Moosejaw is one of my favorite Michigan retailers.  Not only do they have great products, their staff also really knows what they are talking about.  It is always so much fun to be at the stores.  If you have ever to called their customer service, you are always greeted by a resounding MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSEJAW.  If I was looking for a job with a great company culture, Moosejaw would be first on my list.  Well you are in luck.  They are holding a job fair September 16th, for Holiday positions.   See below for more information.

Moosejaw.com Job Fair
Holiday Staff Needed:
Customer Service Representatives • Warehouse Shippers• Lion Tamers

A variety of schedules are available. Dogs.  And parrots.  This is so confusing.

Friday, September 16th
11am – 4pm

Moosejaw
32200 North Avis
Madison Heights, MI 48071

We’re hiring at Moosejaw.com.  You’ll love it here.  You will want to live here.  Sorry.  That can’t happen.  Please don’t bring your own sleeping bag to work.

Customer Service Reps have an enthusiastic and positive attitude while assisting customers over the phone and through IM with internet orders and questions. We have a reputation for giving the finest service in the world and having tons of fun while doing it.

Warehouse Shippers pack and ship Moosejaw merchandise to customers, handling each package with care and love. TLC folks.  We also have a reputation of playing great music in the warehouse. And sometimes taking breaks to shoot hoops.

Please tell six friends, one ex-girl/boyfriend and two enemies. If you can’t make it to our job fair, feel free to submit your resume to csjobs@moosejaw.com for Customer Service.  Or whjobs@moosejaw.com for Warehouse. Visit our website for more information or if you’re bored.

Mighty Detroit has done it again.  Just like the rest of the country they have got wrapped up in the amazing story that is the US Women’s Soccer Team.  They are offering a 15% discount on all women’s apparel from Today until Sunday July 17th. All you need to do is use Promo Code Women15.  Cheer on the US Women’s Team and help Support Detroit.

A little about Mighty Detroit:

Through our apparel, we hope to capture and present the love Detroiters feel for their City.  We draw from the City’s culture, grit and hard-work ethic.  We are influenced by our sports teams, our innovative automobile industry and the underlying pride that unites us all.  Our apparel is designed to reflect these influences and to show everyone that Detroit is still Mighty.  Most importantly, a portion of the proceeds from each shirt sold are donated to a local charity.

Over the past year, I have really started to enjoy granola and yogurt for breakfast.  In my continued quest to purchase as much local products as possible, I stumbled across Simply Suzanne Granola (formally Randy’s Granola) at my local grocery store.  My favorite flavors are Lotsa Chocolate and So Very Cherry.  Both are the perfect balance of rich flavor and sweetness that is a true breakfast indulgence.  For a true treat, nothing beats mixing the two flavors together.  I am a sucker for chocolate and cherry.  Simply Suzanne also offers an Original Granola and new as of last month, Dark Chocolate and Coffee.

Each bag of Simply Suzanne Granola is all natural and handcrafted in small batches using whole grain rolled oats. Local farmers and suppliers are used as much as possible in the process, too.  All flavors are all natural and made without preservatives, artificial flavors, trans fat, cholesterol and high fructose corn syrup. Each batch is produced in the Detroit area, but there are also production facilities in West Michigan and a warehouse in Detroit’s New Center area.

Since I first found Simply Suzanne I have been following them on twitter at @SuzanneVier.  As a big supporter of anything that is made in Michigan, I have been very happy to see that 2011 has meant 6 months of growth for the company.  Besides adding the Chocolate & Coffee flavor, they have expanded their distribution to selected Whole Foods and Michigan Meijer’s next week (June 18th), along with being sold at various grocers and restaurants in metro Detroit, Chicago, and New York.  To support all this growth, Simply Suzanne is also hiring many potions.  They are currently looking for:

Kitchen Production Manager
Baking Assistants
Farmers Market Managers
Production Intern (non-paid)
In-store Product Marketing Demonstrators

For more information on these positions please Direct Message @SuzanneVier on twitter.

Whenever I travel, I am always proud to tell people that I am from Detroit.  Of course I have heard all the questions about carrying a gun, how do I survive, and why do I stay?  I usually shrug them off as an uneducated question, because the person asking has never stepped foot in Michigan.  What has amazed me over the years is how all the people who have moved to other cities, still love to represent their home town.  Not just by wearing a Tigers hat around, but proudly telling peole that they are from Detroit.  Over the last week, I have come across two articles from Time Detroit Blog about ex-pat who are working to help Detroit.  Only 635 Miles From Home, then a few days later an article about Mighty Detroit a group of Michigan ex-pats living in New York who are designed a tee shirt line that pays homage to Detroit, but are also giving part of their proceeds to Detroit charities.  Making a statement about Detroit (and Fashion).  These are just two examples of how even though a person may not be living in Michigan, they still can help out their hometown.  My hope is that through everyone’s hard work, that one day Michigan will be so attractive that some of these ex-pats will move back to Michigan, and continue their careers here.

This summer, I got addicted to “The Great Food Truck Race” on the Food Network.  It was amazing to me that some much amazing food could come out of a truck.  I had always imagined a food truck like the ones in the movies on a construction site, where all the food comes in plastic.  I have been told that in Los Angeles their are great food trucks, and the food is worth searching for.  I found out about a month ago that Michigan has it’s first food truck, compliments of Chef Wes, who has worked in Las Vegas has returned home to start Jacques Tacos.

