Welcome Back

I've decided to return to the "blogosphere" after a somewhat long hiatus. A lot has happened since I last posted. I won't even start listing what has gone on in my blogging absence, I'll just start again like I never stopped. So here we go:

Went to the second of a full season of high school open houses today. Alyssa and Sarah Anderson, students from our high school youth group, were the lucky hosts today. They had brunch for us, which was nice because we basically woke up, got dressed and went to the party. We are also proud of our brothers, Brad and Ryan, for their graduation this past week. Their open house comes up here in the next couple of weeks. I've heard rumors of "Walking Tacos".

Most of you know I've been working up in Ludington, building a huge 7,000 sq ft house estimated to cost quite a few millions of dollars. To those of you interested, here is a link to the pictures of the construction:

www.dianafosterphotography.lifepics.com

event code cabecourthouse

can sign in or sign in as a guest

We hope to be finally done with the house by June 15, but it looks to be a tall order.

The Pistons lost last night to the Boston Celtics to end their playoff run in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Celtics showed they wanted it more than the Pistons, there's really not much else to say. The pistons should be better next year with the young guys starting to play bigger roles, which should be fun to watch.

The Red Wings play game 4 tonight of the Stanley Cup Finals. After losing game three, they look to get back into there winning ways and take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series. Go Wings!

The Tigers look to add to their 2-game win streak today against the awful Seattle Mariners. Detroit beat Seattle last night, needing only a 7-run first inning to win. I really like how Leyland has made some changes lately to get better results out of his underachieving team. Marcus Thames is now the everyday left fielder, Clete Thomas got called back up from AAA, and he moved Miguel Cabrera down in the order. I think it's good to remind guys that just because they make a lot of money they aren't guaranteed a respectable spot in the lineup.

The Neitring Fine Carpentry softball team has been playing well as of late. We are currently 4-1, losing only to the team who is 5-0 in week 1. The rematch is this week, 7:15 at Hofma Park. If we win we'll be tied for first place. I call we get the top half of the trophy.


T-Shirt of the day:
"Jesus is my homeboy"

props to my Lord and savior.

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...Time To Think

It's been brought my attention that the Michigan football team has not won a game since Bo Schembechler, former coach of U of M, died the day before the Ohio State game last November. What does that mean??? It could finally mean that the Bo era is over. Coach Lloyd Carr, a follower of Bo could lose his job this year. The next coach will probably be an outside guy, someone from outside of the U of M circle. That would never have happened with Bo still alive. But I think, in a weird sort of way he knew a change was needed. I think he knew for the Michigan football program to get past it's growing pains from the past few years things would need to change without him. I'm not giving up on Michigan football. I am deeply hurt, but change has been needed for awhile now and this is how we get to a change. So yes, I will be watching the Michigan versus Notre Dame pillow fight this Saturday, I wouldn't miss it for the the world.

On a brighter note. Grand Haven football is 3-0. I wouldn't normally mention this, but my brothers in law Brad and Ryan play for the Bucs. They've got East Kentwood (1-2) this weekend before they play against the feared Muskegon Big Reds (3-0) next week. Grand Haven is currently ranked 7th in the state. Good Luck guys!

T-Shirt Of The Day:
"Scrantonicity"

For "The Office" lovers out there. It's almost time for a new season.

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Long Football Season???

I don't even know where to start. U of M just got beat by a Division I-AA team. WOW!!! I feel like someone just kicked my dog. A national championship season wiped away before it even began. Michigan was out coached, not out played. I think this will finally bring change, if anything, to the lack luster performances by Lloyd Carr's teams in the past 10 years. I'm done with this, I just can't describe my feelings in words.

The Lions will need to fill my empty heart this fall... I need a miracle. ANYTHING!

I guess, if all else fails, I can spend more time outdoors... away from ESPN and all the headlines about how this was the upset of the last 50 years. ouch!

...Katie, you wanna watch a movie? Sparky, let's go play fetch!

T-Shirt Of The Day:
"Sometimes Alcohol Is The Answer"

Thanks to Brett for showing me this one. Fitting for the way Michigan played this weekend.

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A More Pleasant Goodbye

The 1984 Galaxy boat has gone to a better place, and that better place is Kentucky. Various members of the family, mostly my dad and I, spent much quality time coaxing and persuading the attention deprived boat to start. We're sorry Galaxy for not being there for you when you needed us. You needed dry gas to keep condensation out of your fuel, and we gave you shade under a tree and it's leaves in the fall. All you really needed was a little more TLC than we could offer and you'd be a nice, reliable boat. We're sorry Galaxy. But now, you've got a new home in Kentucky with a new owner in Jeff who may sound a little funny at first, but in no time you'll be adopting that same southern draw. The rumors are not true that as soon as you left the driveway on your way to your new home, my dad called to look for your replacement in a seadoo. It's also not true that we thought "nobody wanted you" and you we're "past your prime". You were good for us Galaxy. All of those slow 10 mph rides on skis as I drank all of Spring Lake until you could muster up enough speed to pull me out of the water were just making me a better skier. Each time we would turn around going full speed and you would lose half of your speed, we would say you were "just being safe". Galaxy, it's been real and it's been fun...

Opening week for college football is upon us, I'm a little excited. I'd be more excited if I could actually watch the Michigan game on Saturday. The Big Ten Network, which launches on Thursday, will be carrying the game. The only problem is there isn't any cable providers that have a deal with the "BTN" yet. But nonetheless, football is here...

