Happy Halloween Everyone From Hunter The Lion!

Why Jeanine Doesn't Sleep

Here is how Wednesday went:

• 7:20am: Drop off Hunter at daycare, hurry to pick up Laura
• 7:40: Pick up bagels
• 8:05am: Arrive at work; delegate set-up of Agency's Pumpkin Carving Contest
• 9:15am: Meeting #1
• 10-12: Field phone calls/attempt to get desk organized
• 12-1: Meeting #2
• 1:15-3: Cancel Meetings #3 and 4 in hopes of getting some work finished
• 3-4:30: Meeting #5
• 4:30-5:35: Meeting #6
• 5:40-6:05: Grab Laura and race to daycare to pick up HWB
• 6:10: Arrive at home and greet baby-sitter
• 6:20-6:35: Frantically race around house trying to get dressed for high-class affair at MGM Grand (Detroit Steakout); forget to tell sitter Hunter is now drinking Whole Milk only
• 6:40-7:05: Race down 75, miss the exit for the Casino, somehow end up on the Lodge, turn a 10-minute turnaround into 2 minutes, pass 2 extremely old biddies on the up-ramp at the MGM (they deserved it), screech into a parking spot and adjust hair whilst running to affair
• 7:10pm: Answer work call on escalator
• 7:15pm: Wine in hand, enter event
• 10:25pm: Pull up to ATM, question why baby-sitters don't accept credit/debit cards
• 10:47pm: Arrive at home, interestingly enough Hunter has decided to wake up
• 10:50pm: Try to undress while Brad entertains an extremely grumpy Hunter
• 11-11:40pm: Get smacked in face by Hunter while sitting in his chair in the dark -- he isn't interested in sleeping
• 12:05am: See video below

Carving Out A Good Time

For the past week I've been overseeing the Agency's Inaugural Pumpkin Carving Contest and would be lying if I said it hasn't been a total, smashing success. Here's a snapshot of what you get when Creative ad execs spend their lunch hour carving pumpkins:

The white pumpkin is actually a 'Donor' pumpkin (play on my company's name, this gourd has donated all his time/energy/effort to working at Doner).

Here is the one Laura's team created on behalf of the Expedia Client -- by the way, the pumpkin has landed on and 'killed' the Travelocity gnome:

Pumpkin sushi platter -- I watched these guys hand 'roll' all of the sushi themselves from the guts of the pumpkin:

One of our Agency's Clients is Serta mattresses so we had a lot of Serta sheep entries:

And finally, one of my favorites -- a pumpkin pictoral of former Mayor of Detroit Kwame Kilpatrick behind bars:

YUM!

This week's menu:

• Sunday: Leftovers
• Monday: Chicken Sausage and Bean Casserole with Sage (soooo good!)
• Tuesday: Leftovers
• Wednesday: Steak Out Dinner Event at MGM Grand <-- Mrs. Hillary comes to hang out with HWB!
• Thursday: Egg and Proscuitto Paninis
• Friday: Halloween! Sausage and Musroom Penne Gratin
• Saturday: Crabmeat Ravioli with Red Clam Sauce

When Hunter Says No...

Hunter can now say 3 words. Their monikers and his baby translation are as follows:

• hi: 'heh'
• bye: 'bah'
• uh-oh: 'uh-uh'

But it's what he does when someone says the word 'NO' to him that really makes you smile. Take a look:

The Inaugural Bobenmoyer Chili Cook-Off!

Last Saturday... total blast. The Nevilles, Serdas, Stropps, Pinnells and Corneliuses indulged us in the Inaugural Bobenmoyer Chili Cook-off.

As you can tell by the above menu, there was some serious spice kicking it in the house and the Tums were readily available after our tastings. We had 5 dishes to choose from and some cornbread to help soak up all that chili goodness... after 2 failed attempts at fancy recipe cornbread, Sandra/Katie and I relented and ran to the market for a box of Jiffy Mix. (It was spectacular). After it was said and done though, Heath and Dee's Texas Cold Beer Chili was declared the winner (Bo and Sandra took 1st Runner Up).

