The Robar Side of the House

I borrowed these photos from Rob's Facebook page. I really like these group shots of the cousins and the brothers and sisters from the party at Sue and Paul's house last Saturday. Happy New Year everybody!

I Love My Family

Christmas is a whirlwind. We've had such a nice time together over the past few days. The Wii we got the kids was a big hit but we haven't had much time to play. I sure like that game system since it requires you to move around. Hannah and Jackson seem to be enjoying the games. (I bought a Wii Fit for me too.)

We spent Christmas Day at my Mom and Dad's with Tim and his girlfriend, Jennifer, and her son Calder. What fun to have a six-year-old around again on Christmas. He's awesome. My Mom did her usual "oh my is this good" dinner and spoiled us all with presents. On the 26th, we hit Oakland Mall and loaded up on jeans, shoes and t-shirts for the kids to take back to Brazil. Such sales!

Saturday took us back to Milford for the Robar gathering at Sue and Paul's. It was a crazy, chaotic gathering with everyone there! Dan has five kids in his family so with all the spouses and kids, there are more than 20 people. Such fun. Sue made it look so easy to put together a meal for everyone (although I am sure it wasn't). She even took the time to get all the fixings together so the kids could frost and sprinkle cookies. They had a blast. We took some great photos but I'll have to post them later. Hannah sure had a fun time with her Cleveland cousin, Cooper.

Yesterday, we went out to visit Pete and Shannon in Troy. Pete is a designer with GM so it was fab for Jackson to see all his artwork from Pete's college days at CCS. Hopefully it inspires our young lad to keep working. They are moving to Sao Paulo in mid-January so it was fun to chat with them. We loaded up a box with syrup, PAM, Bisquick, spices and peanut butter for them to put in their sea shipment. It will be a real treat in four months when their stuff arrives and we get the care package. They took the photo above at our apartment when they were in SP around Thanksgiving.

Tonight, we're off to the Barrows for more fun.

Merry Christmas!

We have just completed the trifecta....church in Milford with Dan's family at 6:00 on Christmas Eve, church at 9:00 at St. Charles in Detroit and mass with my Mom and Dad in West Bloomfield this morning. In between each Mass, lots of eating and family time. Got to love Christmas. What a fab 24 hours.

Where Sirens Never Sleep

I just read the most honest and oh so sad story about Detroit in the Industry Standard. If you want to read it, click here. Add to that a comment in an email that I received this morning from one of my favorite people, Father David: "Bet you never imagined that St. Charles might outlast General Motors?"

What keeps Detroiters going? Our Mayor is in jail, our Lions haven't won a game, one in seven houses in our nice Detroit neighborhood are empty, only 25% of Detroit Public School students graduate and the Detroit 3 is the laughing stock of the world. So much sadness.

Why do I like it here? I think it the amazing resilient spirit of city residents. St. Charles was on the "hit list" of the Archdiocese for decades. We rallied and kept the doors open. Groups like the Greening of Detroit saw that trees weren't enough. They saw all of the city's open land and said "Hey, people are hungry. Let's start some urban gardens and grow our own food."

This morning, I got an invitation from my friend Trish to support the Colin Hubbell Memorial Fund. The group's theme: Improving Detroit, one connection at a time. So true. That is exactly what the City needs. It is not one blanket "fix-it." It is one little improvement at a time.

I am about to be part of the problem. I am joining the thousands of people who are leaving Detroit. When we get back from Sao Paulo in late 2010, what will Detroit be like? Will we want to live here again or will we take the easy path and bolt to the suburbs? I'm not sure.

So on this Christmas Eve when I am feeling so blessed to be surrounded by my family, my hope is that all the negativity swirling around Detroit can be channeled into good. Even the homeless guy the writer in the Industry Standard piece interviewed had a sense of optimism.