The Tigers may be back, keyword may. Tonight they put up 16 runs on the Yankees to win the series 3-1. The funny thing is the stats from the game. The only home run was hit by Polanco, who doesn't hit many home runs. The only triple was hit by Casey, who runs slower than my dad... I love you Dad. And Brandon Inge, who is not feared at all from the plate, went 3 for 4 with 3 doubles and 4 rbi's. It was a fun one to watch, unless you are a Yankee's fan.

T-Shirt Of The Day:
"Magglio's Barber Shop"

Pay homage to our MVP front runner and frizzy haired Magglio Ordonez with a Magglio's Barber Shop T-shirt.

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Just When I Thought I Was Out, They Pull Me Back In

I was literally days away from calling it quits on Charter (my cable TV provider). The promotional that we had was over and we were paying more for our cable than we wanted to. Charter didn't have many stations that I wanted such as ESPN2 HD, ESPNU, Fox Sports Detroit HD and the NFL Network. I got a letter yesterday that Charter was now going to carry ESPN2 HD, ESPNU, and FSD HD. It's like they were reading my mind. It's so cool to be able to watch the Tigers in High Definition every night. By no means am I now happy with Charter, they still gouge us with their rates because we have no other cable TV options in Grand Haven. At least now there is hope. I can "ditch the dish" for a little longer. We're probably going to cancel our DVR and by our own TIVO, you can own your own for the cost of a few months of renting one. We're also going to cut out our HBO channels which we never watch but were included in the promotion that we had. They try to get you by getting you into the nice package and hope you'll forget and just pay the bill when the promotion ends. So in short, don't buy a TV... they cost money.

In other news in my world, my softball team got beat BADLY for the second week in a row. We lost to the American Legion team 18-8. It's funny, we scored 5 runs in the first and things looked good for us. In the bottom of the first, we surrendered 8 runs. After the first inning, things settled down for a bit. Then, in the 5th we gave up 10 more runs. If it wasn't for those two innings we probably would have won. So it's looking like we still have some work to do to show we belong in this division. Next week we play at Mulligan's Hollow at 9:00 pm. Come cheer us on, we need to get this season turned around.

So it looks like our lovable Tigers are back, along with Joel Zumaya. They were starting to worry me and they still have work to do, but they are fighting for it. They just need to win 2 out of every 3 games, and let the rest work it's way out. With the pitching starting to come around, which was our downfall of late, there is no reason to think we won't have a legitimate shot at either the division or the wild card.

I think I'm going to start a new section of my blog. It will be call "T-shirt of the day". I've seen so many shirts out there that are either really clever or really funny and thought I would share some of them, the tame ones.

"I Heart Hart"
It's a play on words with the U of M running back's name, Mike Hart. This year is gonna be a great one for the senior and heisman contender.

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Saying good-bye to an old friend.

My childhood cat, Abby, died on Sunday. The Morstadt family adopted her in 1991, shortly after we moved to Michigan. My brother, Alex, picked her out at the Humane Society. She was brought home and quickly sent to do what cats do best....kill mice. Our rental house in Michigan was sort of infested with them....and the mice weren't going to be allowed to stay. Fortunately, Abby was a great mouser!

She lived in the basement of our house on Redbird for many years, and after a while was joined by the small and spunkier Sophie. After a while, both cats were moved outside where they slept in the garage by day and had the run of the neighborhood at night. I think Abby enjoyed living outdoors best. During her prime kitty years, she would venture out and we wouldn't see her for days. Sometimes she would leave a little dead present at the door, just to show us that she was still a good hunter. At the end of her life she spent more and more time in her bed: a converted kennel with no door and a Rainbow Brite sleeping bag as her bedding -but she would always come out and "talk" with you if you called her.

Now she's gone. Alex said it best last night: that you lose a part of your childhood with the passing of a family pet. Looking back at Abby's long life really sheds light on how much time has passed and how different our family is now.

The babies who crawled around the floor of the home she kept free of mice, come home from a movie to find her body in the garage and then quietly and respectfully bury her, like real men would.

The kindergartner who picked her out, calls from Navy flight school to reminisce.

The 10 year-old who forced her to cuddle (knowing Abby wouldn't hiss or bite to be released), blogs about her hunting prowess during breaks from lab work.

Abby was a good cat. She was never a snuggler, but always excepted gentle petting and a good scratch behind her ears. Our whole family will miss you, Abby (and I think Sophie might too). RIP.

Cameron Maybin

If you've been watching the Tigers in the past 2 games you may have noticed a new left fielder. A tall, skinny, very young looking guy who looks like he belongs on a basketball court. This guy's name is Cameron Maybin. He was the first-round pick for the Tigers in 2005 and played for the Whitecaps last season. Scouts are saying this guy is the next Ken Griffey Jr. or Willie Mays. He's extremely fast, has a good arm, and hits for average and power. We've never really had anyone this talented, but he's still young and has learning to do. Hopefully he plays well enough to stay in the majors, because we can definitely use him right now.

Now with the good news comes the bad news. Craig Monroe, a popular outfielder for the Tigers has probably seen his last days in an "Old English D uniform". Obviously, the Tigers had to make room for Maybin and Monroe was the first one to go. He's been hitting awful all year with no sign of getting out of his season-long slump. He gave us some great memories last season, big home run against the hated White Sox and 5 home runs in the 2006 playoffs(franchise record). Hopefully, Monroe will get traded or signed by another team that will give him another shot. A lot of times a changed team will turn around a players fortunes. Carlos Pena and Dmitri Young are perfect examples of guys who just needed to get out of Detroit and start over.