The Grand Prize award was the love and company of a spotted border collie named Beckham but strangely enough, was left behind when they parted... will have to ship him to the Stropps first chance I get. Here are Heath and Dee basking in the glory of their victory:

I know! Heath has really changed his look since you saw him last! Either that or they were on their way to a costume party following the ICCO and were dressed as characters from Dazed and Confused. Naturally this lead to some whisky drinking before the night was over...

We also enjoyed some hillbilly golf in the backyard and watching HWB's curls blow in the wind. He's really hamming it up for Aunt Katie's camera in this photo:

The night ended with a drum solo from Neighbor Dave. We think he secretly is pulling for Hunter to become a drum fanatic as evidenced by this photo... remind me to tell him we once kicked around the name 'Bonham.'

I'm demanding the Texas Cold Beer Chili recipe. Stay tuned!

It's Been A While

... and for that, I apologize. It's been an extremely hectic few weeks with my account in planning for 2009 and all. I don't think I've ever experienced such a crazy planning session as this!

I have a lot of updates: Announcing the winners of our Inaugural Chili Cook-Off last weekend, showing off some pics of HWB in his very first Halloween outfit (today was the annual Halloween party at Brad's work) and more, but first, I owe many of you the opportunity to see Hunter on the move.

HWB is no longer containable -- he's a menace to society and uses every bit of it to his advantage. Shot this little video with our digital camera tonight as he was tearing around the house. He's definitely become MUCH faster in the past 3 weeks! Enjoy and stay tuned for more!

The Neville Baby

No, Eric and Laura aren't having a baby, but if they did little Neville would look like this...

Wondering how I came up with this? Received an eBlast from Oddcast yesterday bragging about the new Babymaker3000 program found on the VW.com Web site. Check out and have some fun of your own! http://www.vw.com/vwhype/babymaker/en/us/?mId=28267344.

It's Wednesday, Which Makes Me Wish It Were The Weekend

Take last weekend for example: Another fun time in the Bobenmoyer household.

Friday: Brad and I put Little Man to bed and caught up on our movie viewing with Forgetting Sarah Marshall. In a nutshell, blah. And surprising given it was coming from Judd Apatow -- typically we find his efforts pretty funny but this one seemed like it was written by the machine and definitely 50 minutes too long. At least we've seen it and can cross it off the list but if one wants to debate the better part of the plotline with me... I'm out. But let me definitely mention that Brad surprised me by making the most delectable, amazing, mouth-watering lobster macaroni and cheese EVER. Laura came over on Monday night to help me devour the leftovers.

Saturday: Let's just say I'm petitioning the new President to officially expunge Saturday, October 11, 2008 from the record. And if you have anything to comment on perhaps a football game that hypothetically would have taken place that day, please refer to my aforementioned REALLY?! commentary. E and Laura came over for dinner and to help distract me by throwing in Iron Man to watch. Not bad!

Sunday: BDB's 32nd bday kicked off with a trip to pick out our pumpkins at Miller's Big Red. HWB had a blast! And if you like this picture, you'll love the 8 others it took to capture this exact pose of our little Squirmy Worm. ;)

This little 'Stinkerpot' face as I put it is definitely HWB's clever, I'm-too-cute-so-don't-look-while-I-stick-my-toys-in-the-garbage-can act he's putting on lately. But with that scrunched up nose, who can resist?

We left Hunter with Miss Lyssa and hit Royal Oak for some football viewing and beer drinking (some of us more than others, ahem Bradley Douglas!). Had a nice turnout to celebrate Brad's bday though and ended the night with some sliders and chocolate malts at Comet Burger in the RO. Even Hunter joined us for that part!

Well, it's late and I should try to catch some zz's while I can. It's Planning Month on my account right now and it is quite the energy zapper. :P Love to you all!

Picasso HWB

Nope, I didn't do anything special... this Picasso-ish pic of HWB is courtesy of my crazy iPhone.

