Engagement Photos

Our engagement photos are up! If you want to see them, please send me a message!

Memorial Day

How was your Memorial Day weekend? Mine was nice....we didn't do much but it was nice all the same. We did, however, get our engagement photos taken (pics coming soon!), see Indiana Jones (eh), go shopping (I didn't buy anything! But Jon got two pairs of jeans and a pair of shorts....why do guys have it so easy?), oh and I did get something from Bath and Body Works...I had a coupon for a free Bigelow product with any purchase...which was used not on me but on Jon for some cologne...I am such a nice fiance aren't I?

Anyway, the big excitement around here was that Jon bought a little portable propane grill. So guess what we did? Sat outside, had some Coronas, and grilled!

Pancake quickly discovered the comfy chairs we brought outside.

His favorite is Jon's Sparty chair.

Of course the boys had to play in and on top of the box the grill came in.

Pancake was really curious about what Jon was doing outside. I was worried he would burn is paw (a-la Michael Scott) so I made him stay inside with me while Jon grilled the yummy burgers and brats.

Henry wanted in on the action too.

Look at my little fatty eyeing the food...poor guy.

New Friend

What are you boys looking at?

It is their new friend! This is my neighbor's cat. I'm calling her "Chloe" because...well...she looks like a "Chloe". I have no idea if she is even a girl...but oh well.
The boys love to watch her.
She seems really sweet and is very talkative.
I'm a little worried that Henry might jump down to play/terrorize/run-her-off.

She really is a cutie.

The Good Life

Henry being lazy...

Pancake being lazy too...

Do you sometimes wish you could be a kitty? I do...is that weird?

Best Blog...Me?

I am a finalist for the Best Pet Blog from The Best of Blogs!

To vote for me go here: http://www.thebestofblogs.com/page/2/

My blog is called "Julie Michigan"....how boring huh?

Henry Lost and Found

On Thursday I lost Henry. Then I found him. 25 minutes later. It was an awful, heart wrenching 25 minutes of agony...and tears...many many tears. I left the door to the balcony open so that the boys could go outside...because they LOVE being outside. After awhile I left the living room to get ready to go to the gym. When I was all set, I went to get the boys to come inside and close the balcony door. Pancake was with me, but Henry was no where to be found. I shrugged it off and started to look for him. Henry has a habit of crawling into places when you are not looking. I checked the bathroom, the closets, the laundry room, under the sink, in the refrigerator (yes, I am a horrible mom and once shut him in the fridge when he snuck in there without me knowing...don't call animal protective services on me, it was only for like 2 minutes). I couldn't find him anywhere. I started to panic big time. I called his name, looked under the bed...no Henry. So I checked all his spots again. Usually, when I accidentally lock Henry in somewhere, like the fridge or under the sink, Pancake gives me a heads up by staring strangely at the shut door...so I know that Henry is trapped. But on Thursday, Pancake was just as confused as I was. The only place he could be was outside. I quickly opened the balcony door and scanned the ground for him. No Henry. I called his name. No Henry. By this time, I was majorly freaking out....he jumped. Oh no.

So I ran outside. I walked around my apartment complex twice. I called his name. I looked under every single car and bush and tree. No Henry. As the tears started to fall down my face, I decided to go back inside and call Jon. He would know what to do. He would have to drive an hour to GR to help me look for him. By the time I reached my apartment, I was sobbing. I couldn't believe what a horrible person I was for loosing my kitty. How was I going to find him? Sure, he has a collar with my name and phone number on it, but I doubt that he would let a stranger pick him up. And it wasn't like he could just come back home...I live on the second floor...how was he going to let me know when he came back? When I came inside, Pancake ran to me...obviously missing his buddy...another sign that he was lost. I called Jon 3 times and he didn't answer. I was absolutely sobbing at this point. I decided to call Jon's sister, Erin. If anyone would help me look for Henry, Erin would. She loves him and he loves her. But, as I was picking up my phone, something made me remember that I forgot to check my dresser. I had opened it to get out my gym clothes. And maybe, just maybe Henry was in there? So I said a quick prayer and opened the drawer. Sure enough, I saw a fuzzy orange paw followed by a squished Henry!!! I found him! He wasn't naughty and didn't jump off the balcony! He just crawled in my dresser when I wasn't looking. I screamed and cried and held him tight. He didn't want any part of it.

So that was the story of how I lost and found Henry. You never know where the little monster might be. Oh, and Pancake was relieved too.

GR Welcomes Barack Obama...and Katie Lives in Walla Walla

Finally the Dems started to show Michigan a little love. After being ignored for almost a year, Obama came to Grand Rapids, and it was BIG news I tell ya. He spoke at the Van Andel Arena, which is down the street from Cooley. He was set to speak at 7 pm and around 2 pm we started seeing the lines form. There were people everywhere and they had to close down the side streets. It was exciting! The line of people stretched all the way to Cooley...and throughout the day we kept peeking at the crowd as it grew larger and larger. I sort of wanted to go, but the thought of 12,000 people freaked me out. Oh and John Edwards was there too....making this an even bigger event that anticipated. I did get to watch Obama's speech on T.V. when I got home...and man, he is a good speaker. I'm mad at myself that I totally missed what might have been my one and only chance of seeing the possible future president.