I had been searching for last two weeks, checking http://www.jacquestacos.comto see where the truck was going to be, and if I was going to be able to make it out to check out the food.  Well finally on Saturday, I hunted the truck down on 13 mile and Woodward at Varsity Automotive, to try what a food truck was all about.  I ordered two beef (D-Town) and two chicken tacos (Bulldog).  They were really good, fresh and very tasty.  The tacos were $2.50 a piece and for a snack where on the money.  Each taco comes with your choice of meat (pork, beef, chicken, avocado) corn salsa, cheese and guacamole. If you are around an area where Jacques Taco Truck is, it is well worth your time to stop in and try the food.

Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit has helped us put thousands of Metro Detroit friends and neighbors back to work.  They are asking that you can continue supporting their fight against unemployment with a single click of your mouse.
 
The Detroit Ben & Jerry’s Partner Shop is owned and operated by Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit and provides paid job opportunities for youth with employment barriers.  A nationwide video contest through Ben & Jerry’s gives us a unique opportunity to win $5,000 by earning the most online views of our “Ice cream so cold in the D: A Ben & Jerry’s Detroit Top Ten List”  Enjoy the video below.  By forwarding this on to all your friends you are helping Metro Detroiters gain jobs.

I can’t believe that Wonder Michigan is turning  1 year old.  Did Wonder Michigan live up to everything that I wanted it too?  I started this journey with A Marathon is Won with the First Stepand have tried to experience all that Michigan has to offer.  Just as the state that we love, we are not perfect, but am really working to be better.  It took a little bit of time to find our voice, we did not post as much as we would have liked.  Although on average we did post about once a week, there still where many lags in our post.  The passion is still here.  We have encountered many new Michigan businesses that we did not know exist a year ago.   There have been many proud moments for the Great Lakes State in the past year.  We have enjoyed Wonderful Michigan wines and beers, eaten at some amazing Michigan restaurants, made delecious food from Michigan products, and met some amazing people who are working to make this a better state. 

I am so excited to see what the next year has in store.  I am looking forward to exploring more of the Wonder of Michigan.  There are many things that I look forward to trying out, and also many new businesses that are opening in Michigan every week, that are going to help rebuild our beloved state.  Michigan is a little better, the auto companies are looking healthier, but there are still too many people out of work.  2010-11 will be a big year for Michigan, we have an election coming up, many other exciting events coming to the state.  Hopefully you will come a long for the ride with me to see the Great State of Michigan.

The weather has been great so far this spring. Last night I had an amazing dinner at La Dolce Vita and got to sit outside.  The food was amazing, but sitting outside in April for dinner, was a great surprise.  What a great time of year, to get out and enjoy the restaurants in our area.  Another great opportunity to get out and enjoy some of the finest restaurants is coming on April 16-25.  Detroit Restaurant week is having a Spring Edition.  17 Detroit Establishments in the Midtown, Corktown, New Center, Downtown and Eastern Market will be participating this spring.  The deal this time is very similar to the winter edition, $27 for a three course meal (exclusive of beverage, tax and gratuity).  The toughest part of Detroit Restaurant Week, is deciding which one to go to first.

In December of 2008, when it seemed that the whole country was against the state of Michigan, a pride in Michigan made products began to pop up.  One of the reasons that I start WonderMichigan was because of what I experienced at a wedding in Washington DC during this time period.  There were radio commercials asking the people of Michigan to write the President and to buy Michigan products.  I have challenged you my reader to work harder to buy Michigan made products and to shop at Michigan owned stores.  Over the last few months I have started to become concerned that as we emerge from the recession that people are going to forget what got us into this mess.  One organization that has been working very hard to make sure that buy Michigan stays in front of our minds is Made in Michigan Movement. 

The Made in Michigan Movement is an action-oriented grassroots network of businesses producing high quality goods and services in the state of Michigan and consumers who feel purchasing from those companies is in the best interest of the state’s economic future. With more than 14,000 members, the organization’s motto for Michigan consumers is “Earn it here. Spend it here. Keep it here!”  One way that the Made in Michigan Movement is making sure that we continue to buy Michigan products is their first statewide celebration of Michigan products and services.  They will be takin over the Rock Financial Showplace in Novi on October 16 and 17, 2010.  Designed to provide a boost to the Michigan economy, the event will be a two-day celebration of the wide variety of high quality consumer products, services and foods produced by companies across all Michigan geographies  They are expecting   10,000 consumers and 300 + businesses ranging from small to large from across the state.  For further updates Made In Michigan can be followed on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/madeinmich and found on Facebook.

A documentary about Detroit featuring Toby Barlow (NYTimes and Huffington Post contributor, Team Detroit) and Mark Covington (Chairman, Georgia Street Community Collective).
The film takes a positive look at Detroit forward rumbles throug the prism of two totally different figures that are changing the city for the better in their own way.

One would never think that these two seemingly different career paths, would have such a simular view of the hope and vision that lies in Detroit.  Excuse the pun, but the view of a small seed and how it can grow to really effect the city.  Toby Barlow is correct, Detroit is the future for America, either it is going to raise from the ashes, or show the rest of the country where they are headed.  It is the State of Michigan’s job to make sure the we make sure that not only Detroit, but Michigan raise from the ashes to become an example of where this country can be headed.