December 15, 2017: Josh's 40th Birthday

 

 

Olivia invited a small group of people for her brother, Josh's 40th Birthday party. He thought it was just going to be he and his sister, but the rest of us showed up to Fetch Brewery in Whitehall.    Olivia had a cake made with the theme from the TV show, "Supernatural".   I gave Josh a card and a book for 40 year olds from the Hallmark store.  It said what happened around the world in the last 40 years.

Olivia, Josh, and I picked up Tamar's daughter, Rachael, and we went to see Olivia's friend, Jason, at the bowling alley where he worked.   Then, we went for dinner at Rendezvous in Grand Haven.

December 9, 2016: Barnes and Noble Gang Christmas Party

I had my annual Barnes and Noble Christmas party at my house.  The gift that was a hit was a gray furry blanket given by Olivia and received by Gabrielle Morse.    Gabrielle and Jasmine were fighting over it.     Gabrielle was so proud of her gift.     

November 2, 2016: Cubs Won the World Series

Tonight was a big night on TV. There was the County Music Awards and the Cubs playing Cleveland in the World Series.    I stayed up until 1 a.m. watching the baseball game, but fell asleep towards the end.   The score was 8-7.  The Cubs hadn't won the World Series since 1908 so this was quite a big deal.   Way to go Cubbies!   I love their song  "Go Cubs Go...Go Cubs Go...Hey Chicago, what do you say, the Cubs are going to win today".    

October 31, 2016: Halloween at Jim and Melanie's House

Jim and Melanie invited me over for sloppy joe's and to go trick-or-treating. I wore Jim's Transformer helmet.    Jasmine and Gabrielle were cats.   We went to different rooms in the house and got candy.     They tried it last year and it worked out quite well.      The weather in Michigan can be cold at Halloween so it is nice to find an alternative solution.

Melanie made cupcakes and gave us cider and hot cocoa.  Jasmine and I were making videos on my phone. I had a good time hanging out with them.

October 29, 2016: Chelsea Clinton and Famous Wedding Planner, DavidTutera, at Little River Casino

Chelsea Clinton, Hillary Clinton's daughter, came to Muskegon Heights for a rally so of course, I wanted to go see her.    She was about 30 minutes late to the event.   There were secret service people all around.     I tried to get a photo with Chelsea, but was shoved around by other folks.   

My good friend, Mirelda Tokarczyk, invited me to Little River Casino to meet the celebrity wedding planner, David Tutera.  She was so excited about going to see him.    Each ticket was $150 and she paid for mine, plus my gas, and food.  She is such a generous friend.      She knew I was struggling financially this pay period. At my age, I should be in better financial shape, but I guess I have to learn the hard way.

David Tutera has done weddings/celebrations for Star Jones, Shannen Doherty,  Matthew McConaughey, the Official Post Grammy Parties in New York City, Elton John, Barbara Walters, The Rolling Stones, Vice President Al Gore at the White House, Kenneth Cole, Tommy Hilfiger, Susan Lucci, the John F. Kennedy Center, and film premieres and celebrity parties for royalty, politicians, and socialites.   

Tutera is the host of "My Fair Wedding with Daivd Tutera" which airs on WE tv.

We dressed up in formals for the seminar and cocktail party. Mirelda has such a nice figure and looked so cute in her dress.      We both had a good time.    Later on, her husband and his friend, Derek came to gamble.  I was surprised when Derek gave me $60 to spend in the casino.  That was very nice of him to do.      I won $25.  I didn't go to sleep until 4 a.m. so I was quite tired.

October 23, 2016: Grand Rapids Improv Festival

Josh and I got up early in the morning and went to Carmen's in downtown Muskegon, but it was closed, so we went to Hennessey's for breakfast.     I was surprised when he said he would pay for my meal. That was very nice of him.

Then, we went to Grand Rapids and hung out at the Barnes and Noble store in Woodland Mall until we had to be at his friend's house to talk about the Improv that he was going to be in.   He hadn't performed Improv for 2 years so he wasn't sure how it would go.    

My friend, Rhonda Collins, had run in the Grand Rapids Marathon and then met us in Grand Rapids to watch Josh perform in the Improv.    His friends are all very nice.    His friend, Jeff, was telling us about his job.  He is an electrical engineer.    I was quite confused by his job until he showed us an example on his computer. I guess I don't have a technical mind.    

Josh and I held hands on our drive back to Whitehall.  I've been crazy about Josh this whole past year and hope we continue to hang out.       

October 22, 2016: Western Michigan vs. Eastern Michigan Football Gamewith Kelsey and Charlene

Kelsey invited me to the Western Michigan vs. Eastern Michigan football game, so I jumped at the chance to go.     It was nice to hang out with Kelsey and my Aunt Charlene for the day.   It was a beautiful, sunny fall day in West Michigan.      Kelsey's daughter, Emma, is on the basketball team at Western. She received a full ride to college which is wonderful.      

Kelsey brought all kinds of delicious food for our tailgating party. I love the ham and swiss sandwiches she brought.   

We parked on East campus and walked down to the stadium.  We got to see Emma for a bit.    Western won the game. 

Emma took us on a tour of her locker room and we got to meet her coach.    Emma also took us to her dorm so we could see that. I forgot how small those dorm rooms were until I went into Emma's room.   

I enjoyed my day with my cousins and aunt. I hope we can do this again.

October 15, 2016: Ashten's Pumpkin Carving Party

I was surprised when Josh invited me to his niece's house for her annual pumpkin carving party.  Ashten has a lovely home on Judson which isn't far from my house.  I have only met her once so was hoping Josh would pick me up to go there, but he didn't.   I got there early and joined him in the art room where he had already started carving his pumpkin. I hadn't carved a pumpkin in about 30 years.   Now, they have stencils you can use to make all types of designs on your pumpkin.

