Florida update...

Since some of you were wondering what we have been up to since we've been down here so I have finally gotten around to updating my blog.

I have spent some days by the pool entertaining Phillies and Bluejays children. One day I was in the pool and there were two kids in there with me. I moved to the hot tub and they followed me. One was a 7 year old girl and the other a 5 yr old boy. They started asking me question after question. . . why I was down here? what my name was? (they wanted to know my full name, my birthday, were I lived etc.) It was funny. So I asked them a couple and they told me their daddy played baseball and it turned out that they were John Lieber's kids. He plays for the Phillies. He used to play for the Cubs. He sat there by the pool on his cell phone while his kids followed me around. I think he thought, "cool! Someone is watching my kids!"

Another day a little girl started throwing a ball at me in the pool and we started playing catch. Good thing I like kids b/c they seem to think I am the babysitter.

Lynn came down the following monday. We went to dinner at Chili's the first night they were here b/c Jordan was with us. On Tuesday we went to Disney World. We started out at Animal Kingdom which I thought was pretty lame. We went to a Character breakfast there and that was cool. The kids were so excited to see the Disney characters. We went on a few little kids rides at animal kingdom and then we went to the Magic Kingdom. Lynn was disapointed b/c the Pirates of the Carribean ride was under construction.

The second day we went to MGM and then back to the Magic Kingdom. We went on the Buzz Lightyear ride several times that night b4 hitting the gift shop. Lynn decided to buy this huge castle which she lugged back to the ferry to the parking lot while we tried to balance caring the rest of her bags and 4 sleepy slightly crabby children. Funny thing....she checked the castle on the plane and it never made it through back claim. The 4th day they were here was kind of a waste b/c it was cold. The last day they were here it was nice and warm. That was also the day my parents go here.

My family stayed a half hour south of us in St. Pete Beach. Jordan had the day off and we started to head out to see them. Jordan backed out of his spot in the Ford Escape we have rented and he backed right into Flash Gordon's wifes Escalade. The guy who was driving was taking it to clean it and he looked really scared. He called Tom Gordon and he came down and didn't seem to worried about it. All he said was well, go see if you can buff some of it out and we'll go from there. He said I don't wanna hear her "bleeping" mouth, meaning his wifes, so I don't think they are going to pursue getting it fixed. Thank God!

We made it down to see my parents and spent the day by the pool/beach. I spent the next few days with my family relaxing by the pool and beach. We went parasailing the day before they left. When they checked out of their hotel they came and to our resort and we went kayacking. My mom and I spent most of the time on the water arguing about how you are supposed to do it. It was still fun.

I have spent some time down here with the Phillies writer's wife, Eve. We have a 2 bedroom condo and they are staying with us. She and I went kayacking yesterday and it was much easier than when my mom and I did it.

I am very impressed b/c I haven't really burned myself. I can't say the same for Jordan b/c when I got down here he looked like a tomato. Well, that's it for now. I have been having trouble posting photos so I will try again later. Adios.

At the gym...

I am at the gym since my lovely husband took my computer to Florida and left me to freeze here in Canada. I only have to survive until Friday when Kyle and possibly Stephanie get her to take me back to Chi-town. I will be there for a few weeks and then I will joining Jordan in Florida. I am using the internet at the gym until I get to my parents house.

I am about to do my run on the treadmill so hopefully there is one open. The gym has been kind of busy since it opened on Monday.

After I run I will go back to clean up the mess I started at my house. It began so innocently when I started to vacuum my floor and then the vacuum kind of blue up all over the place. I spent the remander of the afternoon tearing the thing apart, cleaning it and then waiting for the parts to dry before I put them back in the machine. Yeah, vacuuming wasn't as easy as I had bargained for.

Well, that's it for now. No more procrastinating and wasting time on my new guitly pleasure, facebook b/c it is time to go run. If you're in Chicago next week give me a call at my rents house b/c I'll be there. Catch ya later!

What next?!?