Strangely Familiar

It is amazing how quickly things seem normal again. Dan and the kids have only been home since Saturday night but we've quickly gotten back into the groove. Yesterday, we went to church and decorated the altar tree. Denzel was over most of the day. We had a Thai lunch with Patrice and Taylor and then Hannah went to the movies with Rosie, Ella, Alex and Taylor. The girls were so sweet. They had all seen Twilight before but they knew Hannah hadn't so they went again.

I think the comment of the day goes to Jackson. "Mom, the temperature has changed 100 degrees for us." They were at the beach on Thursday and it was high '90s. Yesterday, there was a below zero wind chill in Detroit. Brrrrr!

What a treat it is to have the family home for Christmas! You can't believe how much it has lifted my spirits.

Here's a few photos of the St. Charles tree. I love how all the ornaments are only as tall as the kids who hung them!

Woo! Hoo!

They're here. Phew.

So Impatient!

Things I am going crazy waiting for RIGHT NOW:

*I want Dan and the kids to come home. Three more days is too long!
*I want George Bush to finally show some tiny sense of leadership and do something to help the auto industry. I'm ready to throw my shoes at him.
*I want it to stop snowing.
*I want to speak Portuguese as well as a four-year-old Brazilian.
*I want my house to be miraculously packed so it is easy to leave in January.
*I want the perfect gifts for everybody.
*I want automotive advertisers to book their pages so all my AN pals can relax this holiday.
*I want a smoking hot marketing campaign that everyone thinks made a difference.

I know....I want, I want, I want. I should be thankful.

*So, I want to be more thankful too.

Ready and Waiting

Java is ready for everybody to come home. Don't you love our tree? This is the smallest one in Robar family history but I picked it out at the Market, hauled it in, sawed off the end, straightened it, lit it and decorated it. I am woman, hear me roar! Now SP Three, come home!!

A Nothing Planned Weekend

This weekend is either going to be exactly what I need....or total torture. I've had a crazy week. I threw holiday parties for Crain in Detroit and New York on Monday and Tuesday. We also let about 60 employees (throughout the country, not just in Detroit) go in the last few days so I've prepped releases and announcements pertaining to those changes. Most worked for one book in New York. Add to that the stressful 24/7 stuff that the dumb ass Southern senators are (not) doing in Washington. Their selfish actions place tough, tough threats on Automotive News and the company that is taking us to Brazil, GM.

So, this weekend, I have absolutely no plans. Nada. Zero.

My fabulous neighbors are worried that I am never home. Will I freak them out by being here? Will it be great? Or not so much?

We'll see.

HACKED ENCORE!!! RANDOM web cam!!! from sao paulo!!

Hello everybody we got the webcam to work!! Check us out! Hannah and Jackson p.s. no geek squad needed (sorry mom)!

13 More Days!

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care...in hopes that Jackson and Hannah soon would be there.

Awesome friends

I know yesterday was December 5 but I think it was "Colleen's friends all called her on the same day" Day. I had a great lunch yesterday with my friend Trish at Russell Street, had dinner and lots of gossip with my bestest bud Lori at Sala Thai, my sister-in-law Sue called mid-day, my mother-in-law Sue called after dinner and in between I chatted with Amber and Helen. Ro and the kids "skyped in" from Sao Paulo at the end of the day. Trust me, I feel the love of all my pals.

I'm going to Noel Night in the Cultural Center tonight with my folks. One of my weaving pieces (below) got accepted into the CCS Student Show so we're going to see it displayed (probably behind the pop machine) and then poke around the museums and listen to some of the holiday tunes. Sure hope it isn't too cold!

I'm off to yoga now. I don't like running in the cold so I've been going to Bikram yoga (the room is set at 105 degrees) and sweating all the bad stuff out.

Java, are you ready to move to Brazil?

My pal Java has been neglected through this whole ordeal. Whenever I've had to travel for work or to Brazil, poor Java has had to go to the spa to hang out with the other dogs. She waits everyday for me to get home only to have me go out again most nights because I can't stand being home alone. Now, we're going to move her to a foreign country. It is a dog's life!