Blah

Nothing exciting happening here, folks. It's Tuesday and I've spent the last two days training student admissions reps at the office. At home, Mitch got his wisdom teeth removed on Friday and spend most of the weekend affixed to the couch. I take that back: Saturday he went shopping and out for a bike ride, but that knocked him out for Sunday, so we didn't even make it to church as planned. His jaw (not his teeth) is still pretty sore and I'm wondering if that's a result of the breakage a couple of years back. I'm getting antsy waiting for him to feel better so we can go back to having fun!

This weekend we're going up to Bayview for the annual Red Fox Regatta weekend on Lake Charlevoix. Every year, my dad and sometimes brother sail in a race over Labor Day weekend. On Saturday they race from Charlevoix to Boyne City, then on Sunday they race back. We stay in Bayview, a historic community in the middle of Petoskey, and spend the days playing by the water, biking, rollerblading, shopping a bit, and driving cars back and forth between the two harbors. There's also a picnic and a classic car show in Boyne City that we usually attend. Some people have big Fourth of July plans - for us, it's always been Labor Day. I have random memories surrounding that holiday. One year I found a dollar buried in the sand around the old maypole at the Boyne City park. I thought I was rich. And since we always stay in Bayview (or as I used to call it, the Bayview Rainbow Bright Cottage...don't ask me why), I have all those memories, too. Climbing down the "cliff" when we were little...putting round rocks on the electric heater to warm up our hands...going to the parks across the street...I wish I were more of a writer. I wish I could capture everything about Bayview and other special places on a page so everyone who read it would understand.

Freeze Tag Safe Zone

Can I tell you there's nothing better than walking by a group of RAs playing Freeze Tag on the Chapel Lawn and having four of them run out at you for hugs? Thanks Jen, Marc, Pete and Kristy!

Finally, I'm rested!

This past weekened was awesome. I did...NOTHING. I stayed home, went grocery shopping (Meijer on a Saturday is a zoo!), cleaned out the guest room closet, did some more laundry, read a book...it was a great, productive, not-at-all-busy weekend. The biggest excitement was Jillian's bachelor party on Friday night. We took her to the Braveheart and proceeded to get her happily inebriated. There is something inherently beautiful about a bride or bride-to-be. She was like a pink butterfly, flitting all around the bar, talking to everyone. And everyone loved it and did anything she asked of them, because how can you say no to a bride? It was like that at my wedding - I danced with everyone with whom I wanted to dance, because there's some unwritten law that you cannot deny a bride almost anything on her wedding day...or in Jillian's case, at her bachelorette party, too.

Today is the continuation of new administrator/faculty orientation. I'm supposed to go to some HR session that will reiterate everything the mean old HR lady told me when I was first hired. She doesn't like me much. When I first met with her, I told her I wanted my tax deducations to be taken out as if I were single instead of married. She took this to mean that I did not trust myself with money, which I took large offense to. I explained that, no, I just did not want to have to pay in during tax time and would rather receive a check back. She took this to mean I wanted to go on a big shopping spree with my tax return and told me I should instead put that money in my Alma College pension fund. I took offense to that, too, because Mitch and I put away a lot of money from our paychecks into savings and investment accounts, which I explained to her, and probably offended her by saying I would rather contribute to a Roth IRA for retirement (the plan, once our expenses even out again) instead of Alma's pension fund. Bottom line: I hate that she made assumptions about my financial responsibility, probably due to my age, and I probably spent a bit too much time on the defensive, trying to explain to her that yes, I know what I am doing when it comes to money.

So I have to hang out with her for another two hours. Joy.

But for lunch, I get to hang out with the Discovering Vocation crew. I like them.

All right, time to work on my territory management plan for work. This could be interesting...

Time well spent

I definitely spent a good deal of my morning at work on this, but I think many of you might enjoy reading some thoughts on Christian music:

www.andrewosenga.com

By the way, his blog and the one he links up to are great reads, but I also recommend checking out his "Drawing Board" and "Free Single" pages for some neat music.

The Second Annual Long-Slade Wedding

Finally, I'm getting around to posting about the highlight of my summer - Tim and Anna's wedding! Well, it was more like a weekend-long party combined with a renewal of vows, since they were already technically married. So Mitch and I got done with work on Friday, grabbed Gabe, and headed downstate. We stopped at my parents' house for a little bit but were soon comfortably settled into the cottage. Grant, Robin, Jerry and Darby met us there later on that night, and Tim and Anna came by for a quick visit, too. The guys were rocking out on their guitars...by the way, see the pictures from all the festivities at http://photos.yahoo.com/skibunny11282.