Today began quite oddly b/c when I turned on the faucet in the bathroom to brush my teeth, no water leaked out. I took Barkley downstairs to go out and I asked our doorman Paul if he knew we didn't have any water and he told me that a water main broke on Front Street. Yes it is called "Front Street" for all you south siders. We didn't have water for several hours which was really stinky and the hot water didn't return until this evening. Good thing I had a pitcher of water in the fridge for drinking.

Jordan and I had a nice Valentines day dinner, nothing big being as how I am going to Florida and that is Valentine's present enough. We decided to go to the gym but before we could leave the fire alarm started going off, again. Fire trucks showed up and everything. We have two speakers in our apartment and the security guys in our buildings started to tell us to remain calm and that it wasn't a fire. Either way it was still making Mr. Barkley quite upset.

We did make it to the gym and ran on the treadmills. It is such a nice place to work out. I can't wait to use the pool and hot tub. Well, I gotta go finish some laundry and help Jordan finish packing. I hope you had a happy valentines day. Later gators.

Trying again. . .

Well, it's winter again and Jordan and I are starting our yearly get back in shape routine. Some how I can't get it in my head that it has to be a lifestyle change and not just a I need to fit into a dress kind of thing (although I need to fit into another dress this year, not my wedding dress, but a bridesmaids dress for Sarah E's wedding in June). I hope that this new rec center is helpful for me to at least get back to where I was at my wedding or maybe a little better than that.

I am going to Florida soon and I plan on running outside again. I did 2.5 miles today at the gym and I hope to progress. I didn't want to do the whole five miles the first day or I would be toast tomorrow. I'll get there.

Capote

Jordan and I went to see Capote tonight. We went for dinner first and had a lot of time to kill before the movie. We went in Chapters, a book store near the theatre. The movie was a little over two hours long. I really enjoyed it. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to deal with Phillip Seymour Hoffman doing the "Capote" voice for two hours, but after a few minutes I didn't seem to find it as irritating as I did in the trailer.

I was rather impressed b/c Phillip Seymour Hoffman is usually the funny side man in movies but this was his first lead role that I am aware of. The movie makes me want to read IN COLD BLOOD which the film is about. Well, that's it for now. Time to hang out with Barkley. He is super hyper from being in his cage all evening. Later gators.

Air Barkley!

Yes, that's right Barkley will be traveling yet again. He is switching countries in a few weeks. He is booked to fly American Airlines on February 28th and will return to Toronto on March 31st. He is headed to Tampa, Florida for a month of fun in the sun, laying by the pool, and swimming in the ocean. (Ok well maybe I'll be the one doing all of that, but Barkley is coming too!)

So, if anyone would like to join us down in Florida they are more than welcome. Just let me know. I know a couple of people who are already coming but the more the merrier right? It should be a good time. Well, that's all for now I have to go and help Jordan put our "den" together as he calls it. I prefer to call it the fronch room as we Chicagoans like to say. Some how the t in front room becomes a ch, strange how that happens. ok, later...

Shaping Up...

Yes, our condo is starting to look like a home. We spent most of the day pulling it all together except for when we went on an entertainment center hunt. We froze our badonkadonks off walking to the Eaton Centre which is one of the biggest malls I have ever gone to. It is similar to Water Tower in its lay out but not to many of the stores are the same. We went to Sears and found one that we really liked but they weren't going to be able to deliver it until the 20th which really stinks. It is possible that we might wait until after spring training to sort that issue out, but we're not sure. For now our tv and it's components are sitting in a heap where they will eventually go.

The living room is set up minus pictures. Our bathroom is complete. Our kitchen is set up. That took a long time to arrange. The cabinets are oddly shaped and I have quite a large amount of stuff thanks to my Pampered chef shower, thank you ladies! We have am interesting shelving unit that hangs over the sink and it was the only place that I could find large enough to store my plates.