Everyone brought delicious food to the event. There was beer, cider, and mixed drinks available.    Ashten had a bonfire outside.  Later on, Josh and I were out by the bonfire listening to Ashten's friend, Max, play the guitar.    I think he said he had been playing guitar since he was 5.     He graduated from a college in Iowa in music therapy.     He works in hospitals and hospices with patients with brain damage.    The sounds of the guitar help to heal brain injuries.

I met Josh's oldest sister, Heather.      Tamar and her boyfriend, Jordan, were at the party, but just stayed long enough to carve their pumpkins.

Josh tended to be off in a distance from others at the party and enjoy playing with the guitar outside by the bonfire.      I'm the same way at a party. I am not always right in the middle of things.    

Everyone at the party was very nice.     I hope to be able to go to the party again next  year.    

September 2016: Art Prize

Enjoyed attending the 8th annual Art Prize competition in Grand Rapids, Michigan.   I have been going to this festival probably for the past 5 years and look forward to it each year.      I went two times this year.  The first time, I went with my mom.  The second time, I went with Josh Buxton, Olivia Buxton, and Chance Valdez.     I had a great time at both of them.

Mom and I always go to Madcap Coffee when we go to the Art Prize.

The second time, I went with friends.  We had a nice breakfast and split an elephant ear as that is Josh's favorite summertime treat.      Olivia went into the olive oil store and enjoyed buying her favorites.  Josh and I danced inside the store to the Frank Sinatra music while we waited for Olivia.
Chance was pretty tired from lack of sleep.

Between both visits to Art Prize, I was able to cover a big chunk of it.       

August 27, 2016: Breakfast, Chance's Open House, and Thomas Reunion

Today turned out to be a busy day.  I got my haircut in the morning then went to Mr. B's Pancake House to meet some friends from the Health Dept.  I saw Julie and Scott Henley in their car but no one else.   The line was out the door at the restaurant and neither of us wanted to wait so I suggested we go to Villa Venefro in Montague.    I wrote to Josh and invited him and his sister,  Olivia.   I picked them up and met Julie and Scott at the restaurant.   Josh wanted me to make reservations for him and his friend and her kids to stay at the same campsite in Ludington this week.    We all had a nice conversation over breakfast.

We came back to Olivia's apartment and got ready for Chance Valdez's graduation open house in Montague.   I didn't know too many people there.  I did talk with Chance's grandfather, Leo, who does photography as a side business.   

Then,  I went to the Thomas family reunion at Christi Kosheba's house on Bear Lake.   Lorraine was here from

Florida.  I haven't seen her in several years.   She looked great.    

We had a nice meal and then Ken took Kelsey, Matt, Charlene, Emma, my Mom, and I on his pontoon boat on Bear Lake.

August 25, 2016: Day 2 Hiking with Josh

Made oatmeal with my Jet Boiler.  Josh had to help me use the lighter.   

Josh had me walk with my backpack up this huge stairwell 2 times and down 2 times.  

I wanted to walk to the Big Sable lighthouse so Josh had me wear my backpack.  He was usually about 10-15 steps ahead of me.

I walked about 8 miles today.  I can tell I am out of shape.

We went back to the beach to swim again.   We finished off with a mocha at  Barnes and Noble.

August 24, 2016: Ludington State Park with Josh

Josh and I got a late start for our road trip.  I read all of the birthday wishes on Facebook which was so nice.  I received about 152 messages.

Josh and I went for lunch at House of Flavors restaurant in Ludington.  We split a Reuben sandwich and each got some Tennessee Toffee ice cream in a waffle cone.   

We got to the Ludington State Park and got a campsite.  It cost us $20. We were at site 207 A in Cedar Campground.  I had $44 in my pocket and had spent $20 on lunch so money was tight.

We walked the Skyline trail and then over to the dam.   We sat near the dam and watched the people and enjoyed each other's company.   

We went to the camp store and Josh asked if I would buy him the hiker patch for a gift.   Later on, I ended up surprising him with the patch.

Josh showed me how to use my Jetboil for making my food on the trail.  He brought jimbalaya, gumbo, etc.  

Then, we walked down to the lake and went swimming.  The waves were big.   We walked the beach holding hands and sat on a bench.  He put his arm around me.  I felt like I was in heaven.   

The sun was hiding beneath the clouds.   

Josh had to help me put up my tent as I had only put it up one other time.    We had some good conversations about hiking and the Appalachian Trail.    

Overall, this was one of my best birthdays.  I got to spend it with the guy I am in love with.

August 23, 2016: Blueberry Picking with Josh and Krystle

I took this week off of vacation.    I hung out with Josh a lot over the weekend.   Today,  we went with his friend, Krystle Parker and her 3 kids and nephew blueberry picking at Hyatt blueberry farm on Zellar Rd.   Josh brought his sound system so we could listen to music while we picked.   We picked 3 buckets full which cost us $24.

August 20, 2016: 3 Family Camping

This year,  we all went to my cousin Kim's house in Jackson for the three family camping trip.  It is my 29th year going with everyone.   

I have always enjoyed going on these trips.   I was 13 years old when I went on my first camping trip.  It was in Silver Lake for many years.     They are all like family to me which is fantastic.     

August 1, 2016: Mom's Parisian Party

My Aunt Charlene wanted to bring Paris to my Mom as we weren't able to go this year.   She planned a Parisian themed party at her cabin she rents each summer. We had a nice taco dinner with the family.   I invited Linda Thomas, Bob and Becky Dykema, and my friends Josh and Olivia Buxton.    Charlene bought berets, fake cigarettes, and sunglasses for us to wear.   Everyone seemed to enjoy the party.  It gave the family a chance to meet Josh and Olivia.