (from heat stroke).   even had enough left over every month to buy a new album, an ice cream cone and the latest issue of tiger beat.  matt dillon, what a babe he was - and still is!

my fear of public speaking

always had it, always will. the "i see naked people" technique never worked for me. anyway, i prefer to blog in semi-anonymity.