Me in the Living Room

The side view of our kitchen

Our kitchen from above

Our den on the other hand is quite the mess. That's a project for another day. Tomorrow I will be getting to our bedroom and putting all of our clothes away. I also will be putting my precious moments away as well. I'll post more pictures of our new place and of our leaving St. Joseph later on.

We have to get some sort of curtains for our bedroom windows. In all of the excitement of looking for an entertainment center we forgot about the curtains which is suprising for me b/c I have a hard time sleeping when it's bright in a room. I think I'm just really been tired over the last few days so I have been able to fall right to sleep after I get in bed no matter how light it is. I don't know what it is but my feet have been killing me.

Tomorrow I go on a tour of the new fitness center. That should be fun. Jordan won't be there because he has to go to the State of the Franchise event for the Jays. Well, that's all for now. I'll catch ya later....

We're here!!

I just thought I'd give an update... We are in our new condo and are digging our way out. There are boxes everywhere and it is a complete mess, but we love it. It is freezing cold here and our internet guy told us it was warm last week but got cold this week, just our luck.

The process of getting over the border was much easier this time b/c we had the proper paper work. The whole thing took about 20 min. Barkley was very frightened in Immigration and Customs. We think he thought he was at the vet. Lets just say he was shaking like a maple leaf, yes I know I'm a dork.

Everything thus far has made it in one peace. We want to thank everyone who has helped us move, Ma, Dad, Kyle, Stephanie, Mike and anyone else I forgot. You were all a great help. Thanks so much. Anyhoo, if you want my address give me a call. I should be sending out an email with it in the next few days. Catch ya later...

Last day of work...:(

Today was my last day of work at Smit & Kragt Law Offices in Saint Joseph. I know when you read the title and see the sad face following the no more work you would think I should be happy. It really stinks b/c I love my job and the people I work with are really great. They have been so wonderful to me over the last few months and I have really enjoyed working with them. It's a fun atmosphere and the people I work with are awesome people.

It's been a hectic couple of days and it will only get more stressful in the next week. We are having a rough time in my family right now so if you could pray for us that would be greatly appreciated.

That's all for now. Later Gators.

You Gotta See the Baby!!!!

The baby is officially over a week old, but I finally got some pictures of him to post on my blog...and I am a little bit partial because I am the Auntie but I think he's very cute, a little red, but cute!

He was born on January 21st at 9:26 am. I was there with Lynn when she had him air-lifted out. I returned to Lynn's house while she was in recovery to save Jordan from his time alone with four children. The kids had him tied up in a recliner and were taking turns playing with matches but all in all things went well! J/k They were quietly watching a movie together when I got there, but Uncle J still looked a little frazzled.

Here is a picture of the proud big sis with her new baby brother:

Today my parents came up and helped us pack and prepare for our move. We got quite a bit done. Our apartment looks weird. Well, that's all for now. Jordan needs to get back to work. I can't wait till we have wireless internet and can both be on the 'puter at the same time.

Visitors

Today Jordan's sis and family came over to see our new apartment. We hung out here for awhile and then we went to the Curious Kids Museum in downtown Saint Joseph. We weren't sure if some of the things would be to young for Tricia and Parker but it wasn't. They had a great time, in fact I think the adults even had a better time. We got to play with dinosaurs, make huge bubbles and even play dress up. We went downstairs and they had a career day where the kids got to meet a naturalist. He had a live turte and a huge snake.

After lunch we went to the Pump House Grill which we had never been to before. It was pretty good. We took them to the little shops like the toy store, an antique shop, and Perennial Accents one of my favorite stores.

We went bowling at Kelley's bowl again. We got there just as leagues were ending. Parker and Tricia had a bumber lane and the rest of us shared another. Lets just say I am still holding my lead on Jordan 5-3...oh yeah! He can't match me! I bowled a 129 the first game and a 116 the next. It was a lot of fun.

