News flash = Hunter sleeps through night and so do Mommy and Daddy.

11 previous nights of interrupted zzz's @ 3 hours each x 2 parents = 66 more hours of sleep needed til back to norm.

Hats Off To Eve

Likely you're SICK! and TIRED! of hearing Brad and I rave about evetherestaurant, our favorite place in all of metro Detroit to get a [delectable, heavenly, lush] bite.

Thanks to Bill and Cherry, this little discovery occurred in January of 2005 and I can safely say we've eaten there approx. 40,000 times since. Okay that last part was a lie. Because if we had, we'd both be tipping the scales, filled to our brim with the exquisite curry cream sauce that tops my favorite dish: Seafood With Fresh Pasta And Curry Cream. Anyone who manages to combine pasta with curry sauce over a bed of spinach and make it something I can't stop shoving in my piehole is immediately deemed genius in my book. And that's one of the reasons we love eve: Conceptual dishes, unique flair, absolutely astounding taste. With all of my menu postings here at Big Jet Plane, just know that Eve is what I aspire to be... well, that and Angelina Jolie but that's an entirely different subject.

So why the set-up? While on vaca, I received an e-mail from my mom. As the town of Elk Rapids has little to no AT&T service (I'm not bitter), it wasn't until we'd hit the Sleeping Bear Dunes that a lone bar appeared on my phone and the news fully downloaded:

Eve Aronoff (i.e. 'eve') is competing on the upcoming Bravo season of Top Chef. And finally. FINALLY. Genius is being recognized. So set your TiVo's now my friends -- it begins Wednesday, 8/26.

Things We Are Loving This Week

In all my sleepless nights over the past 12 days (but who's counting?), I could have transformed into an ultimate blogger. UB for short who wildly posts updates from her iPhone in the blink of an eye. But between the hours of 1-4am, whilst shush'ing Hunter into dreamland, there's no controlling the thoughts running through my head (and lord knows, there's plenty of time to cover lots of ground).

Case in point: I actually deliberated Monday night over what C-List celebrity run-ins I had between the years of 1998-2000. (Answer is Carson Daly but that's a whole story of itself).

Back to the focal point of today's post though -- there are lots of things we are loving this week so let me just kick-off the rundown:

• This year's rousing return of TdF. And no, it's not because I'm an Astana fan (because I am), but because I've fallen full-force into the Tour thanks to Twitter. Lance, Levi and George Hincapie have accented my Tour experience this year with their continuous Tweets throughout the stages and I'm loving the behind-the-scenes look at who's riding along in the bus, the anti-doping control craziness and everything TdF. Lots of love and luck to our Americans in the Tour!
• Hunter's latest obsession with fire trucks. And yes, he can positively identify the red fire chief car as well (chee car!).
• Catching up with my dad, Peg, Bryn, Holly, Colby and Charlotte in Elk Rapids last week
• Peppering my nieces Schuler and Brier with kisses :)
• Listening to Hunter exclaim the names of his family: MIMI! PAPA! SHOO-er! Byer!
• Hearing H's first go at "Alola!" (read: Aunt Laura)
• Remembering the taste of chocolate cherry fudge by Doug Murdick's Fudge in Traverse City. YUM!
• Catching up with our dear, old friends, Meredith and Jason. Here's a pick of "Aunt" Mer and a very un-amused looking HWB


• Reflecting on the few weeks we were able to spend with Jason before he shipped off to LA in pursuit of a new job. We miss him already.
• This blog: Great Full Day. It's simple yet sophisticate approach to accessory and design leaves my wallet aching and my inner craftiness yearning to explode.
• The Livestrong Chalkbot. If you don't know what I'm referring to, get thee to Google and type it in. Better yet, click here: CHALKBOT. Thanks to my bro PJ for the tip!
• Brad's uncle Mike, aunt Linda, cousin Vanessa and partner Katie's visit north to the D for some food, fun, and unfortunately a Tigers loss

• The bands Hockey and Grizzly Bear. Add "Too Fake" and "Knife" to your iTunes list. Now.
• The news that my beloved Odwalla is adding a Chai drink to their selection vest. I may never set foot in a coffee shop again.
• The fact that Little Man attends daycare with kids named Sevyn, Iniya, Chanel and Serenity.
• Our new masthead for Big Jet Plane, courtesy of hubs (Bradley D)

Yes. It's 3am. Hunter hasn't slept since we departed last week for our Up North vaca and consequently, neither have I.

(as a side note, Brad is happily snoozing away upstairs. Apparently if you ask enough questions, you get out of having to try and lure a toddler to sleep for the 6th night in a row... Note to self)

Where was I? Right. Sleep. How precious it is and how little of it I've had as of late. This is what is known as vacation? If yes, I'll gladly take the equivalent of a 40-hour workweek over this. And if you have any thoughts on how to convince Hunter to let Mommy get a consecutive 5 hours of rest (sans whiskey'ed gums that is) please send them via overnight mail. Lord knows I'll be awake to sign that delivery slip.

Things That Go

Cars. Bus. Truck. Fire truck. Dump truck. Airplane. Taxi. Van. If it's mobile and it has wheels, you can bet your life Hunter is loving it right now.

That's what makes the video below so special -- that and the fact the book H is reading from cost my mom upwards of 10 cents at a library used book sale. Endless hours of entertainment doesn't come much cheaper than that my friends.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE JUNIPER!

