We're home!

We just got to my aunt's house today and we couldn't be happier. Even with the bitter cold, blowing snow and pretty poopy economy, we love Michigan, warts and all.

Can't wait to see all the family and friends this week. If you're on the west side, we'll be in your neck of the woods Thursday evening. This is gonna be the best furlough ever. Woo hoo.

A New Year

Firstly: I'm so sorry for not posting for the last month. With lots of company over the holidays and adjusting to my crazy work schedule, it's been hard to keep up on vacuuming, let alone blogging.

That being said, those of you who are wondering why I haven't answered your emails over the last two weeks, I apologize and will be getting to it very soon.

Much to tell! Zack's parents, Bruce and Patty, as well as my Aunt Julie and Grandma Mary-Jane all visited during the week of New Year's. B, P, Z, and S all went to Monticello one day (Thomas Jefferson's pad, at left), and on another day, Z took P, S, and A.J. on a wine-tasting tour. We had a lovely drive through the mountains, and got onto a highway called Skyline Drive/Blue Ridge Parkway. It basically winds along the mountain ridge top and has the most awesome views (bottom left).

The families left just after the new year, and we 

are so grateful to be able to have spent some holiday times with them!

In other news, Zack got a new tattoo on Saturday. It is a scorpion on his right, lower bicep. I went with him to Charlottesville so he could have company while he got inked. I told him it was his birthday present (which is on Jan. 20). Little did he know that I had already hatched a devious plan to present him with his actual present today. Bruce called me last week and asked if I had any b-day ideas for his boy. "Well, he wants a dog," I said. "I think it's time we get that German Shepherd puppy he's been pining for." Bruce said he and Patty wanted in on the gift, so I called as many Virginia breeders as I could find and made an appointment with one for my day off today. Under the guise of "I want to go to a winery in Charlottesville," off we went on a road trip. As we pulled into the driveway, Zack, who was prepared for a boring afternoon of carting his drunken girlfriend around, perked up and said, "This seems shady. This doesn't look like a winery. Where are the vines? ... Oh, hey, they have German Shepherds! ... Hey, wait a minute....." That's when I told him that this was his real b-day present and we looked at a pregnant female and met the sire and the whole bit. We ended up putting a deposit on a male puppy (which will be born in about two weeks). Z is on Cloud 9 and I couldn't be happier making my boy smile. :-)

Now, a touch of troubling news. Just before the puppy surprise, I got a call from my work saying that there was a mandatory meeting. Turns out, Gannett has issued a company-wide mandate that every employee has to take one week of unpaid leave within the next six weeks. Yay, I get my birthday off! Booh, my new company is in the toilet. I'm gonna sit down with the editor tomorrow and hopefully he can talk me down from the ledge, because I'm a whisker away from panicking. But, everyone knows my flair for the dramatic, so maybe this is a one-time thing and then we'll start to recover (please keep your fingers crossed).

Again, we love and miss all of you, and I will be replying to all your emails very soon. (That means you, all my Chronicle girls!)

Oh, and to leave you with a pleasant thought, here is Z's new tattoo. I have affectionately named it Diesel the Scorpion King. :-)

Christmas is coming

So, we got a feel for what Christmas shopping in Virginia is like, just that past weekend. You see, Staunton has a mall, but it is pretty pathetic. I mean, The Lakes Mall in Spring Lake is practically The Mall of America in comparison.

So we had to go to Waynesboro to get some of the good retail action. They've got a lot of the chain stores there and definitely a wider selection of eateries. It was there that we discovered Massaki, a Japanese hibachi-style grill. We stuffed ourselves silly last night (our six-month anniversary) and are completely unapologetic for it. 

Therefore, anyone planning on buying us clothes for the Christmas holiday, please add one size onto any pants you bought for either of us!

So ... cold

Argh! I woke up today and was thinking about fixing some breakfast before brow-beating Zack in to joining the Y in Staunton. Then he called from the bathroom, "We have no hot water."

@%&$#@ How could we have no hot water? Then I remembered that we hadn't checked on the propane tank in the back yard in awhile. "Did you check the tank?" I asked. "Goin' to do that right now," he replied.

A few minutes later we received the bad news: The tank was on empty. It's a Saturday, so the gas company is closed. Oh, and our furnace works off of the hot water tank. Joy.

So, everyone think warm thoughts for us while we shiver our asses off this weekend.

Love you all!

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Sightseeing in Staunton Part 3

This first one is the front view of our house.

Kathy's is a restaurant at the bottom of our hill. It's got the most fabulous pancakes.

This wicked view is from the highest peak in town seen from Betsy Bell Park. This hilltop is not inhabited, making us the highest-altitude residents in town. Oh yeah, we win.

Some more views of downtown...

This is one of the swanky bed-and-breakfasts in town, Miller House.

This is a view of Mary Baldwin College, a private women's institution. There is also the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind, so we have a higher population of deaf and blind residents.

At left is the Blackfriars Playhouse, the only existing replica of Shake-speare's Blackfriars Theatre.

Just some cool houses in town.

At left is a view of Lewis Street; at the end is the local Amtrak station. Unfortunately, there are no lines directly to Detroit, and to get to Muskegon would take 20 hours. Maybe we can still use it for a weekend in D.C. or something.

Sightseeing in Staunton Part 2

This is the Stonewall Jackson Hotel. It's where I stayed when the paper flew me in for my interview and where Zack and I stayed while shopping for houses. It is a historic hotel that dates back to 1924, and was repurposed as low-cost housing for a few decades in the 1980s. It was restored back to a hotel and was reopened as such in 2005, and is on the National Trust for Historic Preservation Historic Hotels of America. It has a really cool lobby and the rooms are fab.

Next up is the Mill Street Grill, arguably the best restaurant in town. Zack really likes the huge menu and I am in love with their prime rib.

More from our sightseeing trip tomorrow. Stay tuned....