On Saturday morning, we were up bright and early so Mitch could take his motorcycle road test with Bobby. By 11:00 am, I was hanging out with everyone at McHattie Park, playing some kick-ass volleyball games. Tim's brothers, and two "brothers from other mothers," Jesse and Sebastian, were awesome players, but they couldn't handle the Alma team of Tim, Gabe, Jerry and (briefly, 'cause he got there very late) Mitch. Yay for my guys! After volleyball, it was a mad dash to get showered, dressed, and off to the rehearsal in Howell. The rehearsal dinner was a yummy, Mexican-themed event complete with a Mexican hat dance performed by Anna's younger brother, Daniel. Afterwards, the guys went off to their bachelor festivities (Ultimate Frisbee) and the gals headed to the bridal shower. Anna got so many awesome gifts and we played the coolest shower games ever. My favorite was the ring game: everyone got a fake, gaudy ring, but if you crossed your legs or uttered the words "Anna, Tim or wedding," whoever caught you got to take your ring. The object of the game was to have the most rings. I think I'm going to use that for the next shower I have to throw!

Around 10 pm, maybe, I headed back to the cottage along with Robin and Darby, only to find the living room overtake by 10-12 beer-drinking guys. Apparently my dad told them they could help him and his buddies finish off a keg of Bass, so they forewent (is that a word? the past tense of forego?) a trip to Hooter's or Buffalo Wildwings in favor of free beer. Well, there was only a little left in the keg when they got there, but they quickly remedied that situation with a trip to the party store. Around the time I got to the cottage, they were getting ready to go out on the pontoon, and I think they were out for a good 2-3 hours or so. Everyone had a great time, from what I heard!

On Sunday morning, Jon D., dad and Bobby came out to the cottage for some waterskiing. It was lots of fun, though I'd forgotten how to handle the sharp, whipping turns my dad uses in order to get the most out of the length of the lake. I was way more used to Jon's wide, sweeping turns on Lake Missaukee! Anyway, that was followed by yet another mad dash to shower, change, collect the gifts (we went in with Matt and Becky to get them a tent and some camping chairs) and make it to the church on time. We were a little late, but it was OK. The ceremony was absolutely beautiful...I thought Anna looked like a princess, but Daniel disagreed and said she looked like an angel. That's fitting, too. Tim and the groomsmen were so handsome, the music was lovely, and their dads, who performed the ceremony, had just the right combination of humor and seriousness.

Since there was some downtime between the ceremony and reception, a bunch of us went to Mr. B's in Howell for appetizers. On the way to the reception, we passed Tim and Anna in their horsedrawn carriage...aww! Just like a fairytale. Dinner was tasty and we were all kept very entertained by the "copy kisses." Couples were called to kiss anytime people clinked their glasses, and then Tim and Anna had to kiss however that particular couple kissed. Mitch swooped my up into his arms, but the two most creative couples were Dan and Vicky (he flipped her over his shoulder) and Ed and Shannon, two dancers from Alma who executed a perfect parntering lift on the dance floor.

We ate, drank, danced, laughed and shared stories all night long. For me, one of the best parts of the wedding was the chance to reconnect with an old friend, Bruce. Bruce went to Alma for two years, then left and eventually joined the Marines. We didn't part on particularly good terms, but time and God's love can heal just about anything, and by the time I hugged Bruce before the wedding ceremony, I felt nothing but joy and relief that he made it through his first tour in Iraq. Throughout the evening, he told us stories of boot camp and being overseas...I had forgotten what a good storyteller he is! If I ever have a son who wants to join the Marines, I'll make sure he talks to Bruce first so he has the whole picture before he makes a commitment! Anyway, I'm thankful that we are blessed with Bruce's renewed presence in our lives.

After the reception, I went out on the pontoon with Mitch, Jen, Bruce, Jerry and Darby. Unfortunately, we ended up stuck in the middle of the lake with a dead battery, so Mitch and I had to swim in to shore (yes, we had floatation devices) and get the Malibu to tow them back in. Nothing like cutting through a stranger's yard, dripping wet, at 2 am!

On Monday, we had kind of a "last hurrah" and met at Cracker Barrell for brunch. Mitch took Tim on a motorcycle ride - "I want one," were Tim's first words when they got back! Then we all kind of went our separate ways, with promises from Tim and Bruce to come up to Alma later in the week for volleyball and climbing, respectively. They did, too...Tim on Tuesday, Bruce last night. This event brought together many of us who have been at very different places for a long time and I'm so eternally grateful. We now have plans to reunite at Thanksgiving (it will be a truly "thank-full" holiday) and possibly New Year's Eve. What a wonderful, wonderful time!

A Tim Slade Original

Playing volleyball this evening...

Ball flies over the net. Hits me in the chest.

Tim: Oh my gosh, you hit Laurie's boobs! What are the chances of that?!?!

Burst of uncontrollable laughter from me and the five guys on the court.

(Get it?)

Wedding Weekend

I sure hope this day goes by quickly. This evening we're heading home for Tim and Anna's wedding, and while I don't think it's going to be a relaxing weekend (when are our weekends ever realxing, though?), it's sure going to be a fun one. We staying out at the lake with a bunch of other people from Alma, but I think we're going to do most of the getting ready and all that at my parents' house. The Chipper will be staying with Mom and Dad, too, so I'll have to visit my little kitty. Maybe he won't hiss at my dad this weekend.

