Surviving the Polar Vortex in Pictures

 

Feels like -34....yea...I remember that day.

After this snowstorm above in March I learned that we were just a few inches away from breaking the record..now, naturally a LIFE LISTER like myself would want to live through the SNOWIEST AND COLDEST MICHIGAN WINTER IN RECORDED HISTORY....

so I prayed. I prayed my little heart out...

             

An April Miracle. Thank you Jesus.

                     

 

So then the snow melted...and began POTHOLE PURGATORY!!

This extremely harsh winter took a toll on Michigan's already notoriously bad roads...but this was unbelievable. It got to the point where I wouldn't even go to certain places because as it happened...we decided to buy a brand new car at the worst time possible and these sinkholes were causing major damage to vehicles. 

Well...congratulations Michiganders...WE DID IT! We survived....well most of us...and we deserve this summer, Lord Almighty make it a good one! 

Standing Ovation

I love watching others complete their goals, learn new talents, take on challenges, chase their dreams and help others. I want to share with you some of these of people I know who I find inspirational and amazing in the hopes that you will too. I am lucky to know the following women and it's exciting to follow their life journeys. These are the type of people the world needs more of and they deserve a standing ovation for their recent accomplishments. The following ladies have fearlessly changed their lives and others. I am inspired by them, I'm proud to know them, I admire them and I applaud them.

Michelle-Michelle is an acquaintance of mine, I don't know her well, she's actually the woman who recruited me to become a blogging partner with The Oakland Press and from who I adopted my second kitten. Tomorrow Michelle will be donating a kidney to her friend...this type of selflessness and generosity we don't see very often. So many lives will be changed for the better because of outstanding gift and what an incredible person her friend must be for Michelle to be so willing and happy to go through this for. You can follow her story here. Both ladies will be in my thoughts and prayers all day tomorrow.

Michelle on the right and on the left her friend whose life she will change.

Jayvee- Jayvee is a new friend of mine, I haven't known her long but I'm pretty sure that I've met Superwoman. Among being an excellent mother of 2 under 3, plays the ukulele, speaks 3 languages and Hula Dances this very talented woman makes the most beautiful costumes for her daughter and recently made one for my daughter. I casually mentioned that I was going to buy my daughter an 'Elsa' dress for Valentine's Day, without blinking an eyelash she said "Oh no, I'll just make her one...I'll bring it next week." I am so blessed to have her friendship and I adore watching the little bond between our 3 year old daughters blossom. One of the things I greatly appreciate about Jayvee is that she's a 'doer' not a 'talker' and can do it all! I am in awe of her many talents and her positively delightful personality.

The Frozen dress she made for my daughter.

Shannon-Shannon has been my best friend since we were 7 years old, we met during our figure roller skating lessons. A year ago she was a waitress at the Rainforest Café, had to move back in with her parents at 30 and was desperate to change her life. She bought a ticket to Chile and has lived there for over a year now, has become nearly totally fluent in Spanish, she's in a relationship with a wonderful man she met there, has a housekeeper, teaches English and enjoys travelling all over the Chilean countryside. I miss my friend dearly but I am so proud of her and happy for. She has completely changed her life for the better by hard work, determination and one gutsy move. I love watching nestle into the life that was meant for her.

What a difference a year makes....

Haha! Though with your boyfriends outfit above I know where he could find a job!

LIFE LIST: Disney Restaurant-1900 Park Fare

When: August 2013

The Grand Floridian Resort

Where: 1900 Park Fare inside The Grand Floridian

Cost: Included in our Disney Deluxe Dining package, and this was easily the fanciest meal we had and the one that stood out the most. It was buffet style dining and as I've mentioned before I am not a fan of buffets but like everything in Disney it was top notch! This buffet was the largest and had the widest variety of food.
*Reservations MUST be made in advance-ours were made 5 months in advance.

Why this is on my list: I like any sort of themed restaurant and if characters are involved- even better! I had NO CLUE how incredibly decadent this resort would be, just waiting in the lobby was worth the trip here! We walked into the most grand lobby I've ever seen at a hotel and the first thing I noticed was a gentleman playing the grand piano and wearing tails, it was exquisite! The restaurant inside, 1900 Park Fare was also equally enchanting with life size carousel horses and over sized chandeliers.