After bowling we went to one of our favorite spots in St. Joe, Kilwins. We each had our ice cream and then sat and talked for awhile. Parker was showing us his tooth which was hanging on by a thread. I asked him if I could pull it and he said ok. So I reached in and gave it a good yank and it came out. I was suprised he let me do it. Melissa was taking a picture but holding it and not looking. She got a great shot of me pulling it. Nice face Parkey! It was a great day. We had a lot of fun with the family.

During all of these events my parents brought up a dresser and brough Jordan's car home to be fixed. Of course my dad got it started right away. He's awesome. Yes, I'm a suck up! Tomorrow they are coming back. They are bringing my curio(sp?) cabinet and Precious Moments up here. My mom offered to help me pack and I'd be a fool to say no so I didn't. We are going to our favorite Mexican Restaurant El Rodeo in Benton Harbor. Yum.

Tonight Jordan and I are going to relax and watch a movie. Catch ya later.

Rematch!!

Tomorrow we have a bowling rematch scheduled. We are going with the Black family some time tomorrow. Parker has already said he is going to kick his Uncle Jordan's butt. We are going to meet them around 10 am tomorrow and show them around St. Joe, show them our Apt. and go to the kids Museum. Somewhere in there I'm sure we'll get lunch. We went to there hotel tonight and hung out for awhile. We are headed back to Kelley's bowl so I can kick Jordan's butt! Oh, yeah, that's a promise!

P.S. Jody the phone works both ways! What are you doing? : )

I'm movin' on...

We are spending our last free weekend here in St. Joe before we pack up and leave next weekend. Tonight Jordan and I went to Roxy's a hamburger joint a block from our house and then we went to the Chocolate Cafe and had cheesecake. We are wating for his sis Melissa, her husband Keith, and niece and nephew Tricia and Parker to get here. They are spending the night and we will spend the day with them tomorrow. My mom and dad will be here on Sunday to help us pack and my dad is going to fix Jordan's Crapalier. I have 4 days left of work and then on Friday we are going home to see everyone b4 we go. My family is going to House of Kobe on Friday night to. We are going to see Lynn and crew also. Jordan will get to see baby Luke for the first time.

I will blog more on baby Luke when I have more time.

Results of Bowling

Jordan and I went to Kelley's bowling alley and I kicked his butt. The first game I won 127 to 101 and then 107 to 103! Yeah! On the last game all Jordan needed on his last roll was 8 pins and then he would have won but he got 3. He wasn't too happy. The bowling alley was decent. It kept score for you which I love. Afterward, we made a Target run. Well, time to join Jordan in watching Law and Order SVU. He watches CSI or Law and Order several times a day. It's quite ridiculous. Later gators....

4 Days Until Christmas

Today I got a nice suprise when I got to work. I was given a nice Christmas bonus. Also, two of the attorneys gave me a gift certificate to the Mall in Benton Harbor and then they said that the office would be closed on Friday. Then, another attorney gave me a gift certificate to my favorite little store in Saint Joseph called Urban Homes. Our office is off on Monday as well. I'm pretty excited about that. It was a nice suprise.

Jordan and I are on the hunt for an apartment in Toronto. We worked on that last night but we don't have anything conclusive yet.

We have made plans to go bowling tonight. I went with my bros a few weeks ago so I should be warmed up! Tehe! Maybe! We get to relax since all of our Christmas shopping is done.

Here is a little Christmas email that I got from my friend Liz that I thought I'd share:

REMEMBER THIS AT CHRISTMAS TIME
According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, while both male and female reindeer grow antlers in the summer each year, male reindeer drop their antlers at the beginning of winter, usually late November to mid-December. Female reindeer retain their antlers till after they give birth in the spring. Therefore, according to EVERY historical rendition depicting Santa's reindeer, EVERY single one of them, from Rudolph to Blitzen, had to be a girl. We should've known... ONLY women would be able to drag a fat man in a red velvet suit all around the world in one night and not get lost.


Well, I'll catch ya later and if I don't blog have a Merry Christmas!