I'm not particularly motivated to do much of anything at work. I have a few things I could be doing, but they mainly involve handwriting a bunch of postcards to kids who have sent us their ACT scores. Maybe Deedee will let me go do that in her office, so at least there is another presence around me. I think her and I need to chat for awhile anyway. Yeah, that sounds good.

Not a replacement

Does anyone else ever hate their blog? I've always tried to keep a journal and never been successful at it until this nice invention. Or at least it's been a long time since I was this good about putting things down in writing. But I've definitely discovered this is not a replacement for a good old private, handwritten journal. Here, since this thing is up for the entire world to see, I often find myself censoring my thoughts and feelings because I never really know who is reading and if they will be offended, or think less of me, or whatever because of what I write. So I recently resurrected my journal - one I bought for the climbing trip and wrote in only once. Blog, I'm not replacing you. I won't neglect you. But I can't tell you everything and I need a more private outlet. I knew you'd understand. And I don't really hate you, Blog. I kind of like you, a little. :)

Canoeing, Camping and the Michigan Militia

It's not really as interesting as you think: as part of our two-tracking adventure after an afternoon of canoeing and some great campfire food, Mitch, Grant, Robin and I think we found a huge Michigan Militia training area. That's all. I just found it entertaining.

Canoeing was probably the most fun its ever been. Generally, it's a bit slow for Mitch and me, and it's also frustrating because we both want to be in control. This time, though, the river was moving quicker (with some Class I rapids, even!) and Mitch and I were working well together. He was a lot better at steering, which meant I was more willing to let him control our direction because there were not as many times we got hung up on rocks, ended up in trees, etc. Grant and Robin had fun, too, I think, even though they said the drunks on the river kind of ruined the first afternoon for them. They just got back from a 10 day hiking trip where they were pretty much the only human presence for miles, so I can understand how they would have a hard time with rowdy groups. Actually, it didn't bother me too much, because they were all mostly just hanging out on the banks and not in my canoe's path.

We were on the river probably a total of five hours between Saturday and Sunday, which is a pretty short trip but much more enjoyable for me than, say, the all-day excursion down the Muskegon River with my fellow OCs, or last year's Fourth of July weekend nine hour paddle. If I'm going to be on a river all day, it better be full of rapids and I better be in a raft with a Southern-accented river guide who tells funny jokes. On Saturday night, we stayed at the Peterson Bridge Campground, just a little rustic hang out, and had scrumptious hobo pies for dinner. We did the two-tracking, militia-discovering adventure and also broke out the guitar for some off-key singing. On Sunday, we made pancakes, eggs, bacon, and vegetarian sausage (not too bad, and much better than not-dogs), packed up camp, and hit the river around 11:30 am or so. We had a minor tussle with a park authority who was unhappy that we did not have special permits to be on the Pine River, but we were not aware that we needed them and he let us go anyway. He did initially try to tell us we needed to drive half an hour to Baldwin and get them from the ranger station, but he changed his mind thanks to our honest looks and my assertive powers of persuasion. Ha!

And the excitement continues - Grant and Robin will be staying with us tonight, after they have dinner with Gabe and Andrea, and then Tim and Anna are coming up tomorrow to hang out and stay at our place as well. Party! I'm currently trying to get the day off tomorrow, or at least part of the day, so we can do some climbing or whatever. Come on boss-lady, tell me yes!

Flash! Crash!

I love thunderstorms. Part of me hopes it does this all day long. But I'd rather be at home, on my comfy couch, plowing through "Love and War" and watching the rain come down. Instead, I'm in my little matchbox of an office and when I go into the hall to look out the windows, people think I'm weird. They're right.

Once again, our yearly summer weekend at Jon's was absolutely awesome. We had thirteen people there, and even though I wasn't good friends with all of them, everyone just kind of fit right together. We went to the local Lake City bar, did some wakeboarding, skiing and surfing behind the boat, went wine-tasting in Leelanau, spent some time on the catamaran, played a little volleyball, and relaxed on the pontoon boat. Some of the best times were the group skinny-dipping excursion after we got back from the bar, actually discovering a bottle of wine I enjoy, and hearing about Mitch, Bobby and Jon's adventures in tipping over the catamaran.

I'm so glad my little bro came with us. I used to love it when he'd hang out with me and my friends once he stopped being the annoying younger brother. There were a few years there - my first two in college - when we didn't really hang out that much, but now he goes to Jon's every year and does other random stuff with all of us, too. He just seems to get along with everyone.

Have you ever felt like you were constantly being judged? I have some friends from high school who I absolutely love, but there are very few times when I am with them that I don't feel like they are judging me. It's probably in my head more then anything, but if the feeling is that strong, maybe there's some basis in reality. Maybe that's one reason I am so comfortable with my friends from college - I feel like we've gotten over that high school need to spend so much time analyzing and judging everyone else.

OK, that was a random post, skipping all over the place and whatnot. Whatnot...that word was banned from all Global presentations. I never use that word, but there it is. Whatnot!

St. Theresa's Prayer

I received this in an email from Christine, our wonderful former Alma chaplain:

St. Theresa's Prayer
May today there be peace within.
May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be content knowing you are a child of God. Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and every one of you.