Register for a chance at Detroit Tigers Opening Day Tickets!

My favorite Detroit Tiger blog, The Detroit Tiger Weblog, tipped me off to a drawing for a chance to purchase opening day tickets for the Detroit Tigers. Starting this morning at 9 a.m. you could call (313) 471-BALL (2255) or for a quicker and simpler process head over to www.tigers.com. I registered this morning. You have until 11:59 p.m. Sunday to enter the drawing. Winners will be notified by the end of the week - no later than March 16.

For some great fan coverage of the Detroit Tigers this year be sure to check out The Detroit Tigers Weblog.

The Top Ten Baby Names of 2006

Bronson Methodist Hospital was home to about 3,200 births in 2006. They have tabulated the number of names given to those babies in 2006 and created a top ten list of boy and girl names. Top Ten Boy Names from 2006:

1. Andrew
2. Benjamin
3. Tyler
4. Ethan
5. Michael
6. Lucas
7. Samuel
8. Jack
9. Jacob
10. Joshua / Matthew (tie)

Know someone having a baby?

Our 'Welcome Baby Basket' is a great welcome home or baby shower gift for the parents. A handmade baby blanket featuring vintage prints will be certain to become a beloved keepsake. For the parents there are delicious gourmet chocolate chunk cherry cookies (Baby Boomchunkas) and chocolate cigars (choose boy or girl) for the proud papa to pass around.

Top Ten Girl Names from 2006:

1. Ava
2. Emma
3. Olivia
4. Ella
5. Natalie
6. Madison
7. Addison
8. Sophia
9. Elizabeth
10. Lillian / Hannah (tie)

Via BronsonHealth.com

How the tangled world wide web is missed when it is gone

I never realized how much of my life was tied in to the internet until we lost our internet connection from 2 a.m. Sunday until late last night. We had an ice storm and high winds which knocked our wireless internet tower down at 2 a.m. Sunday morning. The backup solution of a dialup account proved worthless due to everyone else who was without high-speed wireless service trying the same thing. Needless to say – I was never able to connect via a dialup account due to the system being overwhelmed.

They put up a temporary tower yesterday to get things running again until the new permanent tower can be put in place. To me, it is a pretty ingenious quick fix. They have attached the wireless transmitter to the end of a boom from a crane.

It has its hiccups, but is better than nothing. As I went to write this post on the internet I lost the connection again as our service provider made some adjustments. At least that is what I hope was the reason.

Place your vote on Governor Jennifer Granholm's job performance

I have added a new poll to my Squidoo Lens - Best of Michigan that asks a simple question. Has Jennifer Granholm done a good job running our state? You have two choices - either yes or no. None of that "undecided" garbage that a typical poll contains.

Vote today at www.squidoo.com/bestofmichigan.

Upper Peninsula visitor poll results

The results are in for the poll I had running on my Squidoo Lens - www.squidoo.com/bestofmichigan/. My question was a simple one - Have you ever been to Michigan's Upper Peninsula? The following are the results -

• Yes, but I do NOT live in Michigan - 0%
• Yes and I DO live in Michigan - 69.2%
• No, but I do NOT live in Michigan - 15.4%
• No and I DO live in Michigan - 15.4%

So none of the folks who voted said that they have visited the U.P. but do NOT live in Michigan. It is a pretty small sample size so I wouldn't take much stock in that.

Maybe what surprised me more was that 15.4% said they have NOT visited the U.P. and they live in Michigan. I am biased I guess as I love going up to the Yoop. It's like when you are talking with someone from Michigan about "the bridge" and they look at you and wonder what bridge are you talking about. Oh, only one of the world's longest suspension bridges - The Mackinac Bridge.

Should I be surprised that people from Michigan don't explore their own state? I don't think it is any different than the large number of Americans who do not explore their own country. I love to learn and see different places. I'm a history nut so I guess that makes me an oddball as someone who thinks Michigan has a lot to offer.

I don't need to see any "Pure Michigan" campaigns to get me interested in our state. Do you?

Just what is the S'more Soup in our Michigan Gift Baskets?

I was talking to a customer the other day who wanted to customize our Tastes of Michigan basket for a client. One of the Michigan products she wanted to remove from the basket was the S'more Soup because it sounded "disgusting." Well, I thought I had better clear the air about what S'more Soup is all about. On the back of the 'S'more Soup' package there is the following poem -

When you come in from the cold to warm your feet, Enjoy this little 'S'more Soup' treat. It's just for you and only you. . . I've included a delicious cookie too! Remember the nights by the fire... as the 'cold' draws near, And sip this cup of cocoa, it'll warm you up my dear.

S'more Soup is a simple yet delicious treat of cocoa with marshmallows, a cinnamon stick to stir it with, gourmet caramelized cookie, and a milk chocolate bar.

Once I explained the S'more Soup and the novelty of it all to her our customer thought it was a neat little product (we do too). I don't know, maybe she thought it was a soup that you ate out of a bowl. Chunks of graham crackers and chocolate floating in a bowl of hot cocoa with big fluffy marshmallows probably would not sound too appetizing.

You can find the S'more Soup in the Tastes of Michigan and Travel Box gift baskets.

Have a Great Weekend! :)