This week...

I really mean to blog on my trip. But, I'm trying to get lots of stuff done this week too. My apartment is still a mess - I've been looking for stuff and finally found it. Cleaned my kitchen a bit and I've watched two movies so far this weekend. I also feel like I've caught up on some much needed sleep.

Still left on the docket this weekend - finishing a book (I'm sooo close!) and rearranging the living room area to throw stuff out and put it away...

I'm baaack....

And it's a lazy day. After we got back from the airport last night around 11pm, we realized we would probably be up for awhile, due to the time change. Around midnight, we decided we were hungry, and went on an excursion for food. In Muskegon. After midnight...do you realize how hard this is? We called two bar/restaurants before leaving the house, and their kitchens closed at 11pm and midnight. We drove over to Wendy's by Meijer, and it was dark! Then we drove to the McDonald's near our house, and sat in the drive thru for a few minutes, but apparently, even though the lights were on, no one was home!

So, we ended up at the McDonald's on Apple Avenue, which I was 99.9% sure was open. And it was. Thank goodness - there's not really any food in the refrigerator, and we had only eaten one meal throughout the day.

Moral of the story - hope you're not in Muskegon and hungry after midnight...

Be prepared

I will be on vacation next week. Yes - an actual vacation where we go somewhere and everything! We'll be heading out to Portland, OR with our friends Steph and Kevin and like all vacations I go on, I'll probably need a vacation from the vacation afterwards!

Eric picked up a Seattle guide the other day, and I picked up a Portland guide last night. I already have many pages earmarked (with little sticky notes) for restaurants and other places I want to hit up. We travel most of the day on Saturday, and Sunday is full of fun, including breakfast at the Stepping Stone Cafe (for mancakes!!! - see what happens when I let Man v. Food on the Travel Channel help me plan trips?) and Powell's Books (I never claimed to be anything but a nerd). We have trips planned to the Oregon Coast and Seattle. We've even got plans to take in the new Harry Potter movie at the IMAX (of course).

I'm getting my camera ready for pictures - lots of them. The majority of them will probably be of food. Mmmm, doughnuts...did I mention we're going to Voodoo Doughnut? (Yet another Travel Channel find). Hmmm, is it time to go yet???!!!

'Twas the week of hot dogs...

So, by the time Saturday the 4th rolled around, I realized that I had eaten hot dogs at some point on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday of last week. That's a crazy amount of hot dogs, and I felt it was worth a blog!

Tuesday, I quickly made two Koegel's at home for lunch, since I was really hungry. Not much to be said about that, I guess.

Wednesday, CFreaky and I went to lunch at the Downtown Dog House in Lansing. They don't have their own website, but I've linked to an article about them in the City Pulse. I've been there twice now and have been happy with the food. On this particular occasion, I had the Flint Dog (dog topped with seasoned ground beef, onions and mustard) with fries. There are many dogs to choose from, including the Philly Dog, San Fran Dog, Detroit Dog, Hawaiian Dog and lots of others. I recommend you try it!

Friday I was in Muskegon being lazy, and decided to haul myself down to G&L for a Cheddar Chili Dog Special - two dogs with yummy chili, cheddar, onions and mustard and a side of fries for $3.99 - woo hoo! So yummy...and such a classic in the Muskegon area.

However, the big deal was the Haute Dog on Saturday - yes, you read that right. HAUTE Dog. And I have photos!!!

On my Thursday visit to Mia & Grace (mmmm, buffaloaf sandwich and bacon ice cream...), Jeremy, one of the chefs/owners told me about their 4th special - a Haute Dog (homemade there!) with homemade ketchup and mustard and pickled onion, side of sweet potato chips, half a bread pudding and a homemade soda for $12. We actually only got the Haute Dog and chips because we ended up gorging on dessert (Key Lime pie, Bacon ice cream and Carrot Cake).

While we were there, they SOLD OUT of Haute Dogs - yay!!!! That means they were popular! The bun was homemade in house also - it was just fantastic - and huge!!! I kinda want one now...

Anyway, Eric had bought hot dogs and brats for the weekend, and by that point, we were tired of those, so we got pizza for dinner on Saturday night. But, we also had brats on the grill on Sunday. I highly doubt that I'll be eating hot dogs this week...lol.

Random Acts of Kindness

Today, I had a challenge on my Facebook page to perform a random act of kindness for someone. I like to think that I try to do this every day, but not always consciously thinking about it. So, my goal for this weekend will be to at least perform one random act that I'm very aware of.

They can come in many ways - for a friend, for a stranger; it can be very small or a big deal. It can take a minute, or an hour. I challenge all of you to perform a random act of kindness over the holiday weekend...

What will you do or have you done?

I don't wanna be lonely no more...

I realized as I was getting ready to make dinner (for myself) that I've been really lonely. It's been one of those months that wasn't quite as busy as May was, but Eric was gone a lot, first to Mexico, then to England. And, I've been sleeping a lot (by myself).

Normally, this wouldn't phase me so much, as I like alone time, but for some reason, just having the dog here when I come home hasn't been enough. Plus, while he was abroad, we couldn't really talk on the phone - in the 16 days he was out of the country, we talked on the phone once.

I'm really looking forward to time off and a chance to see Eric. We have a vacation to Portland coming up, so we'll get to spend time together. I"ve missed him a lot, and I've also been missing some of my friends a lot.

It has also reminded me that I have to make sure that I make an effort with people to do things when I'm lonely, otherwise, I'll just end up sleeping to avoid the sadness. It's hard to motivate myself sometimes though. I just wish I could make the feeling go away...

Vacation!!

OK, so it's a little early to be so excited about vacation. However, I only have 2 more days of work this week, then all of next week before going to Portland. I'm heading west to Muskegon this weekend for the holiday weekend. It's been a looong time since I've been there, so I'm looking forward to spending some time there and heading to Mia & Grace for food...mmmm.

I find myself sitting on the couch tonight, STILL tired. After being at work until 1am Thursday night/Friday AM, I worked from 9am-1pm on Friday, then hung out with a friend, took a 40 minute nap before heading to Festival of the Moon to pour beer for 3 hours. Whew! I was so worked up after pouring beer (adrenaline rush) that it took awhile for me to go to bed, but I slept until about 8am, then headed to Potter Park Zoo with the Region D Jaycees. But I was so tired I left after lunch, came home and honestly can't remember what I did, then took a 4 hour nap. Woke up for a couple hours, then went back to bed for the night.

Sunday was a little more normal, but still trying to get back on a normal sleep schedule. I'm sure I'll get there, but I'm still feeling a little slow. I think I determined the past few days that I like sleep - A LOT. Maybe a little too much. I've taken more naps in the past 6 months than I remember taking in my life.