6 Days Until Christmas!!

With Christmas only days away let the chaos ensue. Yesterday, Jordan and I went to Casa de Sutton to help prepare the festivities and I bet my Ma wished we hadn't. Sam and Cocoa had to go to the groomer and Jordan and my Ma picked them up and left Barkley in his cage. Let's just say he wasn't happy about this and left a little suprise for them in there. Gross! It gets worse... Jordan didn't notice Barkley had stepped in it and then he left little brown paw prints all down the hall. Jo mama was furious. They had to give Barkley a bath. Then when they finally got to eat their lunch that they had brought home with them it was cold. Jordan made the mistake of giving Barkley a french fry which made him sick on the kitchen floor. Jordan and Ma could only laugh at this point.

Dad and I made our annual few days before christmas shopping trip. We left early so as to beat the crowds and we did very well, all the presents and got lunch all in under 2 hrs! A new record I think. When we got home I wrapped the presents and helped Ma make cookies.

Jordan, Kyle, Stephanie and I went to the hospital to see my Grandpa. It was kind of hard b/c he was rather disoriented and was telling us how lonely he was and how bad they were treating him there. He would say things that made you want to cry and then in the next breathe make you want to laugh. It's kind of a rollercoaster. You can't believe most of what he says unfortunatly b/c his mind is so fuzzy right now.

We try to keep busy with Christmas activities to keep our mind off of it. It's gonna be a strange and small Christmas at the Sutton house. I am happy to have a fun day of activities planned for Christmas Eve with the Bastians.

On Friday my office closes at 12 and then Sarah Eastman...soon to be Mrs. Nixon will be coming up to visit us here in Saint Joseph. Awesome! I haven't seen her since the summer time.

Tonight Jordan and I got to spend the evening together something we haven't been able to do during the week in a long time b/c he worked nights at the HP. Today was his first day with MLB.com. We played Sceneit one of our favorite games that we played a lot in Canada. He also showed me a couple of potential places that we could be staying at in Florida that are even pet friendly (Barkley might get a tan!).

Well, that's all for now. Back to hanging out with Jordan and Barkley. Catch ya later!

Pops....

In case you have been wondering what happened to me over the last few days this is what has been going on....

My grandpa, aka Pops/papa has had pneumonia for 3 wks. He was admitted to Ingalls Hospital last week. He has double pneumonia which means fluid in both lungs. He had a heart attack before he got there and another on friday. The docs say he has congestive heart failure, his liver is enlarged, and his kidney's aren't functioning properly. I went home friday night and saw him on saturday. My Aunt Connie and Uncle Charlie from AZ came in and Aunt Lenda from CA. I saw him on Saturday and he was very weak. By Saturday night he was a little more upbeat and was even cracking jokes. By Sunday he was his same stubborn self when he gave me a hard time while I was trying to make him drink his barium drink before he went down for his ct scan. He was happy to see everyone. He was supposed to be taken out of ICU tonight, but his blood pressure dropped again so he will remain there. All we can do now is pray so if you could I would appreciate it.

To add to my stress Barkley and I had quite a scare today. After taking him out after work tonight our neighbor was also letting his dog out, a huge pit bull type dog. He wasn't on a leash and before I realized that he was racing down the hallway towards us. I was able to shove barkley through the fire door before he got to him. His owner raced after him and said he wouldn't hurt him. I was pretty scared anyway. He turned out to be a nice dog, but he looked a little scary. It was quite an adrenaline rush.

Well, Jordan and I are going Christmas shopping to get my mind off of things. Also, we are having a cleaning party here at the apartment. Yes, I'm a mean wife and I am making Jordan help me clean. Afterwards, we are going to put up our Christmas tree. AWESOME!! Our first tree! Anyhoo, Jordan is home now gotta run. Keep Hershel Henson, my Grandpa, in your thoughts and prayers.

Update!

