LOTS TO BE THANKFUL FOR IN 2009

I have lots to be thankful for this year. 2009 has been a good. For the first time since I was 14-years-old I didn't have to go to work everyday. It's not that I didn't work (I designed lots of websites), I just didn't have to drive somewhere and sit in a gray cube.

I liked working for myself so much I applied to Bizdom U and was accepted. I was thrilled. I love school and my teachers. I am as excited to go to school every day as I was in first grade only Dan Izzo doesn't exactly talk like Sister Loretta Marie.

On the family front, my boys continue to amaze me. They are BOTH straight A students. Willie surprised us all and wrote a music composition that was performed last spring by his middle school honors band. This year he is gobbling up High School. (That's a flyer I designed for ROHS Jazz Band.) Meanwhile Dylan was invited to a soccer camp at Washington U in St. Louis last summer. We love to watch him play defense. As for John, his office landed some big jobs and are so lucky to be one of the few architecture firms in the area with work. As a family we went to Alaska this year. It was the 49th state we've traveled to together--the 4 of us. (We just have Hawaii left.)

The Mydols are still going strong. We just finished recording a CD with the new lineup and it rocks! We also were lucky enough to be asked to be on Gene Simmons Family Jewels and got to hang out with the rock legend for 5 days in Detroit, including backstage at the KISS concert at Cobo Hall. (The show will air in the spring.)

And of course we are so grateful to feel the love of God. Thank you Fr. Ken for turning me on to actually listening in church! Because of it my friend Teri and I were motivated to get 100s of backpacks donated to the South Oakland Citizens for the Homeless. (We couldn't have done it without the help of Moosejaw and What Crepe?) Because of that, I got a mention in Sandra Dalka-Prysby's new book on miracles! (I love Sandy's writing.) And last weekend my family helped serve 223 turkey dinners to the homeless at the Most Holy Trinity grade school with the most awesome Murphy family. (They do it every year.) My son Willie noted that 90% of the people said thank you--making them more polite than most people we run into day in and day out.

May God continue to bless us with so much to be thankful for. Oh and thank you to Jesuit Monks at Manresa who pray for all the intentions in the little jar in the grotto.

MY WEEK OFF. HA!

I don't have school this week so I am trying to catch up on my personal life and do my "over-the-break" homework. Here's what I did today:

Walked the dogs.
Called printers about CD packaging.
Finished reading"You're Marketing Sucks"
Drove to Ann Arbor to pick up an order.
Took Dylan to the dentist.
Did a little Christmas shopping in town.
Took Dylan to the eye doctor.
Went grocery shopping.
Discussed the Mydols video with the director.
Had a friend drop by.
Wrote a book review for Rockin' Moms.
Worked on a website for South Oakland Citizens for the Homless.

And it's like 6 PM. I have a phone conference for Mamazina (a mom literary magazine) in an hour. After that I read "Purple Cow" (another marketing book).

And tomorrow I am even busier! YIKES!

DINOSAUR ROCK

New CD artwork by Sadie Scheffer!

BIG WEEKEND PLANS

Ken Bloink, my Bizdom partner, and I gave our BIG presentation today to the funding committee. It went really well. I saw lots of smiles. We didn't really get as many questions as I thought we would. I'm not sure if that's a good thing--or a bad thing. Maybe it's just a thing.

Anywoo...I am happy it's over.

Tonight John and I have an AIA thang to go too. Tomorrow Willie is in the Holiday Magic Parade with the ROHS Marching Band. You can watch it LIVE at http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/ at 10:00 am.

After that we head to Detroit to serve a pre-Thanksgiving dinner to a group of people who are a little down on their luck could use a hot meal. Our friends the Murphy's organize this event every year and we are so honored that they thought enough of us to help them out.

Saturday evening we have yet another pre-Thanksgiving dinner to attend--this one with our Parenting Group. (It's a group we've been getting together with for 16 years. We all had babies born at Beaumont Hospital in 1993! We were all strangers when we met, but not anymore!)

Sunday we finish shooting the big Mydols video at our house. Brent Burgess, a Madonna U student, is directing.

On Wednesday the Mydols head to the studio to record! It's a big week. I have LOTS to be thankful for!

MYDOLS IN THE NEWS

Kate Perotti, the director of Momz Hot Rocks, sent me this nice link to Florida Weekly: http://naples.floridaweekly.com/news/2009-11-05/Arts_%2528and%2529_Entertainment_News/MOMz_Hot_ROCKs.html

Kate's drumming up press for her GREAT documentary about the Mom Rock movement that features the Mydols, Placenta, Housewives on Prozac and more.

Check out the website for the movie at http://www.momzhotrocks.com/.

Them is my legs on the DVD!

LOTS OF BALLS IN THE AIR!

Tomorrow is pitch day for Bizdom students. We have to present our feasibility plans to the funding committee. Ken and I practiced our pitch this morning at Quicken and are ready to go. We are seriously looking forward to it.

After we rehearsed I went to Ikea and then came home and tidied up the house. The Mydols are shooting a video here on Sunday. We're really busy. I'm picking up shirts for the band on Monday and on Wednesday we're in the studio recording. The band is FIRED UP!

Oh, and my family is hosting Thanksgiving here next Thursday.

So, er yeah, lots going on!

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