BOO BIG BLUE

My following commentary is modeled after Saturday Night Live's 'REALLY?!' segment and speaks to the recent University of Michigan football loss to Toledo:


REALLY?! Michigan, you posted a loss to TOLEDO on Saturday, REALLY?! What, Rich Rodriguez couldn’t get you fired up for a football game the caliber of neighborhood kids gathering to throw rocks at a tree? REALLY?!

Let me explain what Toledo did to prepare for Saturday’s match: They rolled out of bed. There were no windsprints, no films; they knew they were walking into a Bloody Saturday Massacre. And why? Because you’re Michigan football and that is what you do to lowly MAC teams.

Did you hear that loud banging while you slept Saturday night? It was Bo Schembechler yelling ‘Rebuilding year my as*!’ from his great bed in the Sky. Or could it have been the resounding hurl of pens from sports critics everywhere after having written their collective ‘we miss the days of Appalachian State’ missives?

And Rodriguez REALLY?! You think this is an acceptable loss for this storied program? Do you truly believe this one can be tucked under the mattress along with your $2.5mm UoWV payoff? Repeat after us Rich: TO-LEE-DO. I don’t know what the West Virginian educational system taught you but in the Mitten State ‘Toledo’ isn’t pronounced ‘rival.’ It’s pronounced ‘game that still draws 100k to Ann Arbor and allows college students an excuse for too many beer bong hits.’

So to my beloved Wolverines, all I can offer is my unending support and the hope that the gap between our current state (Hell) and our future state (Improvement) shrinks. Quickly.

But Rodriguez?
REALLY?!
Huh.
WOW.

"The Kettle Sings Its Tortured Songs"

Brad and I broke out of the usual weekday mold, left HWB with Mrs. Hillary and saw Ray Lamontange perform at the Royal Oak Music Theatre on Monday night.

The venue was jam-packed and Brad and I took refuge behind a lot of seeming giants up on the balcony. Not a big deal for my 6' 2" hubby, however my visuals of the concert consisted of am armpit glance when the people in front of me would adjust their standing position. Truthfully though it didn't matter because Ray's voice reverberated throughout the theater like a soft lullaby.

Before you click on the video below, keep in mind the following: Ray is a notoriously shy artist which is evident in even his stage set-up -- he stands at the tip of an arch, facing in to his band rather than the audience; he has been known on occasion to darken the stage so he cannot see the audience; this clip is of Winter Birds; a yet unreleased song (Gossip In The Grain drops on Tuesday). Although this clip was pulled from his set in Chicago, it's a mirror of his RO performance: solo, dimmed spotlight glow and hauntingly soulful.

I sang this to Hunter as I was putting him to bed tonight. Who knows? Maybe this will become my Joni Mitchell Circle Game for him (thanks Dad).

Shhh! Brad's Bday!

Okay, maybe not so 'shhh' but as you know, Brad's 32nd bday is coming up this Sunday (the 12th). I have received a couple questions on gift suggestions so just thought I'd throw them here as thought-starters:

• Gift card for DSW? Brad is in the ongoing search for the perfect pair of hip, brown shoes
• Gift card for Gap? For a new pair of jeans
• Gift card to Barnes and Noble? You know how much he loves music/books!
• Guarantee of a Led Zeppelin reunion tour
• Reincarnation of Hunter S. Thompson
• IU to win the 2009 NCAA Basketball Championships

SO maybe I got a bit carried away... we all know IU is facing the same sort of rebuilding year as UofM football.

Rain O'Er Me...

Also wanted to give a shout out (how very Sarah Palin of me... hmm) to my cousin Larraine and her hubby Mike. Mike -- a California policeman -- was involved in a very serious car accident last week while on-duty. Please send some good thoughts and prayers their way! We love you guys.

So What'd We Do This Weekend?

We enjoyed a fairly tame weekend aside from my prized iPhone going on the fritz and my beloved Wolverines falling to those lowly Illini... ah well, at least we made a mockery out of the Badgers (said to get a rise out of my father-in-law ;P). Now repeat after me everyone: REBUILDING YEAR, REBUILDING YEAR...