Ok, Jody. I finally have a free minute to update my blog. Here is what has been going on up here in St. Joe:

Jordan got offered a job as the Toronto Blue Jays beat writer for Majorleagebaseball.com. (mlb.com). He put in his two weeks notice at the paper he currently works at on Friday. We won't have to move until late January, early February. We will be going to Florida for a month for Spring Training. I have gone to spring training the last two years and it is lots of fun. Jordan is so excited. We need to make plans to go up there and find a place to live.

Jordan's car is in better working order now, but mine is out of commision now. I went home yesterday to help trim my parents tree and when I pulled into the driveway my dad smelled gas coming from my car. My gas line was leaking and at any minute if it caught a spark my car could have been a flaming fireball. I'm so glad we went home. Jordan's wonderful sister Lynn is letting us borrow her van until my dad fixes it. So for now I look like a soccer mom.

Yesterday like I said I helped my parents put up their tree. I got all of my ornaments and some lights and tinsel. All I need now is a tree. Hopefully this weekend we can get that accomplished and then decorate it.

Jordan has been working on our Christmas cards. Yes, my husband did our cards....I am so spoiled. All I have to do is address them.

My parent came up on sat. and we went shopping. Jordan finally got his suit that my mom promised him for his birthday....yeahs he got a new birthday suit. ha ha.

Jordan and I went out to see Pride and Prejudice. It was really good. I finally got to see a chic movie.

Well, that's all for now. I'll catch ya later. Good luck with all of your christmas shopping. I'm about 1/2 done.

A Night Out in Saint Joe!

Last night I decided to have a fun night of doing laundry and hanging out with Barkley. I went to the bank to go get some quarters. I told Sara the girl who always handles our business at the bank what my exciting night entailed and she invited me to go out with her and her friends. We started out at the depot which is this little pizza place at the train station by the beach. After that we went up to the top of the hill to a place called Spinnakers. It was a duelling piano bar. It was really packed, but it was a lot of fun. At 10:30 I called Jordan and he was leaving work so I told him to come there. We hung out and had a good time.

Today I actually got around to my laundry. Jordan was here until 4:30 when he left for work. I might go out with Sara again tonight, but I don't know if I am up for another night of going out. We'll see.

I didn't get around to blogging about this last week, but I took Barkley to the vet and I found out that he might have doggy glaucoma. Poor baby. Every day three times a day I have to give him a pill, ointment in his eye and eyedrops. He wasn't very cooperative at first, but now he rolls over and lets me do it. I feel really bad for him. Next Saturday I have to take him back to the vet for a check up. Hopefully he will be doing better by then. At first the meds made him jittery and have to go to the bathroom a lot which didn't make Jordan very happy when he had to do clean up.

I love my new job. I have been there for 2 weeks. This week the bosses were on vacation and left us a lot of work to do. It made the time go by so fast. On Monday is our holiday picture for work. They send out a Christmas card to all of their clients. YIKES! Next week is a shortened week. I get thursday and friday off for turkeyday. Jordan is off thurs, sat and sun. He might come back on Saturday, but I'm not sure yet. We are also trying to get together with Melissa next weekend too. Well, that is all for now. Catch ya later!

Pumpkin Carving Contest

Saturday night I went to my Aunt Torie's house for the Annual Sutton Family Pumpkin Carving contest. A lot of my family was there and we had a good time. It was pretty funny because everyone was concentrating so hard on their projects that it was dead silent. The family members that were there that weren' t carving were teasing us because we were so serious about the event. These were not ordinary carvings because there weren't any triangles or teeth. It was also my cousin Barb's birthday and our family friend Francine made her a spooky cake.

It was awesome. I won the contest, but some of the other contestants thought it was rigged b/c my parents, my brother kyle and his girlfriend Stephanie were the judges.
This is my pumpkin. It's a witch with a cat in the center. It's hard to see in this picture.

Today my parents came over. My dad had not been to our apartment yet. We went out to lunch and showed them around Saint Joseph. My mom brought a pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting for dessert. My mother and I also went on a walk through the neighborhood and on the high school track. Well, that's it for now catch ya later...