The Stylings of David Dziuban

David Dziuban, aka Doobie, played at Butch's Dry Dock last night. A little history, Doobie has been coming over to our house for a number of years, with his guitar, singing with Trev and their whole group of friends, in my basement. I can't even tell you how many times I've been asleep upstairs only to waken to the sound of old Beattles tunes wafting up through the air vent in my room. PS~I wasn't always thrilled about this!! :))) BUT I do have to say that Doobs kept playing, kept practicing, kept getting out there...And now he's playing at the classiest place in town! He has a CD coming out! I remember when he was playing at Farmer's Market for coins thrown into a guitar case and during the Art in the Park series downtown when Holland has street performers one night every week.From humble beginnings such as this! I am so proud of him for pressing forward with his dreams. Over the years, his music has just gotten better and better. Still a young man, I have every confidence that he will continue to grow and improve as a musician and who knows where that could lead...And I can say I knew him when...It was such a fun night listening to Doobie, hanging out with T, and reconnecting with so many of the HC crowd that I've grown so fond of over the years :)Catch David Dziuban's CD release event on June 20@Butch's Dry Dock~it will be legendary...

The day I turned 50 :)

I started the celebration of my 20th anniversary of my 30th birthday at Body Perfections with a day of pampering~this has become somewhat of a tradition~one that I intend to continue!I went with Court to a nearby park for a few photos in the wild. Then I went to class. I know, what a nerdy thing to do on your 50th birthday. Hey, learning is important!Since it was a school night, I took cake to share with my classmates and after class we met at Bar Louie for a consolation toddy to mourn the passing of my youth. The following night I had a celebratory dinner at Via Maria with my fam and took in the new Terminator Salvation movie which we gave 4 thumbs up!We hit the town in Holland after the movie~which proved to be this ol' girls downfall...didn't feel so great the next day at Bonnie's garage sale :( But by 7pm I was rearing to go again and this time it was with some of my Ya-Ya's for dinner at City Vu followed by another flick~Night at the Museum 2. Awesome! Church on Sunday of course and afterwards it was all about the Detroit Redwings kicking some major Blackhawk booty for a 6 to 1 victory. Ah, yes, one step closer to the Stanley Cup! The rematch with the Penguins will be remarkable! Lots of animosity left over from last year I'm sure. The fights will be legendary! So Monday we focused on the Memorial Day parades and services in our area, had a cookout, and I did one of my interaction sessions in the evening for school. All in all, a fun and productive weekend.This was the "kickoff" of my year long celebration of year 50. Sure to culminate in May 2010 with my graduation combo belated 50th BD Blowout~aka The Mother of All Parties...stay tuned, conserve your strength, and save the date! Thanks much to everyone who called, emailed, sent flowers, sent a card, took me out, gave gifts, celebrated with food and drink and photo and movies, facebooked me, and otherwise sent well-wishes and love my way. I was really feelin' it;))) 50 is fab so far!

Elvis high-fived me, Photos Not Available

No matter how hard I try, I always either forget to pack something I need for my vacation OR I come home and realize that I left something I need behind...This time it was the latter. Which is a shame because it was my camera battery charger that I forgot at my brother's house and my digital camera has no juice left...so the blog will be rather bland until I get another one(which will happen before my birthday on Thursday, guaranteed!).
The hell of it is that I had a really fantastic weekend and no way to immortalize it here. I actually had down time on Friday night and stayed home and watched the Farrah Fawcett documentary on Dateline~who is ever gonna believe that without a picture??? I was very moved by Farrah's story and I felt it was extremely brave of her to share her experience battling cancer with all of us. I admire that she is not afraid to share her humanity, thoughts, fears and is willing to use her very personal struggle with cancer to inspire others to live life full-out and also to raise awareness about the need for more research and progressive treatments available in the United States as they are in many foreign countries.
Saturday I worked. No Kodak moment there. I came home and watched my filly, Rachel Alexandra, win the Preakness, before heading off to the campfire at Jack Kuiper's house. It felt like November~so cold!The night was funX10! I loved the setting. The fire pit was located inside a maze-type topiary hedge so it felt very secluded even though it was right in town and right in Jack's backyard. Reminded me of The Shining or Chronicles of Narnia. In a nice way, of course. The food and company was exceptional. I would have loved to have gotten a picture of that hedge though. I hope Jack invites us back...
Sunday is church~goes without saying, I guess. Wonderful as usual. All about choosing friends wisely. Just affirmed to me how blessed I am in life. I have a ton of the absolute best friends! They are the salt of the earth for sure! Pastor Steve had 3 main points about friends: A friend is there when you need them(Prov.17:17, Job 6:14, and Ecclesiastes 4:9-12). A friend says what needs to be said(Prov. 27:6, Prov. 27:9). A friend brings out the best in you(Prov. 22:24-25, I Cor. 15:33, Prov.27:17).Well, I guess I don't normally take pictures at church anyway. Usually it's a picture of a path of some sort. Which I don't have this week either.
The most sad and pitiful thing about this no photo business is that Sunday, after church, my friend Patricia took me to the Grand Rapids Symphony for an early birthday celebration.The theme was Viva Las Vegas and it was just the most amazing thing ever! The symphony had Vegas Showgirls, a Liberace impersonator that was unbelievable!The symphony, along with some great vocal performers, reprised many of the Vegas greats such as Frank Sinatra, Wayne Newton,Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., many of the Broadway-style shows, cabaret songs, and too much to even name. While we were there Elvis high-fived me while singing Viva Las Vegas during the encore. Then he left the building. I have absolutely no shred of photographic proof. Just Patricia's eyewitness testimony. It was impressive alright. Too bad, no photo. You'll just have to take my word for it and use your imaginations.