Will I do it again? YES! This resort is incredible and 1900 Park Fare left us not only with the greatest memory from the trip, but one of the greatest moments of my life-my daughter was so excited to meet Prince Charming and ask him "to be married" then he said she could have his first dance after Cinderella. Our sweet little 2 year old was perfectly in her Cinderella dress danced with Prince Charming, it was ABSOLUTELY the most precious thing I've ever seen in my entire life, then at the end of the dance, the Prince bowed and on cue my little darling curtsied. It was the magical moment you see in commercials for Disney World. All of the characters were wonderful, Cinderella gave my daughter special attention but my biggest thank you goes to Prince Charming for giving us this memory that will last forever.

The Ultimate Life List is now on Facebook please like it!

LIFE LIST:WATCH ALL THE OSCAR NOMINATED FILMS

When: January/February 2014 The Oscars aired March 2nd

Cost: Yikes...way more than expected...I am not anxious to get our Comcast bill....or rather I'm not anxious for my husband to get the bill and see just how many I rented that cost between $6 each and $15 each. I watched some in the theater which wasn't too bad when I went by myself or a friend because I would go during the matinee price of $5 but when my husband and I went we had to go during later hours which was $10/per person, plus snacks and a babysitter so those became pretty expensive.  Also I had renewed my Netflix subscription at $8/month for unlimited rentals. And you gotta love REDBOX, too bad they all weren't on REDBOX at $1 each you can't beat it!

Why this is on my list: I love watching the Oscars every year but when I do I never have any clue what's going on because usually I never see ANY of the movies. I've been wanting to do this for years and although I only had 6 weeks to take on the challenge I thought what the hell, I'll finally go for it! In 6 weeks I watched 33 of the 58 Oscar Nominated Films.

Will I do it again? It was a challenge to find all the movies. Some were still at the theatre so I went to see Wolf on Wall Street and Lone Survivor and Gravity (all good choices to see on the big screen) which were great movies! I had planned to see more at the show, including the winner for best picture 12 Years A Slave but they retire them quickly and I never got a chance, it was available for 1 week On Demand but it was $18-seemed like too much to spend on a rental. Others I rented from Netflix and then in the last 2 weeks before the big night Comcast offered many of them On Demand including the Short Films, Animated Shorts, and Foreign- I thought those would be the most difficult to find but those were actually the categories where I was able to see ALL the nominated features.

The Oscar Noms that I highly recommend....

GRAVITY
LONE SURVIVOR
THE WOLF ON WALL STREET
THE GREAT GATSBY
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS
PRISIONERS

The ones that were TERRIBLE....

BEFORE MIDNIGHT
AMERICAN HUSTLE
DALLAS BUYERS CLUB
THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN


The Ultimate Life List is now on Facebook please like it!

LIFE LIST: SEE THE BANK JESSE JAMES ROBBED

              
            "Stealing, of course, is a crime, and a very impolite thing to do." 

When: June 2014

Where: Liberty Missouri, near Kansas City

Cost: $6/ adult

The doors, wood flooring and the safe are all original.

Why this is on my list: I have a personal interest in Jesse James, my great grandpa claimed that he fed him lunch. The story goes that Frank and Jesse James rode up on horseback by their ranch and they gave them a meal in the late 1800's...the next day the sheriff came by asking if they'd seen the duo. Who knows if it's true but I think it's cool and every time I hear something about Jesse James my ears perk up. I really enjoyed this museum. It was just me and my daughter on our tour where the guide painted a very descriptive picture of what happened on that day. When it comes to historical events I've decided that I can only comprehend what's happened if I can see it. It's one thing to hear about Jesse James' crew robbing a bank...it's another to actually stand inside the building, looking out into the town to see where his thugs were keeping watch and see the ACTUAL safe that was robbed. I love the feeling of standing in places where turning points in history were made.

The Safe robbed by Jesse James Crew

Something I'd recommend? Yes. It is really interesting to see this piece of history which is the place of the first successful daytime bank robbery, the guide is very knowledgeable and a great storyteller. This woman tells the same story all day every day but it's not rehearsed or as if she's reciting word for word. I always appreciate it when your guide is enthusiastic and captivates your attention. The bank museum also has a great gift shop, I think I would visit again to get more souvenirs and because I enjoyed talking with the woman who runs the museum so much.

The Ultimate Life List is now on Facebook please like it!