On another note, I got to speak to my dear friend and bridesmaid Katie on the phone. I miss her terribly. She lives in Walla Walla Washington...fun to say huh? And she just got a promotion at her work...she has a big girl job with a big girl title now. Congrats Katie!

So after talking with her I started thinking again about how I was a dope who missed out on Obama. And that got me thinking about a few famous people that I didn't screw up seeing: namely Nick Lachey, Al Gore, and Billy Blanks. Nick Lachey (post break up with Jessica Simpson) was once on my flight from Cincinnati to L.A. He was in first class. I was not. I walked by him and freaked out on the inside but totally kept my cool on the outside. He was in his seat and talking on a cell phone...he didn't see me. Thinking back on it I totally should have "tripped" and fallen in his lap...but he's too short for me anyway.

I heard Al Gore speak last year at a conference I attended in Florida. It was amazing. I pretty much only attended the conference because I knew he was going to be there. I love me some Al Gore. People say that Jon looks like a young Al Gore....which kind of works because my nickname when I was little was "Tipper"...so we were destined to be together.

Stay with me, I totally have a point to this post. Now, meeting Billy Blanks was entirely different. In case you don't know who I'm talking about, BB is the creator of the Tao-Bo workout. I was totally obsessed with him back in the day. So (here is where Katie comes in) when it was our senior year at Redlands and we heard he was coming to work out with us, Katie and I were majorly excited about it. And let me tell ya, it was quite a work out. When Billy Blanks is yelling at you to step it up an keeps saying "yeah, let's go...push it" you really push yourself man. He even walked around and held up his hand for me to hit him while doing his signature move "the speed pass" it was awesome! I totally hit Billy! Anyway, below is a picture of Katie and me with Billy...and his daughter. I didn't want her in the picture, but she just jumped in.

We were totally ready to kick some booty!

(p.s. why is my hair down? I know this was after the work out and

I surely didn't exercise with all that hair in my face...

I must have tried to beautify myself for Billy)

Happy Anniversary to Me!

Exactly one year ago today I started my job. I can't believe it has been one year, it has gone by so fast. It is crazy to think back to that day...how nervous and excited I was to be starting a new chapter in my life. And one year later I can still say that I really love my job and work with some of the most wonderful people. So, in honor of reaching the one year mark, I thought I'd give you all a little tour of our office. Enjoy!

The entrance to our offices.

Welcome to my office!

Yep, that's my name on the door...come on in!

I cleaned up just for these pictures. Here you see my desk and my awesome window.

Another view of my desk.

My bookcase...it looks empty because we are getting all new marketing materials,
so I had to get rid of all the old stuff.
And yes, that is a bear in a MSU jacket on the top shelf....the students love it.

Just relaxin' at my desk...with my hand sanitizer.

Mother's Day Recap

For Mother's Day, we went to Galien, MI to hang out with Jon's parents. Even though it rained the whole time, a good time was had by all. We also helped Jon Sr. and Connie celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary! Their wedding date was 5-6-78...easy to remember huh! Too bad our wedding date is 10-5-08...not so easy. Anyway we had some good food, goofed around, and relaxed. Even though I couldn't be with my mom, it was great to be with family.

Jon Sr. and Connie with their anniversary present from the kids...a weekend at a B&B in Holland! (I was saying to them "hold it up! I need a picture for the blog!)

Jon and Connie on Mother's Day

The "original" Renbargers...minus me

There I am!

Aren't we cute?

You know who else is cute? This little guy....where was my mother's day present?

Invisible

My Mangled Finger and a Photo Shoot

First off, I am a huge klutz. Second off this is a horrible picture of my hand...but that is beside the point of this blog. If you look at my pointer finger, you will notice two red marks. My desk at work took not one, but two bites out of my poor finger. This photo hardly does the painful bites on my hand justice. Trust me, they are bright red and gross....but you get the point. Today at work I was "organizing" my desk and rammed my finger across the edge and got the first bite and I yelped in pain. Then, not 30 minutes later, I did it again, in almost the same spot. After the second shout of pain, my co-worker, Dave, came in to my office to see what I was complaining about (which I tend to do often). I showed him my mangled finger and he shared in my misery...he's nice like that.

I always manage to hurt myself some how. Never a day goes by that I don't have either a bruise, scratch, bite, or red splotch somewhere on my body. If someone so much has looks at me wrong I get a bruise or red splotch. So now my whole hand is ruined. At least I have time to recover before our engagement photo session (in 2 and half weeks!). Dave told me that I should refrain from any cleaning/organizing/getting my hand bitten off by my desk for a while least my hands look like I got in a fight with a pitbull in my photos.

Speaking of engagement photos, I am for sure going to get my nails done before the shoot. I learned my lesson back in my senior year of high school when it was my senior photo shoot day and I stupidly didn't have my nails done. I didn't even try to make them look semi-decent because who would see my nails??? Sure enough the photographer has me lean on a brick wall and place my hands up by my face....and right there for the whole world to see were my un-manicured, plain, boring nails...I can't bare to look at that picture. I vowed that I would never let that happen to me again. So, not only am I getting my nails done for the engagement photos but I'll also have to come up with some kind of protective covering for the rest of my body...hmmm.

Brotherly Love

I found these two orange monsters snuggling on my bed today

Pancake showing some love for Henry

They sure do love each other