Whoa. When did my baby brother turn 30? That's just wild to even see in type. But it's true -- today, June 25th, my bro (aka: [Hit It] PJ, Uncle Juniper, Winker, the Mayor of MacLove City, Bro-eseaux) turns the big 3-0. Amazing.

And yes, there are many stories I could recount for us on my bro, including (but not limited to) how great at the age of 6 he looked wearing a headband, the countless hours of School/Office/House he was forced to play, his uncomparable Lego constructions, acting out the many (read: MANY) puppet shows his sister wrote for a performance of just Mom, his chasing of Richie Neumeyer from the 2nd grade bus and his untouchable skills as a NASA space engineer who read the letters "USA" emblazoned across the side of a rocket as it blasted into our atmosphere... using only his naked eye.

My baby bro became a big man. And a pretty fine one at that.

Well here's to many, many more stories to come in your next 1/3 of life PJ. Happy bday to you.

Things We Are Loving This Week

• Hunter's new love for anything mobile and/or with wheels. (As said in H language): itsaBIGtruck!, arpane, duh truck, mowercycle!, bussss.
• Still reliving our Portland vaca (and no, we haven't forgotten to post the pics), including the search for the Shanghai tunnels, watching the elation spread on our friend (the groom) Mike's face upon learning his beloved Penguins had won the Stanley Cup, visiting Vista House and the Columbia Gorge in a huge cloud of fog, running into the inaugural Banancon celebrants, a hotel room without a bathroom (but with a private balcony) and sleeping in. As long as we wanted.
• Hunter's Mimi and Papa for watching him while we were away. And helping him achieve a kick-ass pool tan.
• Rogue beer straight from the tap.
• A 2-hour Scrabble match while the sun sets over Portland.
• Remembering why I started dating my hubs to begin with = because he's so easy to talk to.
• H greeting Brad home from work with a big hug and declaring LalaYu (translation: I love you)
• My brand new, white, 32G, 3GS iPhone. It's beautiful. Moment of silence in respect for Apple's uncomparable wisdom and design.

• 
  Our new fence!!!


• The song "I Feel Like a Child" by Devendra Banhart
• The book "Middlesex" by Jeffrey Eugenides (a Detroit born and raised author no less)
• Prepping for the New Kids On The Block concert on Thursday night
• This baby owl taking up residency at my mom's house

• Spending time on Detroit's Riverfront courtesy of Detroit River Days
• Amici's Pizza and martinis in Berkley, MI with old friends (Jason is home!) and new friends (Anthony and Katie)

Friday Bloody Friday (Not For The Faint of Heart)

Looks innocent, doesn't he? One brown eye. One blue eye. Responds to direction well. Generally an all-around likable dog. Not the slightest bit afraid of strangers or other animals or thunderstorms. (SFX: Record screech) TRY AGAIN.

Our dear pooch Becks has suddenly developed an aversion to Mother Nature. And by "aversion" I mean a 100-mile-an-hour-panting, lap sitting (nevermind the 55 pounds of fur), cram-self-under-basement-stairs-induced aversion (read: PANIC) of thunderstorms. And it all came to a horrifying crescendo on Friday night, circa 11:30pm.

Typically during storms, Beckham is relegated to the laundry room where he cozily lays under the stairs and waits out the pounding. But the squalls that hit last week birthed this frail alter-ego of Becks that led us to lock him in the laundry room with the lights off. So he attempted to break through the drywall. We opted to rebuild his doggie cage and stuck him in. So he broke out in the matter of 5 minutes. We put him back in his doggie cage, complete with duct tape and bungee cords to secure it shut... And he showed up in the guest bedroom (where Brad and I had taken cover and attempted to get some much-needed rest) 15 minutes later. That's when all hell broke lose.

Becks looked as though he had crossed the path of an angry Lennox Lewis and was covered from head to toe in blood. And so was our house. And the cabinets. And the floors. And some of the walls. And the basement. After near fainting, Brad and I sprung into action assessing wounds (couldn't find any aside from a small cut in his mouth), pulling out mops and various other cleaning items and making a late night stop at the 24-hour vet. Verdict? Aside from his Houdini-like escape from a still locked cage, Becks was diagnosed with extreme anxiety and promptly shot up with a very large prescription of sedation. The blood? All stemmed from that small cut in his mouth. I was sure it was his jugular. Thank goodness a vial of doggie valium also made the trip home with him. Apparently we'll need it.

So the moral of the story is... we have a cage-escaping animal on our hands who I'm ready to market to Ringling Bros. I think I'll call him Crazy Canine.

Wedding Madness

WOW -- wedding bells are ringing in the village square! While Brad and I recoup from our Portland trip and start to gather the details for posting, have a couple *KUDOS* to shout for some of our newly-wedded friends:

• Mike and Sasha, who threw a spectacular bash in Portland -- CONGRATS!
• Anthony and Katie, who are likely sunning themselves on the beach following their nuptials on Friday as well -- CONGRATS!

But nothing is more outstanding than this Save the Date video my BFF sent over. Love when creativity gets the better of folks and this definitely takes the (er, wedding) cake. Enjoy!

Got up early to hit the trails of Multnomah Falls this am. We are cruising along the scenic highway and encountering a ton of early morning cyclists. My Dad and Butch would be salivating if they could only see what we are driving on right now. Plenty of pics to come but in case you need a sneak preview, google Mt Hood Scenic Highway.