Thinking about Mom~

People always say that if you want to know what a woman will look like when she's old, look at her mom. I feel very encouraged by that thought! At age 91, my mom is still a very attractive(young-looking for her age) lady~she coordinates her outfits and takes care of herself, still keeps her hair stylish and cute, and maintains a healthy amount of pride in her appearance. More importantly, my mom, Lillian Margaret Baker, whose initials I share, is a beautiful person inside. That's where it really counts anyway! I am now, and have always been, inspired by her faith and passion for God. She has not lost the fire! Mom has always been a devoted wife. Having met my dad at age 5, married him at age 20, and lived with and lovingly cared for him for over 70 years, she took her vows "til death do us part" and "in sickness and in health" very seriously, indeed! Mom remained at his side until the last breath was drawn.Mom is also a fierce lioness and prayer warrior when it comes to the church that she and my dad pastored so many years. She is protective and loyal. She is like that with her family, too. Don't mess with the Bakers! I am so blessed in my life knowing that every day my mother prays for me and for all of her family members. That is such a powerful contribution she makes.I can always feel her prayers. Recently, Mom accompanied me and my boys and grandson to the beach for four days. She was a trooper and participated in almost everything we did. She kept up with us very well for a lady 91 years of age. She was no party pooper! I love my mom's sense of humor~she laughs much and often. She is so great about seeing the humor in life. Mom has always set a good example for "doing the right thing". We pick on her for being Canadian and also for coming from West Linn :) She takes it with humor and good grace. My mom instilled honesty, integrity, and a servant's heart in all her children. I just wanted to share my thoughts about my mom. I love her so much and am so full of gratitude for the example she set for me. She has helped me to become a better person and a better woman. Love you, Mom! Happy Mother's Day!

Last Day Photos

Here are some images from the final hurrah in Oregon. It was an eventful day...catching up with family and friends. Breaking up is hard to do! I always have a tough time leaving. I love the photos where Trevor is wearing my dad's suit jacket and cap. He looked so adorable with Mo-Mo. I also loved seeing all the white and pink dogwoods that were in full bloom around Oregon. The dogwoods are just about my favorite flower of all time~weird, huh? But I just love them! Trevor took Jayden golfing~Jayden threw a golf club in the pond while Unka wasn't looking...oooops!! Poor Trevor had to pay $25for recovery of the golf club from the pond~service charge :)Trevor has the patience of Job and also has informed me that he will not be having any children soon-lol! This is the same little angel who got his head stuck in a chair at Chang's a few days earlier. Boys will be boys, I say...Well, we are back home in our lives again. Hit the ground running! I was back at work on Thursday am bright and early, then school, then a 10-hour day today which was fully booked and tomorrow I go to Lansing for a Sexual Abuse Recovery class for one of my degree electives. Never bored! I miss my Oregon friends and family but also happy to see all of those who share my life here in Michigan. We got to meet the lead singer of Pop Evil at the Curragh~who would have thought a local band would get to be such a big deal, but they are!Lots of good stuff both places. I'm a lucky girl!

Oregon Vaca 2009

At this point, with only 24 hours left to spend in Oregon, I always have the same sense of disbelief that my time here is gone...each year it seems to get harder to leave my family. This year I'm sure it's because of recently losing my dad. I hate especially to leave mom. In spite of the rain, which is so typical here, it has been a good trip~for the most part(except for some of the more labor-intense aspects and a cold sore the size of Kansas!). The first day we had a surprise birthday party for Tyler, who turned 24 the day we arrived. Great turnout and so fun to see everyone. The generosity was overwhelming. Tebos is always a good choice: ) Then off to Lincoln City with Mo-Mo for four days. We enjoyed the beach and the pool, shopping at the outlet mall, eating at Mo's, and crabbing at Taft in the little harbor there. Thanks to Carol for setting us up in her nice, roomy condo with the fabulous view. We stayed at the Baker Barn again this year~thanks, Andy and Evelyn for all your hospitality. They always roll out the red carpet! We spent the week visiting with family and friends. That is always the main purpose of our visit anyway! We enjoyed a stormy visit to Saturday Market~but many plans were washed away by the rain! Didn't do as good of a job this year in the photo department. Really missed Courtney not being with us~but she did a great job taking care of the pets for us and watching the house, getting the mail, etc. Thanks, Court! Didn't see much of Rach and Carol. Guess I'll see ya' back in Michigan, Rach! Until next year, friends and family in Oregon~I will miss you-think of you all the time-can't wait to return...HUGS!!