Silver Lake. It's in Michigan.

Just a few weeks ago, I was on vacation.
It was sunny, it was warm but not too hot, it was lazy, it was wonderful!
I love vacation.

I was at Silver Lake, MI. This shows Silver Lake with the sand dunes visible in the distance. On the other side of those sand dunes?
Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan is so vast, it almost feels like being at the ocean. Sand, blue water and blue skies as far as the eye can see.

Lake Michigan at sunset. It is strange how late the sun sets there. This picture was taken at almost 10 p.m.

One of my lovely travel companions made us a scrumptious brunch. On the menu? Locally available English Muffin Bread french toast topped with locally-grown cherries and Michigan maple syrup, plus cranberry-sage sausage, cheesy scrambled eggs, asparagus, and mimosas. It was absolutely delicious!

The Little Sable Point Lighthouse is a nearby landmark. True fact, I love lighthouses. They are so nautical and preppy and iconic. They tell the story of a bygone era of seafaring even as the beacons of safety are replaced by more modern navigational tools.

 

 

 

 

MacWood's Dune Rides is a must-do attraction. See our optimal seats on the back row of the dune buggy? Total ninja maneuvers to get those seats! We rock.

A view of the dunes at sunset during the dune ride. That is Lake Michigan on the horizon.

The Silver Lake experience is not complete without at least one trip to the Whippy Dip. Quick tip: calories don't count on vacation!

Great trip! Great friends!
 
P.S. All pictures were taken with my smartphone, try not to be jealous of my photography skills.

Miscellaneous Monday Musings

Have you heard about Kiva?

Kiva is a worldwide, non-profit organization that makes connections between people through micro-lending to mitigate impoverishment. Using the internet and a network of micro-finance groups, Kiva allows individuals to lend as little as $25 to someone across the world, giving them independence and hope to better their life and the lives of their families.

I just extended my fifth loan. There are agricultural loans, business loans, and housing loans. I choose to loan money to women, and through Kiva, I have loaned money to women in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Nicaragua, Philippines, and Ecuador. It seems awesome to empower women trying to improve their lives in developing countries. Another neat aspect of Kiva is the email updates that are sent informing you of how your borrower is using the loan. Once the loan is repaid, it is easy to just turn around and lend it to someone else!

Check out Kiva today!

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I watched another Academy Award-nominated film last weekend, Winter's Bone. The movie is set in the Missouri Ozarks and tells the story of a teen-age girl who is tasked with tracking down her missing meth-addicted father while she provides some sort of stability for her younger siblings.

Needless to say, this movie is gritty. Many of the supporting character actors are haggard and believable as drug addicted, rural people living at the poverty line. Considering the bad rap this state typically receives, it was almost a relief to watch a movie about meth addiction that wasn't set in Oklahoma. 

Jennifer Lawrence gives a great performance as a young woman determined to provide for her family, but the storyline of Winter's Bone seemed anticlimactic to me. Have you seen it? What do you think?

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I have plans to post a recap of my recent trip to Michigan sometime later this week, but for now I will leave you with a picture from the trip. Have a great week!

Photo courtesy of @ErinSimp

Miscellaneous Monday Musings

Not going to lie, we are on the cutting edge of pop culture and entertainment media over here. We know what's going to be cool before you've ever even heard of it. Don't feel bad, that's just how we roll.

OR NOT.

We are lame.

We only recently watched two of last year's most critically acclaimed films - The King's Speech and Black Swan. I am sure I don't have to tell you they are very different films.

I enjoyed them both, but The King's Speech was my favorite and deserving of its Oscar win for Best Picture. The acting was wonderful, and I felt like Geoffrey Rush stole the show as the quirky, witty speech tutor to Colin Firth's stuttering King. The historical aspects of the story were also interesting and provided an additional dimension to this remarkable story.

On the other hand, Black Swan was a psychological thriller and Natalie Portman's exceptional portrayal of a ballerina spiraling out of control earned her the Oscar for Best Actress. The film was intriguing and left me riveted as the story unfolded. The director's unique way of filming includes use of close-ups and follows the characters from behind and I find this adds heightened drama to the plot. I was somewhat disappointed by the ending of the film as I felt it just stopped.

What did you think of these films?

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Can anyone tell me if the proper way to say Realtor is Real-A-Tor or Real-Tor? It really annoys me because it seems like it should be pronounced the way it is spelled: "Real-Tor" but I hear people say it "Real-A-Tor" all the time.

Help a girl out!

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 In exciting personal news, I have a new niece. Miss Harper was born today and mother and baby and daddy and big brother are all fine! Sending much love to Virginia. Wish we were there!

America's Pastime

Best part about our seats? They were in the shade!

Last night, my husband's office hosted a night out at our local Triple A baseball park to watch the OKC Redhawks take on the Omaha Storm Chasers.

It was scorching hot as we arrived to enjoy a cookout before the game started. Although it was outside, we were able to eat in a shaded area. The food was less than good, but the company was excellent!

After eating and socializing, we headed to our seats. My husband had the good fortune to trade with a co-worker who was not able to go and we ended up with front row seats down the third baseline just behind third base.

Full disclosure, I am not a baseball fan at all. The games are boring and go by slowly, plus there is little scoring. But going to the ballpark makes it slightly more fun and sitting in the front row makes it even better. Also, we got to sit with some good friends so there was plenty of entertainment, regardless of how the game was actually going! All in all, it was a fun night and my highlight was catching a souvenir t-shirt thrown into the stands.

Road Trip Recap: What we ate

My trip to Chicago included the obligatory foods Chicago is famous for: deep dish pizza and hot dogs!

We were all excited to try deep dish pizza. The crust is thick and the cheese and toppings are on the bottom while the red sauce is on top. The result is very cheesy and delicious!

We decided our deep dish pizza research was not complete without a trip to Geno's East. Lucky for us, there was a Geno's East just next door to our digs at the Hotel Affinia.

Picture courtesy of my friend! Thanks, K!

Geno's East pizza was slightly different thanks to their unique "golden crust" that is reminiscent of cornbread but not as dry and crumbly as cornbread. I preferred the red sauce used by Geno's East, but I liked the crust of the first deep dish pizza we sampled better.

Portillo's Hot Dogs was another stop on our eating tour of Chicago. I ordered the chili cheese dog and the hot dog "with everything" that included mustard, relish, onions, tomatoes, pickle, and peppers. Both were yummy and the poppy seed hot dog buns were a fun change.

Another important stop was at Sprinkles Cupcakes. We are not lucky enough to have one of these in OKC, and as a cupcake connoisseur, I had to try it out! It was the perfect snack. I heart cupcakes.

Mmmmmm. Lemon blueberry. I only wish I had bought a dozen few extra to bring back to OKC!

These were the big highlights. I did eat a little salad, a few vegetables, and there was definitely more than one trip to Starbucks.

Road Trip Recap: What we saw

Sorry for the blogging hiatus. June ended on a high note with a road trip to Chicago! My friend invited me to travel with her family to explore the Windy City while her husband attended a conference.

We had a fabulous time and the weather was a welcome break from the extreme Oklahoma heat.

Here's a quick recap in photos of where we went (all taken with my cell phone).

We toured the Field Museum of Natural History, home of Sue, the world's largest and most complete T-Rex:

We explored Navy Pier and the nearby beaches of Lake Michigan:

We did a lot of walking and sightseeing, including a special trip to the Harold Washington Public Library:

Check back tomorrow for a post about some of  the delicious food we sampled!