iSad... great article discussing how we should not cast judgement on those who have gone before us...

http://cyberbrethren.com/2011/10/06/isad/

Apple Co-Founder, Steve Jobs Passed Away...

RIP Steve Jobs!


http://v10.lscache5.c.youtube.com/videoplayback?ipbits=0&ip=0.0.0.0&app=youtube_gdata&devkey=AX8iKz393pCCMUL6wqrPOZoO88HsQjpE1a8d1GxQnGDm&el=videos&uaopt=no-save&itag=18&id=505f2e47a67a28b7&expire=1320458709&sparams=id%2Citag%2Cuaopt%2Cip%2Cipbits%2Cexpire&signature=11F9E3C5B9250BC1B1DDE8B5597A59E683749738.CAAFA0EABFCF96B87AA6CF5EF946EE34210D7348&key=yta1

Blowing off responsibilities...

This morning I decided to blow off my responsibilities (after the kids were safely at school, of course)... and hit the trails. This week is supposed to be filled with SUNSHINE and WARMER TEMPERATURES (which is what I LIVE for!). So not to waste any time... I crammed in a 16 mile tour of Rochester Hills, Rochester, and parts of Macomb County. There are many trees down in Bloomer Park and I wasn't really in the mood for schlepping my bike over all of them... I found sporadic color changes in the trees is turning the area into a beautiful fall scene... I was able to capture a glimpse of this beauty in this photo (almost fell in the water when someone buzzed me on their bike... crazy guy!).

A dear friend shared this with me... I believe it is QUITE TRUE...

CALORIES - (noun) Tiny creatures that live in your closet and sew your clothes a little bit tighter every night.

Word of the Day....

PHILOMATH which means a lover of learning; a scholar.

Sentence: My children are philomaths.

If someone is on your mind all the time, they are meant to be there. If you miss someone all the time, they are meant to be by your side forever.

Thanksgiving Day Festivities...

Thanksgiving was a day filled with activities from early morning to the very end of the day! We started by getting up BEFORE the crack of dawn to participate in the 5K Turkey Trot in Detroit (before the Thanksgiving Day parade). Traffic was crazy and by some miracle we made it in time to run... here are the results...

Grace 23:53 (she was challenged by all the people that were obstacles in her path, but finished with a respectable time ... and best time from our group).

Anastasia and Eric - tied with a time of 29:46 (THANK you, Eric, for keeping an eye on our littlest one:)

Zachariah - 43:26 (tough day for him with a cramp that wouldn't quit)
Ann Marie - 43:27 (I had plenty of time to snap pictures with my camera phone througout the course this time:)

Brandon and Allison - tied with a time of 55:56 (great job for their first 5K ever!)

Mike completed the 10K with an awesome time of 50:52 (GREAT job, Mike!)

THEN.. we headed to Brandon's for post-race food. However, Anastasia got car sick (?) and we ended up at home for a little clean up! After regrouping, we headed to Brandon's to consume a nice spread of food.

After working really hard (and failing) at not overeating at Brandon's we drove home to finish making the sweet potatoes and Artichoke and Sun Dried Tomato Dip.... during which time, Anastasia got sick again (ugh), which changed our plans again. Guy took the first shift with dinner at the home of our friends; then we switched.

Our meal consisted of more food than the mind can comprehend.. including turkey, ham, bacon-wrapped sausage (seriously good), three kinds of potatoes, four kinds of cranberry sauce, two kinds of dressing, carrots, peas, green bean casserole, and MORE (the wine was great too and I lost track of the different foods that were served)... BUT WOW! It was SUPER GOOD!

After rounding up the kids, we made it home as the clock struck midnight...

What a great day of celebrating that for which we are thankful.