The Royal Oak area was fortunate on Friday evening to have Disney swarm in on the community with character showings, bounce houses, a drive-in movie (fabulous idea!!! Hopefully the city of RO will adapt this concept full-time?) and vacation giveaways. Little Man was pretty tired but scored a yellow Mickey Ear balloon out of the whole deal.

Side note: Whatever happened to drive-ins? The only one I recall on record is the Cherry Bowl Drive-In in Benzie County (i.e. 'Up North' <-- perhaps Brad's most hated terminology of our beautiful Mitten State). Mom packed PJ and I into the Suburban and we headed to the Cherry Bowl. Was that the time we saw the movie Twins? PJ will have to correct me on that. Back to the weekend... Saturday: Watched the debacle of a football game at Bryn and Holly's. The picture above is what happens when Brad starts poking fun at Rich Rodriguez... Hunter and Schuler attack! Had a blast with the Skelton clan though (am including Case and Kate in that bunch). Can't believe Baby Bean is going to be here in 2 months! Holly looks great and Schu was more than happy to announce she is going to be a 'SIS-TAH!' :)

On Sunday Brad headed to the studio for a TV edit while H and I hit the grocery store. How fabulous is it by the way to complete your entire grocery trip, be standing in the checkout lane and realize that horrible smell emanating through the checkout aisle is in fact YOUR SON??? I had to ditch our groceries STAT and go change him in the car. For such a little guy he definitely knows how to make a great big, smelly mess! Finally, after Brad returned we snuck downtown past all the Lions traffic to peruse The Heidelberg Project in Detroit. (Web site: http://www.heidelberg.org/) THP is an artistic outdoor experience; a block of perhaps one of the most interesting platforms of recycled expression, literally.




Most of the 'collections' for lack of a better term incorporate items discovered on the streets of Detroit -- shoes, wayward stuffed animals, tires, etc but when placed with other like items, take on more of a modern community of sorts. Very compelling to stumble across in this hardened Detroit neighborhood. I encourage you to visit the Web site and see more -- you'll be interested to learn this small block actually become the subject of a well-received HBO documentary.

So that's it -- what did you do this weekend?

This Week's Menu

Hi everyone and Happy Tuesday,

Brad and I have really hectic weeks ahead as our accounts go into planning mode for 2009. Whew! I know I have 6 meetings alone scheduled for tomorrow, and (YIKES!) 8 on Thursday. There aren't enough hours in the day!

So needless to say, some home-cooked meals will be in order:

• Sunday: Eggplant Marinara Pasta Casserole
• Monday: Ray LaMontagne concert! More to come on that...
• Tuesday (tonight): Madeover Meatloaf <-- so easy to make, 1 hour in the oven and done!
• Wednesday: Chicken Coconut Curry <-- still have all the ingredients from a couple weeks ago
• Thursday: Hummus Veggie Wrap
• Friday: Grilled Fontina Sandwiches and Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup (leftover cheese from the Casserole and the soup is an organic premade mix I found)
• Saturday: Mozzerella Stuffed Turkey Burgers

So who's coming over for dinner?

Our Weekend Festivities... Almost Forgot!

How could I almost forget what a fun weekend we had!

Hunter woke up early Saturday and then fell asleep at the grocery store, the goober.


Saturday was an AWESOME day as I watched my beloved Wolverines upset the Wisconsin Badgers in a battle of strengths at Michigan Stadium. Had I not had to stand by for a work matter, I would have been holding my own at the game thanks to my dad's wonderful offer of two tickets.

Our neighbors (and new friends) Dave and Liz had to bear witness to my crazed football demeanor during the last few minutes of the game -- I almost ordered everyone out of the room so I could scream and throw things at my leisure. But alas it was not needed -- GO BLUE indeed! And right down to the wire... now that's what I call excellent football.


On Sunday we hit Miller's Cider Mill and HWB tried cider and doughnuts for the first time. Here he is contemplating the joy that is cider coupled with cinnamon and sugar flavoring:

H LOVED staring at the turkeys and playing around with Daddy.


Here he is poking through a cow head:

Happy Birthday KATIE!!!!